[JURIST] The interim government of Bangladesh [JURIST news archive] has completed all formalities necessary to separate the country's judiciary from its executive branch, meeting a deadline set by the Supreme Court of Bangladesh [official backgrounder] last month, according to Monday media reports. Mainul Hosein, law adviser in the interim government, said that the Bangladeshi Supreme Court will now set a date to amend the Criminal Procedure Code if it is satisfied with the government's efforts.

Officials say this is a substantial step toward complete judicial independence. In 1995, 223 judicial officers and judges filed a petition in the High Court demanding that the judiciary be made fully independent from the executive because the courts were being regulated by the government's law ministry, contrary to the Bangladeshi constitution [text]. PTI has more.