Former chief justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim passed away while undergoing treatment at Bangladesh Specialized Hospital in Dhaka early Saturday. He was 81.
According to the Supreme Court administration, his funeral prayer will be held at the Supreme Court premises at 1:30pm on Saturday.
Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed expressed profound grief over the demise of Justice Fazlul Karim. The Supreme Court Reporters Forum also extended their condolences.
Justice Fazlul Karim was born on September 30, 1943, in Suchakradandi village, Patia upazila, Chittagong.
He was the son of Ahmad Kabir and Sunia Ara Begum, and a descendant of Abdul Karim, a noted literary scholar.
He completed his matriculation from Kazem Ali High School, Patia, in 1958, and earned his BA from Chittagong College in 1960. He obtained his LLB degree from Dhaka University in 1964 before being called to the Bar of Lincoln’s Inn in 1969.
Justice Fazlul Karim began his career as a lawyer at the Chittagong District Judge Court in 1965. He was enrolled in the Appellate Division of the Dhaka High Court in 1970 and the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in 1979. He served as secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association in 1982 and became a member of the Bangladesh Bar Council in 1992.
He was elevated as a judge of the High Court Division on November 1, 1992, and as a judge of the Appellate Division on May 15, 2001.
Justice Fazlul Karim served as chief justice of Bangladesh from February 8, 2010, to September 29, 2010.
Justice Karim also contributed significantly beyond the judiciary, serving as chairman of the Judicial Service Pay Commission and a member of the Asia-Pacific Advisory Forum on Judicial Education on Gender Equality Issues.
He was actively involved in initiatives like the Court Administration and Court Management Project and the Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Scheme.
His death marks the end of a distinguished career dedicated to justice and legal reform in Bangladesh.