Years down the line, we may well look back on it as the interim government's most important, legacy-defining move: in line with developments we've been following closely on these pages, an ordinance was promulgated this week to establish a separate Supreme Court Secretariat, widely regarded as the most important step towards embracing a fully independent judiciary.

Under the directive promulgated from the president's office, the Law Ministry issued the Supreme Court Secretariat Ordinance, 2025, that stipulates overall control of the Secretariat and its financial issues will rest with the Chief Justice.

With this, the long-cherished aspiration of a proper separation of powers between the three 'separate and co-equal' branches of government - the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, finally sees the light of day. The Bangladesh Judicial Service Association, a platform of subordinate court judges, in a statement called on the interim government to urgently issue a gazette granting the Supreme Court Secretariat the authority over postings and disciplinary matters. The BJSA also urged the government to complete all necessary procedures within its tenure so that the Secretariat can be fully established and begin functioning.

Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, who has been spearheading the evolution of the judiciary in this direction over the 16 months of his tenure, thanked the interim government for its 'positive cooperation' in this regard. The Chief Justice will have overall control of the SC Secretariat, which will have one secretary and other officers and employees. The secretary will enjoy the status and privileges of a senior secretary. The Supreme Court's registrar general, Mohammad Habibur Rahman Siddiquee, was appointed as the first secretary of the newly formed Secretariat, which will perform all administrative and secretarial duties related to the supervision and control of subordinate courts and administrative tribunals for the purpose of assisting the SC in the administration of justice in the country.

Besides, the ordinance has a provision for constituting an SC Secretariat Commission led by the Chief Justice to develop the judicial administration and issue the necessary directives and suggestions to enhance the potential of the judiciary. The other members of the commission are the law minister or law adviser, a judge from the Appellate Division, nominated by the chief justice, the National Human Rights Commission chairperson and the attorney general.

The SC Secretariat must prepare its statement of estimated income and expenditure for the courts, institutions and offices at least three months before the beginning of each financial year. There will be a separate statement of estimated income and expenditure for the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice will act as the final authority for approving the expenditure of funds allocated in the budget for the Secretariat.

What is not clear though, is the level of political commitment it enjoys. Ordinances are only temporary laws, and without parliamentary approval once it is in session again, expire after a certain period. Interestingly the political parties have remained non-committal on these developments, even as they threaten to fundamentally alter the relationship between the government and the courts. Whether they intend to use the springboard of this ordinance to truly allow judicial independence to flourish in Bangladesh is an issue we can rightfully expect more clarity on in the weeks ahead.