The government has appointed 72 judicial officers as vacation judges in different districts across the country in order to deal with urgent civil and criminal cases during the upcoming civil court vacation for a 15-day period, from June 1 to 15.
The Law and Justice Division of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs issued the related notification on Sunday. The order, signed by Deputy Secretary (Administration-1) A F M Golzar Rahman, was issued under the President’s directive.
According to the notification, district judges, sessions judges, metropolitan sessions judges, and judges of special tribunals have been assigned as vacation judges for emergency case handling during the court recess, with the approval and guidance of the Bangladesh Supreme Court.
The notification further states that the vacation judges will exercise powers under the Criminal Procedure Code, 1898, to hear and dispose of urgent criminal cases. They will also have authority under the Civil Procedure Code, 1887, to receive and adjudicate urgent civil cases. In addition, they will oversee proceedings in juvenile courts established under the Children Act, 2013.
Judges on vacation duty will be allowed to use government vehicles and will receive their regular 15-day vacation allowance. If they serve outside their assigned workplace, they will be eligible for travel and daily allowances as per regulations.
However, the notification specifies that Labour Courts, Labour Appellate Tribunals, Administrative Tribunals, Administrative Appellate Tribunals, Court of Settlement, and Customs, Excise and VAT Appellate Tribunals are excluded from the vacation jurisdiction.
