Human existence in civil societies where there is ample application of the principle of the rule of law, is found to be happier and better in all respects compared to the ones where there is less observance of rule of law. Bangladesh like many other countries of the world declares that it is governed by the rule of law. An important feature of the operation of the rule of law is the existence of a body of laws and their enforcement. But an equally and more important side perhaps to truly having rule of law is observance of the fundamental rights of citizens such as proper accessibility to courts, corruption free operation of the legal system, the upholding of civil and political liberties, constitutional rights that guarantees the right to life, property and equality before the law, food and security as fundamental human rights. Furthermore, there must be separation of power between the executive and the judiciary to limit arbitrary governmental activities against citizens and for the citizens to seek redress from such arbitrariness through the judicial system.
While the laws in Bangladesh seek to ensure the adherence of countrymen to them, these very vital aspects, i.e. whether government and the legal system here adequately uphold the natural, legal and constitutional rights of citizens, poses some questions . Any good observer of the situation must reach the conclusion that the other side to having the rule of law in the form of individuals getting the protection of law and their rights duly honoured under the law, are still weak sides to the legal system in Bangladesh.
The establishment of proper rule of law can be a solution to the country’s various ills and this point was stressed in a seminar by the Chief Justice sometime ago. The creation of conditions for effective operation of the rule of law call for many things. First of all, the judiciary must be freed from the influence of the government. This task has been addressed but not fully, it appears. The police are at the forefront of law enforcement but the police still cannot claim the seal of incorruptibility . Therefore, the police needs to further go thorough a reform process that should stress on morals and sensitivity as regards the rights of citizens.
Police reforms must also include the full fledged functioning of a vigilance team to investigate the background of corrupt policemen with the aim of gradually weeding them out from the force . The initiative to have such a vigilance team appears to have dwindled down from the pressure of vested groups. Laws in operation that infringe on fundamental human rights such as section 54 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CRPC) needs to be altered, amended or abolishedprogressively. Police must be made accountable for violating clearly laid rules of interrogation of persons in their custody and government must devise a system to increase legal assistance for the ones who cannot afford to access justice due to poverty.
However. It should be clear to veteran observers that the situation has much changed in favour of people in Bangladesh in respect of law and order situation. As it is, the police have been doing a fine job of keeping crime rates as low as would be reasonably expected. Notwithstanding the pandemic, people fear less about muggings, robberies and serious crimes nowadays.
