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    Let's Establish Check and Balance: Law Letter Impeachment of Judges

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    Moniruzzaman Juror
    The document discusses proposals to amend the Bangladesh constitution to restore parliament's authority to impeach judges. It notes that the original 1972 constitution had empowered parliament in this way. However, the proposed 16th amendment may undermine the balance of power between the judiciary and legislature. If parliament regains the power to impeach judges without any role of the Supreme Judicial Council, it could remove judges at will based on the ruling party's whims. This could politicize the judiciary and threaten its independence. The document argues for a system where both the judiciary and legislature have a role in impeachment proceedings to maintain a harmonious balance of powers.

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    Let's Establish Check and Balance: Law Letter Impeachment of Judges

    Uploaded by

    Moniruzzaman Juror
    50 views2 pages
    The document discusses proposals to amend the Bangladesh constitution to restore parliament's authority to impeach judges. It notes that the original 1972 constitution had empowered parliament in this way. However, the proposed 16th amendment may undermine the balance of power between the judiciary and legislature. If parliament regains the power to impeach judges without any role of the Supreme Judicial Council, it could remove judges at will based on the ruling party's whims. This could politicize the judiciary and threaten its independence. The document argues for a system where both the judiciary and legislature have a role in impeachment proceedings to maintain a harmonious balance of powers.

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    Law letter

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    Law Letter

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    The document discusses proposals to amend the Bangladesh constitution to restore parliament's authority to impeach judges. It notes that the original 1972 constitution had empowered parliament in this way. However, the proposed 16th amendment may undermine the balance of power between the judiciary and legislature. If parliament regains the power to impeach judges without any role of the Supreme Judicial Council, it could remove judges at will based on the ruling party's whims. This could politicize the judiciary and threaten its independence. The document argues for a system where both the judiciary and legislature have a role in impeachment proceedings to maintain a harmonious balance of powers.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    50 views2 pages

    Let's Establish Check and Balance: Law Letter Impeachment of Judges

    Uploaded by

    Moniruzzaman Juror
    The document discusses proposals to amend the Bangladesh constitution to restore parliament's authority to impeach judges. It notes that the original 1972 constitution had empowered parliament in this way. However, the proposed 16th amendment may undermine the balance of power between the judiciary and legislature. If parliament regains the power to impeach judges without any role of the Supreme Judicial Council, it could remove judges at will based on the ruling party's whims. This could politicize the judiciary and threaten its independence. The document argues for a system where both the judiciary and legislature have a role in impeachment proceedings to maintain a harmonious balance of powers.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    Law letter

    Impeachment of Judges

    Let's establish check and balance


    A procedure for removal of Judges of the Supreme Court by way of address of the Houses of
    Parliament to the President for 'proved misbehavior or incapacity' is going to be revived in
    our constitution by upcoming 16th amendment as the cabinet approved a proposal to amend
    the constitution to restore parliaments' authority to impeach judges. The original constitution
    (of 1972) had empowered parliament with the authority to impeach.
    By virtue of the supreme judicial council a judge can be removed from his office for his
    incapacity or gross misconduct under article 96 under of the constitution. We should reach at
    a solution where both judiciary and legislature sounds in harmony. There can be two
    procedures one is complaint procedure and other is motion procedure, under complaint
    procedure one can file a complaint before supreme judicial council against a judge about his
    prima facie misconduct or incapacity. Then if the council finds the allegation true e.g. proved,
    then it can be sent to the house for motion procedure. In this system both judicial and
    legislative kudos can be endorsed. But in no way parliament can come first to take the
    procedure in account, this is the job of council. As per the provision judges will be
    impeached for proved misconduct and incapacity. This means a judge can only be impeached
    in parliament when the allegation brought against him is proved beyond reasonable doubt.
    Now the question is who will conduct the proof procedure, certainly it rests upon council
    not the house. Because there is a jurisprudential principle that 'nemo judex in parte sua'
    which means 'no person can judge a case in which he or she is party or in which he/she has
    an interest'. Furthermore the term 'misconduct' needs to be expressed with utmost certainty by
    prescribing specific bits and pieces only upon which a judges can be said to have committed
    misconduct.
    But the proposed the 16th amendment may destroy the check and balance between legislature
    and judiciary and thus independence of judiciary may be at stake which may lead to
    politicising the judiciary.
    Just imagine a situation - if the Supreme Judicial Council is abolished and the present
    parliament gets back its earlier authority, it might take action against some judges. If the
    government changes and another party come to power, it will take action against some others
    [judges] and it will continue. Is it possible for every time for any party to hold two third
    majorities in parliament? If it is not be so, how will judges be impeached then? If any party
    holds so, then judges will be removed and appointed wholesale on the basis of whim of that
    ruling party. And this would be easy by virtue of Article 70 of our constitution. Such a
    situation will definitely lead the judges to be politicised and influenced for the sake of
    protecting his office consequently independence of judiciary and 'judicial review' will be at
    stake.
    We are not talking about complete separation of power in the quest of independence of
    judiciary rather we are talking about, as Dr. Ambedkar says, harmonious governmental
    structure.

    Shekh Md. Muhibbullah


    Student of LL.M
    University of Dhaka

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