Lahore High Court suspends PTA's Enforcement Order in Appeal filed by LDI Licensee through Azam & Rai

Sector: Telecommunication Laws
In a First Appeal against Order (FAO) filed by Azam & Rai in the Lahore High Court, Lahore on behalf of a Long-Distance International (LDI) Licensee against the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the Lahore High Court has suspended PTA's Enforcement Order against the LDI Licensee.

The Appeal is in relation to a dispute arising from a Complaint filed with the PTA by a Local Loop (LL) Licensee against the LDI Licensee. On the basis of the Complaint, the PTA, through its Enforcement Order, had directed the LDI Licensee to revert to its original rates (Interconnection Charges) for provision of Value-Added Telephony Call Routing Services (Interconnection Services) to the LL Licensee, which the LDI Licensee had increased in accordance with the law and its Reciprocal Carrier Service Agreement (Interconnection Agreement) with the LL Licensee. Azam & Rai argued before the High Court that the PTA's Enforcement Order was in blatant violation and contravention of the express provisions contained in the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, 1996, the Pakistan Telecommunication Rules, 2000, the Interconnection Dispute Resolution Regulations, 2004 and the Interconnection Agreement. Furthermore, the Interconnection Agreement contains an arbitration clause, which provides that any dispute between the LDI Licensee and the LL Licensee arising from or in connection with the Interconnection Agreement would be resolved under the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Rules of Arbitration. Azam & Rai argued that the arbitration clause prevented the LL Licensee from lodging any Complaint with the PTA on the basis of the Interconnection Agreement and further prevented the PTA from adjudicating upon the dispute.

Azam & Rai's client is one of 14 LDI licensees in Pakistan and one of four LDI licensees, which Azam & Rai has represented, and continues to represent, before different High Courts in Pakistan in relation to various telecom-related disputes.

Azam & Rai participates in NTC Seminar/Workshop on Trade Defence Laws

Sector: International Trade Laws
Azam & Rai partner, R.M.S. Azam, was invited to and participated in the Seminar/Workshop on "Trade Defence Laws” held under the auspices of the National Tariff Commission (NTC), Government of Pakistan, in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Trade Project at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI), Lahore on 8 October 2013.

The purpose of the seminar/workshop was to increase awareness about the legal and procedural aspects of trade remedy laws and how industries can avail remedies under these laws against unfair trade practices of dumping and subsidization. The seminar/workshop covered anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguarding measures.

Azam & Rai designs M&A Course for university LL.M. Commercial Law degree

Azam & Rai has designed the Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Course for the two-year LL.M. in Commercial Law degree of the School of Law & Policy, University of Management and Technology, Lahore.

The M&A Course has been designed in accordance with standards prescribed by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan.

Azam & Rai nominated for a 2013 Acquisition International Legal Award

Azam & Rai has been nominated for a 2013 Acquisition International Legal Award by Acquisition International, an international corporate finance magazine.

The Acquisition International 2013 Legal Awards, sponsored by the Merrill Corporation, celebrate and reward excellence, innovation and performance across the legal community. Award nominees and winners are determined through a rigorous process; combining votes alongside supporting evidence and in-house research to honour those most worthy.

Azam & Rai engaged to provide pro bono legal services to The 1947 Partition Archive, a U.S.-based non-profit organization

Azam & Rai has been engaged to provide pro bono legal services to The 1947 Partition Archive, a not-for-profit organization based in California, U.S.A. Azam & Rai will provide legal services for the Pakistan aspects of The 1947 Partition Archive in conjunction with U.S. law firm White & Case, which is providing The 1947 Partition Archive with pro bono legal services for its U.S. operations.

The 1947 Partition Archive is a non-political, volunteer, citizen-powered non-profit organization dedicated to documenting, preserving and sharing eye-witness accounts from all ethnic, religious and economic communities affected by the Partition of British India in 1947. It provides a platform for citizens to collect, archive and display oral histories that document not only Partition, but pre-Partition life and culture as well as post-Partition migrations and life changes.

Azam & Rai advises Portuguese telecom company on Pakistan's foreign exchange and telecom laws

Sectors: Foreign Exchange & Telecommunications Laws
Azam & Rai has advised a Portuguese telecom company on the foreign exchange and telecom regulation aspects of its agreement with a Pakistani telecom company for provision of telecom services.

Azam & Rai partner presented Certificate of Contribution by the World Justice Project

Azam & Rai partner, R.M.S. Azam, has been presented with a Certificate of Contribution for contributing to the Pakistan chapter of the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index 2012-2013 by The World Justice Project (WJP) (worldjusticeproject.org), a multidisciplinary and multinational initiative to advance the rule of law worldwide.

The WJP Rule of Law Index is an innovative quantitative assessment tool designed to offer a detailed and comprehensive picture of the extent to which countries adhere to the rule of law in practice.