BJSA seeks urgent 'state rank order' correction

The Bangladesh Judicial Service Association (BJSA) has filed a petition requesting an urgent correction of the country's state rank order and called for a hearing in the Appellate Division.

The Appellate Division, headed by the Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, agreed to schedule the hearing for January 16 following the filing of the plea by Barrister Nihad Kabir on January 9.

The review follows a 2015 verdict that fixed the state rank order, placing constitutional office-bearers at the top. District judges and judiciary members of equal rank have been promoted from position 24 to 16 in the state rank order, followed by the judiciary members.

The 2015 ruling emphasized that the state rank order should be used only for ceremonial purposes and not in policy-making. This request for a review comes after a 2010 High Court verdict, which had previously canceled an amended Warrant of Presidency related to the state rank order.