Independent judiciary key to country's development: PM Hasina

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said an independent judiciary, strong parliament and administration can take a country towards development.

"After coming to power, we have made judiciary totally independent by separating it from the administration in fulfilling the belief of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman," she said while addressing the valedictory session of the two-day International Conference on 'South Asian Constitutional Courts in the Twenty-First Century: Lessons from Bangladesh and India' at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC).

She said that the government has separated the judiciary from the administration by allocating a separate budget.

The Judiciary, she said, was previously dependent on the government for financial matters.

The Prime Minister said that the government has announced plans to transform Bangladesh into a smart one by 2041."I want the judiciary to be a smart one."

She mentioned various initiatives taken by the Chief Justice to make the judiciary a smart one and thanked him.

She also thanked the higher court for their verdict which had declared the 5th and 7th amendments to the Constitution legitimising  the military regimes illegal.

"This supplemented the country's socioeconomic advancement since 2009 by ensuring democratic trend of the country. It has been possible as the country has had a stable situation since then," she said.

"Through the 15th amendment to the Constitution we have strengthened democracy," she said.

Besides, she mentioned that the Awami League government had enacted a law to formulate an independent Election Commission in Bangladesh.

She also said the Election Commission was attached to the Prime Minister's Office earlier.

"We have made it (EC) independent completely and allocated separate funds for it," said the prime minister.

"That means we believe in the independence of the EC, and the Awami League government can make that happen," she said.

The prime minister said that her government has included an article in the Constitution, as per the verdict of the High Court, making illegal grabbing of state power a punishable offence.

"By this inclusion, I can say, the basic rights of the people, democratic right, have been protected," she said.

Hasina said that Bangladesh has achieved recognition as a developing country effective from 2026.

"Inshallah, by 2041, we will be able to make Bangladesh a developed and prosperous country [Golden Bangladesh] to materialise the ideals of the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman," she asserted.

Chief Justice of Bangladesh Justice Obaidul Hassan, Chief Justice of India Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Anisul Huq and Justice M. Enayetur Rahim of Appellate Division also spoke at the programme.