Bangladesh on Sunday established a separate Supreme Court Secretariat through a new ordinance aimed at strengthening judicial independence.
The law ministry issued the Supreme Court Secretariat Ordinance, 2025, under the president’s directive, placing administrative and financial control of the new body under the chief justice.
The secretary of the Secretariat will act as its administrative head with senior secretary status. A commission led by the chief justice will guide judicial administration, though the National Lawyers Alliance objected to including the attorney general as a member.
Most provisions take effect immediately, while Section 7, governing control and discipline of subordinate court judges, will be activated later. Officials said the move fulfils a long-standing demand dating back to the 1999 Masdar Hossain ruling.
For decades, the executive branch controlled transfers, promotions, discipline, and other administrative matters for lower-court judges, a problem identified in the Masdar Hossain case that prevented full judicial independence. The new ordinance fixes this by giving the chief justice full administrative and financial authority and creating a Supreme Court Secretariat that keeps all judge-related decisions within the judiciary.