Judges' impeachment move ‘not in people’s interest’: Dr Kamal
Judges' impeachment move ‘not in people’s interest’: Dr Kamal
The way government is going to amend charter to empower the parliament to impeach Supreme Court judges is "not right at all" and "not in the interest of the country and its people", eminent jurist Dr Kamal Hossain said today.
Public opinion should be solicited in this regard, he opined, stressing that any amendment to the constitution should be brought on the basis of consensus.
Hossain, one of the framers of constitution, made the remarks while addressing a discussion on 'Amendment to the constitution: Impeachment of the judges and its significance' organised by Sujon (Sushasoner Jonno Nagorik) at Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka.
Ignoring the opinions of many eminent jurists, the cabinet, on August 18, approved a proposal on amending the constitution to restore parliament's authority to impeach Supreme Court judges on grounds of misconduct or incapacity.
The existing constitutional provision for the chief justice-led Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) will cease to exist once the constitution amendment bill is passed in the parliament.
Talking on the move today, Dr Hossain said the government hastily moved for the amendment.
He wondered why the government was in such a hurry.
Cabinet approval for any proposal to amend the constitution "does not mean democracy", he added.
Dr Kamal, who also served as law and former foreign minister of Bangladesh, suggested that comprehensive dialogue and debate should be held on the basis of authentic information for bringing any amendment to the constitution.
Performance of the parliament and Supreme Judicial Council, which is currently empowered to probe any misconduct and incapacity of the judges, should be evaluated, Hossain suggested.
On the appointment of SC judges, he said the government should frame a guideline determining an appointment procedure so that the judges could be appointed in a transparent manner.