Judiciary must remain relevant with time: Chief Justice

Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed said, “The judiciary cannot survive merely on the comfort of tradition. It must remain relevant with time.”

He made the remark on Saturday while addressing as the chief guest at a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary diamond jubilee and reunion of the Department of Islamic History and Culture of the University of Dhaka.

The event was held at the auditorium of the Teachers-Students Centre TSC of Dhaka University. The Chief Justice said, “No reformer can be wise without a deep understanding of history, and no judge can properly interpret the law without understanding the roots of his civilisation.”

Paying tribute to the memory of his late mother, eminent educationist and Bangladesh’s first female National Professor Professor Dr Sufia Ahmed, who was a student and later a teacher of the Department of Islamic History and Culture, he said, “She was one of that rare generation whose intellectual ambition was deeply intertwined with moral beauty. Her life was a symbol of women’s academic empowerment and the moral integrity of education, which continues to inspire me.”

The Chief Justice said, “Standing before you on this historic day is an experience of a grand union between memory and destiny. The 75-year journey of the Department of Islamic History and Culture is not only a chronicle of academic achievements but also an inseparable chapter in the intellectual life of the nation.”

He further said, “No reformer can be wise without a deep understanding of history, and no judge can interpret law correctly without understanding the roots of his civilisation. Law is the moral history of a nation written in the language of justice, while history is the quest for why society must become better.”

Regarding judicial reform, the Chief Justice said, “The judiciary cannot survive merely on the comfort of tradition. It must remain relevant with time.”