Pakistan Lawyers & Judges to Receive ABA Rule of Law Award
An ABA Rule of Law award will be given this year to “those lawyers and judges in Pakistan who demonstrated courage in upholding the rule of law in their country” in turbulent times. Lawyer-led protests have been at the forefront of efforts over the past year or so to return ousted appellate judges to office and follow the requirements of the country’s constitution when governing Pakistan, as discussed in earlier ABAJournal.com posts.
Representatives of Pakistan’s legal and judicial communities will be invited to come to New York City in August for the presentation of the award by the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative during the ABA’s annual meeting there, a press release reports.
“The honor has been given to an array of world leaders and defenders of the rule of law over its 14-year history, including Vaclav Havel while he was president of the Czech Republic, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justices Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer, and the Committee of Voters of Ukraine,” the release notes.
Meanwhile, making official what had been reported earlier as a done deal, Pakistan’s new parliamentary leaders have announced an agreement to restore to office 61 judges ousted last year by President Pervez Musharraf after he decared emergency rule in early November, reports the Washington Post.
The judges are to return to office on May 12, the newspaper says.
Additional coverage:
BBC: “Date for Pakistan judges’ return”
Hindustan Times: “Chronology of Pakistan’s political crisis”
