Online Report : National Consensus Commission Vice Chairman Professor Ali Riaz announced that political parties participating in the dialogue have reached consensus on two important issues concerning the appointment of the Chief Justice.

The agreed points include amending Article 95 of the Constitution and mandating that the President appoint the Chief Justice from among the judges serving in the Appellate Division.

Currently, the Constitution does not require President to follow such a guideline.

However, differing views remain on whether the Chief Justice should always be the most senior judge or selected from the two most senior judges. The commission will continue discussions on this issue.

The briefing took place after the 11th day of the second phase of talks between the National Consensus Commission and political parties at Foreign Service Academy.

Commission members present included Justice Md. Emdadul Haque, Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar, Safar Raj Hossain, Dr. Md. Ayub Miah and Chief Adviser’s Special Assistant Monir Haider.

Regarding the issue of declaring a state of emergency, Ali Riaz said consensus was reached on amending Article 141(A) and preventing misuse of emergency powers for political purposes. Proposals discussed included removing the clause allowing emergency declarations on grounds of “internal disturbance” and replacing the Prime Minister’s signature requirement with cabinet approval. The commission and parties agreed the provisions need clearer definitions, with further talks scheduled next week.

On caretaker government reforms, the Vice Chairman noted all parties desire a flawless system, but additional discussion is needed.

Representatives from 30 political parties attended, including Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, National Citizen Party (NCP), Gano Odhikar Parishad, Gonosanghati Andolon, Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Biplobi Workers Party and Amar Bangladesh (AB) Party.