Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06DHAKA4700
2006-07-27 09:38:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Dhaka
Cable title:  

JUDICIARY IS "SHAKING BADLY" OVER DISSATISFACTION

Tags:  BG PGOV PREL PTER 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO2581
RR RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHLH
DE RUEHKA #4700 2080938
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 270938Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0214
INFO RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 7515
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 1209
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 8619
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 9235
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL CALCUTTA
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 0878
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI 0292
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE 0138
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 0225
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L DHAKA 004700 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/24/2010
TAGS: BG PGOV PREL PTER
SUBJECT: JUDICIARY IS "SHAKING BADLY" OVER DISSATISFACTION
WITH CHIEF JUSTICE


Classified By: AMBASSADOR PATRICIA BUTENIS, REASONS PARA 1.4D

C O N F I D E N T I A L DHAKA 004700

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/24/2010
TAGS: BG PGOV PREL PTER
SUBJECT: JUDICIARY IS "SHAKING BADLY" OVER DISSATISFACTION
WITH CHIEF JUSTICE


Classified By: AMBASSADOR PATRICIA BUTENIS, REASONS PARA 1.4D


1. (C) Summary: Ambassador's dinner for four of Bangladesh's
most respected legal figures indicated that a "catastrophe"
was looming in the judiciary which the former Chief Justice
described as "shaking badly" due to the Chief Justice's
inability to deal with government interference. End Summary.


2. (C) On July 17, Ambassador hosted a three-hour dinner for
former Chief Justice Mustafa Kamal, Advocate Dr. Kamal
Hossain, former Attorney General Hassan Ariff, and High Court
Justice Taznul Islam. RLA was also present.


3. (C) The common theme of the guests was the deterioration
of the courts' integrity and people's confidence in the
judiciary which has traditionally been a pillar of decency
and fairness and has played a crucial balancing role in the
country's history. Justice Islam, the equivalent of a U.S.
Supreme Court Justice, stated he felt helpless on a bench of
unqualified and politicized judges "when our country is at
such a critical point." When former Chief Justice Mustafa
Kamal, one of the country's most respected figures for his
wisdom and toughness, was asked by RLA if the judiciary was
crumbling, he replied, "It is not crumbling but shaking
badly." The other guests urged the former Chief Justice to
discuss the pending "catastrophe" with the current Chief
Justice, who is perceived as a decent man but short of a
legal mind and backbone.


4. (C) None of the guests would describe the specific nature
of the "catastrophe," a word used several times. As RLA
learned the next day, 50 of 79 judges of the High Court (a
combination of our Appeals and Supreme Courts) were planning
to call on the Chief Justice to express their dissatisfaction
with his administration. The two main issues were the Chief
Justice's pending confirmation of 19 judicial nominees, the
majority of whom did not have the requisite qualifications to
serve as judges. The second issue was the Chief Justice's
unsavory practice of reassigning cases to a single bench with
a pro-government judge when a panel of judges disagreed on
whether the government made their case. While a meeting may
sound like a gentle rebuke, Dr. Kamal Hossain, Justice Islam
and a lawyer with the Attorney General's office all agreed in
separate conversations that the effect would be devastating.
At the dinner, Mustafa Kamal agreed to talk to his successor.


5. (C) RLA learned the next day from Justice Islam that the
catastrophe was averted that very afternoon. He said the
Chief Justice must have suspected something was up because he
called together the nine most senior judges and "apologized"
for his reassignment of cases to a single bench. According to
Justice Islam, the former Chief Justice did not intervene.
Justice Islam found the timing of this meeting curious and
surprising. Subsequent conversations with another dinner
guest and serveral members of the bar indicated that trouble
was brewing on the bench but no one appeared to know about
the meeting with the nine judges.

6.(C) Comment: The Chief Justice's mea culpa was timely but
not much more than a band aid in restoring faith in the
judiciary's independence.
BUTENIS