bdnews24.com :The Law Commission has handed a draft law to the government, which allows Parliament to sack judges for misdemeanour following investigations by a committee headed by a former Supreme Court judge. The 16th Amendment to the Constitution from 2014 had revived Parliament’s powers to sack top judges on the grounds of incompetence and misconduct. Law Minister Anisul Huq said he will wait for the chief justice to respond to a request for his opinion of the draft law before making a comment.Justice ABM Khairul Haque, who heads the Law Commission, informed the president about its completion while presenting an annual report on Mar 22. A copy of the draft is available with bdnews24.com.Bangladesh’s first Constitution allowed MPs the power to remove judges which they had enjoyed for four years after independence in 1971. The Awami League government brought on the latest amendment to Constitution nine months after coming to power for a second consecutive term in 2014.It was then said that the law would be formulated within three months of a relevant Bill being passed in Parliament. But it took more than two years for the draft to be completed and it will be debated before being finally signed into law. “I said before that I’ll hear the opinions of stakeholders before formulating the law. The honourable judges are the stakeholders of this law,” said Law Minister Huq. “I’ve sent a copy of the draft to the honourable chief justice’s office. The process will continue after he sends his remarks.”The draft sets the definition for impropriety and incompetence for judges which, if proven, could deliver grounds for termination. A judge can be held up for unethical behaviour if he or she passes judgment out of fear, favour, fondness, or aversion, it says. Exploiting position and office for gaining privileges, violations of ethics and influencing others in matters of judgment or being influenced can lead to violation under the law.International and continual failure to carry out judicial role and concealment of necessary information from personal details were also listed under misbehaviour. Incapacity, in the draft law, is when a judge suffers physical or mental ailment of permanent nature.
