HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE IFTIKHAR MUHAMMAD CHAUDHRY

HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE IFTIKHAR MUHAMMAD CHAUDHRY CHIEF JUSTICE OF PAKISTAN   Name                                      Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry Father’s Name                      Chaudhry Jan Muhammad Date of Birth                           12 December, 1948  Domicile                                 Balochistan (Quetta), Pakistan Educational Qualification    B.A. LL.B. Postal Address                     Supreme Court of Pakistan Constitutional Avenue, Islamabad. Professional Experience: His lordship joined the legal profession as an Advocate in the year 1974; enrolled as Advocate High Court in the year 1976 and as Advocate Supreme Court in the year 1985, and practiced law in all fields/subjects i.e. Constitutional, Criminal, Civil, Tax, Revenue, etc. His lordship was appointed Advocate General Balochistan in the year 1989; His lordship was appointed Additional Judge High Court of Balochistan in the year 1990, as Judge in the year 1993 and as Chief Justice of that Court on 22nd April 1999; His lordship was appointed as Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan on 4th February 2000 and as Chief Justice Pakistan on 30th June 2005: Additional Experience/Activities: His lordship was elected as President High Court Bar Association, Quetta; Was elected twice as Member Bar Council; Besides functioning as Judge High Court of Balochistan, Quetta discharged duties as Banking Judge Special Court for Speedy Trials, Judge Customs Appellate Court as well as Company Judge. His lordship was appointed as Chairman Balochistan Local Council Election Authority in    the year 1992 and thereafter for second term in the year 1998; His lordship was appointed as Chairman Provincial Review Board for the Province of Balochistan on the recommendations of Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan; His lordship was appointed twice as Chairman of Pakistan Red Crescent Society Balochistan by Government of Balochistan; His lordship was nominated by Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan as Chairman, Enrolment Committee of Pakistan Bar Council; His lordship was appointed as Judge Incharge Supreme Court Staff Welfare Committee by the Hon’ble Chief Justice:   International visits as Chief Justice of Pakistan: His lordship attended 22nd Biennial Congress on the Law of the World held in Beijing & Shanghai, China in September, 2005; His lordship participated in International Conference and Showcase on Judicial Reforms held in the Philippines in November, 2005; His lordship visited United Kingdom in February, 2006 in connection with The UK-Pakistan Judicial Protocol on Child and Family Laws; His lordship visited Malaysia in August, 2006 to deliver a Public Lecture on the topic, “The Relationship between Law and Mortality in Islamic Common Law System”;  His lordship attended XVII World Congress of the “International Association of Youth and Family Judges and Magistrates” at Belfast, Northern Ireland in August, 2006; His lordship visited India on Golden Jubilee Celebration of Indian Law Institute in November, 2006;  His lordship attended the Symposium on 47th Anniversary of the Constitutional Court of Turkey in April, 2009: Attended 17th Commonwealth Law Conference held on 05-09 February ,2011 at Hyderabad, India . Awards and honor  Harvard Law School Medal of Freedom Received Medal of Freedom from the Harvard Law School (HLS) with the recitation – “Presented to Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry November 19, 2008  distinguished lawyer and judge, through your courage, conviction, and steadfast commitment to the independence of the judiciary, you stand as a model to those working to maintain the rule of law in Pakistan and around the world.” He is the first Pakistani to be presented with HLS Medal of Freedom, which is only given to selected personalities for their contributions to freedom, justice, and equality. Earlier, only two other persons were awarded this honor. The first was Charles Hamilton Houston, an African American lawyer and NAACP Litigation Director who helped play a role in dismantling the Jim Crow laws and helped train future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Former South African President, Nelson Mandela was the second recipient of this  Lawyer of the Year Award The National Law Journal, published in the United States, honoured him as the lawyer of the year for 2007. New York City Bar Honorary Membership The Association of the Bar of the City of New York granted Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry an honorary membership in the association on November 17, 2008, recognizing him as a "symbol of the movement for judicial and lawyer independence in Pakistan."  Doctor of Laws, honoris causa The Nova Southeastern University conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa. The Honorary Degree Citation of May 10, 2008 recited, inter alia, as under: -  “The rule of law, the foundation of democracy, survives only when a nation’s citizens recognize its importance and, when necessary, defend it. You and your Pakistani bench and bar colleagues bravely and tenaciously proclaimed the importance of the rule of law and vigorously defended it. “Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, you have inspired lawyers and lay people throughout the world. In recognition of your remarkable efforts, the trustees of Nova Southeastern University are proud to award you the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws with all of its rights and privileges.” Hero to Animals Award PETA India commends MR. JUSTICE IFTIKHAR MUHAMMAD CHAUDHRY CHIEF JUSTICE OF PAKISTAN for saving countless people and birds from injuries and death by banning cruel manja in the Punjab province of Pakistan. We applaud his compassionate decision.