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Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed on Sunday sent a proposal to the Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs seeking its initiatives to establish a separate secretariat for the judiciary.
The proposal was sent after receiving opinions from the judges of both the divisions of the Supreme Court, said a press release issued by Md Shafiqul Islam, Public Relations Officer of the Supreme Court.
A separate secretariat for the judiciary is a long-standing demand of the lawyers and other stakeholders.
While addressing the lower court judges across the country on September 21 this year, the Chief Justice said a separate secretariat under the Supreme Court of Bangladesh must be established on an urgent basis, by abolishing the joint authority of the Supreme Court and the law ministry. It will be the first step of necessary reforms for ensuring the independence of the judiciary, he added.
The Chief Justice further mentioned that he would take steps very soon to establish a separate secretariat for the judiciary.
One month and six days after the speech, by the instructions of the Chief Justice, the Registrar General of the Supreme Court on Sunday sent the proposal along with a concept paper and some attachments to the Secretary of the Law and Justice Department of the Ministry of Law.
The proposal said, "The scope of work for the Supreme Court Registry has increased at a large scale compared to the previous due to different reasons including the increase in the number of cases and administrative proceedings of the Supreme Court, and the increase in the number of judges of the subordinate courts.
Considering this context, it has become necessary to establish a separate secretariat for the judiciary. So in overall analysis, it can be said that true independence of the judiciary can be ensured by securing transparency in disciplining lower court judges, their transfer, promotion, leave, and other issues through only establishing a separate secretariat for the judiciary."
"The harmonious practice of the Constitution in a state faces various obstacles if the separation of powers between the three divisions of the state is not effectively implemented in a modern state system.
As a result, the need to maintain a delicate balance of power between the different departments of the state is disturbed on the one hand, similarly, the democratic base of the state as a whole becomes weakened on the other hand.
Although Bangladesh is a constitutional democratic state, there are various limitations in implementing the separation of powers policy in our country, especially in preventing the long-standing practice of exercising the authority of the executive over the judiciary."