‘Country run by ruler’s law, not by rule of law’
A group of senior jurists and rights activists have observed that the country is now being run by the ruler’s law, not by the rule of law, in flagrant defiance of the constitution of the republic.
Addressing a discussion on “Rule of Law: Bangladesh Context”, they said the country’s constitution clearly speaks of establishing rule of law.
The civic platform Citizens’ for Good Governance aka Shujan organised the discussion meeting at the National Press Club on Tuesday with former judge Ebadul Haque in the chair.
Calling on the people to take to the streets, senior jurist Kamal Hossain said neither rule of law nor democracy would be established if the people remain inactive.
“People must organise themselves and take to the streets. All of the achievements of Bangladesh have come through this path,” he added.
Presenting the keynote speech at the discussion, former Appellate Division judge Mohammad Abdul Matin said, the Americans revolted when the Stamp Act was enacted as a tool of repression.
“That’s the start of their liberation struggle. They rejected the ruler’s law as they had no involvement in the process of formulating that law. It means: the ruler’s law was rejected there and the rule of law was established through the liberation struggle which has been manifested in the declaration of their independence.”
Matin said the proclamation of Bangladesh’s independence too speaks of the rule of law. The pledge for establishing rule of law has been made in the preamble of the constitution of the republic as well as in articles 7, 25 and 31.
“But, don’t the omnipotent executive, ineffective legislative thanks to article 70 and the executive’s blatant attack on the judiciary centring on a verdict prove that we’ve failed to uphold that pledge?”
Speaking on the occasion, another senior jurist Amir-ul Islam said there are no issues of good governance and civic rights which have been kept outside the constitution while the proclamation of independence also speaks of equality, human dignity, social justice and fair and legal formation of government. “But unfortunately we could not achieve them.”
Lawyer Subrata Chowdhury said, “The country is witnessing misrule and ill-rule. The country is now being run on falsehood. All the values have been destroyed. There is no way for emancipation if we cannot stand united in a single platform.”
Another lawyer and rights activist Syeda Rizwana Hasan said rule of law can never be established if all the state organs, not only the judiciary, fail to function properly.
Columnist Syed Abul Maksud said the commoners will live in peace and comfort while the offenders will live in fear if there is the rule of law in the country, but things are the other way round here.
Local government expert Tofail Ahmed said chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha had to resign on charges of corruption. “Now it must be made public what was his corruption and whether there were any other persons involved in that particular case of corruption.”
Moderated by Shujan secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar, the discussion meeting was also addressed, among others, by architect Mubasshar Hossain and Dhaka University’s law professor Asif Nazrul.