Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court was sworn in as the 26th Chief Justice (CJ) of Bangladesh on Sunday.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath to the new chief justice at Darbar Hall of Bangabhaban at 10:30am, Supreme Court Registrar General Habibur Rahman Siddiquee said.
Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, advisers of the interim government, judges of the Appellate and High Court Divisions of the Supreme Court, and chiefs of the armed forces, among others, attended the ceremony.
The Supreme Court will host a felicitation programme in honour of Chief Justice Zubayer on January 4, the registrar general added.
President Shahabuddin appointed Justice Zubayer as chief justice on December 23 under Article 95(1) of the Constitution, following the retirement of the immediate past chief justice, Syed Refaat Ahmed, on December 27.
Born on May 18, 1961, Justice Zubayer is the son of the late AFM Abdur Rahman Chowdhury, a former judge of the Supreme Court. He obtained his LLB (Hons) and LLM degrees from the University of Dhaka, and later earned an LLM in International Law from the United Kingdom.
He was enrolled as an advocate of the district courts on March 3, 1985, and of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court on May 17, 1987. He was appointed an additional judge of the High Court Division on August 27, 2003, and became a permanent judge on August 27, 2005. He was elevated to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on August 13, 2024.
According to information available on the Supreme Court website, Justice Zubayer has participated in various international conferences, seminars, training programmes and courses held in Belgium, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore and Nepal over the years.
Lates on the day, the Chief Justice paid glowing tributes to the martyrs of Bangladesh's 1971 Great Liberation War at the National Martyrs' Memorial in Savar.
Flanked by Justice Md Rezaul Haque, Justice SM Emdadul Hoque, Justice Farah Mahbub and officials of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice placed wreaths at the memorial and observed a moment of silence in honour of those who sacrificed their lives for the country's independence.
He later signed the inspection book at the National Martyrs' Memorial, Supreme Court spokesperson Md Shafikul Islam said at a press briefing.
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