Staff Reporter:
Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed has emphasized on forming an Independent Prosecution Ser-vice and establishing a Supreme Court Secretariat to institutionalize the independence of country’s judiciary.
He said this while addressing a regional seminar on Judicial Independence and Efficiency in Bang-ladesh, jointly organized by the Bangladesh Supreme Court and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Rajshahi yesterday, a press release of the Supreme Court said yesterday.
The chief justice highlighted the significant role of the judiciary to ensure justice and the rule of law, said the press release issued by Shafiqul Islam, Public Relations Officer of the SC’s Appellate Division.
The Chief Justice highlighted the progress of roadmap recently announced for judicial reform. An ordinance for the appointment of High Court judges has been issues, he said laying upmost im-portance to an independent prosecution service and SC Secretariat.
Weak investigation and unprofessional prosecution are main barriers to ensure justice in Bangla-desh, the Chief Justice said.
He stressed the need for imparting necessary training to enhance the prosecutors’ skill so that they can play effective role in protecting justice.
The Chief Justice reiterated his decision for establishing the SC Secretariat saying an independent secretariat will be helpful for institutional independence and autonomy of the judiciary.
The proposed Supreme Court Secretariat will ensure transparency in the formulation and imple-mentation of judicial policies, adequate budget allocation and infrastructure development, as well as make the transfer and promotion of judges transparent, the Chief Justice said.
A detailed proposal for the formation of a separate SC secretariat has already been sent to the gov-ernment, he said adding the proposal is now under active consideration of the government, Dr Re-faat Ahemd said.
SC Appellate Division Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam presided over the seminar. UNDP Resident Rep-resentative Stefan Liller and Judicial officers working in different districts of Rajshahi Division were present.
