Barrister Manzoor Hasan, OBE: A Lawyer and a Reformer, He Is
Transcription
Barrister Manzoor Hasan, OBE: A Lawyer and a Reformer, He Is
68 International and Comparative Law Journal (ICLJ) PERSONALITY Barrister Manzoor Hasan, OBE: A Lawyer and a Reformer, He Is Equal Part Man, Legend and Inspiration Shahzeb Mahmood1 The summer of 2003 saw Mr. Manzoor Hasan being bestowed with one of the most honourable civilian order of chivalry known to mankind. A humble, patient and soft-spoken man with amazing vision, infectious ambition and, most importantly, unswerving and indefatigable optimism, Mr. Hasan firmly believes that the award was accorded not just to him but to the whole country and, more significantly, to his colleagues. He worked tirelessly to curb corruption in Bangladesh and around the world and when asked by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as to whether his work had been intricate, he came up with unostentatious words that would invariably humble even the most self-conceited man. Barrister Manzoor Hasan was born in 1956 to a family which, according to his forefathers, is said to share the bloodline of Caliph Abu Bakr and Emperor Jahangir and has distinguished legal legacy The author is a student of LL.B.(Hon’s) under University of London at the London College of Legal Studies (South). He is also a former English Club Moderator at the Daily Star. 1 International and Comparative Law Journal (ICLJ) stretching back to at least three generations. While his grandfather started career as a lawyer in British India and retired as a district session judge in Bangladesh, Mr. Hasan's great grandfather, Justice Nawab Sir Syed Shamsul Huda, was the second Bengali Muslim judge in the Bihar High Court Bench. The Knight of the British Empire was just as visionary as Mr. Hasan, a great believer of education and was extremely concerned about the poor quality of education that the Muslim community received back then. He advocated the more refined European-style education system. His well-founded concern and vindication transpired to an encouragement for a number of generations to come, creating legends like Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, Meheriar Munim Hasan and, of course, Barrister Manzoor Hasan himself. Mr. Hasan, a young boy nearing 15 in the September of 1971, travelled to the United Kingdom to advance his educational progression. Initially he thought of obtaining his education in the area of diplomatic service. However, development became a major preoccupation and he stated his schooling in London School of Economics as a student of Economics. In the October of '79, he returned back to Bangladesh and joined BRAC as a research associate. A fresh graduate from one of the most reputed university in London, Mr. Hasan's involvement in research in development publication- 'NET', first ever study on power structure in the rural areas of Bangladesh- made his parents buy him a second passage to the United Kingdom for him to pursue higher education with the 69 70 International and Comparative Law Journal (ICLJ) aim to allow him to widen the purview of his enlightenment. There he was faced with two options: accounting or law. Even though the legal profession skipped a generation, Mr. Hasan's father- who studied chemistry in the University of Dhaka- advised him to bear the family legacy and study law. In 1985, Mr. Hasan was finally called to the Bar and he returned back to Bangladesh two years later, albeit only for a short period of time. Barrister Hasan, from early 1980s to mid 1990s, underwent the most profound years of diverse experience that forms the highlight of his legal activism. He acted as an agent for Crown Prosecution Service but mostly took cases related to immigration, employment and social security and had successful challenged a number of tribunal decisions by way of judicial review applications in the United Kingdom. In Bangladesh, after having completed his pupillage under Barrister Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed, he practiced for a year under Barrister Kamal Hossain in international commercial arbitration cases before he got started with the Transparency InternationalBangladesh (TIB). That, however, forms a different chapter in the chronology. When asked about how he got exposed to such varied assortment of diversification, Barrister Hasan smilingly said that he feels he has to do something different every few years. He likes exploring new things, which explains his diverse area of practice in the past 30 years which, at times, even surprises him. He enumerates a International and Comparative Law Journal (ICLJ) number of experiences in the United Kingdom to explain how he got involved in certain practices. Alongside the studies for the Bar in 1980, he was also involved with Citizens' Advice Bureau (CAB) in Bricklane, the East-end of London, a populous area for Bangladeshi immigrants. Working from his office in Toynbee Hall, Mr. Hasan, an aspiring Barrister then, picked up immigration and refugee issues which gave him access to and got him involved with laws relating to immigration, refugee and nationality. That experience at CAB paved his way for him to join the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) – a voluntary organisationwhere he stayed till 1985. For a brief period of time, Mr. Hasan came back to Bangladesh where he did his pupillage under Barrister Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed, under whom at that time the current Chief Justice of Bangladesh, Muhammad Mozammel Hossain, was a junior associate. In 1987, Mr Hasan, returned back to UK where he set up a regional office of JCWI in West Midland and held the position of a Branch Manager. His distending legal activities lead him to quit JCWI in 1990 and subsequently join Victoria Chamber in Birmingham, which marked the beginning of a decade-long active legal activism. Juggling between appearing in the court as a CPS agent and litigating judicial review cases relating to immigration and nationality law, Barrister Hasan rose in prominence and made his mark by successfully challenging a number of tribunal decisions. He also joined a set of chambers in the Temple, a legal district in 71 72 International and Comparative Law Journal (ICLJ) the central London. Continually commuting between Birmingham and London several times a week, Mr. Hasan recounts his busy days between 1990 and 1995 to be surpassingly interesting and 'one of a kind experience- the ones that becomes imprinted in your mind'. Barrister Hasan, at this point of his life, felt that he should return to the country of his origin. He cerebrated that he could contribute more to the society in that way. He also wanted his children to grow up in a culture that moulded his past, the one that can give them the opportunity to know their language, value the glorious history of their nation, grow up with their family and, most importantly, have their own identity. Barrister Kamal Hossain was also keen to see him in Bangladesh and, when asked by him to come back to Dhaka, Barrister Hasan asked him to make an offer that he cannot refuse. The rest, he corroborates, is history. In June 1995, Barrister Hasan landed in then Zia International Airport and joined Dr. Kamal Hossain & Associates. With a discerning smile, he admitted that while he assisted Barrister Hossain and went to the courts, he did so halfheartedly, for in his mind he was still in the immaculate courtrooms of the High Court of England and Wales. He acknowledges that the comparison itself was unfair, but he failed to get induced by the unprofilic environment of the legal system of Bangladesh. His serendipitous impatience got the better of him and one fine day Mr. Hasan came International and Comparative Law Journal (ICLJ) across a letter with the letterhead 'Transparency International' on the table of Barrister Kamal Hossain. The title itself stopped him in his track. Plunged in deep curiosity and riddled with adversity over the hapless legal system of the country, Mr. Hasan commenced a journey that gave him a new identity altogether. He started to unearth about this newly established NGO and found that it worked in the field of governance dealing with corruption. This was all it took to ignite the fire within him. This is the chapter in his life when TIB was formed as an organisation and had board of trustee but was not operational. One of the trustee approached Mr. Hasan, saying, “You had been out of Bangladesh for a long time, yes? You must be relatively clean. Why don't you start this?” This, according to Mr. Hasan, was music to his ears. What follows is rather interesting and eventful. He went to Barrister Kamal Hossain and unflinchingly told him that he was quitting and that he wanted to start this new chapter in Bangladesh with Transparency International. After having been subjected to an hour long lecture as to why he should not leave the legal profession, he unfalteringly repeated, “I am still leaving.” Barrister Hasan started his work from the extra room in his flat in Mohakhali DOHS just after a year of having returned from England. Working as the Founding Executive Director of TIB, Mr. Hasan, along with his small team, found a new 500-square-feet 73 74 International and Comparative Law Journal (ICLJ) office within the next six months at Insurance Academy Bhaban, two blocks away from his current office. The Chairman of the Board of TIB, also the chairman of BRAC governing body and chairman of Renata Pharmaceutical, Syed Humayun Kabir was, Mr. Hasan affirms, the best inspiration to him as far as TIB is concerned. He found Mr. Kabir to be a man of vision, unlike anyone he has ever seen, with an amazing clarity of thinking and an unswerving trust on young people. Most importantly, he was a man of his words. He remembered, with an excited voice, how Mr. Kabir promised to support him to make TIB a success and how his ideas and support inspired him in his eight years-long journey with TIB. At TIB, Mr. Hasan initiated a number of projects and was involved in activities that upheld the values of good governance, one of them being National Integrity Strategy (NIS). The programme was developed by a team at BRAC University for the then government of Bangladesh, invariably led by Mr. Hasan. NIS, he elaborated, is an instrument to enhance integrity and eliminate corruption within institutions, ensure meliorated honesty and morality in people, policies and procedures. The overall purpose of NIS is to provide a system that will create trust among the citizen. Its counterpart in Singapore was a massive success, having achieved one of the lowest level of corruption in the world and changed its image into a beacon of good governance in Asia. While Bangladesh's legal International and Comparative Law Journal (ICLJ) framework ranked very high at 84% in the 2008 Global Integrity Index, in practical implementation received merely 54% marks. By comparison, both India and Pakistan fared better. Under the Strategy, Committee of Concerned Citizens (a form of a pressure group) was set up which was later scaled up to form the first project, 'Making Waves'. The purpose behind the project was to set up Advising and Information Centres (AIC). The idea evolved and, in 2009, Right to Information Act (RTI Act) was enacted that had its groundwork based on the idea. He was also involved with assessing the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) in relation to the laws of Bangladesh and opines that in most of the cases the laws are compliant to UNCAC. The gaps that exist, Mr. Hasan says, has duly been identified and are in the process of being corrected. The solution to all the vexed question relating to corruption, lack of accountability and transparency is as simple as it is complicated: the change will ultimately come with an assemblage of 'educated' policy-makers with the right vision. Pressure group activism, lobbying, media coverage and 'constructive' criticism can go just far. The key is to change the mindset of the politicians and the overall political culture of Bangladesh. Mr. Hasan often says that the sacred cow of the corruption was brought to the ground because of the work that TIB did. While TIB helped curb corruption, the system is far from being called 'clean' and can be 75 76 International and Comparative Law Journal (ICLJ) perceived to be rampant and beyond any acceptable threshold which, at times, has crippling effect on the economy. Mr. Hasan further explained, saying, “Political leadership is of very significative factor. Institutions will only functions if they are allowed to function independently with apt effectiveness and efficiency. Moreover, the need for effective mechanism to assure accountability is imperative for the success of the process. Newspapers can attempt to expose and the civil society can make noise about it but it is the politicians and policy-makers who can ultimately formulate and implement the policies that can give us strong institutions. What saddens me is that if one looks at key institutions such as the judiciary, which is probably the most important institutions in any civilised society, it is not how it should be and it is open in the public domain for everyone to see. It has to be independent and of the highest integrity. “The United States of America, South Korea, Malaysia, the United Kingdom.... has excellent mechanism in place to ensure check and balance between the various organs of the State. If one would observe correctly, such integrity is inherent in the system or, in some cases, is adapted; it probably wouldn't work if we import it from another country. But what matters the most is an absolute commitment for us to ensure its implementation. In Singapore, the civil service, for instance, is paid really well. In India, the AntiCorruption Commission and the Election Commission is extremely International and Comparative Law Journal (ICLJ) strong and independent. What we lack is the right vision. Where do we want to see Bangladesh years from now? Our political leadership needs to set that vision.” Mr. Hasan believes that in order to ensure a 'clean' and 'healthy' politics, an enlightened generation of independent youth must enter the arena. He said that our generation, that is people born post '71, growing up in the 21st century, in Bangladesh which is as important as any other country, the ones not burdened by some of the historical legacy of the past must keep in mind the positive teachings of the past, build on it and move forward. The spirit of the war of liberation should take us, as a nation, to a new height. While admitting that the concept is open to divergent subjective interpretation, Mr. Hasan added that the core elements will remain the same: through unity and mutual understanding, to make the country prosperous and take it forward; to build a country that is inclusive in its thinking. “The spirit of War of Liberation was to create 'Shonar Bangla': a spirit that upholds the philosophy of a nation free of exploitation and a system based on equality and justice.” Mr. Hasan further expounded the issue, stating that the social indicator indicates that Bangladesh has done really well. One area where we, as a nation, have failed significantly is politics. If we can marginally improve ourselves in this arena, he continued, the country can improve at a massive scale. This end can only be 77 78 International and Comparative Law Journal (ICLJ) achieved if, as a nation, we unite and balance our expectations without making it over-ambitious or utterly unprogressive. He concluded, quoting the first Chancellor of Germany, Otto von Bismarck, “Politics is an art of possible.” Besides the dismal state of our national politics, Mr. Hasan expressed his discontentment relating to the doleful human rights status in Bangladesh. Highlighting the fact that good governance and human rights are intrinsically connected, he cast light on how institutions such as the law enforcement agencies and the judiciary are often in breach of human rights principles due to explicit lack of transparency, efficiency, accountability and often undue influence. If the principles are duly followed then there will be a massive statistical decline in police harassment, extra-judicial torture, deaths by cross-fire and imprisonment without trial. Most commonly, the victims of such profane infringement are amongst the less privileged class of the society whose access to the formal (or informal) justice sector is graphically next to nonexistent. Even when one knocks on the doors of a courtroom, the time consumed thenceforth is at least ten times more than its counterparts in the developed regions of Western Hemisphere. And where the 'immoderates' tend to litigate to enforce basic human rights, like access to justice, court verdicts are largely ignored and are left unimplemented, resulting in what one would right call 'mockery of justice'. International and Comparative Law Journal (ICLJ) However Mr. Hasan opines that comparatively our human rights status is not as bad as it is elsewhere around the word and that overwhelmingly we are law-abiding, considering the number of police officer per capita compared to the crime statistics. Without a system, we have created a system and are servile to that system. He explained, drawing analogy to the elevated situation of the country when the army intervenes. He strongly believes that we are inherently tolerant, honest, patient and law-abiding citizens quite contrary to what others may believe. There is no denying that the human rights status in Bangladesh requires refurbishing. Unlike the United Kingdom, Bangladesh does not have a higher judicial infrastructure like the European Court of Human Rights. The Supreme Court of Bangladesh stands as the highest court of the land. Mr. Hasan believes that such supranational body may come in to existence if we attain a level of regional coherence, unity and consentaneousness; he also acknowledges that any such state of affair is far from being materialised since it requires an advanced degree of political motivation and regional unanimity- something similar to the one seen during the establishment of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Citing the functional theory of political integration, Mr. Hasan concludes that any such goal can only be achieved if there is uniformity in terms of social, political and economic consonance. 79 80 International and Comparative Law Journal (ICLJ) Barrister Manzoor Hasan established the firm, Manzoor Hasan & Associates, with the vision to promote transparency in Bangladesh through litigation. Having coined the phrase 'Transparency Interest Litigation', the firm works tirelessly to establish greater respect for rule of law in the society. He is currently serving as the Institutional Advisor of the Institute of Governance Studies, BRAC University, Bangladesh. He is also the Executive Director of the South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (SAILS), an initiative sponsored by South Asian Foundation (SAF), in which Dr. Kamal Hossain is the chairperson and Sir Fazle Abed a member of the board. The minds behind the project aims to identify the contemporary problems which are slowing the development of human rights in the South Asian region and promote an understanding, through research and education, to further harmonisation, development and unification of the laws of the region that will result in greater regional prosperity.