Govt to review CG ordinances in coming days

The government will sort through a raft of ordinances promulgated by the caretaker government (CG) over the next two to three days, the newly appointed law minister said Wednesday, reports bdnews24.com.

"We will review all the ordinances of the caretaker government," Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shafique Ahmed told reporters at the Secretariat after joining office.

The interim government, headed by Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed, during its two-year tenure promulgated over 100 ordinances.

It sent at least 100 ordinances to the parliament secretariat in December for sorting ahead of being tabled at the first sitting of the ninth Jatiya Sangsad.

According to the constitutional provisions, any ordinance promulgated in absence of parliament must be placed at the first sitting of the next parliament.

If parliament approves, the ordinances will be enacted. Otherwise, they will be automatically annulled.

"The ordinances of public importance will be enacted," said the new law minister.

"It can be done in different ways -- either we can ratify all ordinances through an order, later they can be amended if necessary or we can evaluate their validity."

"Some of the ordinances have already expired," he added.

"We will do everything required for restoring democracy and establishing the rule of law," said the new minister.

On whether there would be changes to the constitution, he said: "If parliament thinks so. All the members of parliament will consider the matter for the sake of the country."

"We have to form an effective judicial system by extending the existing judiciary overall cooperation so that people can secure justice."

"We believe that there should be a separate secretariat under the Supreme Court that can oversee the activities of the justices and provide logistic support," said barrister Shafique, a Supreme Court lawyer.

In reply to a query, he said: "When a partisan government comes to power it exerts an influence in recruitment of judges. I do not like the notion personally. The judges should be honest, qualified and fair."

"They should not be loyal to any party. I believe when a judge is appointed and takes oath he/she should not be loyal to any party in any situation."