(Hong Kong, January 11, 2007) A new order by the Supreme Court of Bangladesh that the country’s judges be set free from government control has been cautiously welcomed by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), which has called for a clear plan to implement it.
On Wednesday the full bench of the Appellate Division, presided by Chief Justice Seyed J R Mudassir Hossain, ordered the government to announce formally within seven days that it would comply with a 1999 verdict requiring it to lift its control over the lower judiciary.
The government has repeatedly sought to postpone compliance with the seven-year-old order.
The court rejected a request from the attorney general, A J Mohammad Ali, for a further extension of time, and rebuked him for having failed to have made the changes necessary to ensure that judges are not under direct political control.
“While cautiously welcoming this order on separation, the AHRC is concerned that it will not be implemented without a clear and practical scheme to do it,” Basil Fernando, executive director of the Hong Kong-based regional rights group, said.
“Successive governments have for years promised, both to the people of Bangladesh and international organisations, to separate the judges from the administration, with no result,” Fernando said.
“The court must do all it can to lay out a detailed plan to see that the separation of the lower judiciary is at last effected, and make comprehensive orders to all parts of government to ensure compliance,” he said.
Bangladesh is currently under an interim administration in the lead up to a general election planned for January 22.
“The Supreme Court order should be a major election issue and all political parties must give explicit assurances that they will implement it through specific measures,” Fernando said.
“These must include comprehensive administrative steps and allocations of money,” he added.
The AHRC in 2006 described political control of judges in Bangladesh as “the greatest obstacle” to human rights there.
In a detailed report, letters to United Nations experts and a petition it and its sister organisation, the Asian Legal Resource Centre, have urged the government to separate the judiciary from government ministries without delay.
Article 22 of the constitution of Bangladesh guarantees independence of the judiciary, but since its adoption in 1972 the law has never been implemented and lower judges have remained under the control of government ministries.
The ALRC’s 140-page report, “Lawless law-enforcement and the parody of judiciary in Bangladesh”, is available online at, http://www.article2.org/pdf/v05n04.pdf.
The petition to free the courts of Bangladesh from political control can be found at, http://bangladesh.ahrchk.net/petition_judiciary.
