3 branches of state should cooperate
Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha yesterday sought the law ministry's cooperation in giving the judiciary an institutional form.
“Judges will not present their demands like trade unions…but judges have some rightful demands to uphold the independence and dignity of the judiciary,” he said while addressing an event organised by Bangladesh Mahila Judges Association to felicitate him.The event was held in the capital's Judicial Administration Training Institute.
Addressing Law Minister Anisul Huq, he said, “We do not deny the (importance of) government's two other bodies. But without cooperation of the judiciary, the administrative and executive divisions of the government cannot function.”
Commenting on how the judiciary is lacking in several institutional aspects, he said, the ministry unlike others does not have any database on the manpower working in the judiciary.
“For this reason, it takes almost six months to appoint people in vacant posts in the lower court. As a consequence, the piles of cases get bigger. Vacant posts should be filled immediately,” he said.
While commending the government for its “digital Bangladesh” initiatives, the chief justice said the justice department was lagging behind the “digitalisation” that has swept most government offices.
He assured that laptops would be given to every judge in three months.
“Verdicts will be written on a computer. Moreover, if the testimonies are recorded, the judges will be spared from writing by hand. And it will mean the end of forging documents.”
Some female judges demanded day care centres on the court premises for their children.
“An initiative to open a day care centre in the Supreme Court has been taken. The facility will be available not only for the judges but for all women officers and staff,” he said.
He, however, asked judges present there to consider if opening day care centres was realistic.
He also hailed the presence of women in the judiciary. While only 10 percent of judges in England are women, in Bangladesh it is 19 percent, he said.
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