United News of Bangladesh

President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday stressed the need to expand and make more effective alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and village court systems to help reduce the growing backlog of cases. He made the remarks when Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury paid a courtesy call on him at Bangabhaban. During the meeting, the Chief Justice congratulated Mirza Fakhrul on assuming office as the President. He briefed the President on various activities of the Supreme Court, court proceedings and the challenges facing the judiciary. President’s Press Secretary Md Sarwar Alam provided UNB with the details of the meeting. The Chief Justice highlighted various problems facing the judiciary, including a growing backlog of cases, shortage of skilled manpower and infrastructural constraints, and sought the President’s cooperation in addressing them. He said more cases are being filed every day than the number being disposed of, making it increasingly difficult to reduce the backlog. Mirza Fakhrul assured the Chief Justice of taking necessary steps to address the existing problems in the judiciary. The President’s Secretary, Military Secretary and Press Secretary were present at the meeting.

Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury on Sunday (December 28, 2025) took oath as the 26th Chief Justice of Bangladesh. President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath at Bangabhaban at 10:30am on Sunday. Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, among others, attended the oath-takig ceremony. Earlier, on December 23, President Shahabuddin appointed him as the new Chief Justice. On Saturday, Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed retired from his post.  Read more: 'No law can safeguard freedom if minds are corrupted': Chief Justice in farewell address Born on May 18, 1961, Justice Zubayer is the son of the late AFM Abdur Rahman Chowdhury, who also served as a judge of the Supreme Court. Obtaining LLB (Honours) and LLM degrees from the University of Dhaka, he did a master’s degree from the United Kingdom on international law. He started his career as a lawyer in the district judges’ court in 1985 and at the High Court (HC) in 1987. On August 27, 2003, he was appointed as an additional judge of the HC Division, with his position made permanent two years later. Read more: Justice Zubayer Rahman made Bangladesh's new Chief Justice President Shahabuddin appointed him as a justice of the Appellate Division on August 12, 2024, and he took oath the following day, on August 13.