Haider Rasul Mirza has an LLB degree from the University of London and a BSc (Hons) degree in Economics and Social Sciences from LUMS. He earned his Post Graduate Diploma in Professional and Legal Skills from City Law School, City University London, and was called to the Bar by the Hon’ble Society of Lincoln’s Inn in October 2006. In 2007, he qualified as an Advocate of the High Courts and in 2018 he was enrolled as an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
He started his career in 2004 as an apprentice to former Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and former Chief Justice Lahore High Court Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik and remained associated with his chamber before Justice Malik’s elevation to the Bench in 2009. During his apprenticeship, he assisted the senior counsel in criminal trials pertaining to homicide and white-collar crime developing a special interest in anti-corruption and accountability laws.
In 2021, Barrister Mirza assisted the Hon’ble Supreme Court of Pakistan as amicus curiae, contributing to a landmark judgment ( Safia Bano case PLD 2021 SC 488) on post-conviction mental illness. In 2022, he assisted the Hon’ble High Court in clarifying the parameters of penal provisions (section 489-F PPC) with regards to corporate criminal liability arising from dishonoured cheques. Recently, in another notable case, he contributed to the statutory interpretation of the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act, 2022, helping to clarify the prosecutorial procedures and respective jurisdiction of the police and the Federal Investigation Agency under the Act. He has several reported judgments to his credit ranging from constitutional matters to appeals against death sentence.
He has also been active in academia for over fifteen years, teaching Criminal Law in the University of London’s international programme and the University of the Punjab’s LLM programme. Since 2022, he has served as Adjunct Faculty at SAHSOL, where he teaches Criminal Procedure.