Law
week
Outgoing CJ Karim slated at farewell
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam blamed outgoing Chief Justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim of violating the constitution by not administering oath to two high court judges appointed by the president. In a written statement, he said Justice Fazlul Karim has satisfied a section against the Liberation War through violating the constitution. The attorney general placed the statement while according farewell to Justice Fazlul Karim at court No-1 of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. The chief justice goes into retirement. -The Daily Star, September 30, 2010.
Makeshift court house to be built near Dhaka jail
The government will build a makeshift structure near Dhaka Central Jail to house a special court for trial of two criminal cases filed for the BDR headquarters carnage in the capital last year. It took this decision recently considering the record number of accused -- 824-- in the cases, and gravity of the offences, official sources said. The home ministry has already asked the Public Works Department (PWD) to build the structure as soon as possible on the playground of Naba Kumar Institute. An official of the home ministry said it might take a couple of months to make the structure ready for trial of the two cases. -The Daily Star, September 30, 2010.
Culture of secrecy still big barrier to RTI law
One of the major challenges in implementing the Right to Information Act 2009 is the mindset of bureaucrats who are not yet open to the idea of providing information, said speakers at a roundtable. They pointed out that the RTI act overrides some outdated legislations, such as the Official Secrets Act 1923, Evidence Act 1872, Rules of Business 1996 and the Government Servants (Conduct) Rules 1979. However, the culture of secrecy that developed for the years still impedes the RTI. The speakers called for special attention to some loopholes in the act. -The Daily Star, September 29, 2010.
5-year plan to cover all fears
In an attempt to pull the plug on human rights violation in the country, the National Human Rights Commission is set to announce a five-year strategic plan. The plan will accumulate commission's mission and vision as well as a roadmap of its activities to end violation of human rights in the areas including repression against women and children, extra judicial killings and violation of rights of ethnic minority groups. “A guideline will be integrated to the comprehensive plan to address all the fundamental issues concerning human rights,” the NHRC Chairman Prof Mizanur Rahman told The Daily Star. Eminent human rights consultant and former chief of the National Human Rights Commission in New Zealand, Peter Hosking is assisting the commission to prepare the plan. -The Daily Star, September 29, 2010.
BSF says only criminals killed
Indian Border Security Force (BSF) Director General Raman Srivastava said yesterday people killed by BSF personnel in the bordering areas were 'criminals,' and almost half of them were Indian nationals. “All these people are dying inside the Indian territory not in Bangladesh territory,” he said. They move across the border in various ways at dead of night with certain motives such as smuggling. And BSF troops open fire without finding any alternative, Srivastava added. The BSF chief made the remarks at a press briefing on conclusion of the six-day BDR-BSF conference at the Bangladesh Rifles headquarters at Pilkhana in the capital. BDR Director General Maj Gen Md Rafiqul Islam however told the press briefing that they protested frequent shooting and killing of unarmed Bangladeshi people by BSF men.-The Daily Star, September 28, 2010.
EC ready to challenge HC stay order
The Election Commission is making preparations to begin legal battle against the High Court's order that stayed for six months its gazette notification, declaring Awami League leader Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir's seat in parliament vacant. The lawmaker joined the parliament sitting, the day after obtaining the HC's stay order. “We are waiting for the certified copy of the court's rule. Our lawyers will respond to it,” Election Commissioner Muhammed Sohul Hussein told reporters after an EC meeting at the commission secretariat. The meeting discussed the next course of action to this end. -The Daily Star, September 28, 2010.
Frauds used court to speed up recruitment
The government was forced to hastily appoint the 190 fake staff of the Mujibnagar government as they filed contempt of court petitions against the government for making delays in appointing them. They filed writ petitions with the High Court placing forged documents and asked to be absorbed into government service since they were staff of the Mujibnagar government, the enquiry conducted by the law ministry revealed. The petitions were filed between 2003 and 2005. According to the findings of the probe body, the government, while trying to avert the contempt proceedings against it, could not find the time to examine the authenticity of their claim that they served in the Mujibnagar government in exile during the Liberation War. -The Daily Star, September 27, 2010.
Court even can't review deals
A proposed legislation allowing the government to quickly award energy sector contracts on unsolicited negotiation basis precludes the court's jurisdiction to review actions done under this law. "All acts done or purported to have been done, actions taken or orders made under this law shall not be called in question in any court," says a provision of the bill placed in parliament. The proposed legislation styled "Power and Energy Fast Supply Enhancement (Special Provision) Act, 2010" would empower the government with sweeping authority to take and implement any projects for quick generation, distribution and marketing of power and gas for next two years. A number of legal experts however observe it cannot oust the jurisdiction of the apex court to look into allegations of misuse of power. -The Daily Star, September 27, 2010.
UK goes after cyberstalking
A new survey has been launched in an effort to find out the true level of cyberstalking in the UK. It comes a day after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) unveiled new guidance to prosecutors and promised to get tough on cyberstalkers. More than one million women and 900,000 men are stalked in the UK every year, according to the British Crime Survey. But until now no research has been done to find out how many people are stalked or harassed online. On Friday the Electronic Communication Harassment Observation (Echo) survey, commissioned by the charity Network for Surviving Stalking, was launched by researchers at the University of Bedfordshire. -The Daily Star, September 26, 2010.
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