The 16th amendment to the constitution — passed on September 17, 2014— empowered parliament to remove judges of the Supreme Court for their incompetence or misconduct based on a two-thirds majority. The Supreme Court scrapped the 16th amendment on the ground that it undermined the independence of the judiciary. Disagreeing with the court, Law Minister Anisul Huq claimed: “A court cannot make a law or order retention of its earlier version. Both the chief justice and ministers frequently exchanged heated words over the formulation of a code of conduct for lower court judges. Leaders of the ruling Awami League in Bangladesh are concerned about what they see as judicial overreach in the 16th amendment verdict.

Source: Dhaka Tribune August 18, 2017 12:22 UTC