Home
+
Published : 04 Jul 2025, 12:05 AM
All political parties have reached a consensus on amending the presidential clemency law to require input from victims’ families before any pardon is granted, and on establishing permanent High Court benches in each divisional city.
The agreement came during the ninth day of the second round of the National Consensus Commission’s dialogue at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka on Thursday, with 30 political parties in attendance.
The meeting began at 11:30am, and the commission's Vice-Chairman Ali Riaz briefed the media at 4:30pm.
He also announced that the next round of discussions has been scheduled for Jul 7.
Riaz said all parties backed the proposal to decentralise the Supreme Court by amending Article 100, enabling the establishment of one or more permanent High Court benches outside Dhaka under the chief justice’s guidance.
He said the parties also supported amending Article 49 of the Constitution to ensure the president’s power to pardon is no longer exercised unilaterally, especially in cases involving serious crimes.
The reform would require a formal review board to evaluate each case, with mandatory input from victims' families in cases involving personal offences like murder, he added.
According to Riaz, the move would prevent “political misuse” of presidential pardons, which he said had occurred over the past 16 years.
The reform proposals had earlier been recommended by the Judicial Reform Commission, he noted.
BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed echoed the need for legal checks on presidential clemency, citing past abuses where convicted murderers received pardons.
He called for a formal process, possibly involving a legal advisory board, to regulate the use of this power.
On decentralisation of the judiciary, he said the BNP supported the expansion of High Court benches to divisional cities but insisted that any move must involve prior consultation with the chief justice.
Salahuddin also warned against rushed constitutional amendments, saying changes made now must stand the test of time.
“This is not about political positioning. We are speaking in the interest of the country and its people,” he said after the session.
Jamaat-e-Islami’s deputy chief Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher said presidential pardons had been used in the past to release known offenders, which “undermined” justice.
Under the new proposal, a recommendation board would be formed to advise the president, and in cases involving private crimes, consent from victims’ families would be mandatory before any clemency could be granted.
He said this would ensure fairness.
On expanding court access, Taher said divisional High Court benches were essential in a country of 200 million people.
He acknowledged concerns over resource shortages but said such gaps could be closed by appointing and training qualified judges and allocating sufficient funds.
Like the state initiatives to send doctors to remote areas, similar measures could encourage lawyers to serve in regional locations.
Akhtar Hossain, member secretary of the National Citizen Party (NCP), backed the creation of a clemency board.
He said past political misuse of pardons, including for top criminals, had “eroded public confidence in the judiciary”.
Akhtar also pointed out that the current number of judges is “insufficient”.
“In a country of 200 million, there are hundreds of thousands of cases pending in the High Court and Appellate Division. It is impossible to resolve these with only 100 judges,” he said.
He recalled how earlier efforts to set up regional benches had failed due to concerns over the country’s unitary structure.
This time, he said, the law must be drafted in a way that avoids constitutional conflict and allows for implementation.
The commission began its work on Feb 15 to build consensus on the recommendations of six reform bodies formed after the political shift of October 2024.
The six bodies, covering constitutional, electoral, judicial, Anti-Corruption Commission, and public administration reforms, submitted their reports in February, containing a total of 166 recommendations.
The commission sought feedback from 38 political parties and alliances, receiving written responses from 33.
Between Mar 20 and May 19, it conducted 45 dialogue sessions with them as part of its first round of consultations.
