Reforming system of governance

Separation of power among the three organs of the state, namely, the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary is essential for a functioning democracy. But the successive governments since Bangladesh's independence were never serious about implementing the relevant provision as enshrined in the Constitution, the Article 22, to be specific, so that the judiciary could truly function independently. Rather, the executive branch of government continued to grow more powerful at the expense of the judiciary. During the immediate past dictatorial regime of Sheikh Hasina, the judiciary, for all practical purposes, lost its independence. In fact, the judiciary was completely politicised so much so that it, for all practical purposes, became an extension of the Executive and a veritable weapon in the hands of the prime minister to suppress any voice of dissent, let   alone that of the political opposition. In the process, the entire state machinery turned into an Orwellian nightmare. After the historic August 05 changeover, the opportunity has finally come to overhaul the entire system of governance including, of course, the judiciary, lock, stock and barrel. The good news is that among the various reform initiatives the interim government has undertaken, the judicial reform is a central one. Notably, the Judiciary Reform Commission (JRC) formed for the purpose is going to finish its work soon.

Against the backdrop of such hectic pace of events, Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, at a recent discussion event noted with concern the devastated state in which the judiciary has been left by the immediate past dictatorial regime. However, in the same breath, he did not fail to remind all that time had changed and that the judiciary would henceforth remain committed to the people. At the same time, it would play a pro-active role in every noble, positive and welfare-oriented initiative, he further affirmed.

Given the previous public experience in this regard, such utterance coming from the chief justice is indeed heart-warming. For long, the judiciary remained basically noncommittal when it came to protecting the public from the wrongs being done to them by any executive authority or the powerful. Worse yet, the judiciary even went out of its way to please the executive authority to the dismay of the general public. In that sense, the chief justice wanted to draw a clear line between what the judiciary did or was made to do in the past and what it is supposed to do from now on as an independent organ of the state. For it to function accordingly, it is learnt to have taken a challenging initiative to effect some institutional reforms so that it could break free from the grip of the executive.

Last but not least, the various reform initiatives the interim government has undertaken to improve efficacy of the different branches of state should not be looked upon as an end in itself. In fact, over the years, these state institutions and branches of the government like the bureaucracy, the police, even the so-called independent constitutional bodies like the anti-corruption commission, the election commission, to name but a few, have been abused. Corruption, in particular, has been deeply ingrained in the system. More importantly, it is not just the state institutions, to be frank, dishonest practices like corruption has got normalised in society. Understandably, the challenge before those at the forefront of the reform initiatives is enormous. Yet the August 5 political changeover undeniably has opened up a rare opportunity to effect some meaningful changes in the nation's system of governance.