Law Society petition to condemn suspension of the rule of law in Pakistan

15 November 2007

The Law Society is calling on lawyers across the globe to support their colleagues in Pakistan and make plain the strength of feeling about the breakdown of the rule of law in Pakistan. 

Andrew Holroyd, Law Society President, said: “We are asking legal professionals everywhere to show your support for the rule of law and to reemphasise that the rule of law is nothing without lawyers. Solicitors in England and Wales, and lawyers around the world are already showing crucial support for the lawyers and judges who are suffering as a result of the severe restrictions placed on the judiciary and the court system by General Musharraf, in an attempt to insulate his rule from legal challenge, but we need to do more.”

The petition is endorsed by the Association of Muslim Lawyers.  Ifath Nawaz, President of the Association of Muslim Lawyers said: “We hope that bar associations, practitioner groups and individual lawyers in all jurisdictions will join solicitors in England and Wales in standing up for the rule of law. Our call is for justice to prevail and an absolute necessity for the sake of humanity. We cannot stand by while our colleagues and the society that they serve suffer.”

The Law Society Council this week unanimously supported a motion reflecting the wording of the petition calling upon the Pakistani authorities to re-instate the Constitution, lift all restrictions on the judiciary, release lawyers and judges arbitrarily detained, and allow lawyers to exercise their freedom of expression and assembly.

The petition will close on 23 November, and will be presented to the prime minister, Gordon Brown and to the High Commissioner, Pakistan’s senior representative in London.