Separation of judiciary

We have heard a brief interview of the law and information adviser on the BBC Bengali service regarding establishment of a separate secretariat for the judiciary. The law adviser informed that the government at the moment was not considering the idea of a separate secretariat for the judiciary. The secretarial function would be performed by the ministry of law, and it would act upon the advice of the Supreme Court ( assumed ). He did not however elaborate on the procedures to be followed to enact and implement such a dual and complex function to be performed by the ministry of law. The functions he briefly mentioned are appointment, transfer, posting, promotion(?) etc, might include financial authority too. Ironically, these are tools for administrative power play. On the other hand, the administrative service association has already put up hurdles on the very process of implementation of the decision to separate the judiciary from the executive. Apparently, they have points for consideration, and the government is trying to address the issue.
A very legitimate question is being raised by the people concerned, that is, did the government pay necessary attention to resolve those issues through adequate deliberations ? The answer is perhaps no. It is unfortunate that keeping so many loose ends like the issue of the adm. service asso. and the need for a separate administrative arrangement for the separate judiciary, the government just announced the date of separation to be effective from Nov. 1, 2007. Apparently, what we are missing is a complete plan of action with phased time frame. Nobody will disagree with the law adviser that the separation of the judiciary is a long term programme, but the people expect that a proper action plan with an effective strategy are ready and being followed. The interview of the law adviser does not reflect such a scenario.
The separation of the judiciary is a must in letter and spirit. Therefore, the government will have to look for better and an immediate option to achieve the objective. We are not sure how the ministry of law will implement the idea of performing the task of the judicial secretariat without interfering with the independence of the judiciary. An alterative option might be more judicious. The ministry of law can be bifurcated with a separate judiciary division headed by a separate permanent secretary, and a separate adviser for an interim period. This would help train a judiciary management cadre for a separate judiciary secretariat in due course. There might be other good options to maintain the independent character of the secretariat.
We think the CTG would kindly make two vital issues clear for public perception. These are:
a. Appointment of judges in the High Court and the Supreme Court.
b. Action plan with short, medium and long term strategies for implementation of separation of the judiciary from the executive. This would be a good tool for the next elected govt. to follow up.