Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique has urged to keep the judiciary free of political influence. He made the call at a farewell reception held on the last working day of his tenure as the 23rd Chief Justice of Bangladesh on Thursday (August 31, 2023). The chief justice said the judiciary is the protector of the fundamental rights of the people. It is also the protector of the constitution, he said. Therefore, judges have to be brave and just. If the judiciary fails or deviates from the impartial application of the law, the state and citizens are bound to suffer, said the chief justice. Also read: The chief justice meets President Hamid and brief him about SC activities: Bangabhaban Independence of the judiciary is essential for the development of true participatory democracy, preservation of the rule of law, ensuring the rights of weaker sections of society, and establishing social justice, he added. Urging to make sure that the judiciary be free of political influence, the Chief Justice said, “It is the responsibility of judges, lawyers and every responsible citizen of the state to protect the judiciary from social, economic and political influences. Also read: Chief Justice opens up on limitations, ambitions of judiciary “If we, you, all of us fail to fulfill that duty, every citizen will face a difficult time. “It is not good for the judiciary if the political divide crosses the road and comes towards the court. We have to remember that division and disagreement among lawyers and their reactions affect the judiciary. “The great spirit with which our constitution was framed, we all have a great national responsibility towards that. We must ensure that all the laws and all legal activities of the country reflect the constitutional spirit. People want peace, but we still have a long way to go for complete peace,” the chief justice said. The chief justice is retiring on September 25. However, today was his last working day. As per tradition, he was given a farewell reception at 10:30 am. The farewell reception was held in the Appellate Division's courtroom-1 of the Supreme Court. Also read: Hasan Foez new Chief Justice of Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association President Momtaz Uddin Fakir and Secretary Abdun Noor Dulal and Attorney General AM Amin Uddin on behalf of the Attorney General's Office, gave the reception. All the judges and lawyers of the Appellate Division and the High Court Division of the Supreme Court were present on the occasion.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday vowed to “mend the rift” in a nation deeply divided over his proposed overhaul of the country’s judiciary. But he offered no details on how he intends to do so and gave no indication that he would slow down the plan. Netanyahu delivered his appeal in a nationally televised address after another day of mass protests across the country against the plan, and hours after his parliamentary coalition passed the first in a series of laws that make up the overhaul. His vague pledges were quickly rejected by the protest movement, which said it would continue to oppose “Netanyahu’s attempt to become a dictator.” Protesters blocked traffic on main highways and scuffled with police in unrest that shows no sign of abating. Police used water cannons to disperse crowds, and dozens of people — including leaders of the protest movement — were arrested. The government’s plan has plunged the nearly 75-year-old nation into one of its worst domestic crises. Netanyahu and his allies want to weaken the powers of the judiciary, saying unelected Supreme Court justices and other judges wield too much power. Critics say the changes, which would give Netanyahu and his conservative allies the final say in choosing the country’s judges, will destroy a delicate system of checks and balances. They also say Netanyahu has a conflict of interest while he is on trial for multiple corruption charges. In his speech, Netanyahu said he understood the concerns of both sides. He accused the Supreme Court of intervening in political issues but also acknowledged concerns by his opponents that a narrow parliamentary majority could impose its will and harm the rights of LGBTQ people, Palestinian citizens and other minorities. “We will ensure the basic rights of all Israeli citizens — Jews and non-Jews, secular and religious, women, the LGBTQ community, everyone without exception,” he said. “I will do everything to calm the waters and mend the rift in the nation, because we are family.” As he spoke, thousands of people continued to march in cities across Israel, including a large crowd outside of his private residence in Jerusalem. Netanyahu pushed back his departure on an official trip to Britain until 4 a.m. on Friday to deal with the crisis. His opponents quickly rejected the speech. The grassroots protest movement said it would press ahead with the demonstrations, which have taken place weekly for the past three months. “Tonight we saw a dictator-in-the-making who instead of stopping the legal coup, decided to continue with the hostile political takeover of the Supreme Court,” it said. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Netanyahu made clear he has “no intention of holding true dialogue.” He called on “responsible” members of Netanyahu’s Likud party to speak up against the plan. Among Lapid’s targets is Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, a top Likud official who met with Netanyahu shortly before the speech. According to Israeli media, Gallant voiced his concerns that objections by Israeli reservists and other security forces were hurting Israel’s international image and power of deterrence. However, Gallant abruptly canceled a planned statement in which he was expected to call on Netanyahu to freeze the plan. The opposition is rooted in broad swaths of society — including business leaders and top legal officials. Even the country’s military, seen as a beacon of stability by Israel’s Jewish majority, is enmeshed in the political conflict, as some reservists are refusing to show up for duty over the changes. Israel’s international allies have also expressed concern. In a first step of the overhaul, Netanyahu’s parliamentary coalition approved legislation that would protect the Israeli leader from being deemed unfit to rule because of his trial and claims of a conflict of interest. Critics say the law is tailor-made for Netanyahu and encourages corruption. Read more: Israeli police beef up presence in Jerusalem, fearing unrest The law to protect Netanyahu passed in a 61-47 vote in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament, after a debate that ran through the night. It stipulates that a prime minister can only be deemed unfit to rule for health or mental reasons and that only he or his government can make that decision. Civil society groups have called on the attorney general to declare him unfit to rule over his legal problems. The attorney general has already barred Netanyahu from direct involvement in the legal overhaul, saying he is at risk of a conflict of interest. The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a good governance organization, said it would challenge the new law in court. On Thursday, protesters launched a fourth midweek day of demonstrations. They blocked major thoroughfares, set tires ablaze near an important seaport and draped a large Israeli flag and a banner with the country’s Declaration of Independence over the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City. The protests have intensified in recent weeks, with a number of senior Cabinet ministers accosted and heckled by vocal crowds while making public appearances. Netanyahu called on opposition leaders to “stop the anarchy immediately.” A protest took place Thursday night in Bnei Brak, a large ultra-Orthodox city near Tel Aviv. The overhaul crisis has magnified a longstanding rift between secular Jewish Israelis and religious ones over how much of a role religion should play in their day-to-day lives. Ultra-Orthodox lawmakers in government are central drivers of the overhaul because they believe the courts are a threat to their traditional way of life. In contrast, secular opponents to the changes fear they will open the door to religious coercion. They also object to exemptions granted to ultra-Orthodox men from military duty, which is mandatory for most Jews. Along with Thursday’s demonstrations, tens of thousands have been showing up for weekly protests each Saturday night. Netanyahu’s government rejected a compromise proposal earlier this month meant to ease the crisis. It said that it would slow the pace of the changes, pushing most of them to after a monthlong parliamentary recess in April. But the government is plowing forward on a key part of the overhaul, which would grant the government control over who becomes a judge. That measure is expected to pass next week. Netanyahu is on trial for fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of scandals involving wealthy associates and powerful media moguls. He denies wrongdoing and dismisses critics who say he could find an escape route from the charges through the legal overhaul his government is advancing. Israel’s Palestinian minority has largely avoided participating in the demonstrations. Rights groups and Palestinians say Israel’s democratic ideals have long been tarnished by the country’s 55-year, open-ended occupation of lands the Palestinians seek for an independent state and the treatment of Palestinian Israeli citizens, who face discrimination in many spheres.  

The government does not interfere in judiciary, the law minister said on Friday about the government's appeal against the High Court bail granted to BNP leaders Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Mirza Abbas. “Court is making the decisions independently. There is no government interference in the release of Mirza Fakhrul and Mirza Abbas,” Law Minister Anisul Huq said at the Kasba press club in Brahmanbaria. Quoting the attorney general, the minister said there was a violation of law in the bail process in the High Court for the two leaders. So a petition challenging the HC order was filed with the Appellate Division. On December 9, a team of Detective Branch (DB) of police picked up Fakhrul and Abbas from their homes in separate raids in the capital. Later, they were shown arrested in a case over the clash between police and the party activists in the capital’s Nayapaltan. A Dhaka court sent them to jail rejecting their bail pleas. Read more: Bangladesh must not return to lawlessness again: PM Hasina Regarding misconduct with the Judge at the Brahmanbaria courtroom, Anisul  said judiciary is independent, now the High Court has taken the matter under its jurisdiction. “I will not comment on this now.” “I have seen the video footage of the incident, and if it is true I am shocked. As a member of a lawyer family, I believe that all lawyers in Brahmanbaria cannot do such things.” On Thursday, The HC bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Razik-Al-Jalil summoned three lawyers including Brahmanbaria Bar Association president for misbehaving with the district Woman and Child Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Mohammad Faruq. Those summoned are Bar Association president Advocate Tanvir Ahmed Bhuiyan, Secretary (Administration) Advocate Md Akkas Ali and Advocate Zubair Islam. On January 4, the district Woman and Child Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Mohammad Faruq sent a written complaint to the High Court to take action against those involved in this incident. Later, on the instructions of the Chief Justice, the Registrar General of the Supreme Court sent the written complaint of the judge to the HC bench. Read more: BNP urges judiciary to work impartially, independently On January 2, Bar Association president advocate Md Tanvir Bhuiyan, Secretary Advocate Md Akkas Ali and around 10-15 lawyers including Zubair Islam came and rudely asked the judge to leave the courtroom. Advocate Tanvir hurled abusive words at the court, as per the complaint.

Two judges of the Indian Supreme Court rebuked Nupur Sharma a few days back when she had filed a petition seeking to have all her cases filed against her in different parts of India brought under one court, Delhi. The Supreme Court however, didn’t agree to consider and blamed her for her troubles. It accused her of using the media to gain publicity and rebuked her for playing politics with sensitive issues. Nupur Sharman was forced to withdraw her petition but the situation didn’t calm down and her supporters mounted the counter attack reflecting what the majority’s opinion was.   The apex court had said that her "loose tongue" has "set the country on fire and she should apologize.” . They added her remarks had led to violence which had cost lives. Although the Indian judiciary is considered beyond rebuke in most cases, that situation has changed now with many people attacking the judges for rebuking  Nupur. The latest was a petition signed by ex-judges , ex -civil servants and members of the armed forces. Social media is of course baying for their blood.    The Open letter In the open letter, signatories alleged that the apex court judges, Justice Surya Kant and Justice JB Perdiwala have surpassed their legal remits and thus forced them to issue the open letter to remind the judges of their role and jurisdiction.  It includes 15 ex-judges, 77 former bureaucrats and 25 retired officers of the armed forces.  It was sent to the Chief Justice of India CV Ramana.  The letter criticized the Judges’ comments as “unfortunate and unprecedented comments” and “are not in sync with judicial ethos”. “Such outrageous transgressions are without parallel in the annals of judiciary.” The observations made by the judges had "no connect" with the issue raised in her petition. As she was "denied access to judiciary" — the letter states — it was "an outrage on the Preamble, spirit and essence of the Constitution of India". Read: Haldar syndrome in the financial sector It goes on to state that, "One fails to understand why Nupur's case is treated at a different pedestal... Such an approach of the Supreme Court deserves no applause and impacts the very sanctity and honour of the highest court." The 117 signatories include former Bombay High Court Chief Justice Kshitij Vyas, former Gujarat High Court judge SM Soni, former Rajasthan High Court judges RS Rathore and Prashant Agarwal, and former Delhi High Court judge SN Dhingra. Former IAS officers RS Gopalan and S Krishna Kumar, former top police officers SP Vaid and PC  Dogra, Lt General VK Chaturvedi (retired), and Air Marshal SP Singh (retired) are also among them. The conflict core Meanwhile, social media has been very active in criticizing the two judges. A comment made in the Times of India in response to the story captured an important aspect of the conflict. TOI reader Sanjiv Singh said that the issues raised by the Judges had nothing to do with the petition filed by Nupur Sharma. However, the comments made by the Judges have hurt the sentiment of the global community of Hindus. Basically, the Nupur Sharma affair has become a conflict between the Hindus of the world versus the rest of the world. It’s close to the center of the Hindu identity and is not about to die soon. What its end consequences will be remains to be seen. Earlier, about criticism of their observations, Justice JB Pardiwala had reacted to social media attacks against him and Justice Surya Kant. "Personal attacks on judges for their judgments lead to a dangerous scenario," he had said. "Social and digital media is primarily resorted to expressing personalised opinions more against the judges, rather than a constructive critical appraisal of their judgments. This is what is harming the judicial institution and lowering its dignity," he'd further argued in his address at a function two days ago. The battle will go on. 

State Minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Zunaid Ahmed Palak has said the country's judiciary system will be made fully digitized within the next two years. ‘E-Judidicary’, a project with a budget of Tk 2,224 crore is being undertaken aimed at making the judicial system fully technology dependent and making the process more cost friendly and time saving for people as well as making the process easier for judges and lawyers, he said. Palak said this while attending the inauguration programme of online cause list, judicial monitoring dashboard and My Court App in the city arranged jointly by the Law and Justice Division and UNDP Bangladesh. Also read: Present world is not of competition but collaboration: Palak He said, “Around 2,000 courtrooms will be digitized through this project and there will be an audio recording pool system at them. Besides, 14 central jails will be made digital. Camera trial rooms will be installed in 64 district jails so that inmates can participate in the hearing virtually.” Palak said state owned web-based video conferencing platform ‘Boithok’ app will be used to ensure confidentiality and a four tier data center will be established at the Supreme Court to ensure the sovereignty of judicial information. Also read: Palak asks youths to be self-employed in IT sector He said 2,000 laptops would be provided to judges, desktops for office staff and 75,000 lawyers and judges would be trained to ensure a digital justice system. In addition, a cyber cafe will be set up in each bar association with a video conferencing system. The state minister said the maximum use of technology in the Department of Judiciary and Health will be ensured in the current fiscal year after the construction of these infrastructures by A2I, UNDP and ICT departments.

BNP standing committee has called upon the judiciary to work neutrally and independently instead of helping the government to gain its narrow political interests. At a virtual meeting on Friday, the committee also voiced deep concern as the Appellate Division dismissed a leave to appeal petition filed by Dr Zubaida Rahman, wife of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman, said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. Speaking at a press conference at BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office, he said their standing committee members observed that, “Unfortunately, there is a perception in the public mind that the judiciary is unfairly cooperating with the illegitimate, usurper and unelected government to serve the narrow purposes of the ruling party instead of protecting the independence enshrined by the constitution.” The BNP leader said their meeting strongly condemned and protested such despicable efforts. “We call upon the judiciary to carry out its judicial functions independently with an impartial attitude upholding the main character of the constitution.” Earlier on Wednesday last, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld a High Court verdict that cleared the way for the lower court to resume trial proceedings of a corruption case filed against Dr Zubaida. READ: Suffocating situation prevailing due to misrule: Fakhrul Fakhrul said Dr Zubaida is a non-political physician and the Anti-Corruption Commission has implicated her in the case with a political motive.  “The case has been filed without any basis only to harass and humiliate the Zia family.” He said the order that was given by the Appellate Division appears to be a dictated one. The BNP leader alleged that the government has been making efforts to eliminate political institutions using the ‘false’ cases by establishing its ‘control’ and ‘influence’ over the judiciary. “In the same way, they (govt) are trying to keep our leader Begum Khaleda Zia and acting chairman Tarique Rahman away from politics by unlawfully convicting them in false cases out of political vengeance,” he observed. The BNP leader also alleged that the government is trying to use the judiciary to destroy the democratic character of the constitution and thus establish a one-party authoritarian dictatorship.

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Tuesday said the government does not interfere in judiciary. He made the remarks at a briefing at his residence this morning. Also read: Padma Bridge opens for traffic in next June: Quader "BNP leaders and activists will create terror, destroy people's wealth and peace, set fire to buses, fight on their own, and if the government takes action in the public interest, they will say they are being arrested in fake cases," he said. He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina does not consider the political identity of culprits. The government does not intervene even if the offenders are Al supporters, Quader said.  He said many leaders of her party had been arrested in the cleansing campaign. Whenever the law enforcers arrest a criminal on a specific charge, the BNP makes false allegations, Quader said. He further said that BNP always nurture criminal and corrupt elements  as part of its politucal culture. Also read: AL rebels in recent UP elections will face the music: Quader The general secretary of the Awami League said that criminals or miscreants never  work for any party's interest. The BNP leaders are trying to hide their incompetence  by blaming the government, he added.

Iran’s hard-line judiciary chief won a landslide victory in the country’s presidential election, a vote that both propelled the supreme leader’s protege into Tehran’s highest civilian position and saw the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. The election of Ebrahim Raisi, already sanctioned by the U.S. in part over his involvement in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988, became more of a coronation after his strongest competition found themselves disqualified from running in Saturday’s vote. That sparked calls for a boycott and many apparently did stay home — out of over 59 million eligible voters, only 28.9 million voted. Of those voting, some 3.7 million people either accidentally or intentionally voided their ballots, far beyond the amount seen in previous elections and suggesting some wanted none of the four candidates. Read: Iraq Interior Ministry: 82 killed in Baghdad hospital fire Iranian state television immediately blamed challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and U.S. sanctions for the low participation. But the low turnout and voided ballots suggested a wider unhappiness with the tightly controlled election, as activists criticized Raisi’s ascension. “That Ebrahim Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance and torture is a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran,” Amnesty International’s Secretary-General Agnes Callamard said. In official results, Raisi won 17.9 million votes overall, nearly 62% of the total 28.9 million cast. Had the voided ballots gone to a candidate, that person would have come in second. Following Raisi was former hard-line Revolutionary Guard commander Mohsen Rezaei with 3.4 million votes. Former Central Bank chief Abdolnasser Hemmati, a moderate viewed as a stand-in for outgoing President Hassan Rouhani in the election, came in third with 2.4 million votes. Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi was last with just under 1 million. Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, who gave the results, did not explain the high number of voided ballots. Elections in 2017 and 2012 saw some 1.2 million voided ballots apiece. Iran does not allow international election observers. While Iran does not have mandatory voting, those casting ballots do receive stamps showing they voted on their birth certificates. Some worry that could affect their ability to apply for jobs and scholarships, or to hold onto their positions in the government or security forces. Read:A growing challenge for Iraq: Iran-aligned Shiite militias Abroad, Syrian President Bashar Assad immediately congratulated Raisi’s win. Iran has been instrumental in seeing Assad hold onto the presidency amid his country’s decade-long grinding war. Separate congratulations came from Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who also serves as the vice president and prime minister of the hereditarily ruled United Arab Emirates. The UAE has been trying to de-escalate tensions with Iran since a series of attacks on shipping off its coast in 2019 that the U.S. Navy blamed on Iran. Also congratulating Raisi was Oman, which has served as an interlocutor between Tehran and the West. Iran’s archrival Israel, however, slammed the new leader. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid called Raisi “the butcher of Tehran” and described him as responsible for the deaths of “thousands of Iranians.” Rouhani, who in 2017 dismissed Raisi as an opponent in his reelection as someone only knowing about “executions and imprisoning” people, met the cleric Saturday and congratulated him. “I hope I can respond well to the people’s confidence, vote and kindness during my term,” Raisi said. Read: Pope visits Iraq's war-ravaged north on last day of tour Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution overthrew the shah, Iran’s theocracy has cited voter turnout as a sign of its legitimacy, beginning with its first referendum that won 98.2% support that simply asked whether or not people wanted an Islamic Republic. Some, including former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, called for a boycott of Saturday’s election. A constitutional panel under Khamenei disqualified reformists and those backing Rouhani, whose administration reached the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The accord disintegrated three years later with then-President Donald Trump’s unilateral withdrawal of America from the agreement. Raisi’s election puts hard-liners firmly in control across the government as negotiations in Vienna continue to try to save a tattered deal meant to limit Iran’s nuclear program, at a time when Tehran is enriching uranium at its highest levels ever, though still short of weapons-grade levels. Tensions remain high with both the U.S. and Israel, which is believed to have carried out a series of attacks targeting Iranian nuclear sites as well as assassinating the scientist who created its military atomic program decades earlier. Raisi also has become the first serving Iranian president sanctioned by the U.S. government even before entering office over his involvement in the 1988 mass executions, as well as his time as the head of Iran’s internationally criticized judiciary — one of the world’s top executioners. The State Department said it hoped to build on the Vienna talks “regardless of who is in power.” However, it noted the election’s lowest-ever turnout and described Iranians as being “denied their right to choose their own leaders in a free and fair electoral process.” “Iran’s restrictions on free expression and association fundamentally compromise the electoral environment,” the State Department said. “Hundreds of political prisoners remain jailed, and we join the international community in calling for their release.” Read:A timeline of disaster and displacement for Iraqi Christians But U.S. hopes for a longer and stronger nuclear deal from the Vienna talks may be in question. “Raisi’s ambivalence about foreign interaction will only worsen the chances that Washington could persuade Tehran to accept further limits on its nuclear program, regional influence, or missile program, at least in Joe Biden’s first term in office,” wrote Henry Rome, an analyst at the Eurasia Group who studies Iran. Iranian presidents have almost all served two four-year terms. That means Raisi could be at the helm what could be one of the most crucial moments for the country in decades — the death of the 82-year-old Khamenei. Speculation already has begun that Raisi might be a contender for the position, along with Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba.

The government has planned big to give the judiciary an institutional shape and improve its efficiency through establishing a Law University and 'National Judicial Academy', and implementing other projects.