Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed on Tuesday said the government has taken steps to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) aiming at quick disposal of cases. “We’re going to amend the law (CrPC)… lawyers will also have to work sincerely in this regard,” he said at the concluding session of a two-day training programme in the capital. The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), the national graft watchdog, organised the training programme on ‘asset recovery’ at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel to strengthen the capacity of government officials to recover siphoned off public money from abroad. Speaking as the chief guest, Barrister Shafique Ahmed said that as many graft accused take stay orders from court, it delays the legal process in settling the graft cases. Urging the ACC to hire efficient and competent lawyers, he said: “Be careful in selecting your lawyers… otherwise the cases will never be finished, never be completed.” The Law Minister stressed the need for trained ACC officials to conduct investigations into graft allegations and for trained lawyers to help the prosecution settle the cases. “Training is a must… there is no alternative to training. It improves performance of all professionals,” he said. Barrister Shafique mentioned that the government has enacted some new laws, including the Money Laundering Prevention Act-2012 and Anti Terrorism (Amendment) Act-2012, to check money laundering. So, the lawyers must be trained for getting them introduced to these laws, he said. Chaired by ACC chairman M Badiuzzaman, the concluding session of the training programme was also addressed, among others, by attorney general Mahbubey Alam and ACC secretary M Faizur Rahman Chowdhury. -UNB
