News Desk :
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has been running all of its trial proceedings via videoconferencing for the last two weeks amid the coronavirus epidemic, reports bdnews24.com.
Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and others have termed the virtual court proceedings at the top court ‘historical’ and ‘groundbreaking.’
Initially from Jul 13, the virtual appellate bench heard criminal and civil cases from 10 am to 1:15 pm on Monday and Thursday. From the following week, the virtual court sat for five days a week.
The virtual bench of six judges, including the chief justice, has been hearing cases that have been filed with the court, but no new cases.
The bench used ‘Microsoft Teams’ on the first day but later switched to another web-based videoconferencing service, Zoom, because of limitations.
Zoom was chosen over the other platforms as all participants can be seen on a single screen with grid view during a video conference, said Mohammad Saifur Rahman, the Supreme Court spokesman. A database of lawyers exists in the IT department of the Appellate Division. Once the cause list or work schedule is finalised, Zoom meeting links and IDs are sent to the lawyers through text messages, WhatsApp or email. The lawyers use those links to log in to the virtual court.
“No new case has been filed in the Appellate Division. On the chief justice’s orders, the work schedule is prepared from those cases already on trial,” Saifur Rahman told bdnews24.com.
The judges use ‘breakout room’ in Zoom platform when they need to discuss something between themselves during a hearing.
“The virtual Appellate Division is functioning quite well. It has become very useful for the learned lawyers; they faced no problems,” said the spokesperson.
“They can participate in case hearings from their homes or chambers safely. It ensures the safety of our judges and lawyers.”
Entire IT departments of the Appellate Division and High Court Division are engaged in running the virtual court, said the judiciary official.
“A programmer, a system analyst, a court associate team and a librarian to provide ‘reference’ are present during the virtual hearings of the Appellate Division.”
“It’s a historical day for the Bangladesh judiciary. The law (for courts to use information technology) has been drafted under the initiative of the prime minister. We’re thankful to her. We’re grateful that the president has approved it and thank the law minister for his active role to implement it,” Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain said on the first day of virtual court proceedings in the Appellate Division.
“The judiciary has moved a step further digitally through this piece of legislation. The virtual court is not an alternative to the regular court. We’ll go back to the regular court proceedings once the situation goes back to normal,” the top huge added.
Former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque called the virtual court proceedings at the top court ‘historical.’
“I feel that it’s a very timely step. They should have taken the step earlier,” Justice Haque, who is now Bangladesh Law Commission chairman, said.
The Law Commission has prepared a draft of the ‘Digital Evidence Act’ and submitted it to the law ministry, he said. It would be a dynamic move if the government passed the law. We can run the court with the existing one but it’ll be better.”
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has been running all of its trial proceedings via videoconferencing for the last two weeks amid the coronavirus epidemic, reports bdnews24.com.
Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and others have termed the virtual court proceedings at the top court ‘historical’ and ‘groundbreaking.’
Initially from Jul 13, the virtual appellate bench heard criminal and civil cases from 10 am to 1:15 pm on Monday and Thursday. From the following week, the virtual court sat for five days a week.
The virtual bench of six judges, including the chief justice, has been hearing cases that have been filed with the court, but no new cases.
The bench used ‘Microsoft Teams’ on the first day but later switched to another web-based videoconferencing service, Zoom, because of limitations.
Zoom was chosen over the other platforms as all participants can be seen on a single screen with grid view during a video conference, said Mohammad Saifur Rahman, the Supreme Court spokesman. A database of lawyers exists in the IT department of the Appellate Division. Once the cause list or work schedule is finalised, Zoom meeting links and IDs are sent to the lawyers through text messages, WhatsApp or email. The lawyers use those links to log in to the virtual court.
“No new case has been filed in the Appellate Division. On the chief justice’s orders, the work schedule is prepared from those cases already on trial,” Saifur Rahman told bdnews24.com.
The judges use ‘breakout room’ in Zoom platform when they need to discuss something between themselves during a hearing.
“The virtual Appellate Division is functioning quite well. It has become very useful for the learned lawyers; they faced no problems,” said the spokesperson.
“They can participate in case hearings from their homes or chambers safely. It ensures the safety of our judges and lawyers.”
Entire IT departments of the Appellate Division and High Court Division are engaged in running the virtual court, said the judiciary official.
“A programmer, a system analyst, a court associate team and a librarian to provide ‘reference’ are present during the virtual hearings of the Appellate Division.”
“It’s a historical day for the Bangladesh judiciary. The law (for courts to use information technology) has been drafted under the initiative of the prime minister. We’re thankful to her. We’re grateful that the president has approved it and thank the law minister for his active role to implement it,” Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain said on the first day of virtual court proceedings in the Appellate Division.
“The judiciary has moved a step further digitally through this piece of legislation. The virtual court is not an alternative to the regular court. We’ll go back to the regular court proceedings once the situation goes back to normal,” the top huge added.
Former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque called the virtual court proceedings at the top court ‘historical.’
“I feel that it’s a very timely step. They should have taken the step earlier,” Justice Haque, who is now Bangladesh Law Commission chairman, said.
The Law Commission has prepared a draft of the ‘Digital Evidence Act’ and submitted it to the law ministry, he said. It would be a dynamic move if the government passed the law. We can run the court with the existing one but it’ll be better.”
