The prestigious Harvard Law School will award the Medal of Freedom, its highest honour, to deposed Pakistan Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry for his work to uphold the legal system's fundamental commitment to freedom and justice.

The Harvard Law School Association decided to honour Chaudhry following the November 3 military crackdown in Pakistan and the detention of hundreds of lawyers.

It noted that Chaudhry was 'detained after he convened the Pakistan Supreme Court to declare the current state of emergency imposed by General Pervez Musharraf [Images] to be null and void'.

Chaudhry and several other Supreme Court judges who refused to endorse the emergency imposed are currently under house arrest. Significantly, the Harvard Law School's statement referred to Chaudhry as the 'Pakistani Chief Justice' and not as a deposed or former judge.

The statement said, 'Although Chaudhry has been placed under house arrest and is not free to leave Pakistan, Dean Elena Kagan has reached out to the chief justice regarding the award and hopes that he'll be able to come to the Law School to receive it when the state of emergency is lifted.'

Kagan said, "As lawyers who value freedom and the rule of law, we at Harvard Law School want Chief Justice Chaudhry and all of the courageous lawyers in Pakistan to know that we stand with them in solidarity."

"We are proud to be their colleagues in the cause of justice, and we will do all we can to press for the prompt restoration of constitutionalism and legality in Pakistan," she added.

Hundreds of lawyers are among the thousands of people detained across Pakistan under emergency rule. Chaudhry was earlier at the centre of a confrontation between the judiciary and the military regime after Musharraf tried to sack him for the first time in March.

The Harvard Law School's Medal of Freedom honours individuals who have worked to uphold the legal system's fundamental commitment to freedom, justice, and equality. Past recipients of the Medal include former South African president Nelson Mandela.