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Viewing cable 08DHAKA359, DECISIONS ON JUDICIARY SEND MIXED SIGNALS

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08DHAKA359 2008-03-24 05:29 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Dhaka
VZCZCXRO2408
RR RUEHCI
DE RUEHKA #0359/01 0840529
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 240529Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6499
INFO RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 2104
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0572
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 9603
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 8378
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 1224
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 000359 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM BG
SUBJECT: DECISIONS ON JUDICIARY SEND MIXED SIGNALS 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (SC) on 
March 17 stripped a controversial High Court panel of its 
jurisdiction to hear writs just before it was to consider a 
politically charged case questioning the legitimacy of the Caretaker 
Government. In another development, President Iajuddin Ahmed 
established a Supreme Judicial Commission (SJC) to select judicial 
candidates for the Supreme Court. The commission, once established, 
will take away the authority of the government to select judges and 
thus help depoliticize the higher judiciary. The decision to limit 
the authority of the High Court panel, however, will inevitably be 
viewed by some as government meddling in the judicial system. End 
Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) Chief Justice M. Ruhul Amin on March 17 stripped a 
two-person High Court panel headed by Justice Shah Abu Nayeem 
Monimur Rahman of its writ jurisdictions, restricting it to 
low-profile civil cases. In recent months, Justice Rahman's panel 
has adjudicated a series of high profile and politically sensitive 
cases, including government charges of corruption against former 
prime ministers Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia, and often ruled 
against the government. Rahman's panel was popular with writ 
petitioners because, unlike two other writ panels of the High Court, 
he did not hesitate to challenge government actions under the 
Emergency Power Rules. The panel was scheduled to hear on March 20 a 
writ petition questioning the failure of the Election Commission to 
hold parliamentary elections within the constitutionally stipulated 
90-day period of the assumption of office by the Caretaker 
Government (CTG), which came to power in January 2007. 
 
3. (SBU) Adviser for Law and Justice A.F. Hassan Ariff termed the 
change of portfolios of the High Court panel "a routine matter" but 
recognized the perceived "political implications" in it. "The big 
newspaper headlines point to this perception," Ariff said.  Former 
Attorney General A.J. Mohammad Ali said re-shuffling jurisdictions 
of High Court panels is a common practice but the latest move was 
unusual because it came in the middle of the week. He said he heard 
speculation the government had the Chief Justice take away the writ 
jurisdiction of Justice Rahman on information that some people were 
preparing to challenge in his court the appointment of the current 
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) chairman, Hasan Mashud Chowdhury, 
which was made hastily without all legal formalities. Removing the 
writ jurisdiction was sure to create controversy following the 
government's recent efforts to try to force some judges to resign. 
 
4. (SBU) Meanwhile, President Ahmed promulgated an ordinance aimed 
at forming a nine-member SJC headed by the  Chief Justice to select 
judicial candidates for the Supreme Court's High Court and Appellate 
divisions. (Note: The President typically does not take such actions 
on his own accord. End Note.) The members of the commission would 
include the Law and Justice Minister, two senior judges of the 
Appellate Division, the Attorney General, one legislator each 
nominated by the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition in 
Parliament, and the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association. 
The Secretary of the Law and Justice Ministry would serve as 
member-secretary to the commission. The commission, with assistance 
from the Law and Justice Ministry, would recommend two persons for 
each of the judicial positions for consideration by the president, 
who would make the final decision. 
 
5. (SBU) Ariff told Embassy Political Specialist the SJC would not 
be formed until after the new Parliament was elected because two of 
its members must be parliamentarians. The ordinance itself loses 
legal effect unless the elected Parliament enacts it into a regular 
law. Ariff said the ordinance will exert moral and political 
pressure on the elected government to ensure transparency and 
fairness in the process of recruitment of Supreme Court judges. It 
is necessary to help improve the image of the judiciary, which was 
tainted by partisan appointments by previous regimes, he added. 
 
6. (SBU) Comment: As most political activity remains banned under 
Emergency Power Rules in place since early 2007, the higher 
judiciary has received much attention as a vehicle to adjudicate 
politically charged issues. Despite the formal separation of the 
judiciary from the executive from November 1, 2007, the perception 
that the court system is used by the government to advance its 
political agenda has not changed. On March 6, the Appellate Panel of 
the Supreme Court approved emergency rules that dispossess the 
appellate courts, including the High Court, of their authority to 
grant bail to the special graft court convicts. That action and now 
the sudden stripping of writ jurisdiction from a maverick judicial 
panel may serve to strengthen the perception the CTG is using the 
courts to advance its political agenda, especially its efforts to 
remove the two imprisoned former prime ministers from politics. The 
stripping of writ jurisdiction removes one important legal avenue 
for the high profile corruption suspects to effectively challenge 
their graft cases, which could speed up trials that have languished 
in court. Although the ordinance for establishment of a Supreme 
 
DHAKA 00000359  002 OF 002 
 
 
Judicial Commission seems a well-thought-out move, its 
implementation depends on the will of the next Parliament. End 
Comment. 
 
PASI