New act will not affect freedom of judiciary: Law panel chief
The Law Commission chairman, Justice ABM Khairul Haque, said yesterday (Tuesday) that the bill on the Supreme Court Judges (Investigation) Act 2016, which will empower Parliament to impeach higher court judges for misconduct, was drafted to ensure accountability of judges and would not hamper independence of the judiciary. It is being done as they are accountable to people and the judiciary runs on peoples money. Its main aim is to investigate misconduct of judges, not to remove them, Haque, a former chief justice, made the observation at a press briefing at the Law Commissions office.
In response to a query, Haque said there would be no face-off between Parliament and the Supreme Court (SC) following enactment of the law. Barring Pakistan, such a law is there in most of the countries. Considering all aspects, the government is going to enact the law as everyone should be made accountable, he noted.
Asked whether the proposed legislation would reflect the intentions of the government, Haque said it depends on how democratic the government is. Commenting on the Chief Justices recent comment that uneducated lawmakers enact laws, Haque said illiterate MPs of England had drafted the Magna Carta. If they can do it, why not our lawmakers, he added. Haque said in the present system the police cannot arrest a judge even on allegation of bribery. Does not the victim have the right to get justice? he added.
Even if misconduct by SC judges is proved, they would not be removed without voting by two-thirds of Parliament members, Haque said.
Explaining the investigation process against SC judges, Haque said the government has kept a former Chief Justice in the probe committee for neutral investigation. Besides, the attorney general and a prominent citizen of the country will also be included in the committee so that the investigation process can be carried out properly and neutrally.
If the investigation committee would find the allegation to be true, it would send its report to Parliament for its decision. If two-thirds of Parliament members would not be able to reach consensus, the allegation would be disposed of without any action being taken against the SC judge concerned, Haque explained.
The draft law says that any aggrieved citizen with evidence would be able to file complaints of misconduct or incapacity against an SC judge with the Speaker. The Speaker would then form a 10-member JS body to probe the allegations. It would submit a preliminary report to the Speaker within a week. If the report says the allegations against the judge concerned are true, the Speaker would form a high-powered committee with a former chief justice, an ex-attorney general and a noted jurist or an eminent citizen to review the report. If the committee recommends removal of the judge, the recommendation would be placed before the JS for discussion. And if adopted by two-thirds of the lawmakers, it would be sent to the President for approval. The Cabinet on Monday gave its approval in principle to the draft bill which seeks to empower Parliament to investigate allegations of misconduct and incapacity against SC judges for removal in a dignified manner. It is titled the Bangladesh Supreme Court Judges (Investigation) Bill 2016.
