A record of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Japan's special antiterrorism law has been published by its former plaintiffs, hoping to stir public awareness over the importance of the war-renouncing Constitution.

The two-volume booklet includes the complaint initially filed with the Saitama District Court in July 2002 to seek nullification of the antiterrorism law enacted in 2001 in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

The booklet also provides written answers from the defendant -- the central government -- statements of the plaintiffs and verdicts by the district court, the Tokyo High Court and the Supreme Court, all of which dismissed the suit.

While the law allowed the Self-Defense Forces to provide logistic support to the U.S.-led military campaign in and around Afghanistan, the plaintiffs argued during the court proceedings that the law violates the Constitution's recognition of the right of people around the world to live in peace and its renunciation of war as a means of settling international disputes.