Bangladesh lags behind in rule of law
When policy makers of the government are seeking to establish Bangladesh as a role model for development, we cannot overlook the fact that the country is continuously lags behind when it comes to the rule of law. Development and the rule of law are interrelated. Bangladesh is committed to ensuring sustainable development, not just development, within 2030. But it is never possible to achieve sustainable development while the rule of law remains fragile.
According to a report by a US agency, The World Justice Project (WJP), this year Bangladesh ranked 115th out of 128 countries in the world. In last year's report, Bangladesh was ranked 112th out of 126 countries. It was 102nd in 2018. This is an example of a continuous fall in the rule of law. Bangladesh is not only lagging behind in the global arena, but our position in the region is very disappointing. Bangladesh ranks fourth among six South Asian countries. That means Nepal, Sri Lanka and India are ahead of us. And we are only ahead of two countries - Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The rule of law is not limited to just the courts and justice system. In addition to the law and order status, the accountability of the government, absence of corruption, ensuring fundamental rights of the citizen, the exercise of controlling powers are also considered in this regard. According to the WJP report, Bangladesh has made some improvements in law enforcement and fundamental rights. What about the other factors?
The accountability of the government is almost zero. There is no control over power practice from upper to lower levels of the administration. Everyone exercises full power regardless of their position. And the independent judiciary is something that is only in the documents. Although the government has declared zero tolerance against corruption, there is no reflection of this in reality. Equal rights for every citizen should be ensured under the rule of law, doesn’t matter which political party is in the power. Ruling party leaders and activists, in most cases, seem to be above the law. Again, the opposition leaders and activists are often implicated in fictitious cases. How can one expect the progress of the rule of law in this situation?
We can understand that Bangladesh cannot compete with the developed countries, but why not with the South Asian countries? Why are we lagging behind in terms of rule of law even though we are ahead of India and Nepal in various indicators of human resource development?
It is not necessary to depend on the surveys of foreign organisations to see the government’s practice of wielding limitless power and biased views to curb corruption. The concern is even though the government has expressed its zero tolerance against corruption, the service sectors of the state have become corridors of corruption.
The Anti-Corruption Commission’s (ACC) drive against corruption is also selective. The commission only tackles the corruption at the will of the government. The big fishes always stay untouched. This practice has to be stopped right away.