A Broken Dream: Rule of Law, Human Rights and Democracy - Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha

Descriere A Broken Dream: Rule of Law, Human Rights and Democracy - Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha

Judiciary is an essential and integral part of a state, and its independence is a prerequisite of a liberal democratic state. Bangladesh, which emerged through a war of independence against the Pakistani in 1971, included democracy as one of the state principles in its constitution in 1972, and the constitution ensured the separation of judiciary from executive, and independence of the judiciary. I had the opportunity and honor to observe this transformation and the hindrances as a participant of the Bangladeshi judiciary since 1974 -- rising from a practitioner at a lower court in the north-eastern district of Sylhet to the highest judicial position of the country, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. But, in 2017, after delivering a historic verdict in favor of the independence of judiciary, I was forced to resign and exiled by the current government. The series of unfortunate and unprecedented events, which led to the tension between the executive and judiciary and subsequent improper action against me, began on September 17, 2014 when the Bangladesh Parliament amended the constitution to provide power of impeaching judges to the members of the parliament. The 16th Amendment of the Constitution deleted the provision of removing Judges from office through a highly powerful committee of peers called the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). The SJC, as stipulated in the constitution, also allowed the accused to have self-defense. Most importantly, the process was meant to protect the judiciary from being subjected to political vagaries and serving political leaders than the citizens. On May 5, 2016, a special High Court bench declared the amendment illegal and unconstitutional. Soon after the verdict, the MPs blasted judges for nullifying their legislation and began displaying sheer disrespect to the judiciary. However, the state party opted for an appeal which was heard by a seven-member full appellate bench. It was incumbent on me to head the Bench. On July 3, 2017, the bench unanimously rejected the appeal upholding the High Court verdict. The complete text of the unanimous verdict, including the observations, were made public on August 1, 2018. Following the appellate decision, on September 13 the parliament passed a resolution calling for legal steps to nullify the Supreme Court verdict. Prime Minister and other members of her party and ministers blasted me for going against the parliament. Cabinet members including the Law Minister began smearing me al

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Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

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ENSTK

EAN / GTIN

9781727420937

Magazine

1

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