Readers’ Forum

The good side of US Constitution

 The check and balance system of the US Constitution has checked the rise of despotic ruler in that country. Though it is not possible here to describe it in details, still I take an opportunity through this column to outline.
The US Senate (Upper House of the Congress) has approved the nomination of Marcia Stephens as the new the new Ambassador in Bangladesh, indicating that the US President cannot do everything as per his will. Had the Senate rejected the nomination, the President would have been bound to nominate some one else as the ambassador. It does not end here. Any US citizen has authority to challenge the President’s nomination and the Senate’s approval in the Supreme Court. This is called the check and balance.
 The US Constitution is unique in preventing the US President from becoming despotic although the Constitution has granted him some discretionary powers to execute during the State of Emergency, or when the national security is threatened by the internal or the external forces and the like.
Any bill introduced and passed by the House of Representatives (Lower House of the Congress) must be sent to the Senate for its scrutiny and approval. The Senate can either approve or reject with some recommendations. In case of Money Bill, the Senate can change every line thereof except the headlines. The bill becomes Act when the President gives his assent.
The journey does not end here. The new Act can be challenged in the Supreme Court, which can declare the Act void. A former Chief Justice said, “The US Supreme Court is the Constitution.” The critics say, the US Supreme Court is the third chamber of the Congress, even more powerful than the other two.”
We think that the US model of the Constitution can be the most suitable to Bangladesh. The MPs, the jurists and the educated men may consider it genuinely.

Ameer Hamzah
Dhaka