Dual administration system in judiciary to be abolished: Chief justice

Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed has announced the establishment of a separate secretariat under the Supreme Court for the subordinate courts, abolishing the dual administration system in the judiciary to ensure the true independence of judges.

In an "Address of Chief Justice" to the judges of subordinate courts across the country, Justice Refaat made the announcement while presenting the roadmap for the judiciary. He presented the roadmap in the presence of nearly 2,000 judges from across the country at the Supreme Court in Dhaka today.

"The true independence of judges will not be ensured as long as the dual administration system in the judiciary remains. The authority of the Ministry of Law over the promotion and transfer of judges in subordinate courts must be abolished. A separate secretariat under the Supreme Court needs to be established for the judiciary," said the chief justice.

Justice Refaat assured the introduction of a collegium system for the appointment of judges to the higher courts in the country, considering modern methods followed in developed nations for judicial appointments.

The chief justice said, "There had been blatant interference in the judiciary in recent years. The values of justice have been undermined and distorted. Attempts were made to use the judiciary as a tool of deceit, exploitation, oppression, and abuse. This has led to a crisis of public trust in the judiciary. 

"Yet, the greatest strength of the judiciary lies in the trust and confidence of the people. Therefore, in this new Bangladesh, we aim to build a judiciary that will become a stronghold of justice, integrity, and the assurance of rights.

"There is no doubt that the main problem among the existing issues is the ineffective separation of the judiciary from the executive branch. We have all suffered the consequences of this for the past one and a half decades."

Justice Refaat said there were various issues that held the judicial system back. "There is a lack of transparency and accountability, a severe shortage of judges in relation to the number of cases, a deficiency in the spirit of collaboration between the bar and the bench, infrastructural crises in the courts, the absence of rational and acceptable policies for the transfer and promotion of judges in subordinate courts, a lack of laws regarding the appointment, confirmation, and promotion of justices in higher courts, and the traditional seniority principle being disregarded—these are the issues that have repeatedly held us back."

He said, "We have sought the government's cooperation to ensure the independence of the judiciary. Therefore, a separate secretariat will be established for the judiciary, which will operate under the Supreme Court. A distinct policy will also be formulated for the placement of judges."

It will be the first effort towards judicial reform, he said.

Zero-tolerance against corruption in judiciary

The chief justice also announced a zero-tolerance policy against corruption in the judiciary. "I am committed to ensuring the accountability of judges and putting an end to corruption in the judiciary. Today, from this platform, I declare a zero-tolerance policy against any form of corruption in the judiciary."

He added, "We must remember that the corruption of an individual judge tarnishes the entire judiciary. Even if a court staff member or a legal assistant engages in corruption, the general public perceives it as a decline in the judiciary's integrity."

Presenting the roadmap for the appointment of judges in the higher courts, the chief justice said, "There needs to be specific legislation regarding the appointment of judges in the Supreme Court. Merely ensuring the provisions outlined in Article 95(2) of the Constitution regarding the qualifications for appointing judges has resulted in unprecedented chaos in the Supreme Court, where politics has played a significant role in decision-making in many instances. This is completely contradictory to the concept of justice."

In the event, the interim government's Law Affairs Adviser Asif Nazrul said there has been a lot of injustice in the judiciary during the fascist regime of Sheikh Hasina. He emphasised the need to ensure that the judiciary is not used to perpetrate any further injustice.

He said, "We must break free from the culture of harassing people using the judiciary. We need to establish a judiciary where people receive justice. The interim government does not support the harassment of individuals through false cases." 

The law affairs adviser added, "We must move away from the culture of indiscriminately filing cases to harass people. In this regard, judges should ensure that citizens are not unnecessarily harassed."

Md Asaduzzaman, attorney general, and Shah Abu Naim Mominur Rahman, chairman of Judicial Reform Commission and former judge of the Appellate Division, also attended the programme.