Judge appointment ordinance discriminatory: SC Bar president

Supreme Court Bar Association President Barrister AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon has termed the recently issued “Supreme Court Judges Appointment Ordinance, 2025” discriminatory.

At the same time, he demanded that this ordinance be amended.

“The ordinance has disappointed the legal community. No lawyer representative has been included in the ‘Supreme Judicial Appointment Council’, tasked with selecting and recommending suitable candidates for judicial positions. However, representatives of the judges of the subordinate courts have been included in the council. This is discriminatory. I am demanding that this ordinance be amended,” said Barrister Khokon while talking to reporters in front of the media room of the Supreme Court Annex building on Thursday (January 23).

Notable, according to the “Supreme Court Judges Appointment Ordinance, 2025”, a seven-member council, headed by the Chief Justice, will scrutinise and recommend names for the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and send it to the President. However, if the President wants, he can reject any name from the council's recommendation, citing reasons. The government issued the ordinance on January 21.

Earlier, on November 28, a draft of this ordinance was sent to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs by the Supreme Court.
The ordinance has been formulated for the purpose of selecting suitable persons for appointment to the Supreme Court and advising the President by the Chief Justice.

Section 3 of the Ordinance states that there shall be a permanent council to assist the Chief Justice in advising the President on the appointment of judges of the Supreme Court, to be called the ‘Supreme Judicial Appointment Council’, to make recommendations in accordance with this Ordinance.

The Chief Justice shall be the Chairperson of this seven-member Council. The members of the Council shall be the senior-most serving judge of the Appellate Division, the senior-most serving judge of the High Court Division, the senior-most serving judge of the High Court Division appointed from the Judicial Service Division (subordinate courts), a retired judge of the Appellate Division nominated by the chairperson, the attorney general (ex-officio chairman of the Bar Council) and a law professor or legal expert nominated by the chairperson.