Bangladesh News

The government has decided to appoint 101 assistant judges to lower courts in addition to 207 whose appointments are now almost at the final stage.

Even the law ministry has already in a requisition letter asked the Bangladesh Judicial Service Commission (BJSC) authorities to select qualified candidates for the appointment of 101 assistant judges through holding necessary tests and examinations, sources said.

Meanwhile, BJSC sources said the commission had already selected 448 candidates out of total 926 through a written test to finally appoint 207 candidates as assistant judges.

The selected candidates are now facing interviews, as their recruitment process will be completed within one month.

A BJSC official requesting anonymity told The Daily Star that the Bangladesh Judicial Service Commission will hold a meeting Soon to decide whether the 101 posts of assistant judges will be taken from 448 candidates selected in the written test.

When on Tuesday The Daily Star tried to contact secretary to the BJSC Farid Ahmed Shibly, one of his staff said the secretary was not interested to talk to the media.

Sources said only at the entry level judicial officials are appointed to the post of assistant judges while the other tiers are filled through promotion and added that about 400 posts of the lower court judges have remained vacant for more than seven years affecting people seeking justice across the country.

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shafique Ahmed has recently told The Daily Star that new judges will be recruited through the BJSC.

The government is trying to find out the reasons behind vacancies in the lower judiciary, he said, adding that they are very sincere about ensuring it so that litigants do not face any trouble getting justice, he said.

The process of appointments of 207 new judges began in November in 2008 when the number of vacant posts of assistant judges was the same, an official concerned said.

Sources said the judicial posts are lying vacant because of several reasons, including non-recruitment of judges during the BNP-led government, and separation of the magistracy.

The executive magistrates earlier discharging judicial functions were absorbed in the administrative posts after the separation of the magistracy through the separation of judiciary from the executive, sources added.

Besides, some of the judges either left the jobs or have been transferred to other services on deputation creating vacancies in the judiciary.

In May last year, the army backed caretaker government appointed 394 assistant judges to courts across the country following separation of the judiciary.