Rule of law can check arbitrary power exercise

Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha yesterday said the prevalence of the rule of law checks any arbitrary exercise of power by the government.

“If the rule of law does not exist, whims and caprice of the authorities would prevail leading to serious violation of people's rights and government's obligations while human dignity would be trampled under,” he said, while addressing the concluding session of a seminar on “Judicial independence” at Bangladesh Supreme Court Auditorium.

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When two organs of the State fail to perform their duties, the judiciary cannot remain a silent spectator, he said.

The Supreme Court in association with the Commonwealth Secretariat and Commonwealth Magistrates' and Judges' Association held the seminar.

The chief justice there said all modern societies throughout the world, imbued with beliefs in democracy, human rights and economic development, strive to achieve the goal of enforcing the rule of law.

“In fact in a democratic set up people take it for granted. Rule of law has many facets,” he added.

The attainment of social, cultural and human rights and rapid sustainable development would not be possible at the same time in a country where the law does not rule.

“Instead, it is ruled by the authorities in power.”

SK Sinha said the most important pillar of the constitutional edifice is rule of law.

“Everyone, whether individually or collectively, is unquestionably under the rule of law,” he said, adding that, “In our democratic polity under the constitution based on the concept of 'rule of law' which we have adopted and given to ourselves and which serves as an aorta in the anatomy of our democratic system, the law is supreme.”

As an independent judiciary, under the scheme of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, the court has played its role effectively in acting as a watchdog through judicial review over the acts of the legislature and the executive.

The chief justice urged people to gain knowledge about the present judicial system.

“Of the total people of this country, I am sure more than half of the people do not know what actually is meant by the separation of the judiciary and for that matter what is the bright side of the proposed separated judicial system.

“To address these questions, we should have at least an average knowledge of our present judicial system.”

SK Sinha also stressed the need for collaborative activities between Commonwealth Judiciaries in order to surmount “common challenges” in securing the rule of law and good governance.