Published : 14 Jul 2025, 04:51 AM
Updated : 21 Aug 2026, 01:31 PM
Ali Riaz, vice chair of the National Consensus Commission, has said that political parties have reached an agreement on the process of appointing the Chief Justice and the declaration of a state of emergency in Bangladesh.
He divulged the information on Sunday after the commission’s second round of dialogue with political parties, held at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka.
“Today, the parties agreed on the procedure for appointing the Chief Justice,” he said.
“In earlier meetings, there was a broad consensus on the existing Article 95 of the Constitution, and the President’s appointment of the Chief Justice from the judges of the Appellate Division. Today’s discussion built further on that consensus.”
According to the new agreement, the president will appoint the most senior judge of the Appellate Division as the chief justice. However, any future government or coalition may amend the constitution to propose two names instead of one based solely on seniority.
If any judge is under investigation for misconduct or incapacity under Article 92, they shall not be eligible for appointment as chief justice.
On the declaration of a state of emergency, Riaz said: “The parties agreed that a state of emergency must never be declared with political motives. With that in mind, Article 141(A) of the Constitution will be amended to replace the term ‘internal disturbance’ with specific terms like ‘state independence’, ‘sovereignty’, ‘threats against national unity, ‘pandemic’, and ‘natural disaster’.”
He added that approval from the Cabinet will be mandatory before declaring a state of emergency, and the leader or deputy leader of the opposition must be present at the Cabinet meeting where the emergency is approved. The emergency declaration shall not infringe any citizen’s fundamental rights.
