POLITICIANS ARE NOT ABOVE THE LAW

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is not having a great year. Apart from his wife filing for divorce, his sex life has also come up for scrutiny. And now Italy's Constitutional Court has overturned a law granting him immunity from prosecution while in office. The move opens the possibility that Berlusconi could stand trial in at least three court cases, including one in which he is accused of corruption. The judges said immunity violated the principle that all citizens were equal. This is taking place in Europe, which has a laong tradition of judicial independence but it carries lessons for us because it challenges the very ides of immunity of public officials however high they maybe.In case of Bangladesh it carries great meaning because we have become accustomed to the idea that immunity is a perk of political office.
The BBC says that the news has stunned Italy,a where Berlusconi has widespread public support, although it has dipped in recent times. The opposition has already called on him to step down, although it remains unclear how Berlusconi's coalition partners will react. There have been cases against him before, but he has survived them and he has declared that he will do the same while accusing the magistrates of being Leftists.
The roots of a abad cultural apractice
In Bangladesh, the culture of impunity has deep roots. It began with a series of actions that began immediately after independence and has continued since then. No legal action has ever been taken, no judicial precedent set that can discourage those who wish to break the covenant between law and society. The week governance system makes such transgressions constant, pushing the possibility of rule of law more distant every day.
Berlusconi and his lawyer's argued that he needed the immunity law to carry out his duties as prime minister while those chellenging him said that immunity put him above the law and needed to be reversed. This is the second time italy's highest court has thrown out berlusconi's bid for immunity,after an earlier attempt in 2004 failed.