A much-sought-after ordinance for establishing separate secretariat for the Supreme Court is endorsed now, in a move hailed by legal experts and reform advocates as a decisive step toward securing full judicial independence.
The Supreme Court Secretariat Ordinance 2025 received its final approval Thursday at a meeting of the Council of Advisers of the interim government, chaired by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus.
Announcing the decision after the interim cabinet meeting held at the Chief Adviser's Office in Dhaka's Tejgaon, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Prof Asif Nazrul described the day as "historic" as the measure would finally bring to fruition reforms first demanded more than two decades ago.
"Today, we completed the full implementation of the verdict in the Masdar Hossain case and the final step for establishing the full independence of the judiciary," Nazrul said at a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy. The briefing was convened to outline the decisions taken at the advisers' meeting and attended by the Chief Adviser's Press Secretary, Shafiqul Alam.
The creation of a separate secretariat for the Supreme Court has been one of the most prominent and persistent demands of Bangladesh's legal community since the Masdar Hossain judgment of 1999, which called for structural reforms to insulate the judiciary from executive influence. Successive governments pledged to act but made little progress, leaving the court's administrative functions tied to the law ministry.
Nazrul notes that the Council of Advisers had already approved the proposed law in principle, but Thursday's endorsement marks the completion of the legislative process under the interim government. The reform was also a key recommendation of both the Judicial Reform Commission and the National Consensus Commission, bodies convened earlier this year to draft a roadmap for institutional renewal following the political transition.
"All parties agreed during the discussions of the National Consensus Commission that there should be a separate secretariat for the Supreme Court to ensure the full independence of the judiciary," Nazrul says. He adds that this aspiration has been present among civil society and jurists for "the last 20-30 years" but had remained unfulfilled until now.
Chief Adviser's Press Secretary, Shafiqul Alam, said eight agenda items were discussed at the council meeting, with the Supreme Court Secretariat Ordinance described as the most significant. The ordinance is expected to reorganise the court's administrative framework, allowing the judiciary to manage its personnel, budgeting and internal operations without executive control.
Once formally promulgated, the ordinance will set in motion the administrative separation that legal advocates have long argued is essential for restoring public confidence in the justice system.
mirmostafiz@yahoo.com
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