The New Nation - Internet Edition

Indoor pollution alarming

WHILE environmental degradation poses a threat to human health, it is indoor air pollution that has been identified as the greatest threat, especially to women and children who remain most of the time indoors. The concentration of harmful particles in the kitchen air in Bangladesh is reportedly 10-15 times higher than at outdoors. While outdoor concentration is about threes times the WHO standard in urban areas, it is 30-35 times indoors. Indoor pollution threatens 60 percent of the country's total under-five child population with high rate of death or disability.

According to a study, indoor air pollutants infect almost 88 percent of the population. Deaths and asthma attacks due to various forms of indoor pollution are three times higher nationwide than for outdoor pollution. The use of biomass for cooking and inadequate ventilation is mainly responsible for indoor air pollution. Firewood and fossil fuels create several harmful substances including carbon monoxide, polycyclic organic matter and formaldehyde concentrate in the air inside houses. Slum dwellers are sometimes found burning most harmful substances like scrap polythene, plastic and rubber substances for cooking and repelling mosquitoes. Faulty construction of houses and inadequate ventilation are also responsible for indoor pollution.

People having a clear idea about the problem can effectively work for a better living environment. They need to be made aware of the causes of indoor pollution and their remedies. Architectural designs and building plans should provide for adequate ventilation. Exposure to indoor pollution has a class bias. Slum dwellers and the poor in most cases cook in the very room they live. They are the most vulnerable people. Decrease of indoor pollution for these people is proportional to reduction of their poverty. Concerted efforts must be made to combat this silent killer.

The press being gagged in Gujarat

IT is strange enough to learn that India's leading English language daily, Times of India is now facing 'sedition charges' for allegedly questioning the competence of a senior police officer in volatile Indian western state of Gujarat. As reported recently by AFP news agency from Ahmedabad, the editor Bharat Desai and a senior reporter with the Ahmedabad edition have been charged along with a photographer for the Gujarat Samachar newspaper. The accused journalists were seeking legal advice after being informed of the charges although they had not yet got copies of the charges filed against them.

The charges, which include criminal conspiracy, stem from a series of investigative reports questioning the alleged links of the new police chief of Ahmedabad with a mafia don and his ability to guarantee security in the city. The police chief was appointed to the job last month in Ahmedabad, the western state's commercial capital, which is reported to figure high in the hit list of several rebel religious groups. 'As a leading responsible newspaper, it was our duty to highlight the past of the man who is the new police commissioner,' the editor was quoted to have said. The daily wrote that the reports essentially were a scrutiny of the 'track record' of the top cop. Hundreds of journalists and rights activists staged protest chanting slogans against attempts to 'muzzle the media.'

The journalists are convinced that the sedition case was nothing but a conspiracy against freedom of the press. Gujarat, ruled by Hindu nationalists, witnessed widespread rioting in 2002 when mobs rampaged through Muslim neighbourhoods killing at least 2,500 people. The rioting followed a fire in a train carnage that killed 59 Hindu pilgrims - for which Muslims were blamed. Much later an official investigation proved that the fire was due to an accident. Journalists then had to work under intimidation.

An appraisal of the government Attorney Service Ordinance, 2008

Dr. Belal Husain Joy

A news caption under the title govt attorney service ordinance - sc law officers demand amendment, published in the Daily Star on June 3, 2008, inspired me to undertake the venture of writing this article; evaluating the government attorney service ordinance 2008, which came into being on 18 May 2008. Such an initiative, approach and action was a long due to increase efficiency and productivity of the law officers, hence, this Ordinance 2008 deserves wide-appreciation from the legal professionals, judiciary, law officers themselves and the litigants in general.

The whole purpose of this ordinance is to appoint, train, retain and administer the Government Law Officers to ensure effective representation of the Government in the judicial process in all over Bangladesh under two units namely (i) Supreme Court and (ii) District Courts including civil and criminal cases in the Upazilla level.

The first and foremost important change was brought about by putting double instead of single administrator, namely, the Attorney General of Bangladesh only to supervision the judicial works of the Supreme Court Attorneys and the Director General to supervise, control and administer the whole Directorate formed under the Ordinance, of course, excluding the Attorney-General himself.

Under s.2 of the Bangladesh Law Officers Order 1972 (President's Order No. 6 of 1972); Law Officers meant the Attorney General of Bangladesh, Additional Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General and Assistant Attorney General for Bangladesh, although the Order was extended to the Whole of Bangladesh and which was also confirmed under Article 64(3) of the Constitution: giving the Attorney General the right of audience in all courts of Bangladesh. And that was without any supervising authority of the District level Government Law Officers.

The Attorney General of Bangladesh is appointed by the President, to a person who is qualified to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court under the Article 64(1) similarly like the appointments of the Auditor-General under Art. 127(2) and the Chairman of the Public Service Commission under Art.138 (1) of the Constitution; with the exception that the later two are obliged to take Oath but not the Attorney-General.

Because of extraordinary specialisation, the Attorney-General also could have been up-graded in line with the Auditor-General and Chairman of the Public Service Commission, and made the Attorney-General the Chief Executive and oath bound under whose supervision a Director General could have been appointed for caretaking, controlling and administering all the Attorneys of the Supreme Court and District Courts. And for more effectiveness six Directors for six Divisions to supervise the District Attorneys under the respective Divisions also could have been appointed to assist the Director-General.

Recently established Separation of Judiciary gave required powers and authorities to the Hon'ble Chief Justice of Bangladesh making him the Chief Executive of the whole Judiciary of Bangladesh. Likewise, the Attorney-General of Bangladesh also could have all required powers and authorities over all government law officers from all over Bangladesh, to bring uniformity in discharging the Attorney's services for effective justice system.

This approach could easily avoid the confusion already created among the attorneys and save any potential conflict between the attorneys and newly appointed Director-General. The management principles and line of authority and functional responsibilities are found to be so overlapping and that could lead to further chaos within the organisation even before the Directorate come into fully operational. Installing an appropriate modern management system, replacing the traditional administrative approach, is the cure of all such chaos, confusion and conflicts.

By introducing dual administration in the Ordinance 2008, an obvious conflict between the line and functional management has now been created. Resulting to this, the above news caption appeared saying that the Ordinance needs to be amended or otherwise the Supreme Court Law Officers may have to resign.

The above conflict was obvious because the Additional Attorney Generals are in higher positions, equivalent to the Additional Secretaries to the Government as per no.19 of the Warrant of Precedence 1986 as revised up to 7 January 2008 than the newly created Director-General who is only a Joint Secretary; they are obviously reluctant to serve under an officer of a lower position, not to mention the specialisation of the Attorneys' duties and responsibilities.

On the other hand, in the Warrant of precedence, Attorney-General comes to no.15, after who the Comptroller and Auditor-General appeared and in case of the Chairman of the Public Service Commission, he comes to no. 16, one step down. Considering the protocol, the Attorney - General of Bangladesh has been respected well considering the Auditor-General and the Chairman, PSC. But effectively, under the new Ordinance, Attorney-General's position appears to be in the same level with the Director-General of the newly formed Directorate of Attorney Service, although the primary qualification of the Attorney-General is to have the qualification to be a Judge in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh who comes to no.9 in the Warrant of Precedence. Moreover, the Constitutional post of the Attorney-General cannot be equated with any of the executive posts of the Government.

Considering the above arguments and propositions, the Attorney-General also can be appointed for a term of five years and should have been at liberty to exercise his functions and shall not be subject to the direction or control of the other person or authority as applicable for Auditor-General under Art. 128(4) of the Constitution, to be more effective and transparent in rendering government legal service to the citizens.

And such liberty and independent authority of the Attorney General could reconfirm the commitment of the Government made through the Separation of Judiciary.

The responsibility of appointing new attorneys in Supreme Court and District Court levels is vested upon the Public Service Commission (PSC). Some politician-cum-professionals have already commented that the service should have come under the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). Arguments are there for and against, but reality of life is different. No one knows yet as the Rules are not yet even drafted, the whole process may take years in deciding whether the service will be under cadre or non-cadre and in drafting, correcting, commenting, recommending and approving through all concerning ministries and public authorities.

But in the mean time, the Ordinance 2008, allowed the existing law officers to continue their services for two years to facilitate the Directorate to complete its recruitment, selection and appointment process including installing appropriate training programs. Otherwise, because of sudden desperate shortage of government law officers, once again, like the appointment of judicial Magistrates, the government law officers will have to be put into action either with short training programs or none. Legal Training Experts with Management competence is very rare in our country, because only years of legal experience is not good enough to design delivery and review such giant training programs.

The section 3(b) in part III of the Ordinance is found to be contradicting with the recent law passed by the present Caretaker Government allowing government diplomats marrying foreign citizens.

The principle should be same, the security of the government and state sovereignty are at large in the hand of the government officers, no exception to the diplomats, as their individual good offices abroad are individual 'Bangladesh' in foreign lands. If the government allows the diplomats to marry foreign citizens, the in-land government officers may not necessarily be as sensitive as diplomats.

Going through the Government Law Officers Ordinance 2008, it is appreciable that appropriate provisions are made available with regard to promotion and transfer of the law officers and in need appointment of non-government lawyers on case to case basis. The retirement age varied in the Ordinance, which should be uniformed to 65 years, as most of the lawyers usually continue their legal services to such age.

Finally, under schedule 1 of the Ordinance it is apparent that there are potential discrepancies which may arise in appointing Additional Attorney Generals and Deputy Attorney Generals through promotions and contracts. With regard to recruitment and appointment of the Assistant Attorney Generals, the entry qualifications demanded in the Ordinance are highly discriminatory, as there is no provision for the general law graduates to compete in the recruitment and selection process, which again may not comply with the PSC's existing requirements in cadre and non-cadre services. This may even contradict the Article 40 of the Constitution with regard to right to employment, specified under freedom of profession or occupation.

In the light of the above propositions, the government may consider required amendments to the Government Attorney Service Ordinance 2008 to minimise existing differences and potential disputes between the Attorneys and newly established Directorate of Attorney Services.

To be more democratic in the amending process, the government may ask the former Attorney-Generals, Attorney-General's Office and the Solicitor's office for collective in-puts and suggestions through well-designed consultative process by means of seminars and invitation of opinions etc. We hope the amended version, if undertaken, of the Ordinance will be more substantial, operational and acceptable to all concerns working towards increase productivity of the law officers and for better effectiveness of the recently established Independent Judiciary and finally for greater interest of the nation as whole.

March for justice

Nasim Zehra

THE lawyers-led march joined by other troubled Pakistanis is indeed a long one. It is long because it begins from all corners of Pakistan and converges on to Islamabad. And Pakistanis are troubled, in the immediate context by the continuing failure of the coalition government to restore the Pakistan-wide judiciary to the November 2 status.

Significantly, what lies at the root of the collective grievance that these elements evoke, is the violation of the principles and parameters laid down in the Constitution of Pakistan of the just treatment of the citizens by the State and the Executive.

The Constitution principally imbibes the principles of natural justice and of Islamic justice and hence its continued violation leaves the average justice-seeking citizen, whether or not familiar with the Constitution, angry and deprived. Hence the popular support from the justice-seeking citizens of Pakistan qualifies it to be called the Justice March, not just a long march. It also happens to seek restoration of about 60 deposed justices who have now become the symbols of resistance against the destruction of the judiciary.

Meanwhile the criticism of the detractors of the Justice March is unconvincing. They argue it will create unrest although the March in fact seeks to address the causes of the widespread simmering unrest in the country. Similarly the criticism that the lawyers should give more time to the PPP for restoration is unfounded. Instead of taking steps to restore the judges, the government appears to be procrastinating the issue and opting for the minority opinion in seeking a long and unreliable restoration route.

Also invalid is the criticism that the Justice March seeks to push for an extra parliamentary route to change. Concerned citizens in all democratic societies reserve the right to peaceful protest to influence decision-making. The Justice March is a milestone effort by Pakistan's urban population to push democracy beyond the electioneering process.

It is forcing the agents of democracy, the parliamentarians and the political parties, to induct the element of accountability and justice through an independent judiciary. Meanwhile some in complete disregard to the national dynamics, which have thrown up this resistance, have as usual argued that the Justice Movement is part of an international conspiracy!

The Justice March is a juxtaposition of opposing forms of power. On the one hand is the rising power of popular spirit which after the cumulative and bitter experience of absence of justice and fair play by those who exercise State and executive authority, by those who must deliver justice, has now resolved to collectively resist injustice.

The chief justice's dismissal and the imposition of emergency were the triggers for this popular spirit, which through collective action and organisation has now been converted into popular political power.

There are many significant characteristics of this new form of popular political power. Six are noteworthy. One, while this is Popular Political Power (PPP), it is non-parliamentary and does not seek electoral power. Two, it seeks to influence electoral politics. The adoption of the restoration agenda by mainstream political parties like the PMLN, and to some extent by the PPP, is proof of this success of this non-parliamentary power to actually influence electoral politics. Three, this Popular Political Power (PPP), may draw support from various political and non-political groups but in its objective of seeking justice, this power is not aligned to any political party. Hence this power is committed to the principle of justice and not to a particular political party.

Four, this PPP has been brought about by the experiential Pakistani wisdom that without justice and fair play by the State and the Executive, the Pakistani nation will continue to suffer political cronyism and nepotism, corruption of the powerful and the influential, increasingly distraught huge Pakistani population whether in Balochistan, absence of genuine and sustained democracy, the tribal areas or interior Sindh, expanding poverty, economic under development, absence of security and collective lack of self-confidence and dignity.

Five, this PPP is positive not bitter in content and thrust. The non-violent and inclusive nature of this PPP holds out genuine hope for Pakistan's ability to move ahead on a non-violent non-divisive and democratic political path at the end of which there could be redressal for those who have been wronged.

Also while the movement has many key individuals who have contributed to the emergence of this popular political power, it is collective leadership which has given it its strength and stability. Even the Chief Justice while being an inspirational figure is constantly under sharp focus of those within the ranks of this PPP who want him to remain just and fair and indeed apolitical at all cost. Interestingly, the overriding thrust of all these elements is the demand for justice and fair play by the politically powerful.

Which is then the other, the opposing brand of power? It is the power that flows from unaccountable exercising of authority, whether civilian or military. And this is the power that the popular political power has risen to weaken. In demanding a rollback of the November 2 actions of the military ruler and controversially-elected president this popular political power is demonstrating that ultimately if there is popular resolve behind a movement to exercise power within the parameters laid down by the Constitution, the Constitution acquires the power and the authority to defeat khaki or civilian authoritarian power.

What is particularly promising about this phase in Pakistan's political journey towards Constitutional rule is that the popular political energy has been converted into a potent monitoring force too. It is this force that is a major contributing factor to the State and the politicians' effort to undo past wrongs and to some extent stay away from foul play.

Even the immediate beneficiaries of the Justice March, the deposed judges, too know this. They know that once back on their benches this popular political energy will act as a deterrent against judicial biases. But the demand for fair play by the those who occupy public space, ranging from lawyers, some political activists, citizens groups and media, will keep the justices from committing injustice even against their former foes. Pakistanis now know that there can be no democracy with a destroyed judiciary.

(Nasim Zehra is a political and security analyst based in Islamabad)

Is the world ready for the challenges to come?

Jean-Claude Trichet

TEN years ago, on June 1, 1998, the European Central Bank was founded, together with the European System of Central Banks, the ESCB. It was the will of the democracies of Europe that led to the creation of the ECB. It was given its mandate of price stability and its independence by the people of Europe on a multinational and multipartisan basis.

Jean Monnet, the French conceptual founder of the European Community, writes in his memoirs: "Nothing is possible without men. Nothing is lasting without institutions." The ECB is, in my opinion, a remarkable illustration of his lucidity: The institutional construction is solid and has proved to be effective.

Since its inception, the single currency has inherited the degree of credibility and confidence that was the privilege of the most credible national currencies before the euro was created. The medium and long-term market rates of the euro were at the same low level as those experienced by the most reliable national currencies. In spite of a series of global shocks resulting from the prices of oil and commodities, yearly inflation since Jan. 1, 1999, has been 2.1 per cent on average. Price stability in the medium term is essential not only because it protects the incomes of all our fellow citizens - particularly the most vulnerable and poorest ones - but also because it is one of the preconditions for growth and job creation.

Since the euro came into being 15.7 million jobs have been created. With the benefit of hindsight, one can understand the skepticism of observers prior to the creation of the euro. Europeans were embarking on an enterprise which was deemed impossible because it had never been tried. As Tocqueville said: "History is a gallery of pictures in which there are few originals and many copies."

The first 10 years have been extremely busy for the Executive Board, for the Governing Council, for the ECB and for the Euro system. The remarkable motivation of our staff members is, in my opinion, due to their awareness of, and pride in, making history - monetary history certainly.

But it is more than that: The single currency is the most advanced feature of the European "building" and, in many respects, the symbol of European unity.

This anniversary is certainly no time for complacency. It calls for continuous efforts, because the challenges lying ahead for the Economic and Monetary Union over the next 10 or 20 years will be numerous and demanding.

There are, first of all, the challenges of the Monetary Union itself. Like the other central banks in the industrialised world, the ECB is facing three major challenges affecting its monetary policy: globalisation in all its dimensions, including the transformation of global finance, an acceleration of technological progress, and population aging.

Globalisation requires the attention of central banks because of its effects on the relative prices of goods and services and, in particular, on the prices of oil and commodities as well as food.

Globalisation also affects global finance and, by contributing to its structural transformation, creates new challenges for financial stability, the preservation of which is an important task of central banks.

The second challenge common to all central banks lies in the rapid progress of science and technology and in their effects on productivity, potential growth and inflation.

The third challenge is population aging, which leads to, all other things being equal, a simultaneous decline in both savings and investment. The net effect of these two factors determines the evolution of the equilibrium real interest rate, the implications of which are analysed by monetary policy.

In addition to these three major challenges, common to all the central banks, the ECB and the Euro system will face two important challenges of their own.

The first is the deepening of economic and financial integration at the continental level with the progressive completion of a single economy that has a single currency; we are the only central bank which is actively contributing to a major structural transformation of its own economy.

It is a permanent challenge for monetary policy since there is a constant need to anticipate the structural transformations that lie ahead. The second challenge is enlargement: We are called upon to extend progressively the euro area across the European Union as a whole; we are also the only central bank to undertake such an endeavour. The "Economic Union" part of the Economic and Monetary Union itself has its own challenges for the next 10 to 20 years. I see three major ones. First of all, the full and complete implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact, which is a crucial component of EMU in the absence of a European federal budget. Beyond the medium-term objective of a balanced budget, let us not forget that public finances have to confront the considerable burden imposed by population aging on the viability and solvency of pension systems.