Law Minister Shafique Ahmed on Thursday stressed increasing inter-state cooperation to eradicate terrorism by putting an end to financing of criminal activities. “Some organisations are carrying out terrorist activities in the country after receiving money and training abroad,” he said.
“They (criminal outfits) have been attacking the common people and members of law enforcement agencies. They’re destroying public property through their various criminal activities, including arson attacks on power plants and vehicles,” the Law Minister said when Justice Robert J Torres of the Supreme Court of Guam, a United States territory, met him at the Secretariat.
Shafique said the government has a firm commitment to curb crimes and corruption in the country with the help of relevant legislation, including the anti-terrorism act, money laundering prevention act and mutual legal assistance act.
He said the government now can recover siphoned-off money by sharing information with other countries. Noting that the nature of crimes and corruption is changing in the course of time, the minister stressed the need for sharing experiences and training among judges and lawyers of different countries.
Barrister Shafique apprised Justice Torres of the government’s move to ensure quick disposal of cases. The Civil Procedure Code has recently been amended and the Criminal Procedure Code is under the process of an amendment to reduce the time lag in dispensation of justice, he said. There maybe changes in the CrPC to set time limits for investigation into cases, he said. Besides, said the minister, provisions can be introduced to create separate calendars for all the stages when a criminal case is mutually resolved out of the court through discussions between the defence lawyer and the prosecution.
Justice Torres expressed his satisfaction over the reforms in the legislations and the judicial process in Bangladesh.
He said Bangladesh’s commitment to eradicating crime and corruption can get further momentum if the inter-state cooperation is strengthened under the International Framework for Court Excellence, prepared by relevant groups and institutions in US, Australia, in Asian and European countries. – UNB
