Independent council to appoint SC judges 

Highlights

• Judges will be appointed through a six-member council chaired by the chief justice
• The council will collect and review nominations, interview candidates, and ensure merit-based appointments
• The Supreme Court Judge Appointment Ordinance was officially promulgated today
• Plans are underway to establish an independent secretariat for the Supreme Court
• Upcoming High Court appointments, expected within three months, will follow this new system

Supreme Court judges will now be appointed through an independent council under a newly promulgated ordinance so that the country's apex court can have experienced, non-partisan, and qualified judges.

Additionally, initiatives have been taken to establish a separate judicial secretariat and a permanent attorney service for the top court, said Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Asif Nazrul yesterday.

According to the Supreme Court Judges Appointment Ordinance promulgated on the day, the chief justice will head the seven-member Supreme Judicial Appointment Council. 

The council will include the senior-most judge of the Appellate Division, two senior-most judges from the High Court Division, a retired judge of the Appellate Division, the attorney general, and a law professor or legal expert. 

The council will recommend candidates for appointment as additional judges of the High Court Division, judges of the High Court Division, and judges of the Appellate Division. 

The chief justice will then send these recommendations to the president for approval.

The president is required to appoint the judges within 15 days. If the president disagrees with the chief justice's recommendations, the recommendations can be returned for review with specific reasons and information.

Candidates for High Court judgeships must be at least 45 years old, according to the ordinance. 

"The council will proactively gather names, accept nominations, and allow lawyers to apply directly. It will then scrutinise all proposals and conduct interviews with candidates," Adviser Asif Nazrul explained.

During a press briefing at the Bangladesh Secretariat, he said that under the previous government's rule, there was lawlessness, severe human rights violations, and widespread oppression, with the High Court failing to provide redress. 

The law adviser attributed this to political governments appointing incompetent judges based on party considerations. He deplored that a former judge even remarked on a "catastrophe" in High Court appointments. 

"If impartial and qualified individuals are not appointed to the apex court through a transparent process, the human rights issues of Bangladesh's 17 or 18 crore people will remain unresolved and at risk," he said. 

"To address this, the Supreme Court Judges Appointment Ordinance 2025 has been promulgated. It is hoped that this ordinance will fulfil that need."

He added that during the law-drafting process, they reviewed a draft from the Office of the Chief Justice, a draft prepared by the Judicial Reforms Commission, and an ordinance copy from 2008. 

Additionally, the opinions of stakeholders, civil society members, former judges, and legal experts were considered, he continued. 

The government hopes that with the Supreme Court's initiative, the next appointment will be made within three months through a process better than any previous one, said Asif Nazrul. 

He also mentioned that a law is being enacted to create a permanent prosecution service to address complaints of party-based appointments of public prosecutors. 

Such appointments often result in prosecutors failing to play a neutral role and instead serving the ruling party. The law, expected to be completed within a month, aims to resolve this issue, he said. 

Additionally, initiatives are underway to establish a separate secretariat for the Supreme Court, he added.

Cyber Security Act cases filed under AL rule to be withdrawn 

All cases filed under the Cyber Security Act during the ousted Awami League government's tenure will be withdrawn within the next two weeks, said Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Asif Nazrul.

"We are taking steps to reform the Cyber Security Act, with the ICT ministry actively working on it," he said during a press briefing at the Bangladesh Secretariat yesterday.

Asif Nazrul, a key figure in the interim government, added that about 2,500 cases filed against tens of thousands of individuals in 25 districts have been identified as politically motivated. These cases will also be withdrawn by February, he said.

He explained that "ghost cases" had been identified using four methods, including whether the police initiated the cases, if there were common trends such as filing cases under the Explosives Act or Arms Act, or for attacks on police. 

The cases that listed numerous unidentified accused or were filed before or after significant opposition rallies or elections were also scrutinized. Based on these criteria, 2,500 cases have been marked for withdrawal by February, he added