Syed Refaat Ahmed appointed as Chief Justice
President Mohammed Shahabuddin appointed him through Article 95(1) of the Constitution
High Court judge Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed has been appointed as the Chief Justice of Bangladesh.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin appointed him through Article 95(1) of the Constitution, reads a notification issued by the law ministry today (10 August).
The new Chief Justice will be sworn in tomorrow at 12pm at Bangabhaban, according to Supreme Court sources.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Refaat Ahmed, the senior most judge of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court, was first appointed as a judge of the Appellate Division and then as the Chief Justice, law ministry Secretary Md Golam Sarwar told the media.
Earlier today, Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan resigned from his position after students marched towards the High Court premises, demanding the resignation of the Chief Justice and other justices loyal to the Awami League and a restructure of the country's judiciary.
Later this afternoon, five Appellate Division judges resigned following Obaidul Hassan's resignation. The five judges are Justice M Enayetur Rahim, Justice Jahangir Hossain, Justice Md Abu Zafor Siddique, Justice Md Shahinur Islam and Justice Kashefa Hussain.
Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed was born on 28 December 1958. His father, Barrister Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed, was a former attorney general of Bangladesh. His mother, Dr Sufia Ahmed, was a National Professor and professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Dhaka.
Refaat Ahmed did his bachelor of law at the University of Dhaka. He completed a bachelor of arts in jurisprudence and masters at the Wadham College of Oxford University in 1983. He completed a Masters and PhD at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University.
In 1984, Refaat Ahmed became a lawyer of the District Courts. He became a lawyer of the High Court Division in 1986. He also worked at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Hong Kong and Washington, DC.
He was appointed an additional justice of the Bangladesh High Court on 27 April 2003 and made a permanent Judge on the High Court Division on 27 April 2005.
