HONORABLE 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




Professional Experience:

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.

Was appointed Advocate General Balochistan in the year 1989;

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;

Was appointed as Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan on 4th February 2000 and as Chief Justice Pakistan on 30th June 2005:

Additional Experience/Activities:

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.

Was appointed as Chairman Balochistan Local Council Election Authority in the year 1992 and thereafter for second term in the year 1998;

Was appointed as Chairman Provincial Review Board for the Province of Balochistan on the recommendations of Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan;

Was appointed twice as Chairman of Pakistan Red Crescent Society Balochistan by Government of Balochistan;

Was nominated by Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan as Chairman, Enrolment Committee of Pakistan Bar Council;

Was appointed as Judge Incharge Supreme Court Staff Welfare Committee by the Hon’ble Chief Justice:

International visits as Chief Justice of Pakistan:

Attended 22nd Biennial Congress on the Law of the World held in Beijing & Shanghai, China in September, 2005;

Participated in International Conference and Showcase on Judicial Reforms held in the Philippines in November, 2005;

Visited United Kingdom in February, 2006 in connection with The UK-Pakistan Judicial Protocol on Child and Family Laws;

Visited Malaysia in August, 2006 to deliver a Public Lecture on the topic, “The Relationship between Law and Mortality in Islamic Common Law System”;

Attended XVII World Congress of the “International Association of Youth and Family Judges and Magistrates” at Belfast, Northern Ireland in August, 2006;

Visited India on Golden Jubilee Celebration of Indian Law Institute in November, 2006;

Attended the Symposium on 47th Anniversary of the Constitutional Court of Turkey in April, 2009:

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.



I WISH THAT OUR SO CALLED POLITICAL LEADER MUST ALSO HAVE SOME ACHIEVEMENTS LIKE CHIEF JUSTICE IN ANY FIELD RATHER THAN DOING PHD IN CORRUPTION, BETRAYING THEIR OWN PEOPLE AND PLAYING WITH THE EXISTANCE OR THE ASSETS IF PAKISTAN.