The government has no immediate plan to recruit new judges for the Appellate Division and the High Court, although some posts have fallen vacant due to retirement and promotion.
The authorities now put emphasis on promoting judges at the lower courts and replacing them by recruiting new judges to reduce the huge backlog of pending cases.
Three posts for judges are vacant at the Appellate Division, while the number of HC judges has dropped to 90 from the highest 100 after the retirement of some judges and promotion of others to the Appellate Division.
Law Minister Anisul Huq told The Daily Star there was no urgency for recruiting new judges for the Appellate Division and the HC, as these courts were running well.
“We have rather taken some steps to appoint and promote lower court judges to reduce the backlog of pending cases,” he said.
The minister said his office had recently sent a proposal to the chief justice for amendment of a relevant rule so that the lower court judges could be promoted after six months instead of the existing two years.
“If the lower court judges are given promotion quickly, posts at the entry level will fall vacant and new judges will be appointed through the Judicial Service Commission,” he said.
Anisul Huq expressed the hope once the number of judges at the lower courts increased, the rate of disposal of cases would increase and backlogs would decrease significantly.
“If the chief justice approves the proposal, the government will take an initiative to promote and appoint judges,” added the minister.
Insiders say around 28 lakh cases are now pending with the courts across the country, including the HC and the Appellate Division.
As many as 14,338 cases are pending with the Appellate Division, 3.23 lakh with the HC and around 24.09 lakh with the lower courts across the country as of December 31 last year.
Eight judges are now serving at the Appellate Division and 90 at the HC. Of the 90 HC judges, six are discharging their duties at the international crimes tribunals set up to try the war crimes accused of the country's Liberation War in 1971.
In June 2012, the number of HC judges stood at 100 following appointment of six additional judges.
Earlier on July 9, 2009, the then president raised the number of judges at the Appellate Division from seven to 11 prior to disposing of some important cases on the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, among others.
Currently, there are around 1,600 judges working in lower courts across the country, according to sources.