Judiciary separation gets 15th deadline
Star Report
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court yesterday granted the government another four months in the latest in a series of extensions since 1999 for implementation of a 12-point directive on separation of the judiciary from the executive.The 15th extension came after the government filed a petition on September 25, just a day before the 14th deadline expired. The government also sought a clarification of the Appellate Division's May 26 order granting it -- for the 14th time -- a four-month deadline that expired on September 26. The court then asked the government to explain what clarification it needed, but the government did not give the explanation until recently. The last-minute move seeking clarification gave the government an extra time in addition to yesterday's four-month formal extension. In its explanation, the government asked whether the Supreme Court has the jurisdiction to make such rules, saying parliamentarians could deal with the task. The full bench of the Appellate Division, hearing the government, said the 12-point directive was clear and the government was responsible for implementation. In another related petition, the government said lower courts were reeling from an acute shortage of judges after the Supreme Court in 1999 declared appointment of judges through the Public Service Commission illegal. It requested the court to suggest the way the government should recruit new judges. The Appellate Division said the government would be able to form a judicial service commission to recruit new judges through implementing the 12-point directive. The Appellate Division full bench of Chief Justice KM Hasan, Justice Ruhul Amin, Justice Mohammed Fazlul Karim, Justice Syed JR Muddassir Husain, Justice Hamidul Haque and Justice Tafazzul Islam heard the petitions, while Attorney General AF Hasan Ariff appeared for the government. Since the 1999 directives, the Awami League government took seven extensions, the caretaker government three and the present BNP government five. The caretaker government in early October 2001 was all set to implement the directives, but it left the job for the new government after the BNP won the elections. During the last election campaign, the BNP promised that it would separate the judiciary if voted into office.
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