Saydee Trial: Bangladesh pushed a side uncertainty over appointments of Judges
On 17th
December 2012, the tribunal 1, decided to continue the case of
Delwar Hossain Sayedee with a new Judge.
System
for appointing judges ‘undermining international courts’ was the
title of an article of Afua Hirsch
a legal affairs correspondent published on The Guardian on Wednesday 8 September 2010. It
informed that politicized voting and a lack of transparency has led to
unqualified judges taking key positions, study claims. A "toxic"
system for appointing the world's most senior judges is fundamentally
undermining the legitimacy of international courts, the study claimed. Unqualified
judges, in some cases with no expertise on international law and in one case no
legal qualifications, have been appointed to key positions because of highly
politicised voting systems and a lack of transparency, the Guardian has
learned. "There are a number of judges who really shouldn't be
there," said William Pace from the Coalition for the International
Criminal Court, which lobbies for reform of the ICC. Experts point in
particular to the case of a Japanese judge who did not have a law degree or any
legal qualifications, and was appointed to the ICC after Japan provided financial support.
Fumiko Saiga, who had been overseeing ICC proceedings
relating to war crimes in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, died suddenly of a
heart attack last year aged 65. There had been claims that she was unqualified
for the post. Nation states, who nominate judges from their own and other
countries to stand for positions in international courts, have been accused of
"vote trading", a practice where states lend their support to
nominees from other countries based on political considerations, rather than
judicial expertise. Within such a situation, "Human Rights Watch urges
states parties to put aside narrow interests and vote only for the most highly
qualified judges." There are more than 30 international courts and
tribunals covering approximately 200 nations, many of which have faced similar
criticisms. Although some degree of political interference is regarded as
inevitable in courts governed by international relations, today's findings
argue that the process should be more in line with the appointment of judges within
countries. "At national level, the trend is for more professionalised,
depoliticised systems, where we know a lot about the background,
characteristics of judges who are chosen and put forward," said Malleson. "Most
people assume there is an equally complex rigorous vetting process for
international courts, but that is not the case."
Thus the so called international
standards of ICC is a myth and nations are now urged by nation states to deal
with War Crimes with its own legal expertise and therefore within its own legal
sub culture keeping the international goals on justice in mind. In this regard
it is important to note that it is common practice in Bangladesh
for a trial to continue when a judge is replaced, falls ill, or is unable to
continue for other reasons.
Let us consider the Case of Cambodia’s attempt to the trial of the War
Crimes with the aid of UN. One report of BBC
(26 June 2011), informed that the head of a victims' association, Theary Seng,
called on Mr Blunk to resign, along with the UN-appointed administrator of the
tribunal. "We had expected and trusted the UN personnel in the court to
raise the quality of justice to international standards. But what's happening
is deceit - it's deceit with UN complicity, with UN insignia on it," she
told the BBC. The head of a victims' association, Theary Seng, has called on UN
figures to resign. The US-based Open Society Justice Initiative, which has been
monitoring the tribunal through its office in Phnom Penh,
sounded further alarms. Its most recent report said: "The court's actions
suggest that the outcome of a case has been pre-determined, and that judges
have refused to gather evidence or investigate facts."Conclusion:
Therefore, Bangladesh’s
attempt to bring the War Criminals accused of Crimes against Humanity – should not
be expected to be without hick-ups. Nevertheless, the global experiences urges
us to bare with ICT Tribunals and the judges (new or old) as efforts are made
to ensure justice for the crimes committed during 1971.
