Law Minister Anisul Huq yesterday said that the government is still in favour of keeping the International Crimes Tribunal in its present complex old High Court building.“I will send letter to the Supreme Court requesting it to review its directive to relocate the International Crimes Tribunal from the old HC building if the Supreme Court again sends a letter to law ministry to reconsider the directives of ICT relocation. The law ministry will reply every Supreme Court’s letters requesting it to reconsider the directives of relocating the ICT, if the apex court sends any further letter,” the law minister made the comments to the reporters after coming out from Judicial Administrators Training Centre in Dhaka.
Earlier on August 18 last year, the SC wrote to the law ministry to relocate the ICT from its old High Court building and to hand over its possession by October 3. But on October 30, the law ministry sent a letter to the SC’s registrar general, requesting the apex court to review its directive.
Following this, the SC sent another letter to the ministry on December 4, asking it to relocate the ICT by December 31.
But, on December 29, the law ministry replied the SC requesting the apex court to reconsider its directives of relocating ICT.
In response to a query, the law minister said, “I cannot say about the latest situation of giving and receiving the letters over the relocation of ICT. But, I will reply every letter of the apex court requesting it to reconsider it directives over the relocation of ICT, if any find, Huq noted.
In response to another query, the minister said that the inclusion and removal of prosecutors from the ICT team is a continuous process. The government will do everything to be more functioning of the ICT, if needed.
In replying to another query, the law minister said that they would request the president to appoint the High Court and Appellate Division Justices, if needed as it is a continuous process.
He also said that the government would formulate a law in this year for appointing HC judges so that the appointment of judges could be done without any question.
Relating to the formulation of Election Commission law, the law minister said that the government would formulate a law for constituting the Election Commission if the president gives an order in this regard.
The ministry has a legislative division to draft any law and it will draft the law quickly for constituting the Election Commission after getting the president’s directive, he said.
“We are waiting for president’s order over the matter as the honorable president is now taking opinions of the political parties and other experts to determine the next course of action over the formulation of the EC,” he added.-STAFF REPORTER
