There will be no dialogue with the BNP over any unrealistic proposals, said Law Minister Anisul Huq on Sunday (July 09, 2023). “Election is the only solution and there will be no dialogue with the BNP on any unrealistic proposals, besides the prime minister has directly said that no dialogue will be held with them,” he said while talking to reporters after inaugurating a training course for judges and judicial officers at the Judicial Administration Training Institute (JATI). Read more: No dialogue with BNP on caretaker govt: Info Minister Talking about the RPO ('Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2023 of the Election Commission, the power of EC was not curbed rather the rights of people are conserved through the amendment of RPO. Replying to a question about the allegation raised by the BNP that the government has sent a letter to the justice and police to dispose of the cases against the BNP leaders and activities within two months, the law minister said “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led government has established the rule of law and there is no doubt in it. If they (BNP) showed any letter over it then there will be discussion. I think they (BNP) are active in making false issues failing to find any other issue. I firmly said that neither any letter has been issued in this regard nor any verbal order.” Read more: Law enforcers are being used to secure ruling party’s interests: Rizvi

Law Minister Anisul Huq on Sunday said the government will do whatever is needed to ease the long-running backlog of cases in the country’s courts. “We’ll follow all the methods practised in the world to minimise the backlog of cases in courts,” he told reporters after joining a programme at the city’s Judicial Administration Training Institute. The Law Minister was speaking at the inauguration of the 43rd and 44th special founding courses for assistant judges and equivalent judges there. Read: No scope now for law on EC formation: Law Minister He said it is now a big challenge for judges to minimise the number of pending cases in the country’s courts. “If this challenge can’t be tackled right now, it’ll get even harder in the future.” More than 34 lakh cases are pending with both the higher and lower courts across the country, according to a statistics placed in Parliament by the Law Minister in October last. Of them, over five lakh cases are pending with the higher court and the rest with the lower ones. Describing the judges as the driven force of the judiciary, Anisul Huq said the President would appoint judges to the High Court Division of the Supreme Court whenever he deems it necessary. He said judges are being given different sorts of training at home and abroad. The capacity of the Judicial Administration Training Institute has been enhanced, he said. Now70 participants can join two foundation training courses simultaneously at the institute, he said, adding that it has been possible due to the effective steps taken by the government. Read: Law minister rules out urgent enactment of law on election commission Earlier at the programme, the Law Minister said the government is constructing high-rise infrastructures at the district level for judicial purposes. The judges are receiving training in Australia, China, Japan and India alongside the local ones. He said the government raised the salaries and allowances of the judges significantly in addition to ensuring car facility for them. The purpose of all this is to ensure timely justice and meet the public expectation. Law and Justice Division Secretary Md Golam Sarwar also spoke at the function held with Director General of the training institute Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana in the chair.

The government has appointed Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana, former judge of the Supreme Court's Appellate Division, as the new director general (DG) of Judicial Administration Training Institute (Jati). The Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs issued a gazette notification in this regard Wednesday. Justice Nazmun Ara, Bangladesh's first female judge, will replace Justice Khondker Musa Khaled whose contractual appointment expires on May 20. She was appointed as the first female judge of the High Court Division in 2000 and also became the first woman judge of the Appellate Division in 2011. Justice Nazmun Ara, who retired in 2017, has now become the first female DG of Jati, a statutory body set up under the Judicial Administration Training Institute Act 1995. The government appointed Justice Nazmun Ara as the DG of Jati for two years as per section 11 (2) of the Judicial Administration Training Institute Act, the notification signed by Law and Justice Division Secretary Md Golam Sarwar said. She will get salary, allowances and other benefits similar to the one enjoyed by a judge of the Appellate Division. Justice Nazmun Ara joined the judicial service as an assistant judge in 1975 and was promoted as district and sessions judge in 1990.

Law Minister Anisul Huq on Wednesday said the government has planned to reduce the backlog of around 37 lakh cases by 5-6 lakh in the New Year.