Constitutional Law

  1. Constitutional Law

Ambiguity in Article 93 of Our Constitution: Can the President Amend Any Constitutional Provision?

The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh (hereinafter, ‘the Constitution’) entrusts the president with the power to promulgate ordinance under Article 93. Among all the powers the president exercises under the authority of the Constitution, this is the most significant because by promulgating ordinance he exercises purely legislative power. Interestingly, the office of the […]
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  1. Constitutional Law

‘Eastminster’ Adaptations in the Westminster Model: The Confusing Case of Bangladesh

Introduction The Westminster parliamentary system is both a political heritage and a concept. Across the Commonwealth, the Westminster system as a political heritage was either ‘implanted’ by the colonial rulers or ‘transplanted’ by the settlers of British ancestry. As a concept, it represents a majoritarian system that constitutionalises an institutionally marginalised opposition. This is in […]
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  1. Case Comments
  2. Constitutional Law
  3. Human Rights Law

The Constitutionality of Article 35-A of Indian Constitution: Gender Justice and Beyond

A Case Commentary on Charu Wali Khanna & Another V. Union of India & Another. A recent petition filed before the Supreme Court of India demands the abrogation of Article 35-A of the Constitution of India and Note III of a 1927 notification defining “permanent residents” in the State of Jammu & Kashmir, (hereinafter J&K). […]
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  1. Constitutional Law
  2. Human Rights Law
  3. Migration Law
  4. Prison System

Compatibility of Indefinite Immigration Detention in the UK with The European Convention on Human Rights

The use of indefinite immigration detention in the UK remains extremely controversial, what with it being the only country in the EU to use it. While the European Court of Human Rights (henceforth ECtHR) in Strasbourg had the opportunity to deem this draconian practice as being incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) […]
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  1. Constitutional Law
  2. Criminal Law
  3. Labour Law
  4. Uncategorized

Domestic Workers: Living on the Edge of Society

11-year-old Aduri, a domestic worker, was rescued in 2013 by a police inspector from a dustbin in the cantonment area in a half-conscious state with signs of torture and severe injuries throughout her body. Earlier this year a 12-year-old domestic worker named Purnima was set on fire by her employer in the city of Rangpur […]
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  1. Case Comments
  2. Constitutional Law

Comments on Major General K.M. Shafiullah & another vs. Bangladesh

What makes the case of Major General K.M. Shafiullah & another vs. Bangladesh one of the most controversial cases in the history of Constitutional Law of Bangladesh is that while disposing of the case the Supreme Court of Bangladesh positively enforced a provision of Part II of the Constitution which has been expressly barred by […]
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  1. Constitutional Law
  2. International Law

Proclamation of Bangladesh Independence: Implications for International Law

On 10 April 1971, the Mujibnagar government (Bangladesh government-in-exile during 1971 liberation war) adopted the Proclamation of Bangladesh Independence. The people of Bangladesh wanted to become the master of their own destiny. Therefore, they expressed their collective oneness of mind through the Proclamation. Formally read out in the Constituent Assembly (the elected representatives duly constituted […]
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  1. Constitutional Law
  2. Human Rights Law

Human Rights and Unstable Constitutionalism: Quo Vadimus?

“[The object of my government is] non-injury, restraint, impartiality, and mild behaviour […] to all creatures” [Emperor Ashoka, 3rd Century BC, Ashokan Studies, pp. 34-35, edict XIII.] In this note I seek to navigate, no doubt ambitiously, the relationship between Bangladesh’s unstable constitutionalism and the trajectory of recognition, protection, and discourse of human rights in […]
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Towards a Bangladesh Model BIT: The Chevron Dues and the Case for Reform

In April 2025, Bangladesh’s state-owned gas company Petrobangla cleared all of Chevron’s outstanding gas bills from previous years. Within days of this payment, Petrobangla formally urged Chevron to resume work on the stalled $65 million Jalalabad compressor project. Petrobangla Chairman told the press, ‘…we have already cleared all outstanding arrear payments of Chevron Bangladesh.’ Chevron […]
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The 15th Amendment Case before the High Court Division: An Analytical Perspective

Background On 17 December 2024, the High Court Division (HCD) of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh (SCOB) delivered a historic judgment regarding the Constitution (Fifteenth Amendment) Act, 2011 (Act No. XIV of 2011). The 15th Amendment removed the Non-Party Caretaker Government (NPCG) system for conducting general elections and made numerous other constitutional changes. This write-up […]
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