PM stresses ensuring justice for all

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday underscored the need for quick disposal of the cases alongside ensuring transparency and accountability in the judiciary to ensure justice for all.

"I want every person to get justice through disposing of the cases quickly and creating an environment to ensure transparency and accountability [in the judiciary]," she said.

The prime minister was addressing as the chief guest the 59th annual council of the Bangladesh Judicial Service Association (BJSA) held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the city.

She said the members of parliament have enacted laws alongside making amendments and developments to ensure security and welfare of the people while the judges are using those to guarantee justice for all.

"Since I am in power, I will do whatever is necessary for the development of the judiciary as they [people] get the rule of law and justice," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said her government has formed special tribunals to dispose of the cases filed under the anti-terrorism act.

"If the trial of anti-terrorism cases ends promptly, those who are engaged in terrorism will not engage themselves in the acts," she said.

The prime minister said patterns of the terrorism and militancy have changed with the advent of newer technologies and crimes are happening through technology.

"We have enacted a law to ward off cybercrimes. Many people say many things about it, but the fact is that the law is necessary for us as cybercrimes are now taking place immensely," she said.

She called upon all including parents, teachers, and religious guardians to raise anti-terrorism and anti-militant awareness campaigns across the country to fend off terrorism and militancy.

"We have to pay special attention as no children can get involved in the militancy," she added.

Referring to militant attacks in Jhalokathi and Gazipur courts, she said her government has taken measures as the judges can return home safely after delivering verdicts.

The prime minister said 101 tribunals are now working across the country to deal with the cases of women and children repression while seven tribunals are assigned to work with the human trafficking cases.

She hoped that if the trials of cases of women and children repression were disposed of quickly, the number of such crimes would decrease significantly.

To infuse dynamism in the judiciary, she said a total of 1227 judges were so far appointed in the lower courts since 2009 while a process is under way to recruit more 200 judges.

Recalling the contribution of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for the development of judiciary, she said Bangabandhu had scrapped a Pakistani law that paved the way of appointing women in the judiciary.

The prime minister urged the judges to think about what they had got before the Awami League assumed power in 1996 and what they received after that, saying, "You (judges) will see a complete change."

Sheikh Hasina said her government has continued the trial of war criminals confronting local and overseas hurdles, adding that she had gotten many foreign phone calls including from heads of state when her government initiated measures to try war criminals.

The prime minister thanked Judge Golam Rasul for his bravery in delivering the judgement in the killing case of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman overcoming many obstacles.

She said the BNP-Jamaat alliance called hartal on the verdict day (8 November 1998) as the judge did not come to the court to deliver the judgement.

The BNP-Jamaat alliance government later awarded the killers of Bangabandhu by giving postings in foreign missions and rehabilitated them in politics, she said.

She also said military dictator Ziaur Rahman freed 11,000 war criminals from jails to stop the trial of the anti-liberation elements that was initiated by the Father of the Nation.

The prime minister vowed to build a developed, prosperous Bangladesh and Smart Bangladesh by 2041 to give the people a beautiful life.

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq and Law and Justice Division Secretary Golam Sarwar spoke at the programme while BJSA President and Senior District and Sessions Judge A HM Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan gave the address of welcome.

A video documentary on the 59th annual council of the BJSA was also screened at the function.