Empowering key institutions of the state
Sunday, 19 December 2010
Shamsher Chowdhury
THERE is a saying in Bengali, "kan tanle matha ashe" - meaning, if you pull someone by the ear, the head comes along. Likewise, if we are able to strengthen and empower our cardinal institutions of the state machinery, a transparent and accountable government is bound to follow. In this respect, what come readily to our mind are: the judiciary, the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Public Service Commission and the Human Rights Commission. Needless to say that at the centre of it all is the judiciary.
As of today our judiciary is beset with all kinds of controversy. To put it bluntly, the main burden of this guilt lies on the shoulders of the administration. There were anomalies, great ones, in the system also in the past. But it is tending to take now a turn for the worse. We often hear that the judiciary has been separated from the executive. But has that really been the case? If so, we see no reflection of it on the ground. Justice in this country operates on a selective basis. Access to justice for the poor and the common man is a rarity. There is much to be said about the selection process of judges. Perhaps nowhere in the world the process of delivery of justice is so complex and lengthy like it is here, in Bangladesh. After all, justice delayed is justice denied. God alone knows as to when our judiciary will be truly free in thought and action. God alone knows when the mighty and the influential, whether in or out of power, will no longer try to manipulate the judiciary. Let us face it, our judiciary is weighed down by multiple ailments. We are given to understand that it is sacrilegious to comment or criticise judges or the judgments made and hence we refrain from doing it. We believe it is never too late to do a good deed. Let us, therefore, here and now commit that we shall be honest to ourselves and do all we can in order to make our judiciary efficient, effective, free from any bias, be it social or religious. In order to accomplish the task, the administration has to take the first step, and that too in a big way. Next comes, the members of civil society. But then that will only be forthcoming if the government and the administration play their due role. Of late, there is this tendency, as reflected in the deliberations of talk-shows and roundtable discussions that such and such issues of violation of human rights or a miscarriage of justice cannot be fully addressed without a social movement by civil society. There is considerable truth in it but the fact remains that the lead has to be undertaken by related agencies of the government. For example, if the intelligence and the investigation reports are poor and full of controversies and contradictions, the verdict given in a particular case is likely to raise questions in the minds of those seeking justice. Judges are judges; they too are dependent on certain inputs provided by the relevant agencies of the government that are authentic and reliable.
Most people are rather confused about the workings, role, capacity and jurisdiction of the Anti-Corruption Commission. It gives us the impression of a drowning man struggling to survive and no one seems to come to its rescue. We believe that the Commission itself realises the fact and has often gone public in expressing its frustrations. There is so much talk of freeing the country of its endemic state of corruption and yet the Commission, by design or default, has been rendered (considerably) ineffective. It appears that the Commission is full of double standards. We do not wish to go into those details, let the readers make their own discoveries. At times it is difficult to understand as to who has the responsibility of setting the wheel in motion with regard to corruption, setting the parameters and the overall objectives. For now one is at times confused as to who call the shot in the Anti-Corruption Commission, a number of 'powerful' ministers or some other entities?
As a matter of fact, the Anti-Corruption Commission at this moment of time is at a far more disadvantageous position, as an institution, than the judiciary. It is also weighed down by political pollution driven by other agencies of the government. If we are to see corruption and the corrupt contained and effectively dealt with, we must remove all these anomalies here and now or else tackling corruption and the corrupt will continue to be elusive and a misnomer.
The majority of our population have no clear understanding of what does the Public Service Commission actually do? It is our understanding that this is an independent body that formulates rules of procedures, starting from recruitment to how the civil bureaucracy as a body is supposed to conduct its business. It is also related to professional development of government officials in all spheres. With no aspersion on any one, it is our impression that over the years the Public Service Commission has failed to conduct its business either professionally, independently or in a manner that is neutral or balanced, besides being considerably politicised. If today, the bureaucrats or government officials are not performing as well as they should, it is not the fault of the bureaucrats alone.
To put it mildly, the ever-increasing incidents of human rights violation is alarming. It is twice sad if we look back at the history of our Liberation War -- the spirit behind it was an open declaration of war against violators of human dignity and human rights in all its dimensions. There are no occupation forces now. Why there is an unprecedented rise in extra-judicial killings, the custodial deaths and so-called cross fires? Except for the occasional voices of protest raised by some conscious citizens of honour, neither the media nor the informed section of the public are doing enough. Our intellectual community too has chosen to be silent. There are, thus, all the more reasons that we must have a free and strong Human Rights Commission. It should be empowered with all the prerequisites of an honourable and a high-class institution that is well respected and well supported by the entire apparatus of the state machinery.
Concluding remarks: There are other institutions and organs of the government that need to be streamlined but these are most vital ones. Once these are duly empowered, chances are that others will follow. Good governance is the key to all-round development of a nation, rich or poor.
The writer can be reached at e-mail: chowdhury.shamsher@yahoo.com
THERE is a saying in Bengali, "kan tanle matha ashe" - meaning, if you pull someone by the ear, the head comes along. Likewise, if we are able to strengthen and empower our cardinal institutions of the state machinery, a transparent and accountable government is bound to follow. In this respect, what come readily to our mind are: the judiciary, the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Public Service Commission and the Human Rights Commission. Needless to say that at the centre of it all is the judiciary.
As of today our judiciary is beset with all kinds of controversy. To put it bluntly, the main burden of this guilt lies on the shoulders of the administration. There were anomalies, great ones, in the system also in the past. But it is tending to take now a turn for the worse. We often hear that the judiciary has been separated from the executive. But has that really been the case? If so, we see no reflection of it on the ground. Justice in this country operates on a selective basis. Access to justice for the poor and the common man is a rarity. There is much to be said about the selection process of judges. Perhaps nowhere in the world the process of delivery of justice is so complex and lengthy like it is here, in Bangladesh. After all, justice delayed is justice denied. God alone knows as to when our judiciary will be truly free in thought and action. God alone knows when the mighty and the influential, whether in or out of power, will no longer try to manipulate the judiciary. Let us face it, our judiciary is weighed down by multiple ailments. We are given to understand that it is sacrilegious to comment or criticise judges or the judgments made and hence we refrain from doing it. We believe it is never too late to do a good deed. Let us, therefore, here and now commit that we shall be honest to ourselves and do all we can in order to make our judiciary efficient, effective, free from any bias, be it social or religious. In order to accomplish the task, the administration has to take the first step, and that too in a big way. Next comes, the members of civil society. But then that will only be forthcoming if the government and the administration play their due role. Of late, there is this tendency, as reflected in the deliberations of talk-shows and roundtable discussions that such and such issues of violation of human rights or a miscarriage of justice cannot be fully addressed without a social movement by civil society. There is considerable truth in it but the fact remains that the lead has to be undertaken by related agencies of the government. For example, if the intelligence and the investigation reports are poor and full of controversies and contradictions, the verdict given in a particular case is likely to raise questions in the minds of those seeking justice. Judges are judges; they too are dependent on certain inputs provided by the relevant agencies of the government that are authentic and reliable.
Most people are rather confused about the workings, role, capacity and jurisdiction of the Anti-Corruption Commission. It gives us the impression of a drowning man struggling to survive and no one seems to come to its rescue. We believe that the Commission itself realises the fact and has often gone public in expressing its frustrations. There is so much talk of freeing the country of its endemic state of corruption and yet the Commission, by design or default, has been rendered (considerably) ineffective. It appears that the Commission is full of double standards. We do not wish to go into those details, let the readers make their own discoveries. At times it is difficult to understand as to who has the responsibility of setting the wheel in motion with regard to corruption, setting the parameters and the overall objectives. For now one is at times confused as to who call the shot in the Anti-Corruption Commission, a number of 'powerful' ministers or some other entities?
As a matter of fact, the Anti-Corruption Commission at this moment of time is at a far more disadvantageous position, as an institution, than the judiciary. It is also weighed down by political pollution driven by other agencies of the government. If we are to see corruption and the corrupt contained and effectively dealt with, we must remove all these anomalies here and now or else tackling corruption and the corrupt will continue to be elusive and a misnomer.
The majority of our population have no clear understanding of what does the Public Service Commission actually do? It is our understanding that this is an independent body that formulates rules of procedures, starting from recruitment to how the civil bureaucracy as a body is supposed to conduct its business. It is also related to professional development of government officials in all spheres. With no aspersion on any one, it is our impression that over the years the Public Service Commission has failed to conduct its business either professionally, independently or in a manner that is neutral or balanced, besides being considerably politicised. If today, the bureaucrats or government officials are not performing as well as they should, it is not the fault of the bureaucrats alone.
To put it mildly, the ever-increasing incidents of human rights violation is alarming. It is twice sad if we look back at the history of our Liberation War -- the spirit behind it was an open declaration of war against violators of human dignity and human rights in all its dimensions. There are no occupation forces now. Why there is an unprecedented rise in extra-judicial killings, the custodial deaths and so-called cross fires? Except for the occasional voices of protest raised by some conscious citizens of honour, neither the media nor the informed section of the public are doing enough. Our intellectual community too has chosen to be silent. There are, thus, all the more reasons that we must have a free and strong Human Rights Commission. It should be empowered with all the prerequisites of an honourable and a high-class institution that is well respected and well supported by the entire apparatus of the state machinery.
Concluding remarks: There are other institutions and organs of the government that need to be streamlined but these are most vital ones. Once these are duly empowered, chances are that others will follow. Good governance is the key to all-round development of a nation, rich or poor.
The writer can be reached at e-mail: chowdhury.shamsher@yahoo.com