Mohammad Nayeem Firoz
The all-embracing criminal code as titled Criminal Rules and Orders (CrRO) in addition to Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) prescribes the necessary rules for smooth functioning of criminal justice administration in the subordinate judiciary in Bangladesh. It also stipulates package of strategies to be adopted for thriving judicial excellence. Apart from strategies to be adopted in the court procedures, some out-of-court strategies are also prescribed therein. The judicial conference and police- magistracy conferences are instances of such strategies as enunciated in rules 480, 481 and 482 of the CrRO.
Judicial conferenceThe sessions judge, metropolitan sessions judge, chief judicial magistrate or chief metropolitan magistrate, as the case may be, may convene a judicial conference at the headquarters of all judicial offices of the district four times each year. In such conferences, the president and secretary of the local bar association and public prosecutor/law officer may also be invited. Each conference should not last longer than one day and should ordinarily be held during holidays.
Such a conference should afford special facilities to the sessions judge, metropolitan sessions judge, chief judicial magistrate or chief metropolitan magistrate, as the case may be, for securing a personal knowledge of the officers under him and addressing their doubts and difficulties through discussion. A session judge, metropolitan sessions judge, chief judicial magistrate or chief metropolitan magistrate, as the case may be, can make such a conference a forum for discussing the affairs of each court with the judge concerned, for examining the state of his files and for ascertaining the progress of his work, his need for assistance and allied matters.
To facilitate consultation, each judge should bring with him and submit to the sessions judge, metropolitan sessions judge, chief judicial magistrate or chief metropolitan magistrate, as the case may be, a report of inspection of his office and the departments in his charge unless an inspection has already been held by him within the preceding twelve months.
The code also stipulates that a copy of the judicial conference report should be sent to the High Court Division.
The police-magistracy conferenceAt the instance of the chief judicial magistrate or the chief metropolitan magistrate, as the case may be, there shall be a police-magistracy conference once a month to be attended by the district magistrate and the superintendent of police or the police commissioner or their representatives. The conference shall also be attended by all the judicial magistrates, officers-in-charge of the police stations concerned, police officers/law officers representing prosecution and other officials. the conference shall deal with the following matters:
Removal of bottlenecks, if any, in the service and execution of pending processes
Ensuring the attendance of witnesses in courts
Security of witnesses while coming to and returning from the courts
Removal of snags in inquiries and investigation
Timely production of under-trial prisoners in courts from custody
Expeditious service of writs of proclamations and attachments
Security measures in court premises, security for the judicial magistrates and other concerned officials
Timely production of alamats from malkhana
Coordination and cooperation between the police and the magistracy in the matter of smooth dispensation of criminal justice
Measures to be taken for prompt disposal of cases
Any other matter of importance
Conference with the police at the sessions judgeshipThe sessions judge or the metropolitan sessions judge, as the case may be, may also convene such conference half-yearly to be attended by the concerned district magistrate, police commissioner/superintendent of police, civil surgeon, executive engineer (PWD), public prosecutor, president/secretary of the district bar association and all concerned including judges and judicial magistrates serving in that station.
To meet the expenses for arranging such conference, the sessions judge or chief judicial magistrate or chief metropolitan magistrate may request the government to make adequate budget allocation at their disposal.
These conferences have the effective impact on the reduction of case-backlog and other problems existing in the subordinate judiciary of Bangladesh.
Mohammad Nayeem Firoz is a Senior Assistant Judge, Chittagong.
See more at:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/juris/2015/feb/12/juridical-excellence-through-conferences#sthash.cyWzExr2.dpuf
