Transparency International Bangladesh on Friday expressed deep disappointment over the recommendation of a parliamentary special committee for repealing two ordinances relating to the appointment of Supreme Court judges and establishment of a separate secretariat, and for suspending the National Human Rights Commission Ordinance.
The non-governmental organisation called for the two ordinances to be placed as bills in their original form and also urged the government to review and immediately enact into laws those ordinances, including the ones relating to the Anti-Corruption Commission, Police Commission, and right to information, which the parliamentary special committee recommended for suspension.
In a statement issued on the day, TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman said, ‘Among the 133 ordinances promulgated during the tenure of the interim government, a few marked significant progress in strengthening the country’s democratic and institutional foundations. These include the Supreme Court Judges Appointment Ordinance, the Supreme Court Secretariat Ordinance, and the Human Rights Commission Ordinance.’
He asked what message the government intended to convey by repealing and suspending these three ordinances.
The 13-member parliamentary committee led by lawmaker Zainul Abedin, on Thursday placed its report before Jatiya Sangsad, recommending against approval and further reviews of 16 ordinances, including those on enforced disappearance, referendum, the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Human Rights Commission, and the Police Commission.
Besides, it recommended scrapping of four ordinances, including three on Supreme Court judges’ appointment and a separate Supreme Court secretariat.
The TIB executive director in the statement mentioned that the ruling party’s election manifesto pledged to ‘ensure effective independence of the judiciary and further strengthen a separate secretariat under the control of the Supreme Court for judicial reform.’
He asked whether the ruling party’s pledge on judicial independence included in its election manifesto was mere rhetoric, intended to influence public opinion.
‘It is highly disappointing that, within such a short span of time, the government appears to have forgotten how compromised the judiciary had become during the previous authoritarian regime, and how it was used as a tool to suppress dissent, he observed.
Iftekharuzzaman further said, ‘Similarly, the strong possibility of establishing an effective Human Rights Commission has now been placed in a state of concerning uncertainty due to the suspension of the ordinance.’
Raising the question of how a government whose own party had been a victim of enforced disappearances and killings during the previous authoritarian regime could place the ordinances related to the prevention of enforced disappearances into the ‘trap’ of further review, the TIB executive director said, ‘If there are any inherent weaknesses in the law, those can certainly be addressed.
Referring to the Anti-Corruption Commission Ordinance, he said, ‘We urge that the ACC Ordinance be revised in line with the recommendations of the ACC Reform Commission that were included in the July Charter with consensus from all political parties, including BNP, as well as those proposals beyond the July Charter that BNP has supported in writing to the National Consensus Commission.’
