The chief justice of Bangladesh ( – ) is the highest-ranking judge of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and the head of the country's judiciary, overseeing both the Supreme Court and all subordinate courts. The chief justice is appointed by the president of Bangladesh. The chief justice sits in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court with other judges to hear and decide cases, presides over meetings of the full Supreme Court to transact business relating to administration of the court, and supervises the discipline of the judges and magistrates of the subordinate courts. Most rules for regulating the practice and procedure of both the Appellate and High Court Divisions of the Supreme Court—including those applicable to subordinate courts and specified in legislative acts such as the Companies Act 1994 and the Banking Companies Act 1991—are duly scrutinized and approved in full court meetings presided over by the chief justice. He also distributes judicial business of the High Court Division by constituting different benches to exercise its original, appellate and revisable jurisdictions.
Administrative control—including the power to create posts, grant promotion and approve leave—and disciplinary authority over judges and magistrates of the subordinate courts are exercised by the president in consultation with the Supreme Court. Urgent matters in this regard are dealt with in consultation with the chief justice.
Appointment procedure Clause (3) of Article 48 of the Constitution of Bangladesh states: "Except for the appointment of the Prime Minister under clause (3) of Article 56 and the Chief Justice under clause (1) of Article 95 of this Constitution, the President shall perform all other functions in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister"; and under the power granted by Article 95(1), the Honourable President of Bangladesh appoints the Chief Justice. Moreover, under Article 96(1) of the Constitution, a judge may serve up to the age of 67.
List of chief justices of Bangladesh Image Name(birth–death) Start of Term End of Term Length of TermAppointed by(President of Bangladesh) 1 Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem(1916 – 1997) Abu Sayeed Chowdhury 2 Syed A. B. Mahmud Hossain(1916 – 1981) Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem 3 Kemaluddin Hossain(1923 - 2013) Ziaur Rahman 4 Fazle Kaderi Mohammad Abdul Munim(1924 – 2001) Ahsanuddin Chowdhury 5 Badrul Haider Chowdhury(1925 – 1998) Hussain Muhammad Ershad 6 Shahabuddin Ahmed(1930 – 2022) 7 Muhammad Habibur Rahman(1928 – 2014) Abdur Rahman Biswas 8 Abu Taher Mohammad Afzal(born 1934) 9 Mustafa Kamal(1933 – 2015) Shahabuddin Ahmed 10 Latifur Rahman(1936 – 2017) 11 Mahmudul Amin Choudhury(1937 – 2019) 12 Mainur Reza Chowdhury(1938 – 2004) Badruddoza Chowdhury 13 Khondokar Mahmud Hasan(born 1939) Iajuddin Ahmed 14 Syed Jillur Rahim Mudasser Husain(born 1940) 15 Md. Ruhul Amin(1941 – 2024) 16 M M Ruhul Amin(1942 – 2017) 17 Md. Tafazzul Islam(born 1943) Zillur Rahman 18 Mohammad Fazlul Karim(1943 – 2024) 19 A.B.M. Khairul Haque(born 1944) 20 Md. Muzammel Hossain(born 1948) 21 Surendra Kumar Sinha(born 1951) (Resigned) Abdul Hamid Acting Md. Abdul Wahhab Miah(born 1951) (Resigned) 22 Syed Mahmud Hossain(born 1954) 23 Hasan Foez Siddique(born 1956) 24 Obaidul Hassan(born 1959) (Resigned) Mohammed Shahabuddin 25 Syed Refaat Ahmed(born 1958) 26 Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury(born 1961) 17 May 2027
Timeline
Historical List Chief Justice of East Pakistan
+Chief Justice of Dhaka High Court#PortraitNameAppointmentRetirementTermPresident1A.S.M. Akram3 yearMuhammad Ali Jinnah2Muhammad Shahabuddin5 yearKhawaja Nazimuddin3Thomas Hobart Ellis2 yearMalik Ghulam Muhammad4Amiruddin Ahmad1 year5Amin Ahmed4 yearIskander Mirza6Mirza Ali Ispahani1 yearAyub Khan7Imam Hossain Choudhury5 year8Syed Mahbub Murshed4 year9Badruddin Ahmed Siddiky5 year
See also Supreme Court of Bangladesh Caretaker Government of Bangladesh Chief Adviser of Bangladesh
Notes
References Chief Justice. Banglapedia (National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh)