Dhaka: A farewell reception is set to be held tomorrow for Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, marking his retirement as the 25th Chief Justice on December 27. The event will take place at 10:30 am in Court No: 1, the Chief Justice's courtroom, of the Appellate Division. This was confirmed by Supreme Court public relations officer Md Shafiqul Islam to BSS earlier today.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Supreme Court Bar Association President AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon and Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman will lead the farewell ceremony on behalf of the Bar and the Attorney General's Office. Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, born on December 28, 1958, has had an illustrious career. He earned his LLB (Hons) with First Class honors from the University of Dhaka and further pursued a BA in Jurisprudence and an MA from Wadham College, University of Oxford. Additionally, he obtained an MA in Law and Diplomacy and a PhD from Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, USA.
Chief Justice Ahmed's career milestones include his enrollment as an advocate of the District Court, the High Court Division, and the Appellate Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court in 1984, 1986, and 2002 respectively. He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the High Court Division in 2003 and appointed Judge of the same Division in 2005. His contributions extend beyond the courtroom with several publications, including his 2020 work, "Digital Footprints: A Rights-Based Perspective," published by the Bangladesh IP Forum/ Bangladesh Intellectual Property Academy (BIPA).
He is a founding member of the Global Judicial Institute on the Environment, Brazil, and was pivotal in organizing the 2016 South Asia Judicial Conference on Environment and Climate Change. His international engagements include participating in numerous roundtables, workshops, and conferences worldwide, reflecting his extensive involvement in legal discourse on a global scale.
Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed's tenure as the 25th Chief Justice of Bangladesh began on August 11, 2024, and his legacy includes significant contributions to the rule of law within Bangladesh's constitutional framework.