Supreme court justice Imman Ali VIP speaker at UK university

Renowned Bangladesh Supreme Court Justice Imman Ali will be a Special Guest Speaker at the University of Buckingham in England next Wednesday.

Justice Ali will join university vice-chancellor James Tooley for the latest in his popular, informative and often controversial series of Fireside Chats that are open to all.

The address to be given by the honourable Bangladeshi judge, an expert in children’s law issues, is entitled; ‘The Role of Judges in ensuring the Rights of Women and Children - Judicial Activism: Proactive Justice’.

Imman Ali was educated in the UK where he completed his law degree and qualified as a barrister, going on to practice law in both Bangladesh and the UK.

He was made Judge of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, High Court Division in 2001 and is now the most senior judge in Bangladesh. He was Deputy Attorney General for Bangladesh from 1998 to 2001.

He has a particular interest in justice for children and is known within Bangladesh judicial circles as ‘The Children’s Judge’ because of his compassion, fairness and understanding whenever faced by children in his court.

In 2011 he decreed that corporal punishment to children should be banned in all settings, which triggered tumultuous applause and appreciation from children throughout the country.

Anti corporal punishment crusader Sir Frank Peters describes him as a national hero.

“While his directive to outlaw all corporal punishment to children in schools and madrassas has yet to be written into law – even though a decade has passed – the name Justice Imman Ali will be deeply etched in Bangladesh history for his attempts to make Bangladesh a better nation and protect its children from ‘cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment’ as he described corporal punishment at the time. He is a modern day hero in the hearts of countless children and good educators,” said Sir Frank.

University vice-chancellor James Tooley said he is looking forward to the talk: "This will be an interesting and wide-ranging talk raising a lot of important issues," he said.