NEWS RELEASE

INTERNATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION

the global voice of the legal profession

[For Immediate Release: Thursday, 08 November 2007]

The International Bar Association (IBA) is calling upon its member bars
and law societies across the globe to support lawyers and judges in
Pakistan. Since President Musharraf declared a state of emergency and
suspended the Pakistan constitution on 3 November 2007, mass protests,
led by judges and lawyers, have taken place. Recent reports suggest that
thousands of lawyers have been arrested and subjected to torture and
ill-treatment for protesting against President Musharraf’s action. Among
those arrested is Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry who is
believed to be under house arrest.

The order declaring the state of emergency and the provisional
constitutional order, also issued on 3 November, have far-reaching
consequences for the rule of law. Certain fundamental human rights
contained within the constitution, including the right to life, liberty
and freedom of movement, have been suspended while the powers of arrest
have been extended. Critically, the constitutional order also states
that courts may not question the legality of the proclamation of
emergency or any other order, nor can it challenge or overturn any such
orders issued by the president or prime minister. Mark Ellis, IBA
Executive Director said, ’The effect of these orders is to provide
complete immunity to President Musharraf and his government, thereby
enabling them to change the constitution, and adopt any orders or laws
they see fit to retain power.’ He adds, ’Lawyers and judges in Pakistan
have recognised that the Government of Pakistan has negated the rule of
law. We are deeply concerned that such protests have been met with mass
arrests and allegations of ill-treatment.’

Fernando Pombo, President of the IBA, continued, ’We are calling upon
bars and law societies around the globe to support the actions of
lawyers and judges in Pakistan by lobbying their government to
pressurise the Pakistan authorities to reinstate the constitution.’

The IBA is concerned that, unless the constitution is restored and
properly applied, the rule of law in Pakistan will continue to
deteriorate, leading to greater human rights abuses and further
departure from the principles of democracy.

The past year has seen President Musharraf face various crises. Prior to
the presidential elections and in light of his declining popularity,
President Musharraf faced mounting public protests. Numerous legal
challenges to his presidential candidacy were issued before the courts,
and, following the results in early October, in which President
Musharraf received 98 per cent of the vote, a further petition was
lodged with the Supreme Court challenging the result. Critics are
suggesting that the introduction of a state of emergency was acting to
pre-empt the decision of the Supreme Court as to the legality of the
presidential elections. The past months have also seen a rise in
extremist violence and suicide attacks.

The calls from the IBA to bars and law societies around the world are
further to a press release of 5 November and the recommendations made in
a recently released IBA report addressing violations of the fundamental
principles of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in
Pakistan. The report dealt specifically with the issues of General
Musharraf preventing the Chief Justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, from
carrying out his judicial day-to-day functions, and the placing of Mr
Chaudhry incommunicado under house arrest for three days when he refused
to resign his post. The report entitled, The struggle to maintain an
independent judiciary: a report on the attempt to remove the Chief
Justice of Pakistan, is available from the IBA website.

Click here
http://www.ibanet.org/images/downlo...
to download the executive summary: The struggle to maintain an
independent judiciary: a report on the attempt to remove the Chief
Justice of Pakistan.

Click here
http://www.ibanet.org/images/downlo... to download the full report: The struggle to maintain an independent
judiciary: a report on the attempt to remove the Chief Justice of
Pakistan.

ENDS

For further information/expanded commentary, please contact:

Romana St Matthew - Daniel

Press Office

International Bar Association

10^th Floor

1 Stephen Street

London W1T 1AT

United Kingdom

Tel: + 44 (0)20 7691 6868

Fax: + 44 (0)20 7691 6544

E-mail: romana.daniel int-bar.org

Website: www.ibanet.org

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About the International Bar Association

– the global voice of the legal profession

The International Bar Association http://www.ibanet.org/ (IBA),
established in 1947, is the world’s leading organisation of
international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies.
The IBA influences the development of international law reform and
shapes the future of the legal profession throughout the world. It has a
membership of 30,000 individual lawyers and more than 195 bar
associations and law societies spanning all continents.

Grouped into two divisions - the Legal Practice Division
http://www.ibanet.org/legalpractice/Legal_practice_home.cfm and the
Public and Professional Interest Division
http://www.ibanet.org/publicprofinterest/ppid_home.cfm - the IBA
covers all practice areas and professional interests, providing members
with access to leading experts and up-to-date information. Through the
various committees of the divisions, the IBA enables an interchange of
information and views as to laws, practices and professional
responsibilities relating to the practice of law around the globe.
Additionally, the IBA’s high-quality publications and world-class
conferences provide unrivalled professional development and
network-building opportunities for international legal practitioners and
professional associates.

The IBA’s Bar Issues Commission
http://www.ibanet.org/barassociations/Bar_Issues_Commission_.cfm
provides an invaluable forum for the IBA’s member bar associations and
law societies to discuss all matters relating to law at an international
level.

The IBA’s Human Rights Institute
http://www.ibanet.org/humanrights/headerpage.cfm promotes, protects
and enforces human rights under a just rule of law, and works to
preserve the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession
worldwide.

Other institutions established by the IBA include the Southern Africa
Litigation Centre
http://www.southernafricalawcenter.org/salc/home.aspx and the
International Legal Assistance Consortium
http://www.ilac.se/default2.asp?xid= .

Contact information:

International Bar Association

10^th Floor

1 Stephen Street

London W1T 1AT

United Kingdom

tel: +44 (0)20 7691 6868

fax: +44 (0)20 7691 6544

website: www.ibanet.org

---

About the Human Rights Institute

In 1995, the International Bar Association (IBA) established the Human
Rights Institute (HRI) under the Honorary Presidency of Nelson Mandela.
The HRI is now a leading voice in the promotion of the rule of law
worldwide.

The HRI works across the IBA, helping to promote, protect and enforce
human rights under a just rule of law, and to preserve the independence
of the judiciary and the legal profession worldwide.

The HRI:

* undertakes fact-finding missions leading to long-term technical
assistance programmes;

* develops capacity-building programmes to assist bar associations
and law societies;

* sends trial observers to monitor the extent to which trials
adhere to regional and international fair trial standards;

* organises human rights training for lawyers and judges;

* liaises closely with international and regional human rights
organisations;

and

* produces newsletters and other publications.

Human Rights Institute

International Bar Association

10^th Floor, 1 Stephen Street

London W1T 1AT, United Kingdom

Tel: + 44 (0)20 7691 6868

Fax: + 44 (0)20 7691 6544

E-mail: hri int-bar.org

Website: www.ibanet.org