Dhaka: Bangladesh's caretaker Government of Fakruddin Ahmed has taken a landmark decision to separate the judiciary from the executive that had been ordained by an apex court directive in 1999 but had been overlooked by successive governments.

The government published the gazette notifications of four rules that will bring the magistrates, who work presently under the executive branch of the government, directly under the authority of the judiciary, officials said, confirming that President Iajuddin Ahmed and the new chief adviser signed the documents yesterday.

The implementation of the new rules now require only an amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) as per the 12-point directives of the Supreme Court (SC) in 1999.

Law Secretary Mohammad Alauddin Sardar told The Daily Star that the documents were taken for publication in the gazette after the president had signed it.

"We are preparing to amend the CrPC also as per the Supreme Court's direction," he said, adding that the task for preparing its draft has already started. The next parliament will have to adopt the amendments made in the notification.

Successive governments of Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party had failed to implement the directive of apex court in the past.