SK Sinha’s resignation: What happens next?

The senior-most judge of the Appellate Division Justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah will continue to discharge his duties as the acting Chief Justice till the appointment of the new Chief Justice. However, Bangladesh's constitution does not specify within how many days a Chief Justice has to be appointed after the post falls vacant. Law Minister Anisul Huq said Justice Wahhab Miah will continue to discharge the duties until the appointment of a new Chief Justice. “If the post falls vacant and until the president exercises his power to appoint the Chief Justice under Article 95 of the Constitution, things will go on according to Article 97 of the Constitution. There will be no vacuum,” Anisul told the reporters. Article 97 stipulates the temporary appointment of Chief Justice while Article 95 describes the authority of the president to appoint Chief Justice and other judges. Article 97 says: “If the office of the Chief Justice becomes vacant, or if the President is convinced that the Chief Justice is, on account of absence, illness, or any other cause, unable to perform the functions of his office, those functions shall, until some other person has entered upon that office, or until the Chief Justice has resumed his duties, as the case may be, be performed by the next most senior Judge of the Appellate Division.” Senior-most judge of the Appellate Division Justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah was given the responsibility of acting Chief Justice after the CJ went on leave in October. Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said a person who is already discharging the duty of a chief justice will not have to take a fresh oath if he is appointed as the new Chief Justice. “There is no bar for Justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah to continue discharging the duties until the appointment,” he added. He said that the constitution does not describe a time limit for the appointment of a new Chief Justice. The outgoing Chief Justice was scheduled to go on retirement after January 31, 2018.