Appeal in war crimes cases to be disposed of in 60 days
The cabinet on Monday endorsed a proposal for amendments to the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973 allowing the prosecution or an aggrieved to appeal against any sentence and giving the Appellate Division 60 days to dispose of the appeal in a war crimes case.
The legislative and parliamentary affairs division placed the draft International Crimes (Tribunals) (Amendment) Bill 2013 at the weekly meeting of the cabinet with prime minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair seeking equal rights for both the prosecution and the defence to appeal against conviction and sentence.
The ICT law allows the government to appeal only against an order of acquittal while a person convicted and sentenced by a tribunal can appeal against such conviction and sentence.
‘The cabinet has given the final approval to the proposed amendments to the International Crimes Tribunal law of 1973 subject to vetting by the law ministry to ensure equal right to appeal. The draft bill will be tabled in the current session of parliament for passage,’ cabinet secretary Mohammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters after the meeting.
The Appellate Division will dispose of the appeal in 45 days from the date of its filing and the time might be extended for a further period of 15 days recording reasons thereof, according to the amendment proposal.
The government initiated the move amid popular protests in Dhaka and elsewhere demanding death penalty for Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Molla, who was jailed for life on charges of crimes against humanity during the independence war in 1971.
International Crimes Tribunal 2 on February 5 convicted Quader Molla on five charges and acquitted him of the Keraniganj mass murder charge.
In reply to a query, the cabinet secretary said the amended law would apply even in case of the verdicts already delivered by the tribunals dealing with the crimes against humanity as the appeals should be filed in 30 days from the date of order of conviction and sentence or acquittal.
Law minister Shafique Ahmed said on Sunday that the government had taken the initiative to change the law in keeping with the aspirations of the people demanding the highest punishment for the perpetrators of crimes against humanity.
Section 21 (1) of the act says that a person convicted of any crime specified (in the war crimes cases) and sentenced by a tribunal shall have the right to appeal to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court against such conviction and sentence.
Section 21 (2) of the act stipulates: ‘The government shall have the right of appeal to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court… against an order of acquittal.’
The amendment seeks insertion of words ‘or against conviction and sentence’ after the word ‘acquittal’, the cabinet secretary noted.
He said the amendment would allow both the defence and the prosecution to file appeals with the documents they had relied upon during the trials.
The act, enacted in 1973, did not have any provision for appeal by the prosecution.
During the tenure of the present government, the act was amended and the prosecution was allowed to appeal only against an order of acquittal.
Courtesy of New Age
