Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry

Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry (born December 12, 1948, Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan) is a Pakistani judge who was named to the Pakistan Supreme Court in 2000 and later served as its chief justice (2005–07; 2009–13).

Chaudhry received his early education in Balochistan before moving to Sindh province, where he studied law at Hyderabad University, receiving an LL.B. with special concentration in constitutional law, criminal law, and tax and revenue law. He established a legal practice as an advocate in 1974 and became an advocate for the Balochistan High Court in 1976. In 1985 he enrolled as an advocate before the Pakistan Supreme Court. Chaudhry was then named (1989) advocate general of the Balochistan High Court, was designated (1990) additional judge of the Balochistan High Court, and held several other judiciary positions. While serving simultaneously as chairman of the Balochistan Local Council Election Authority, he was twice presiding officer of the Balochistan Local Council Bodies Authority. After being appointed (1999) chief justice of the Balochistan High Court, Chaudhry played a key role in the establishment of the Circuit Bench of the Balochistan High Court at Sibi.

Chaudhry was named to the Pakistan Supreme Court in 2000 and was elevated to chief justice in 2005. Never one to avoid controversy, Chaudhry presided over the court during much of the government headed by Pres. Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who had seized power in 1999. Removed from his post as chief justice in late 2007, ostensibly because he appeared to threaten Musharraf’s political authority, Chaudhry became the lightning rod for sustained efforts by Pakistan’s legal community not only to seek his reinstatement but also to drive Musharraf out of office. Musharraf resigned in August 2008, and after elections were held, a new central government emerged under Pres. Asif Ali Zardari, widower of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

After more than a year of unrelenting demonstrations following Chaudhry’s dismissal—culminating in the declaration of a “Long March” arranged by the country’s lawyer community but joined by political leaders led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who also had been deposed by Musharraf—in March 2009 the court ordered that the chief justice be reinstated. Zardari’s hesitation in returning Chaudhry to the court caused a rift between himself and Sharif until Zardari finally relented and restored Chaudhry to office later that month. In May 2009 the court, again led by Chief Justice Chaudhry, lifted the ban on Sharif’s ability to run for political office. The decision reinforced Chaudhry’s authority and the role of the Supreme Court in sustaining an independent Pakistani judiciary. However, Chaudhry was not without critics, who accused him of failing to improve the lower courts—which were riddled with delays and corruption—and of pursuing personal power, which he allegedly used to protect family members from corruption charges. In December 2013 Chaudhry retired.