AL lawmakers hint at possibility of reinstating parliament’s power

The Awami League could attempt at passing another law to give parliament back the power to impeach higher court judges, which it lost when the Supreme Court scrapped the 16th Amendment to the constitution last month. On condition of anonymity, several lawmakers and central leaders of the ruling party told the Dhaka Tribune that since the party had more than two-thirds majority in parliament, it would be easy to pass the law again when they wanted. It is only a matter of time and solely depends on the willingness of the party chief, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, they added. “We do not want any political observation from the country's apex court, but the court has passed the verdict on 16th Amendment based on political views,” said Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, organising secretary of the Awami League. Asked if the ruling party would amend the constitution to reinstate the law, the Dinajpur 2 lawmaker told the Dhaka Tribune: “We will discuss this issue in the upcoming session of parliament.” During a press conference on Thursday, Law Minister Anisul Huq, too, hinted at bringing further amendment to the constitution if the public opinion demanded it. However, Golam Mowla Nakshbandi, adviser to the party's Central Working Committee, said it was not the right time to comment on such possibilities. “It is not the time to say whether we will reinstate the law. Only Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and party General Secretary Obaidul Quader can say what to do going forward. I, personally, want a solution to this issue,” he added. He said there was a misunderstanding between the Chief Justice's office and the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs which created this issue. “I hope it will be resolved soon.” Meanwhile, Awami League Presidium member Pijush Kanti Bhattacharya said the party was not thinking about passing another law just yet. “At the moment, we are scrutinising the [Appellate Division] verdict on the 16th Amendment,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. Asked if the party might attempt to reinstate parliament's power to impeach the higher court judges should it win the upcoming 11th parliamentary election, he refused to comment. On Thursday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina advised the party leaders not to be anxious over the verdict during a meeting of the senior party leaders at Ganabhaban. She said the party would decide the next course of action after deliberating on the verdict, and also asked the party lawyers to find a way to resolve this situation. Earlier during a Cabinet meeting on Monday, the prime minister directed the Cabinet members to build public opinion against the objectionable and irrelevant comments made by the Supreme Court in the verdict when senior ministers criticised the judgement. The 16th Amendment, which was passed at parliament in September 2014, put parliament in charge of impeaching the higher court judges on proven allegations of incapability or misconduct, abolishing the Supreme Judicial Council, the Supreme Court's own mechanism led by the Chief Justice for the impeachment. On July 3 this year, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court scrapped the amendment and reinstated the provision of Supreme Judicial Council. In the full text of the verdict, the apex court made observations on different issues including democracy, the Election Commission, good governance, corruption, politics, martial law and independence of the judiciary. These observations have led to a strong debate among the government, political parties and judicial experts. In the last few days, several lawmakers, ministers and the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have vehemently criticised some of the observations made in the verdict. The government officially gave its reaction to the Supreme Court verdict on Thursday, 10 days after the full text of the judgement was published. At a press conference in Dhaka, Law Minister Anisul Huq announced that the grounds on which the apex court scrapped the amendment were unacceptable to the government. He said the Chief Justice made derogatory comments on parliament and undermined it. The law minister informed the press that the government had decided to make a move to get the objectionable and irrelevant statements made by the Chief Justice in the judgement expunged. “But the government has yet to decide whether it will seek review. We are still examining all the issues mentioned in the judgement,” he said, adding that despite disagreeing with the verdict, the government respects it. Criticising the reinstatement of Supreme Judicial Council, the law minister said the system was frail and not transparent, and the concept was a brainchild of military dictators. If people give them mandate or show their interest in favour of it, the government may bring further amendment to the constitution, he said when asked what the government was planning to do next. One day before the government gave its formal reaction, Law Commission Chairman Justice ABM Khairul Haque strongly criticised the Supreme Court's verdict at a press conference he arranged on Wednesday. Terming the verdict misconceived, irrelevant and immature, the former Chief Justice said the Supreme Court had made some observations overlooking the main issue of the case. Meanwhile, main opposition party the BNP came down heavily on the government for criticising the Supreme Court's verdict scrapping the 16th Amendment. During a press conference in Dhaka on Thursday, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir alleged that the government had taken the judiciary as its opponent following the release of the full verdict. He criticised senior Awami League leaders for opposing the verdict, saying: “There was a discussion at the Cabinet meeting after the release of the full verdict. I wonder if the way the ministers spoke about the verdict was tantamount to contempt of court.” He termed the verdict historic and said it highlighted the current political scenario of the country. Fakhrul further criticised the law minister's remarks and said it was his duty to implement the verdict, and he was deviating from that duty for a political reason. The BNP also heavily criticised Justice Khairul Haque for his comments on the verdict, calling his comments not only indecent, but also tantamount to contempt of court. As an official paid by the public exchequer, holding such a press conference is a complete violation of the government's code of conduct, Fakhrul commented. Meanwhile, Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, the man who is under spotlight along with his colleagues for the verdict, on Thursday urged everyone not to play any political game over the judgement. He said the apex court welcomed constructive criticisms, but its judges would not fall into any trap laid by the government or the opposition. “We are cautious. We, the seven judges, delivered the verdict after thinking a lot. Do not do politics over judgements,” he said after some pro-BNP lawyers placed comments made by the Law Commission chairman published in a newspaper before the court. The Chief Justice said anybody can criticise the apex court verdict, and in the end, history would be the best judge. Meanwhile, during a recent roundtable discussion in Dhaka, prominent jurist Shahdeen Malik said all of the apex court judges who delivered the verdict were appointed when the Awami League was in power. “All of them agreed on scrapping the amendment. It proves that the judiciary still enjoys independence,” he said.