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The Supreme Court of Bangladesh (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ সুপ্রীম কোর্ট) is the highest court of law in Bangladesh. It is composed of the High Court Division and the Appellate Division, and was created by Part VI Chapter I of the Constitution of Bangladesh adopted in 1972. This is also the office of the Chief Justice, Appellate Division Justices, and High Court Division Justices of Bangladesh. As of May 2019, there are 7 Justices in Appellate Division and 92 (74 are permanent and 18 are additional) in High Court Division.
Structure
Supreme Court of Bangladesh is divided into two parts. First, the Appellate Division and second is the High Court Division. The High Court Division hears appeals from lower courts and tribunals; it also has original jurisdiction in certain limited cases, such as write applications under Article 102 of the Constitution of Bangladesh, and company and admiralty matters. The Appellate Division has jurisdiction to hear appeals from the High Court Division. The Supreme Court is independent of the executive branch, and is able to rule against the government in politically controversial cases.
The Chief Justice of Bangladesh and other judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President of Bangladesh with prior mandatory consultation with the Prime Minister. The entry point to the seat of judges in the High Court Division is the post of Additional Judge who are appointed from the practicing Advocates of the Supreme Court Bar Association and from the judicial service under the provision of Article 98 of the constitution for a period of two years. The current ratio of such appointment is 80%–20%. Upon successful completion of this period and upon recommendation by the Chief Justice an Additional Judge is appointed permanently by the President of Bangladesh under the provision of Article 95 of the Constitution. The judges of the Appellate Division are also appointed by the President of Bangladesh under the same provision. All such appointments come into effect on and from the date of taking oath by the appointee under the provision of Article 148 of the constitution.
A judge of the Bangladesh Supreme Court holds office until (s)he attains the age of 67 years as extended by the provision of Constitution (Thirteenth) Amendment Act, 2004 (Act 14 of 2004). A retiring judge faces disability in pleading or acting before any court or authority or holding any office of profit in the service of the republic, not being a judicial or quasi-judicial office or the office of the Chief Adviser or Adviser.
A Supreme Court Judge is not removable from office except in accordance with the provision of Article 96 of the Constitution which provides for Supreme Judicial Council empowering it to remove a judge of the supreme court from office upon allowing the delinquent judge an opportunity of being heard. The supreme judicial council is constituted with the Chief Justice of Bangladesh and next two senior judge of the Appellate Division, provided if at any time the Council inquiring into the capacity or conduct of a judge who is a member of the supreme judicial council, or a member of the council is absent or is unable to act due to illness or other cause, the judge who is the next in seniority to those who are members of the Council shall act as such member.
Supreme court judges are independent in their judicial function as empowered through article 94(4) of the Constitution.
Judgments of Supreme Court of Bangladesh
As per Article 111 of the Constitution of Bangladesh, 1972, the Supreme Court judgments have binding effects and the article provides that the law declared by the Appellate Division shall be binding on the High Court Division and the law declared by either division of the Supreme Court shall be binding on all courts subordinate to it.
These judgement are usually digested in the Bangladesh Supreme Court Digest. There are also many law reports which publish the judgments and orders of the Supreme Court. All these law reports are in printed volumes. Only Chancery Law Chronicles offers the Online service of judgments of Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
Criticism
Albeit Bengali is the only state language of Bangladesh in accordance with the article 3 of the Constitution of Bangladesh and English literacy rate is very low, the verdicts given by the judges at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh are frequently in English following the colonial tradition of the British rule, and violating the Bengali Language Implementation Act, 1987 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Sheikh Hasina, the incumbent and longest serving Prime Minister of Bangladesh, suggested that the judges should deliver their verdicts in Bengali so that every Bangladeshi can read them, and, later on if need be, the verdicts could be translated in English. Muhammad Habibur Rahman, a former Chief Justice of Bangladesh stated that if justice is a virtue and a service to the people, then verdicts should be given in Bengali. He also stated that if the people of the country want that all works in the Supreme Court must be operated in Bengali, then the representatives of the people in the Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament of Bangladesh) must enact and implement law to ensure the use of Bengali in the Supreme Court.