report 95(2) of The Bangladesh Constitution Revisited

Judiciary is carefully to be the least perilous organ of a society. It is vested with the task of dispensation of justice agreeing to law. Habitancy resort to the judiciary to get legal and equitable remedy to redress their grievances. But a doubt is cast upon the efficacy of this least perilous organ of the state if appointment procedure of the judges is saddled with extraneous considerations rather than qualification.

We know that in case of appointment of judges in the higher judiciary, the requirements envisaged in narrative 95(2) of our Constitution have to be fulfilled. narrative 95(2) of our Constitution stipulates that "A person shall not be powerful for appointment as a judge unless he is a Habitancy of Bangladesh and (a) has, for not less than ten years, been an advocate of the supreme court; or, (b) has, for not less than ten years, held judicial office in the territory of Bangladesh; or (c) has such other qualifications as may be prescribed by law for appointment as a judge of the supreme court."

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Moreover, if the President is satisfied that the amount of the judges of a agency of the supreme Court should be increased for the time being, the president may appoint one or more duly powerful persons to be supplementary judges of that agency for such a period not exceeding two years as he may specify.

Recently, the Government has appointed seventeen more supplementary judges in the High Court Division. It is alleged that out of these seventeen supplementary judges, two are not competent to become the supplementary judges under narrative 98 of Our Constitution. Though we know that there are no specific requirements prescribed for the appointment of supplementary judges in the higher judiciary, nevertheless the provisions mentioned in narrative 95(2) of our Constitution is applied in case of appointment of supplementary judges. To become a judge in the higher judiciary, one has to custom for at least ten years as an advocate of the supreme Court; but it's a matter of regret that the modern recruitment has not done justice to this requirement in every cases.

Our constitution was adopted on 4th November, 1972 & came into force on 16th December, 1972 and there are practically two thousand legislations in our country since then, but there is no specific law relating to the appointment of judges and their qualification.

Most of the time, it is noticed that 'appointment of judges' receives political overtones. Because of this reason, the most talented lawyers and judges in the sub-ordinate court hardly get occasion to become judge in the supreme Court of Bangladesh. In this backdrop, the following points are to be seriously taken into consideration by the procedure makers:

-To enact a isolate law relating to the appointment of judges and their qualification as indicated in narrative 95 (2) (c).

-To ensure the choice of at least 50% judges from the sub-ordinate court in case of appointment of judges in the higher judiciary.

-To amend the provisions mentioned in narrative 95(2) of our Constitution. The tenure of an advocate of the supreme Court & a judge held judicial office in the territory of Bangladesh may be increased with an supplementary focus on the submission narrative in their custom life and their offering to the life of law.

Article 95(2) of our Constitution only provides that 'to become a judge of the supreme Court, a person has, for not less than ten years, to be an advocate of the supreme Court.' Though there is a long-constitutional custom that the President shall consult with the Chief Justice, but in fact it doesn't work. It apparently seems that once one becomes an advocate of the higher court, and he doesn't necessarily have to engage in actual practice. After ten years even a non-practicing lawyer may assume the sit of the bench as a judge in the supreme Court! literally for this reason, the provision of narrative 95(2) (a) of our Constitution has to be amended slightly by adding a word "practicing" before the word 'advocate' (i.e. Practicing advocate).

As the custom goes, a judge of the sub-ordinate court becomes competent to become a judge of the supreme Court whenever he holds the post of District Judge (Dj) or supplementary District Judge (Adj). In reality, it takes practically fifteen to twenty years to become a Dj or Adj in the sub-ordinate court. So, it appears that the provision of narrative 95(2) (b) of our Constitution should be changed a tiny by adding a word 'at least fifteen to eighteen years' in place of 'ten years'. The other points in matter of judges' appointment may be:

-To sketch out a constitutional mechanism for ensuring efficient consultation in the event of appointment of justice in the higher judiciary.

-At least forty-five years has to be completed to become a judge of the supreme Court.

-Hold a good scholastic record/result in his/her educational level (i.e. From S.S.C. To Masters).

There is no good test of excellence of a state than to gawk its administration of justice system. Good judges can make the law sing and can even interpret a bad law for the greater interest of the people. Being the watchdog of people's right we should take care that the court remains an arbiter of justice and excellence.

report 95(2) of The Bangladesh Constitution Revisited

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