CJ sends proposal to govt for separate secretariat for judiciary

Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed on Sunday sent a proposal to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, recommending establishing a separate secretariat for the judiciary.

Supreme Court administration in a press release said the chief justice had earlier made the proposal in his speech on September 21 while addressing all judges, lawyers and judicial officials from across the country at the Inner Garden of the Supreme Court in Dhaka.

The chief justice in his speech announced 'zero tolerance' against corruption in the judiciary, stressing the need for formulating a roadmap to regain the public confidence through establishing transparency and integrity in the judicial process.

"The objective of an equitable judiciary is to protect the people, society and the state by ensuring impartial resolution of disputes within a short time at low cost. It is most important to make the judiciary separate from the executive and legislature and make it (judiciary) independent," he said on that day.

Chief Justice Refaat Ahmed emphasized establishing a separate secretariat on an urgent basis under the Supreme Court for true independence of the judiciary, saying it would be the first step for the reform in judiciary.

After the establishment of the judicial secretariat, the chief justice said, one of the tasks to bring about qualitative change in the judiciary would be to ensure the appointment of judges on the basis of merit, honesty and efficiency, going beyond personal liking and disliking.

Ensuring the financial independence of the judiciary is one of the prerequisites for an independent judiciary, he said.