DHAKA: Newly-appointed Chief Justice of Bangladesh Hasan Foez Siddique was sworn in on Friday as the 23rd Chief Justice of the country.
President M. Abdul Hamid administered the oath to Siddique at the Darbar Hall at 4 pm on Friday. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Law Minister Anisul Huq, Liberation War Affairs Minister A.K.M. Mozammel Haque, Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen, Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque, Education Minister Dipu Moni, outgoing Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and heads of the three armed forces were present at the ceremony, which was held in a very limited scale due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Siddique, a senior judge in the Supreme Court, was appointed as the Chief Justice of the country on Thursday. The Law Ministry published a gazette on the issue after the President had signed the appointment letter of the new Chief Justice.
Outgoing Chief Justice Hossain retired on Thursday after he turned 67, the age boundary for a Supreme Court judge.
Siddique had served as the chief law advisor to the Ministry of Home Affairs, and as legal advisor to Khulna City Corporation, Kushtia Municipality, and Jalalabad Gas Transmission Company. He also served as the Additional Attorney General of Bangladesh.
He was elevated as the judge of the high court division on March 25, 2009, and as a judge of the appellate division of the Supreme Court on March 31, 2013.
Siddique has been acting as the chairman of the Bangladesh Judicial Service Commission since April 30, 2015.