UN Rapporteur Asma Jahangir has said that the amendments made under the Army Act violated human rights and the Constitution. She said granting military courts the authority to try offences from murder to libel reflected the government's lack of confidence in its selected Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) judges.

She said that in order to settle scores with lawyers, human rights activists and defiant journalists, the law was given effect from January 2003. "This also allows the government to legitimise its illegal acts of disappearances carried out by the intelligence agencies with impunity,"
 
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the Harvard Law School Association has decided to award Pakistani Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry its highest honor: The Harvard Law School Medal of Freedom
The Medal of Freedom was established by Harvard Law School to honor the achievements of individuals who have worked to uphold the legal system's fundamental commitment to freedom, justice, and equality. To symbolize this commitment, the award bears the image of Charles Hamilton Houston, whose leadership of the crusade that culminated in the landmark Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education exemplifies the highest ideals of our democracy.
Past recipients of the Medal of Freedom include the members of the Brown v. Board of Education litigation team and former South African President Nelson Mandela.
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