A commission with little to no activities
The Law Commission, which has been established 26 years ago as a research organisation to modernise the country's laws and judicial system, is now running without its chairman and a member, resulting in facing difficulties in taking policy decisions.
The commission's chairman post currently remains vacant. The tenure of the last chairman Justice ABM Khairul Haque expired on July 23 this year.
ABM Khairul Huq, a former chief justice of the country, had been appointed chairman of the Law Commission on July 23, 2013.
Besides, the office of a member of the institution has also been lying vacant after member Professor M Shah Alam died on August 31, 2020.
Justice ATM Fazle Kabir, the lone member of the Law Commission, is now leading the institution and its research functions.
Contacted, Law Minister Anisul Huq told this correspondent recently that the government has initiated a process for appointing a chairman and a member to the Law Commission.
"The commission will get a chairman and a member soon," he said.
Replying to a query, the minister said the functions of the commission are not being hampered in any way because of the vacancies.
"The Law Commission is a research organisation. Its member and officials are carrying out the research on the laws regularly and the government has been providing necessary assistance to this effect," he said.
Replying to another query, the minister said it is not true that the government does not accept the recommendations made by the Law Commission for formulating or amending laws as the government and the commission work on the laws based on mutual understanding.
A commission source said a maximum of eight out of a total of 166 recommendations drafted by the Law Commission have been accepted by the governments since its establishment.
Law Commission sources said the chairman and the members of the commission are to hold meetings to take any policy decision over recommending the government to formulate and amend the laws.
However, the commission could not hold such a meeting after Justice ABM Khairul Huq's tenure expired. Commission officials are now working on the issues decided by the commission in its policy meetings.
The institution will face difficulties if a chairman is not appointed soon, according to the sources.
The Commission's secretary Atwar Rahman told this correspondent that the commission has so far made 166 recommendations for formulating and amending laws after the institution was established in 1996.
He, however, could not say how many recommendations have been accepted by the governments.
There is no rule for the commission to monitor whether the government accepts its recommendations or not, he said.
Atwar Rahman also mentioned that the commission is now working in continuation of the previous activities, including the amendment of the Evidence Act.
He said it has sent a proposal to the government to increase the number of its members to four instead of the existing two. The commission is yet to get a decision from the government to this effect.
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