Staff Correspondent

Chief Justice (CJ) Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed has said the roadmap for judicial reform is a cornerstone to strengthen the country’s judiciary to serve the people with integrity and efficiency.

In view of this, he said, a comprehensive roadmap has been unveiled for judicial reform on September 21, 2024.

The Chief Justice said this at regional conference titled “Judicial Independence and Efficiency” at Zila Parishad Auditorium in Mymensingh today, said a Supreme Court (SC) press release.

High Court Division Justice and Senior Member of the Supreme Court Special Committee for Judicial Reform Justice Farah Mahbub chaired the event while Ambassador and Head of Delegation of European Union to Bangladesh Michael Miller, Resident Representative of UNDP Bangladesh Stefan Liller and Senior Rule of Law, Justice and Security Adviser of UNDP Romana Schweiger were present at the function, among others.

Syed Refaat said, as part of his commitment to institutional reform and total independence of the judiciary, decisive steps have already been taken to lay the foundations for the true separation of Judiciary and Executive.

“This is significantly evident in the fully operational Judicial Appointment Council and Supreme Judicial Council, two autonomous internal bodies of the Supreme Court presided over by the Chief Justice of Bangladesh. The two bodies are now overseeing the recruitment and the removal respectively of Supreme Court Judges totally free from executive interference,” he added.

Highlighting the importance of the regional seminars the Chief Justice said that such discussions are critical in several ways.

Firstly, it has the advantage to take stock of all ideas mooted, or building blocks introduced in this series of seminars.

Secondly, it takes place at a juncture coinciding with a national endeavour at striking a political consensus on key sectoral reform proposals.

Thirdly, reform roadshows aided by our strategic partner UNDP have now gained a momentum where District Judiciaries and Judicial Magistracies countrywide feel emboldened and empowered to claim ownership of the reform agenda, Syed Refaat said.

The CJ said the help lines in the Rajshahi District and Sessions, and Metropolitan Sessions Courts as well as the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court were introduced this year following the very successful Supreme Court Helpline.

“The Rajshahi initiative is predicated on the Chief Justice's 12-point guidelines introduced at the Supreme Court several months ago with a view to establishing a people-centric justice delivery system providing efficient, quick, and corruption-free service to litigants and the public at large,” he said.

Noting that the Mymensigh Seminar will carry that process forward, he said, “Now we have to explore and chart out avenues for ensuring the sustainability of our reform exercises.”

“Let, therefore, individual judiciaries and magistracies assume roles of reformists and innovators and indeed be mouthpieces for the reform agenda put forth in the roadmap declared by the CJ on September 21, 2025 for judicial reform,” he said.

The Chief Justice said the weeks and months ahead are crucial for the district judiciaries and magistracies collectively influencing and directing the future course of institutional autonomy and reform.

“The reform roadshows, so successfully undertaken, have provided the content and rationale for you to pursue these through appropriate processes and channels,” the Chief Justice told the judges.

“I hope that this common quest for reform shall be, indeed must be, a unifying factor to help bring about an entrenched political will to usher in remaining structural reform,” he added.

In his welcome speech at the seminar, Resident Representative of UNDP Bangladesh Stefan Liller said that the roadmap for judicial reform announced by the Chief Justice is a timely step towards institutionalizing the country's judiciary.

He assured that UNDP, as a development partner, will stand by Bangladesh in the modernization of the judiciary.