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Jittery wait for nine additional judges

ZAYADUL AHSAN
Nine additional judges waiting for confirmation of their service are keeping their fingers crossed, as indications are there that some of them might be axed.
Some of the judges have even prepared themselves to accept nonconfirmation, sources close to them said.
The government will decide on them by July 2, the day their temporary appointment expires.
After assuming power, the coalition government did not confirm the services of 12 additional judges. Senior lawyers quoting the immedi-ate past chief justice said that the government did so although the chief justice had recommended in favour of at least 11 of them.
The lawyers accused the government of politicising the judiciary and said these judges were not confirmed just because they were appointed during Awami League government.
In such a context, most of the nine judges, who would complete their two-year term on July 2, believe that their days as judges are all but numbered, sources pointed out. They were appointed at the fag end of the Awami League govern-
ment.
Law ministry sources said the government was yet to initiate processing of the files related to the judges' confirmation.
A ruling BNP policymaker told The Daily Star yesterday that they were not willing to confirm most of the nine judges because they think the Awami League government appointed some incompetent people as judge.
Sources said the government plans to confirm the additional judges it will be appointing during its tenure. They said the government
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will appoint more judges soon against the ones who will be axed or go into retirement. Additional judges are appointed on a two-year basis.
The government has already appointed 21 additional judges. Many seniorlawyers and the Bar association have questioned the political background of some of these judges. The Supreme Court Bar Association has been opposing several actions of the government terming those 'political intervention' in the judiciary and agitating against the non-confirmation of the judges.
Meanwhile, three unconfirmed judges filed writs challenging the government decision not to confirm their services despite the chiefjustice's recommendations. The Appellate Division has stayed the proceedings of the writs till September following a government petition.
While felicitating the new chief justice Monday, Bar President Rokanuddin Mahmud drew attention of Chief Justice KM Hasan to the issue of the confirmation of the nine judges and said, "You must ensure that your recommendations are not ignored. This would be your first test."
The Awami League appointed 39 judges in its tenure. Eight of them were confirmed while it was in office. The rest were supposed to be confirmed during the tenure of the incumbent government, but it already has declined to confirm 12 of them while one has died. The coalition government in its first months confirmed nine additional judges while the remaining nine are waiting to know their fate this week.