Independent judiciary

---

THE enactment of two rules on judicial service has paved the way for separation of the judiciary from the executive. It has a long history. The Supreme Court in 1999 laid down a 12-point directive for the government towards the separation of the judiciary from the executive branch of the state. The directive, detailed in the court's judgement on the Masder Hossain case, which has since come to be known as the separation of the judiciary case, set in motion an apparently ever-winding and never-ending process. Successive governments sought, and were granted, extensions of time to implement the directives on one flimsy ground or the other. The foot-dragging reached such a pass that the Supreme Court decided to force the government, asking it on January 10 'to promulgate four sets of rules on the judicial service, as revised and approved by the court on January 26, 2003, and report to the court its compliance with the order through an affidavit within a week'. Eventually, on July 1, the interim government put into effect the Bangladesh Judicial Service (Constitution, Recruitment and Suspension and Termination) Rules 2007 and the Bangladesh Judicial Service (Posting, Promotion, Leave, Control, Discipline and Other Conditions of Service) Rules 2007.
With the legal process of making the judiciary complete, comes the hard part -- appointment of judicial officers. But senior legal practitioners said that it does not diminish the possibility of incompetent and even dishonest judicial officials sneaking into the judiciary. So we express hope that only people with competence and integrity will be appointed in the judiciary.

Sarwar Ali
Banani, Dhaka