Parliament has passed the Anti-Corruption Commission Bill 2013 updating the previous 2004 law. Inexplicably, it contains a provision requiring criminal courts to seek permission from the government before pursuing criminal charges against judges, magistrates and public servants.
Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman M Bodiuzzaman says the new law curtails the freedom of the commission to act independently as it forces the ACC to seek government permission before filing cases against public servants.
This controversial provision was first mooted in 2011 with the argument that it was needed to bring the previous law into line with the code of criminal procedure. The then ACC chairman Golam Rahman warned that changing the law in this way would turn the commission into a “toothless tiger.”
In response to this concern, Law Minister Shafique Ahmed gave assurances that any amendments to the Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2004 would not require the commission to need the government’s consent to file corruption cases against government officials.
However, in September this year, the parliamentary standing committee on the law ministry dropped its opposition to this provision to curtail the ACC’s authority.
Analysts agree with the present commission chairman’s view that the new law’s provision does little to dissuade public servants from indulging in corrupt activities.
It is self-evident that the new law curbs the powers of a body which by its very nature needs to be independent. As the government and standing committee had previously acknowledged this concern, it is surprising that this provision should now be passed.
There is no reasonable justification for this move. The limitation on the independence of the Anti-Corruption Commission should be removed.
