However short a term the new Chief Justice may have in office, perhaps he can initiate something that can take our judiciary a step ahead
Dr. Uttam Kumar Das writes from Minneapolis, USA
Due to my academic engagements, I have turned to be a “non-practicing lawyer” over the years. That means I am not taking briefs and pleading before the Court regularly. However, I do remain in the legal profession home or abroad.
I had the opportunity to meet and briefly talk to Justice Md. Tafazzul Islam, the new Chief Justice of Bangladesh, on occasions at the Legal Education and Training Institution and Bangladesh Bar Council.
I was excited on hearing that Justice Islam has become the 17th Chief Justice of Bangladesh.
While chatting over Facebook with an advocate-colleague in Dhaka, I asked him his comments on Justice Islam’s becoming the new Chief Justice. He precisely wrote back: It's a good thing that Justice Islam became our Chief Justice, and bad thing is that he will be in the office only for 47 days.”
I fully agreed with his reaction that it is a misfortune that he will be in the post for a very short period.
That is why I was thinking about what the nation could or should expect from him in this short period of time.
A country like ours has a lot to expect from the judiciary, especially from the highest one. We had lot of frustrations from other institutions like the parliament, administration, and political parties; however, we still now rely on the higher judiciary as a last resort. It had proved itself time and again.
Indeed, the judiciary could do miracles through judgments and interpretation of laws.
I have been in the United States for the last six months and am studying the judicial system and laws of that country being affiliated at a prime institution for legal education and research at the University of Minnesota Law School.
I am amazed seeing the pivotal role the judiciary plays. One example I want to mention here is the judgments of the US Supreme Court in the trail of the “terror suspects.” For the decision of the highest judiciary, the administration had to take decision to close the much talked about Guantanamo Bay Detention Center and initiated the trial of the suspects in the Federal Court in New York.
The same also goes for India. Among the Commonwealth countries, the role of the judicial activism and braveness of the Indian judiciary is a landmark.
Coming back to Bangladesh, when the bureaucracy (who are part of the executive) is lethargic and corrupt and politicians are busy with their narrow party or individual interests (that is why parliament could hardly do anything for the nation), then we have only one place - that is the judiciary.
And the Chief Justice as the head of that institution could bravely set out its goal and philosophy.
The existence of democracy also facilitates a flourishing of the rule of law and people’s access to justice among others.
Access to justice is a basic human right, and in case of Bangladesh a fundamental right as well; to ensure and facilitate people's access to a fair justice system is the responsibility of the State through its machinery.
The traditional understanding is that if there are (required) infrastructure and arrangements, this would allow people to seek and get justice. However, now it is widely acknowledged that only infrastructure and arrangements may not and could not ensure people’s access to justice; those are not a guarantee for getting fair justice.
Attitudes and behavior of the service providers (ie, people responsible for or working in a system) could also impact the quality of the expected services and the service actually received. It may come out either as a commission or omission by the individual concerned.
During the Fall Semester (September-December) 2009, I undertook a graduate seminar course named Law, Race and Social Psychology. From the studies, I have come to know how the race profile and attitudes of the jurors could impact a trial process and verdict. This is just one example. The same goes for those at the police stations, detention centers and other related service centers, and those going there seeking justice or relief.
For facilitating (I am not saying ensuring) an effective justice system in Bangladesh, there is a lot to do. For me, the important one is the aims and goals of the persons who are in the bars and benches. This could change a lot and could work immediately. For this we need will-power and motivation.
Quality justice system depends not only on the infrastructure and other facilities, rather relies heavily on the individuals concerned there.
There is no denial that to get better lawyers and judges we need a quality legal and human rights education system in place. However, the situation is unfortunately frustrating in Bangladesh. This needs a through overhauling. We also need to initiate scope to study human rights, social sciences, logic and languages for law students.
As Law Professor Dr. Mizanur Rahman of the University of Dhaka commented to me earlier, the existing legal education in Bangladesh does not produce “pro-poor judges and lawyers,” According to him, “pro-poor lawyering is pro-justice lawyering” given our context.
In the USA, the legal profession is considered a prime one. It has been supplemented by the existence of a quality and innovative legal education. Legal education is considered as an advanced study; students are joining law schools having completing undergraduate programs in diversified disciplines. Law courses are designed so that during the course, a student becomes a “practicing lawyer, or judge, or professional.” That spells a bright future.
Justice Islam does not have enough time to implement any major plan during his term. However, there is no reason not to plan and start something which is aspired by the nation and deserves to be initiated.
*Published in the PROBE News Magazine (Dhaka, Bangladesh), January 29-Februaray 04, 2010; link: http://www.probenewsmagazine.com/index.php?index=2&contentId=5757
