Writ filed seeking recruitment for judges
A writ petition has been filed with the High Court seeking a directive to appoint at least one Research and Reference Officer for every judge of the High Court Division.
The writ was filed on Sunday 2 August by Supreme Court lawyer Farhad Uddin Ahmed Bhuiyan.
The petitioner said the public interest litigation was filed under Article 102 of the Constitution with the aim of strengthening the institutional capacity of Bangladesh’s judiciary, reducing the backlog of pending cases, ensuring research-based judicial decisions, and providing speedy and effective justice to litigants.
e said the petition was not filed to secure any personal benefit, position or administrative privilege.
ather, it proposes an institutional reform to transform Bangladesh’s judiciary into a modern, research-driven and efficient institution in line with international standards.
According to the writ petition, judges are responsible not only for hearing cases but also for interpreting the Constitution, laws and regulations, reviewing domestic and foreign precedents, analysing international judicial decisions, addressing complex legal issues, and drafting lengthy judgments—tasks that require extensive time and research. However, there is currently no institutional research support system to assist them.
The petition further states that High Court judges hear and dispose of a large number of cases every day and, after court hours, continue working late into the night on legal research, precedent analysis and judgment writing. This heavy workload directly affects judicial time management, case disposal and overall efficiency.
The petitioner argued that assigning a qualified Research and Reference Officer to each judge would enable judges to devote more time to their core judicial responsibilities and improve the overall speed and efficiency of judicial proceedings.
The writ also notes that many countries with advanced judicial systems—including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, India, Japan, Germany, Singapore and Pakistan—have long employed law clerks or Research and Reference Officers to assist judges.
These officers support judges by conducting legal research, analysing precedents, carrying out comparative law studies, reviewing international judicial decisions, assisting in drafting judgments, preparing legal memoranda and producing case summaries. As a result, judicial efficiency is enhanced and cases are disposed of more quickly.
