Chanting Joy Bangla or Bangladesh Zindabad will not make anyone a judge: Asif Nazrul

Law Adviser Dr. Asif Nazrul has said that merely chanting slogans such as “Joy Bangla” or “Bangladesh Zindabad” for a decade does not qualify anyone to become a judge, stressing that meaningful reforms have already been undertaken in the judiciary despite criticism.

He made the remarks while speaking at a dialogue titled “Judicial Independence and the Rule of Law”, organised by the Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) at the CIRDAP auditorium in Dhaka on Sunday (January 18).

Addressing concerns over judicial reforms, Asif Nazrul said negative narratives around reforms tend to gain more attention, creating the impression that no progress has been made. “That is not true. If we consider reform as a 10-step process, at least four steps have already been achieved,” he said, though he acknowledged that police reform has not yet been fully successful.

He emphasised that reforms are also needed within the higher judiciary and said the courts themselves would take the lead in this regard.

The law adviser further said that all necessary measures to ensure judicial independence have been initiated, adding that establishing full rule of law would take another five to ten years. “We have moved in the right direction. If an elected government continues this process, the people will ultimately benefit,” he added.