The interim government has issued the Supreme Court Secretariat Ordinance, 2025, aiming to ease and streamline administration at the apex court and advance full judicial independence.

The Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs issued the ordinance on Sunday under the president’s directive.

All provisions except one, Section 7, will take immediate effect. Section 7 will come into force once the Supreme Court Secretariat is formally established and fully operational, after which the government -- consulting the Supreme Court -- will activate it through a gazette notification, the ministry said in a statement.

Section 7 states that the Supreme Court will, on behalf of the president, carry out all administrative functions related to the control and discipline of judges of subordinate courts.

Section 7 is reproduced below:

Discharge of service administration duties.

(1) The Supreme Court Secretariat shall be the institution responsible for service administration.

(2) To fulfil the purpose of Article 116 of the Constitution, the Secretariat will perform, on behalf of the president, all administrative responsibilities involving the control and disciplinary matters of service members.

(3) Matters relating to the control and discipline of service members shall be placed by the secretary of the Secretariat, through the registrar general, before the relevant committee of the Supreme Court for its recommendations.

(4) Members of the committee referred to in sub-section (3) shall be nominated by judges of the Appellate Division following prescribed procedures.

(5) Notwithstanding sub-section (2), postings or transfers of service members to the Law and Justice Division and its subordinate institutions, or to any other ministry, division, organisation, institution or authority, will be carried out -- after consultation with the Supreme Court -- under rules framed by the president pursuant to Article 133 of the Constitution.

On Nov 20, the interim government’s Advisory Council gave final approval to the draft of the ordinance establishing the Supreme Court Secretariat.

As part of institutionalising judicial independence, the chief justice initiated the process last year, when the Supreme Court submitted a proposal on Oct 27 to the law ministry seeking a distinct judicial Secretariat.

The ordinance marks the fulfilment of a long-held aspiration to set up a separate secretariat for the judiciary.

Calls for an independent judiciary in Bangladesh have spanned decades.

BCS Judicial Association General Secretary Masdar Hossain and his colleagues filed a case in 1995, seeking to free the judiciary from executive control.

In 1999, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court delivered its landmark verdict, laying the foundation for an independent judiciary.

The interim government on Nov 20 gave approval to establish a separate Secretariat for the judiciary, 26 years after the ruling.

Once the ordinance comes fully into effect, the Supreme Court Secretariat will handle all administrative matters concerning lower court judges, including transfers, promotions, disciplinary issues, leave, and recruitment.

Law Advisor Asif Nazrul said the Secretariat is expected to become fully operational within the next few months.

At the media briefing, officials clarified that only judges engaged in judicial functions would remain under the Supreme Court Secretariat.

Judges serving in administrative roles at other government bodies such as the Election Commission, Anti-Corruption Commission, Judicial Administration Training Institute, and Law Commission would continue under the purview of the law ministry.