I speak out for establishing the rule of law, CJ Sinha clarifies

Chief Justice SK Sinha has said he is speaking out for the sake of establishing the rule of law in Bangladesh.

Jagannath University Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 30 April 2017, 07:49 PM
Updated : 30 April 2017, 07:49 PM

“When it comes to practising the rule of law Bangladesh is lagging far behind its neighbours,” he said on Sunday.

He had to speak out to expedite reform in the judiciary, Justice Sinha clarified.

He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a new academic department – Land Law and Management, at the Jagannath University.

“Bangladesh has not yet emulated the rule of law being practised at the lower court in Pakistan since 1973. The standards are much higher in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal,” he said.

His comment came apparently in response to a recent remark by the Law Minister Anisul Huq that “the chief justices in other countries do not talk much in public”.

Justice Sinha said, “In most developed countries, even in developing countries like India, chief justices are regularly giving lectures at universities, but their speeches are not published in the media.”

“Why the comments of the chief justice in this country are published in the media? There is only one reason – we could not reach that level. We could not establish the rule of law.”

Referring to Pakistan, he said, “In a country where the constitution was called ‘Ayub’s Constitution’, they practice the rule of law in the lower court.”

“In a country like Pakistan, the directives the Supreme Court gives, the lower court follows those including promotion of the judges.”

“Who can uphold the independence of the judges other than the Supreme Court,” he questioned.

“That’s the practice all over the world. Since this is not maintained in Bangladesh, the chief justice had to speak out,” he argued.

Sometimes, when the verdict goes against someone, people make such comments that the judges get hurt, Justice Sinha said.

“We cannot claim to be civilised until we can establish the rule of law. If it goes against me, I will accept that,” he continued.