Photo: Messenger
The Judicial Reform Commission has made several proposals in its draft report among the reform initiatives in various areas after the change of government. The recommendations include the establishment of a separate judicial secretariat, the formation of a separate commission for the appointment of judges other than the Chief Justice, the establishment of permanent benches of the High Court in all administrative divisions of the country, the establishment of commercial courts at the district level, the establishment of civil and criminal courts in the upazilas, and the formation of a permanent attorney service.
The Judicial Reform Commission is scheduled to submit its report on Wednesday, the draft of which has already been sent to the Law and Justice Department. The Constitutional Reform Commission has also proposed reforms in its report on the judiciary. The commission submitted its report to Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus on January 15.
Retired Appellate Division Justice Shah Abu Naeem Mominur Rahman, the head of the commission, told the daily Messenger, "The commission has sent a draft report to the law ministry. The full report is going to be submitted to the chief advisor on today.”
Although the practice of making the senior-most judge of the Appellate Division the chief justice is common, it is not always followed. Sometimes, seniority has been violated and the position has been given for political considerations. The commission has proposed to keep the senior-most judge in the top post in its draft recommendation.
If the commission's recommendation is accepted, the president will not have any arbitrary power in the process of appointing the chief justice or the executive branch will have any influence.
The draft proposes to form an independent and independent commission to appoint judges other than the chief justice. It is said that the commission considers it 'rational and desirable' to establish a joint and representative recommendation system instead of the current single recommendation system of the chief justice for appointing judges of both divisions of the Supreme Court.
“It is necessary to introduce an acceptable appointment system through an independent and independent commission that evaluates merit, integrity and competence in a transparent process as much as possible and appoint judges to the Supreme Court based on the recommendations of the commission. The opinion of the commission will prevail in the appointment of additional judges and permanent judges in the High Court division and judges of the Appellate Division.”
The draft recommends enacting a law to specify the appropriate procedures and related matters to ensure transparency, efficiency and integrity in this appointment and adding a new article to the constitution in this regard.
In order to avoid conflict of interest in the activities of the Appointment Commission in the appointment of judges to the Appellate Division, the commission has recommended refraining from making two judges of the High Court division, the Attorney General, the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association and the lawyer of the Supreme Court members. That is, in that case, the commission will have 4 members.
The draft states that in light of the minimum age of 48 years for the appointment of judges to the High Court, the Commission has proposed to amend Article 96 of the Constitution and re-fix the retirement age of the Chief Justice and other judges to 70 years.
The Supreme Judicial Council has been proposed to be formed to ensure discipline and accountability of the Supreme Court judges. The Supreme Judicial Council has already started its work with the verdict given by the Appellate Division declaring the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution invalid.
Regarding the establishment of a separate Supreme Court Secretariat, the draft states that a separate Supreme Court Secretariat should be established to ensure the complete independence of the judiciary and, above all, to separate the judiciary from the executive branch. For this, a separate law or ordinance should be formulated.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer Manzil Morshed supports the commission's recommendation on the appointment of the Chief Justice and judges in the Appellate Division. He also believes that the permanent attorney service is timely.
However, he warns that if the High Court has a permanent bench at the divisional level, it will be 'contempt of court'.
Manzil Morshed said, "The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution made a permanent bench of the High Court at the divisional level. But later the Supreme Court annulled it. Now if it is done again, it will face a challenge. I can also challenge it myself."
Another senior lawyer, Ruhul Quddus Kajal, former editor of the Supreme Court Bar, also said, "There can be no permanent bench of the High Court at the divisional level. The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution made a permanent bench of the High Court at six divisional levels; but the Supreme Court annulled it. Now if it is done again, it will face a constitutional challenge."
Messenger/JRTarek
