Constitution Of Bangladesh Research Articles

Whether Article 35 of the Constitution of Bangladesh Contravenes with Section 53 of the Penal Code

Bangladesh is a riverine developing country with a population of 160 million whose history is a history of struggle. Because after the British reign in our subcontinent, we were declared as a part of Pakistan (East Pakistan) and ruled by the Pakistani government. But their suppression had made us desperate of being liberated and created our own country and so after nine months of blood-shedding war, we achieved our liberation on 1971 under the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Then the new government was formed and the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh was passed in the parliament on 4th November, 1972 in which the rights of the people are documented and everybody is obliged to follow. But the author will only discuss about a specific Article (Article 35) of “The Supreme Law of the Land.”

Does the Community Contribute to Reducing Student Dropout? Current Practices, Challenges, and A Way Forward in RuRal Bangladesh

The constitution of Bangladesh aims to ensure quality education for all children. Attending school regularly and completing the cycle is a pre-condition of quality education. This qualitative research was conducted to obtain insights into current practice on community involvement for regular student attendance and reducing dropout in rural Government Primary Schools (GPS) in Bangladesh as well as challenges and possible initiatives. Data were analyzed thematically after conducting five semi-structured interviews with Upazila Education Officers, Assistant Upazila Education Officers, head teachers, and School Managing Committee chairmen; two focus group discussions with assistant teachers and community members of two rural GPS; and school observation. We find that various local and school committees and associations were not performing their assigned and defined roles. Physical home visits were effective but not performed on a regular basis. Mother gatherings were to some extent helpful with the possibility of broadening their scope, but uthan boithok (local gatherings in common spaces) were totally absent. Poverty and lack of awareness about formal education, the tendency of educated families to live in cities and town, negative perceptions of communities about government organizations, the unexpected attitudes of teachers towards rural guardians, and a lack of about the importance of community involvement were the main challenges hindering community contribution to regular student attendance and reducing dropout. To mitigate these challenges, we recommend robust educational leadership, where head teachers as leaders take the required initiatives by raising awareness through collaborations with the local community. This research contributes to ensuring quality education by discussing possible initiatives involving the community to promote regular student attendance and reducing dropout in rural GPS. Keywords: Community, Rural Government Primary Schools, Attendance, Drop-out DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-1-03 Publication date: January 31 st 2021

Human Rights of the Senior Citizens in Bangladesh: Political, Administrative and Economic Challenges

Human rights are the essential rights to all for their proper living and proper amplification of the qualities of human personality. These common rights are recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and also incorporated in the constitution of Bangladesh. But in some cases, these rights are violated in many ways. This study is an attempt to depict the causes and challenges for which the senior citizens cannot enjoy these rights properly. Its finding presents the political, administrative and economic challenges of human rights of the elderly people. Study sample of this research consisted of 60 respondents divided into three categories such as old home, general and key respondents. They were both male and female. This study has been conducted on the basis of primary and secondary sources of data collected through face to face interview and content analysis techniques. The finding revealed that a number of challenges and hostilities cumber the senior citizens in the way of their enjoying human rights with satisfaction. 48% of the senior citizens who belong to lower economic class earn their livelihood by begging. Political challenges like insufficient laws, inadequate national economy, corruption and nepotism; administrative challenges like lack of old home, lack of distinct institutions; and the poverty are responsible for this situation. This study recommends that raising moralities and consciousness, creating proper laws and their proper enforcement, establishing old homes, resistant social movement against all sorts of corruption can play an important role to prevent human rights violation of the senior citizens.

EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS: AN OPPOSITE IDEA OF PROTECTION UNDER ARTICLE 35(5) OF THE CONSTITUTION OF BANGLADESH

Extrajudicial killings indicate a poor as well as a paralyzed criminal justice system. It is also opposite to the protection mentioned under Article 35 (Protection in respect of trial and punishment) of the constitution of Bangladesh. Although as a supreme law of the country the constitution provides some distinct protections, in the context of criminal justice system the idea of extrajudicial killings explains different scenario which are absolutely contradictory to the legal protection ensured by the constitution. The fundamental purpose of a criminal justice system is not to punish an innocent, rather control crime for maintaining peace in the society. This article will endeavour to critically analyse the extra-judicial killings in the light of Article 35(5) of the constitution of Bangladesh, will critically evaluate the differences between theory and practice as well as contradictory ideas regarding extrajudicial killings and the enforcement of Article 35(5) of the constitution from different perspectives.

The Role of the Constitution in Effective Disaster Management of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is prone to recurring natural hazards due to its geographical position and topography. The country has suffered casualties and damage to homes, agriculture, and the economy as a result of tropical cyclones. Effective disaster management approaches are required to reduce the risk of disaster and loss. The Constitution of Bangladesh plays an active role in implementing these approaches at the national and sub-national level. This article analyzes parts of the Constitution addressing disaster management by ensuring disaster governance and adaptive governance. To examine the theoretical aspects of disaster management from a global and Bangladesh perspective, the current institutional role for disaster management, the difference in service delivery for specific organizations, and human rights and humanitarian aspects, a study was conducted based on secondary data and information. Bangladesh's supreme law supports all phases of the disaster management cycle. Consequently, it is said that the Constitution would be an essential document for effective disaster management at all levels.

The Anti-Defection Provision Contained in the Constitution of Bangladesh, 1972, and its Adverse Impact on Parliamentary Democracy: A Case for Reform

It is a fundamental feature of parliamentary democracies for parliament to act as a bulwark against executive power so as to ensure the maintenance of the rule of law. In order for parliament to perform its oversight functions, it is imperative that members of parliament enjoy independence from the stranglehold of their political parties while scrutinizing the actions of the executive and deliberating about national issues facing the electorate. In Bangladesh, the founding fathers, in order to avoid the troubling experiences of unprincipled defections of MPs during the past union with Pakistan, which adversely affected the stability of governments, incorporated an anti-defection provision in Article 70 of the Constitution of Bangladesh, 1972. However, the anti-defection provision contained in the Constitution in endeavoring to curb unprincipled defections has adversely impacted the independence of MPs by compelling them to blindly comply with the directives of their parties in the Parliament, thereby impeding its competence to act as a check on the powers of the executive. Consequently, the current government of Bangladesh Awami League by dint of Article 70 has persuaded the Parliament to incorporate far-reaching amendments in the Constitution, which in turn have enabled the regime to essentially substitute the rule of law with rule of man in violation of the guarantees contained in the Preamble of the Constitution. Thus, the presence of the anti-defection provision in the Constitution has impeded the institutionalization of the Parliament. Accordingly, this Article puts forward concrete recommendations for liberalizing the anti-defection provision contained in Article 70 in order to ensure the maintenance of an appropriate balance between ensuring the stability of the political system against unprincipled defection and of simultaneously safeguarding the independence of MPs to ensure the accountability of the executive branch of government.

Rule of Law in Bangladesh: Illusion or Reality

Rule of Law is one of the most discussed subjects at the moment all over the world as well as in Bangladesh. It means a country which is governed in accordance with law not by men or individuals. This Study focuses on the concept of rule of law, few core aspects of rule of law and explanation of Dicey’s theory. Moreover, it also highlights what are provisions of constitution of Bangladesh regarding rule of law and the actual scenario of this. At the end of this paper, some strong corrective measures for ensuring rule of law are given. The qualitative method has been used in this study where data was collected from secondary sources.

Human Rights Violation of the Elderly People in Bangladesh: Do They Enjoy Basic Needs?

Basic needs are the fundamental human rights recognized by national and international law. This study is an attempt to reveal the picture of human rights violations of the elderly people in Bangladesh focusing particularly on the deprivation of the basic needs of the aged people. In this study, data have been collected from both primary and secondary sources. It reviews the right to basic needs, such as adequate food, clothes, shelter, healthcare, and education. As a human being, everybody deserves these basic needs as fundamental human rights and it is a fundamental responsibility of the state to secure these rights according to the constitution of Bangladesh, Article 15(a). But the study found that these basic rights are not implemented properly in the case of elderly people of the study area. Lacks of moral education and humanity have been identified as mainly responsible hindrances in this sphere. Corruption and poverty are also strong impediments in this regard. The paper proposes some workable suggestions. The government, responsible institutions, and concerned families should come forward to ensure proper education, to ensure proper and sound socialization with native culture, and to raise far-reaching consciousness regarding the welfare of elderly people.

A Critical Review on Women Oppression & Threats in Private Spheres: Bangladesh Perspective

The Constitution of Bangladesh ensures the equal rights and status of women in public life. But nondiscrimination over women in the private sphere is not guaranteed. Consequently, there are significant disparities between men and women in all realms of life. Lack of equal access to economic opportunities, education, health services and their lesser role in decision making perpetuate women’s subordination to men and susceptibility to violence. The notion of the society about girl children within the family itself builds up a mindset that girls ought to be less important than the male children. The multiple forms of discrimination against girls begin at home and continue to the end of their lives. This imbalanced foundation of knowledge, fully biased in favour of the males of the family, spreads through the society in general, resulting in tremendous forms of violence and injustice to women as a whole. The article highlights the key reasons of oppression over women such as physical, sexual and psychological abuse that cuts across lines of income, class and culture and its ultimate consequences. This article evaluates the loopholes in the existing criminal justice system of Bangladesh concerning violence against women with mentioning necessary possible way outs.

Reserved Seats for Women in the Parliament of Bangladesh - A Critical Analysis of Meaningful Representation

Parliament of Bangladesh is the legislative body of Bangladesh. It has 300 directly elected members and 50 members of reserved seats who are elected by the directly elected members of Parliament. Reserved seats system is one of the oldest constitutional systems of Bangladesh. The original Constitution of Bangladesh provided provisions for reserved seats and mentioned a period of reservation. Gradually, that limited time was extended. The intention of the Constitution makers’ for this system of reservation faded away. Finally, the most important amendment about this system, the 17th Amendment of the Constitution by which the tenure of reservation extended for another 25 years is described here in this paper. Parliament is the place for every citizen of Bangladesh. Members of Parliament always representing the mass people of their constituencies. Representation by the women in reserved seats is described here. Lastly, in this paper it is highlighted that the success of actual representation in the Parliament and also suggests different mechanism of election procedure by which representation in the Parliament will be more effective and sound.

A Study on the Rights and Protection of Indigenous People in Bangladesh

Indigenous people represent the ethnic groups of people around the world who are usually alienated from dominant societies, for their distinct custom, tradition and religious beliefs. Due to their ethnicity they have some limitations to exercise all human rights. Although the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is designed to protect the human rights of all human beings, it does not have any special mention for the group rights of indigenous people. The International Labor Organization (ILO) adopted the Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention, 1957(No.107) for ensuring their rights and protections. Considering the development of international law and socio-economic expansion of indigenous community, the ILO revised this convention in 1989 (No. 169). Finally, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), 2007 has been adopted for promoting the inherent rights of indigenous people. In Bangladesh among 160 million people with heterogeneous religion, culture and tradition, nearly two-three million indigenous people from around fifty ethnic groups have been living for centuries. The Constitution of Bangladesh ensures the rights of indigenous people with special emphasis. This country has ratified major international human rights instruments including the ILO Convention No.107. Following the norms of these instruments some special laws have enacted for protecting their rights. But a major portion of them continues to be deprived of their rights due to legal inconsistency and inadequate implementations of existing laws. In this given context, this paper aims to analyze the actual legal status of indigenous people in Bangladesh from the view point of domestic and international law. Based upon such assessment, some suggestions will be put forth to the policy and law makers of Bangladesh to protect and promote the rights of indigenous people through exhaustive implementations of domestic and international law.

Empowerment through participation in local governance: the case of Union Parishad in Bangladesh

PurposeThe traditional concept of people’s participation through their representatives is changing to the mechanism of direct participation of community people in the local governing process. In coupling with these, the Constitution of Bangladesh and the local government acts guarantee to foster the direct participation of people in the formation of local bodies and development programs. The purpose of this paper is to explore the avenues of people’s participation in local government, particularly the Union Parishad (UP) in Bangladesh, and to evaluate the empowerment of marginalized community through those avenues.Design/methodology/approachUsing a broad descriptive and analytical approach, this paper evaluates the relationship between participation and empowerment of local community based on the review of secondary sources of information.FindingsThe local government institutions, particularly UP, has existed many mechanisms through which people participate in decision-making process. It is also believed that participation of community people in local government institutions is not only an opportunity for them but also an apparatus of empowerment. Hence, the process of empowerment is entrenched in the notion of participation. It is evident that the people at grass root level have been participating in UP in diverse arrangements, but the effectiveness of these participations in terms of empowerment is still meager and even lack.Originality/valueThough a long time has passed after introducing these participatory mechanisms, very few studies have undertaken to assess the people’s participation in local government. Additionally, no single initiative was undertaken to assess how empowerment of marginalized people happened through these initiatives as empowering community people is the key objective of it.

FOUNDATION OF RELIGIOUS LIBERALISM IN BANGLADESH: CONTRIBUTION OF BANGABANDHU SHEIKH MUJIBUR RAHMAN AND AWAMI LEAGUE

The Father of the Nation Bangabandu[1] Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1920-1975) is the great architect and the immortal morphologist of a new map of independent Bangladesh. During his rule, he took various steps for the welfare of the country and the nation. He took realistic and effective measures to propagate Islam because of the economic, social and physical infrastructural measures in it, keeping in mind the religious sentiments and values of the people of the Muslim majority in Bangladesh. The outstanding contribution he has made to spread Islam, the promotion and establishment of Islamic values ​​during his reign has become a rare example in the contemporary Muslim world. He was always trying to make Bangladesh a country of peace for all people of all religions. He is not only a great architect of an independent sovereign state but also, he is the architect of spreading Islam under government-sponsored Bangladesh. Especially by establishing the Islamic Foundation Bangladesh, he provided a solid institutional basis for the spread of Islam. He gave greater importance to all citizens who have equal rights regardless of religion and have been an assurance of all religions, which serves as a protector against intolerance when drafting the constitution of Bangladesh. However, the research tries to highlight how Bangabandhu contributed to reducing the religious hatred and extremism, fanaticism, and fundamentalism and establishing peaceful co-existence of various cultures and religions among the people of Bangladesh. Therefore, the result of my study shows how the role of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his Awami league is establishing or has contributed in establishing status equality, love, promote religious cohesion, tolerance, and brotherhood among the masses and taught people to respect each other's religion, emotions, and practices in Bangladesh.

Medical Negligence in Bangladesh: An Argument for Strong Legal Protection

Medical treatment facilities are the most important service provided by the state to its citizens. In Bangladesh, people face negligence in receiving medical treatment for many reasons. One of the reasons is that, the citizens of Bangladesh cannot claim medical treatment facilities as their fundamental right. Until now, the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh (hereinafter stated as the Constitution of Bangladesh) has inserted the medical care facilities as fundamental state policy which cannot be enforced by existing law. People can have few methods to remedy this situation and the insufficiency of the law can even lead to death due to negligence on part of doctors, nurses or hospital authorities and pathologists or pathology centers. Thus, a strong legal protection is necessary for saving the people of Bangladesh from medical negligence.

Justification of The United Nations Organization’s CEDAW Charter in Ensuring Women’s Rights in Bangladesh

Even with the praiseworthy provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, (CEDAW) aiming to stop discrimination against women all over the world. Still discrimination of women all over the world is in high range. The situation of Bangladesh in this regard is much worse. The existing stand of Bangladesh regarding Clause 2 and 16-1(c), has made it impossible to fully establish women’s right in the country. This paper attempted to make a case for the explanation of fully implementing CEDAW in Bangladesh, using the Constitution of Bangladesh. The Constitution of Bangladesh clearly identifies equal rights for both men and women, whereby non-ratification of two clauses of the CEDAW charter is clearly unjustifiable. Thus this paper has strengthened the case by conducting an extensive literature review of the CEDAW charter along with the state of women’s rights in the Constitution of Bangladesh. It will serve as a basis for future changes in policy development regarding the ratification of the CEDAW Charter in Bangladesh. 
 
 
 

Access to health services by informal sector workers in Bangladesh.

According to the constitution of Bangladesh, health is a right and, in 2012, initial work towards universal health coverage was marked by introduction of a health-care financing strategy. However, for 2016, Bangladesh's domestic general government health expenditure was only 0.42% of gross domestic product, making it one of the lowest-spending countries in the world, with 72% of current health expenditure coming from out-of-pocket spending. One factor that is key to the challenge of providing universal health coverage in Bangladesh is the large proportion of the population who work in the informal sector - an estimated 51.7 million people or 85.1% of the labour force in 2017. Most workers engaged in the informal sector lack job security, social benefits and legal protection. The evidence base on the health needs and health-seeking behaviours of this large population is sparse. The government has recognized that increased efforts are needed to ensure that the country's notable successes in improving maternal, neonatal and child health need to be expanded to cover the full range of health services to the whole population, and specifically the more marginalized and impoverished sectors of society. In addition to the universal need to increase funding and to improve the availability and quality of primary health care, workers in the informal sector need to be targeted through an explicit mechanism, with enhanced budgetary allocation to health facilities serving these communities. Importantly, there is a clear need to build an evidence base to inform policies that seek to ensure that informal sector workers have greater access to quality health services.

Bangladesh’s Take on Restoring the Parliamentary Control over the Judiciary: New Course through the 16th Amendment to the Constitution

Shortly after its emergence as a nation through a historic struggle for national liberation, Bangladesh formed its constitution in 1972. Since its formation in 1972, the Constitution of Bangladesh has been amended many times. The latest addition to that amendment list is the 16th amendment of the constitution that was endorsed from the parliament on 17th September 2014. The 16th amendment of the constitution brought back an old provision of the impeachment process of Supreme Court judges of Bangladesh replacing Article 96 of the constitution of Bangladesh. Since the passing of the 16th amendment in the parliament of Bangladesh, it has been a hot topic to be discussed under constitutional law. This short article embodies a critical analysis of the 16th amendment of the constitution and an opinion regarding the very issue.

Privacy as a Human Right in the Digital Age: In Quest of a Safer Protection Regime in Bangladesh

Although the privacy jurisprudence has reached into an intense debate on to which extent the right to privacy should be allowed in this digital age in the reality of terrorism, newly evolved crimes and ever-evolving national security concerns, Bangladesh is still in its infancy in dealing with right to privacy and its related issues. The privacy provisions in Bangladesh Constitution and a few other statutory laws are quite scattered, insufficient to combat the emerging challenges posed in this digital age. Globally, the idea of privacy and data protection have been placed in important instruments like UDHR, ECHR and ICCPR with almost identical understanding as to privacy as a human right. Moreover, OECD Directives of Data Protection, 1980 as updated in 2013, EU General Data Protection Regulation, 2018 and the Data Protection Act, 2018 of the UK have advanced the privacy understanding to a new level. The courts in many jurisdictions including USA, UK, EU and India have laid down few notable principles on this very issue. In this article, after analyzing the best practices around the world, a critical examination of current privacy and data protection provisions of Bangladesh will be placed. The article offers some suggestions on how Bangladesh can combat the emerging privacy and data protection challenges and specific vulnerabilities in this digital age.

Fundamental Rights In Times Of Emergency: Ataur Rahman Vs Muhibur Rahman Revisited

This research analyses the Bangladesh’ Court Decision on the case of Ataur Rahman vs. Mahibur Rahman with regrad to fundamental rights in times of emergency. It is argued that the decision of the court in Ataur Rahman vs. Muhibur Rahman is erroneous decision. This is because while Article 141C of Bangladesh Constitution gives the Presidnet the power to suspend certain fundamental rights, yet Articles 27 to 35 and 41 of the Constitution cannot be suspended. In Bangladesh’s legal system, fundamental human rights are commonly viewed as a set of legal protections. Part III of the Constitution of Bangladesh has confirmed these rights for the citizens of Bangladesh. Some fundamental rights are even universally recognized rights which are contained in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), or the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Article 4 of the ICCPR deals with the state of emergency and Article 4(2) provides a list of non-derogable rights. Such as the right to life, the prohibition of torture, slavery etc. These rights are completely non-derogable in nature and cannot be derogated at all including during a state of emergency. Furthermore the Apex court of Bangladesh tried to justify that the President can derogate any fundamental right during an emergency. Such a proposition is contradicting core parts of our Constitution as well as several international instruments. This research uses normative legal research with statute approach and case approach, especialy analysing Ataur Rahman vs. Muhibur Rahman case.

Fundamental Rights In Times Of Emergency: Ataur Rahman Vs Muhibur Rahman Revisited

This research analyses the Bangladesh’ Court Decision on the case of Ataur Rahman vs. Mahibur Rahman with regrad to fundamental rights in times of emergency. It is argued that the decision of the court in Ataur Rahman vs. Muhibur Rahman is erroneous decision. This is because while Article 141C of Bangladesh Constitution gives the Presidnet the power to suspend certain fundamental rights, yet Articles 27 to 35 and 41 of the Constitution cannot be suspended. In Bangladesh’s legal system, fundamental human rights are commonly viewed as a set of legal protections. Part III of the Constitution of Bangladesh has confirmed these rights for the citizens of Bangladesh. Some fundamental rights are even universally recognized rights which are contained in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), or the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Article 4 of the ICCPR deals with the state of emergency and Article 4(2) provides a list of non-derogable rights. Such as the right to life, the prohibition of torture, slavery etc. These rights are completely non-derogable in nature and cannot be derogated at all including during a state of emergency. Furthermore the Apex court of Bangladesh tried to justify that the President can derogate any fundamental right during an emergency. Such a proposition is contradicting core parts of our Constitution as well as several international instruments. This research uses normative legal research with statute approach and case approach, especialy analysing Ataur Rahman vs. Muhibur Rahman case.