Inquiry Commission on Enforced Disappearances Chairman retired Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury has said that judicial officers must have guts to dispense justice to all parties involved in a case without “fear or favour, ill will or affection.”
He said the best guarantee of the justice lies in the personality, efficiency, skills, impartiality and boldness of the judges. “A judge should treat every case whether involving the prime minister or a man in the street with equal vigour, rigour and fervour.”
The retired High Court Judge made the remarks addressing a workshop titled “Ensuring Justice: The Role of the Judiciary in Addressing Enforced Disappearance” at a hotel in Dhaka on Sunday.
“The judicature will hopefully rise to the occasion and ensure justice by addressing the enforced disappearance of the victims in this way,” he told a group of senior judges.
The workshop was organised by the Inquiry Commission on Enforced Disappearances.
Moyeenul Islam added that judges should always remind themselves of the words of the constitution, which states that the republic shall be a democracy where all fundamental human rights and freedoms are guaranteed.
Emphasising that a strong and independent judiciary is essential for a functional democracy, he said that judicial independence is the lifeblood of constitutionalism in such a system.
He pointed out that the public perception of the judiciary is very low, which is an ominous sign that does not bode well for the nation.
Moyeenul Islam noted that the National Human Rights Commission Act, 2009, failed to play any effective role in curbing human rights abuses, including enforced disappearances, during the period of the immediate past autocratic regime.
The Inquiry Commission head also revealed in his remarks that enforced disappearances were committed in a widespread and systematic manner through a three-layered mechanism.
The mechanism includes the strategic layer that represents the top brass and political leadership of the fallen government, the executive layer representing commanders and superior officers of the concerned force, and the functional layer representing lower-level officers, constables and soldiers of the concerned force, added the retired judge.
He mentioned that the orders for enforced disappearances came from the strategic level and were carried out by the executive level through the functional level, thereby creating command responsibility.
Moyeenul Islam said that during the 15 years of the past regime, the law enforcing and intelligence officials largely operated with impunity and zero accountability.
“There should be institutional reforms by making necessary amendments to the relevant laws so as to avoid any recurrence of enforced disappearance in the future,” he further added.
