The bravery of Pakistani lawyers who faced down baton-wielding police over threats to their country’s constitution, and judges who were fired or quit their posts will be honoured by the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative. The ABA has announced it is giving its annual Rule of Law award to “those lawyers and judges in Pakistan who demonstrated courage in upholding the rule of law in their country.”
The award will be formally made in August 2008 at the ABA Rule of Law luncheon, part of the ABA Annual Meeting in New York City. The honour has previously been bestowed to an array of world leaders and defenders of the rule of law over the ABA's 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.
Representatives from the Pakistani legal and judicial community will be invited to come to New York to accept the award on behalf of the Pakistani lawyers and judges who have championed the rule of law. The luncheon is set for August 9, 2008 at the New York Hilton.
Source: www.abanet.org/media
