Center for Legal Dialogue Organizes a Discourse on the Masdar Hossain Case

On February 19, 2018, the Center for Legal Dialogue (CLD), a newly found student organization by students of Department of Law, University of Dhaka (DU) organized its inaugural event ‘Masdar Hossain Case: A New Dimension to the Independence of Judiciary’ at the DUCSU Building of DU. Mr. Mohamad Golam Sarwar, Lecturer of Law, DU adorned the event as the chief guest while two final year law students, Mr. Abdur Rahman Mazumder and Mr. Asadullahil Galib, spoke on the topic. Students from various departments of DU attended the discussion.

Mr. Abdur Rahman Mazumder spoke first on the background of the filing of the Masdar Hossain case. He explained the entire concept of separation of the judiciary from the clutches of the executive, the need for an independent judiciary and its components. Moreover, he submitted that the idea of an independent judiciary was a relatively modern one as influenced by Montesquieu’s theory of separation of powers.

In his speech, Mr. Mazumder also mentioned the provisions of Articles 114, 115, 116 and 116A of our Constitution, the changes in the provisions of those Articles after various Constitutional amendments and their implications on the independence of the lower judiciary. Towards the end, he remarked that the existing practice of the executive trying to retain some form of control over the judiciary is not the fault of the executive itself; rather it has become a part of the system.

Majder Hossain Case

In the latter part of the program, Asadullahil Galib spoke on the Masdar Hossain case, the moot question of the case and the aftermath of the judgments of the apex court. He analyzed the judgments of both divisions of the Supreme Court and the issues that were dealt with by the courts. He elaborately spoke on the differences between judicial service and civil service with regard to the different parts each of these have been placed in our Constitution despite both being service of the republic.

The 12 point directives given in the Madar Hossain case and the implementations of each of those directives were intricately discussed during his speech. While talking about the aftermath of this case, Mr. Galib mentioned how it was the caretaker government of 2007 that actually implemented the Masdar Hossain verdict, finally leading to the separation of the lower judiciary from the executive on November 1, 2007. Additionally, he cited the fact that the current government had finally formulated the service rules and conducts of lower court judges in December 2017. In conclusion, he observed that while the judiciary has been separated from the executive as contemplated in Article 22 of the Constitution, it is yet to be a fully independent organ of the state.

The chief guest, Mr. Mohammad Golam Sarwar addressed the audience afterwards and appreciated the effort of CLD in organizing such an event. He extended his guidance and cooperation to the organization and noted that such an initiative by the students is the ideal way of exchanging views and sharing knowledge among their peers. He wished all the success to CLD for its upcoming ventures. CLD aims to host more such symposium in near future.

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Ali Mashraf

Ali Mashraf is a sophomore law student at University of Dhaka and also serving as the Vice President (Marketing) of Network for International Law Students, University of Dhaka Chapter. To contact him, send an email to [email protected]

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