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WHILE the laws in Bangladesh seek to ensure the subservience or adherence of countrymen to them, the vital aspects, i.e. whether government and the legal system here adequately uphold the natural, legal and constitutional rights of citizens, are very serious and unavoidable questions. Any good observer of the situation must reach the conclusion that having the rule of law in the form of individuals getting the protection of law and their rights duly honoured under the law, is a very weak side to the legal system in Bangladesh.
The establishment of proper rule of law can be a solution to the country's various ills. The creation of conditions for effective operation of the rule of law calls for many things. First of all, the judiciary must be freed from the influence of the government. This task has been inexcusably pending for long. The police are at the forefront of law enforcement but the police are presently the most corrupt among the professionals in Bangladesh. Therefore, the police force must go through a reform process that should stress on morals and sensitivity in regard to the rights of citizens. Police reforms must also include an institutional arrangement for the full-fledged functioning of a vigilance team to investigate the background of corrupt policemen with the aim of weeding them out from the force for good. The initiative to have such a vigilance team appears to have died down due to pressure of vested groups.
The election laws of the country will have to be suitably upgraded or amended to make them foolproof to stop nomination of persons of questionable backgrounds for elections at all levels. Laws in operation that infringe on fundamental human rights such as section 54 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CRPC) need to be altered, amended or abolished. Police and RAB must be made accountable for violating clearly laid rules of interrogation of persons in their custody and the government must devise a system to progressively increase legal assistance for the ones who cannot afford to access justice due to poverty. And the phenomenon of the death of persons in custody of RAB and then explaining away the same as having resulted from cross-fire must be brought to an end.
Sadeque Ali
Advocate, High Court
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