Bangladesh Reportedly Takes Final Step to Separate Judiciary From Executive

Excerpt from report by Shahiduzzaman headlined: “CrPC amendment ordinance gets president’s nod: Last step taken for separation of the judiciary, finally” published by Bangladeshi newspaper New Age website on 12 February

The caretaker government, taking the final legislative step towards separation of the judiciary from the executive, promulgated the Code of Criminal Procedures (Amendment) Ordinance on Sunday [11 February], making provisions for separate judicial and executive magistracy.

The draft bill of the ordinance, approved by the council of advisers on Wednesday [7 February], was sent to Bangabhaban [presidential palace] last evening for the final consent of the president for the promulgation.

According to sources in the law ministry, concerned officials of the ministry were kept standing by at Bangabahaban, and after the presidential approval they sent the ordinance to the BG press, the official printing press of the government, for publication.

The sources, however, could not confirm whether it would be possible for them to submit the printed copy of the ordinance to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court this morning, when the court resumes the hearing of the proceedings of the contempt cases against 13 bureaucrats, including four top-ranking officials, for procrastination in the implementation of the 12-point directive and for distorting the court’s orders on separation of the judiciary from the executive.

The court on 2 February ordered the caretaker government to submit the amended CrPC to the court by 12 February.

The ordinance will, however, come into effect on the date when the rules will be made effective. The rules will be made effective by a gazette notification on a date fixed by the Supreme Court.

The enforcement of the ordinance, which proposes 100 amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, will strip the executive magistrates, including deputy commissioners, of judicial powers and functions. But it will not make the judiciary completely independent of the executive, as the officers of the administrative service will continue to perform judicial powers and functions under an interim arrangement until a sufficient number of officers are appointed to judicial service.

They will, however, be transferred to judicial service on deputation for the interim period.

On completion of the interim period, the executive officers will be allowed to choose either to return to administrative service or stay back.

Once the ordinance makes provisions for establishment of separate judicial and executive magistracy and separate criminal courts, courts of sessions and courts of magistrates, the judiciary will become independent of the executive, and the executive magistrates, including deputy commissioners, will be stripped of judicial powers and functions. [Passage omitted]

According to the ordinance, there will be separate judicial and executive magistrates.

Earlier, on 16 January, the caretaker government framed four sets of rules on judicial service, taking the penultimate step for separation of the judiciary.

The Appellate Division on 2 December, 1999 issued the 12-point directive, which will eventually separate the judiciary from the executive, in its verdict on the government’s appeal in Masder Hossain’s case, popularly known as the ‘separation of judiciary case’.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring South Asia. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.