DHLR organises seminar on judicial independence

On 5 October 2024, the Dhaka Law Review (DHLR), a student-run law review based in the Department of Law, University of Dhaka, organised a seminar on "Judicial Independence and Reforms: Post-Revolution Expectations." The panelists for the discussion were Dr. Md Mahbubur Rahman, Professor of Law at the University of Dhaka, Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua, Advocate, Supreme Court, Barrister Rashna Imam, Civil Rights Advocate, and Muhammad Omar Faruque, Assistant Secretary to the Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs.

Ms. Imam discussed the wide scope of judicial independence, referencing the landmark decision in the Secretary, Ministry of Finance v Masdar Hossain (1999). She highlighted crucial constitutional provisions that require proper implementation to safeguard judicial independence. She further outlined the key challenges, including the dual control over the subordinate judiciary, as highlighted in Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed's felicitation speech, and the need for meaningful consultation with the Supreme Court in judicial appointments.

Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua added more practical insights to the discussion. He mentioned how the High Court Division judges are highly politicised and how poorly that reflects on the overall rule of law. Mr. Barua also emphasised how judges should be held accountable for their actions in order to ensure transparency.

Muhammad Omar Faruque brought into the discussion the judges' perspectives, especially those from the subordinate judiciary. By referring to the three pillars of the independence of judiciary, namely, security of tenure, security of remuneration, and security of the institution, he remarked that it would not be possible to dream of an independent judiciary unless we provided judges with these basic facilities and amenities.

Professor Mahbubur Rahman brought a different dimension to the discussion. According to him, we have to abolish the culture of cult-politics and foster a culture of liberty and freedom for human beings— which have been flagrantly infringed by 'fascist enablers' through unreasonable arrests and detention and declining bail in clear cases of bailable offences. Overall, Professor Rahman's discussion revolved around the thesis that unless the judges gained psychological independence, it would not be possible to bring sustainable judicial reforms to establish an independent judiciary.

At the end, there was an interactive question-answer session followed by the delivery of concluding remarks by the Editor-in-Chief.

The event covered by Tasmim Jahan Neeha and Mohammad Foysal, LLM Candidates, University of Dhaka.