Important Amendment Research Articles

Biochar improves morpho-physiological growth, osmolyte accumulation, nutrients balance, anti-oxidative defense and oil productivity of Brassica under flooding stress

Soil flooding is a serious abiotic stress that can repress plant growth and yield. The intensity of flooding stress is continuously increasing owing to rapid climate change and changes in rain intensity and frequency. Biochar (BC) emerges as an important soil amendment to mitigate adverse impacts of abiotic stress. The role of BC against different stresses is well reported, however, its role under flooding stress is not determined yet. Thus, this experiment was conducted to determine the role of BC on the performance of brassica crops under flooding stress. The experiment was comprised of well-watered (WW) and flooding stress (FS) conditions and biochar application: control, 1% biochar, and 2.5% biochar. The results indicated that flooding stress stunted the plant growth and impaired the photosynthetic pigments, leaf water status, osmolytes yield and yield traits, and oil concentration and increased the electrolyte leakage (EL), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration. The application of BC at the rate of 2.5% mitigated the adverse impacts of salinity and upgraded the antioxidant activities (~50-120%), reduced the oxidative stress markets (~70-300%), and increased the leaf water status, photosynthetic pigments, osmolyte accumulation, nutrient uptake, yield traits, and oil contents. In conclusion, BC application can improve the productivity and oil yield of brassica under drought stress by improving plant physiological and biochemical functioning. However, more in depth studies are direly needed to explore the mechanism of BC to induce flood tolerance.

Biocha Soil Amendment: Effect on Soil, Crop Performance, and Diseases Resistance

One of the main challenges facing developing countries is an ever-increasing gap between population growth and food supply. Diseases, insects, and weeds decrease the production of crops worldwide by 36%. Hence, control of crop pests contributes to increased crop production. Organic amendments to the soil have direct impacts on crop productivity and plant health as it enhances soil fertility, water, and nutrient retention and plant disease defense mechanisms. Biochar is an important organic amendment. It is produced by the pyrolysis process, whereby organic substances are broken down at higher temperatures in low oxygen conditions. Biohar improved soil nutrient availability and water retention capacity, and induced plant resistance against broad ranges of plant pathogenic organisms including fungi, nematodes, and bacteria. Biochar soil amendment also enhances root-associated microbes such as flavobacterium and arbuscular mycorrhizae. Biochar amendments can increase soil essential nutrients for crop productivity and suppress plant pathogens. Suppression of plant pathogens is attributed to the stimulation of beneficial soil microbes, providing nutrients, and inducing plant defense. The objectives of the review are to depict the importance of biochar soil amendment on crop performance, disease resistance, and soil properties.

Jointly soil properties affect N and P uptakes and utilizations in Pinus tabuliformis Carr. and Quercus liaotungensis Koidz. subjected to growing media with decomposed litter

Monocultured pine plantation is suffering ecological degradation that is highly associated with low regeneration. Decomposed litter is an important soil amendment for enhancing regeneration through promoting nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) uptakes and utilizations. It is necessary to detect key soil attributes that contributed to this positive effect for regenerations in pine plantations. In this study, in-situ soils and litter were collected from local Chinese pine (Pinus tabuliformis Carr.) plantations (objective) and secondary forests dominated by Liaodong oak (Quercus liaotungensis Koidz.) (control). Soils were used for culturing one-year-old Chinese pine and Liaodong oak seedlings with a prolonged photoperiod in a greenhouse. Litter was composted with effective microorganisms and mixed to soils at ratios of 0% (control), 25%, and 50% (v/v). Compared to the control, the 25% ratio decreased shoot height and root-collar diameter, and the 50% ratio decreased the comprehensive seedling quality. Decomposed litter addition reduced shoot biomass and P content in pine seedlings and utilizations for N and P in both species. Multivariate linear regression indicated that high pH in growing media impaired root P content and biomass increments in shoot and root parts, and high organic matter content inhibited N content and concentration in shoots. Overall, the addition of decomposed litter resulted in overdoses of nutrient supply for both species. Our results contradict the argument that N and P released from decomposed litter are both beneficial for regenerations in plantations, neither did in secondary forests.

Soil acidification and salinity: the importance of biochar application to agricultural soils.

Soil acidity is a serious problem in agricultural lands as it directly affects the soil, crop production, and human health. Soil acidification in agricultural lands occurs due to the release of protons (H+) from the transforming reactions of various carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur-containing compounds. The use of biochar (BC) has emerged as an excellent tool to manage soil acidity owing to its alkaline nature and its appreciable ability to improve the soil's physical, chemical, and biological properties. The application of BC to acidic soils improves soil pH, soil organic matter (SOM), cation exchange capacity (CEC), nutrient uptake, microbial activity and diversity, and enzyme activities which mitigate the adverse impacts of acidity on plants. Further, BC application also reduce the concentration of H+ and Al3+ ions and other toxic metals which mitigate the soil acidity and supports plant growth. Similarly, soil salinity (SS) is also a serious concern across the globe and it has a direct impact on global production and food security. Due to its appreciable liming potential BC is also an important amendment to mitigate the adverse impacts of SS. The addition of BC to saline soils improves nutrient homeostasis, nutrient uptake, SOM, CEC, soil microbial activity, enzymatic activity, and water uptake and reduces the accumulation of toxic ions sodium (Na+ and chloride (Cl-). All these BC-mediated changes support plant growth by improving antioxidant activity, photosynthesis efficiency, stomata working, and decrease oxidative damage in plants. Thus, in the present review, we discussed the various mechanisms through which BC improves the soil properties and microbial and enzymatic activities to counter acidity and salinity problems. The present review will increase the existing knowledge about the role of BC to mitigate soil acidity and salinity problems. This will also provide new suggestions to readers on how this knowledge can be used to ameliorate acidic and saline soils.

Changes in the Regulation of Crypto Exchanges in Lithuania And Estonia

This article consults new regulations in Estonia and Lithuania where significant amendments have been adopted for the establishment and approval of crypto exchange services' providers. While Estonia has adopted an important amendment to the regulation of providers of crypto exchange services and of crypto wallet services, Lithuania has adopted a completely new regulation that has never been part of its legal system in any aspect. Despite these amendments, it's expectable that these regulations will have only temporary effect by the adoption of Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA), now only at the stage of working paper.

Effects of contrasting N-enriched biochar applications on paddy soil and rice leaf phosphorus fractions in subtropical China

Biochar has been proved to be an important soil amendment to alleviate soil phosphorus (P) in the paddy crops. However, the role of specially prepared biochar (N-enriched biochar) on the distribution and transformation of P soil in and rice leaves needs to be revealed. In this study, we studied in a field experiment the effects of two different levels of application of N-enriched biochar on the P fractions of soil and leaves. The results showed that: (1) in early rice, both rates of N-enriched biochar increased soil concentrations of labile inorganic P (Pi) (+51.5 % and +66.2 %, respectively) and labile organic P (Po) (+167 % and + 76.9 %, respectively) and moderately labile Pi (+37.8 % and +27.8 %, respectively) and decreased soil concentration of moderately labile Po (−17.0 % and −52.7 %, respectively) in the 0–15 cm layer. Soil total P concentration was positively correlated with soil labile P fractions and moderately labile Pi concentrations (p < 0.05); (2) in early and late rice, application of the biochar at 4 t ha−1 increased rice leaf concentration of inorganic (+13.3 % and +34.8 %, respectively), nucleic acid (+24.2 % and +13.0 %, respectively) (p < 0.05). The foliar inorganic and nucleic acid P concentrations were positively correlated with foliar total P concentrations; (3) redundancy analysis showed that with the application of N-enriched biochar, soil total carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and P concentration were important factors affecting the chemical forms of soil P, while soil organic matter, soil total P and leaf total P content were important factors affecting the chemical forms of leaf P; (4) allometric growth models showed that under the application of N-enriched biochar, 0–30 cm soil labile Po concentration was positively related to leaf concentration of nucleic acid P, 0–15 cm soil moderately labile Pi concentration was positively related to leaf concentration of inorganic P and nucleic acid P. Thus, this study provides evidence that N-enriched biochar increase the soil P-availability of labile and moderately labile P that in turn improved rice plants P use efficiency.

Partial Substitution of Urea with Biochar Induced Improvements in Soil Enzymes Activity, Ammonia-Nitrite Oxidizers, and Nitrogen Uptake in the Double-Cropping Rice System.

Biochar is an important soil amendment that can enhance the biological properties of soil, as well as nitrogen (N) uptake and utilization in N-fertilized crops. However, few studies have characterized the effects of urea and biochar application on soil biochemical traits and its effect on paddy rice. Therefore, a field trial was conducted in the early and late seasons of 2020 in a randomized complete block design with two N levels (135 and 180 kg ha-1) and four levels of biochar (0, 10, 20, and 30 t ha-1). The treatment combinations were as follows: 135 kg N ha-1 + 0 t B ha-1 (T1), 135 kg N ha-1 + 10 t B ha-1 (T2), 135 kg N ha-1 + 20 t B ha-1 (T3), 135 kg N ha-1 + 30 t B ha-1 (T4), 180 kg N ha-1 + 0 t B ha-1 (T5), 180 kg N ha-1 + 10 t B ha-1 (T6), 180 kg N ha-1 + 20 t B ha-1 (T7) and 180 kg N ha-1 + 30 t B ha-1 (T8). The results showed that soil amended with biochar had higher soil pH, soil organic carbon content, total nitrogen content, and mineral nitrogen (NH4+-N and NO3--N) than soil that had not been amended with biochar. In both seasons, the 20 t ha-1 and 30 t ha-1 biochar treatments had the highest an average concentrations of NO3--N (10.54 mg kg-1 and 10.25 mg kg-1, respectively). In comparison to soil that had not been treated with biochar, the average activity of the enzymes urease, polyphenol oxidase, dehydrogenase, and chitinase was, respectively, 25.28%, 14.13%, 67.76%, and 22.26% greater; however, the activity of the enzyme catalase was 15.06% lower in both seasons. Application of biochar considerably increased the abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), which was 48% greater on average in biochar-amended soil than in unamended soil. However, there were no significant variations in the abundances of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) or nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) across treatments. In comparison to soil that had not been treated with biochar, the average N content was 24.46%, 20.47%, and 19.08% higher in the stem, leaves, and panicles, respectively. In general, adding biochar at a rate of 20 to 30 t ha-1 with low-dose urea (135 kg N ha-1) is a beneficial technique for improving the nutrient balance and biological processes of soil, as well as the N uptake and grain yield of rice plants.

A triangle for the French translation of General Theory: Keynes, Sraffa, and Largentaye

Abstract The paper studies the correspondence exchanged in 1938–1939 between Keynes and the French translator of General Theory, Jean de Largentaye, and between Keynes and Sraffa on this translation. The focus is on some analytical difficulties raised in this correspondence. After having described the circumstances of Sraffa’s involvement, the paper evokes a disagreement between Keynes and Largentaye about the kind of language that should be used in a book like General Theory. A section deals with clarifications and improvements brought about by the correspondence, particularly on the treatment of entrepreneurs’ profits and on the behaviour of lenders and borrowers in a financial crisis. Another section studies an important amendment to Chapter 17 on the concept of own-rate of interest. This amendment was suggested by Largentaye and accepted by Keynes in the context of various critiques expressed elsewhere by Pigou, Hicks, and Sraffa.

Effects of Biochar and Compost on Soil Physical Quality Indices

ABSTRACT Biochar and compost are important organic amendment materials for modifying the distribution of pore size in soils. The main idea of this study was to investigate the impact of date palm biochar, compost and their combination on soil water parameters, pore size distribution curves and soil aggregates stability at the rates of 1%, 2%, 3% and 4% (10, 20, 30 and 40 g kg-1). In this study, shape (standard deviation (SD), kurtosis and skewness) and location (dmode, dmedian and dmean) parameters, water stable aggregates (WSAs), mean weight diameter (MWD), geometric mean diameter (GMD) and erodibility factor (Kerodibility) were measured and evaluated. Results showed that the indicators of pore size distribution functions for untreated soil (control) were 31.6, 25.8, 23.5, 3.3, −0.16 and 1.14 for dmode, dmedian, dmean, SD, skewness and kurtosis, respectively. While, WSA>0.25 (macro aggregates), MWD, GMD and Kerodibility were 15.94, 0.19, 0.39 and 0.0895, respectively. Here, dmode, dmedian, dmean, SD, skewness and kurtosis were changed due to application rates of biochar, compost and the mixture of biochar–compost, significantly. The application rate of 4% of the biochar–compost mixture had the highest effects, and dmode, dmedian, dmean, SD, skewness and kurtosis were 18.9, 13.3, 11.3, 4.9, −0.21 and 1.15, respectively. Mixing biochar, compost and biochar–compost mixture reduced equivalent pore diameters, dmode, dmedian, dmean, and increased the indicators of WSA>0.25, MWD, GMD and kerodibility. The factors of WSA, MWD, GMD and kerodibility were enhanced. Thus, the application of biochar, compost and biochar–compost mixture could improve water retention and water use efficiency (WUE) of sandy soils.

Gradient analysis of soil-plant interactions from the alpine-nival ecotone to the snowline on slopes of the Central Great Caucasus (Kazbegi Region, Georgia)

Alpine ecosystems are especially sensitive to climatic changes which affect the relationships among glaciers, snow, vegetation and soils. Our aim was to examine how the variation in the abiotic environment affected soil properties and plant species distribution at regional and local scales. We sampled soil and vegetation along two transects set on the opposite-facing slopes (North versus South), from the alpine-nival ecotone to the snowline (Central Great Caucasus, Kazbegi, Georgia). We measured also soil temperature and controlled for the slope inclination. Multivariate ordination methods were used to link abiotic factors, soil properties and plant species distribution along the gradients. We found that ordination models were better resolved when soil properties were used as environmental variables instead of abiotic ones such as elevation, inclination and slope aspect. Soil pH and plant available potassium were the best predictors of plant species distribution in these habitats. We conclude that the models that account for the role of soils as a mediator between the abiotic environment and vegetation can more accurately describe plant species distribution at local and regional scales: a potentially important amendment with implications for the monitoring of the effects of climate change on vegetation at least in high mountain systems.

Remediation of Lead-contaminated Farmland Soil: Efficacy of Low-cost Natural Amendments in [Im]mobilization of Lead

The control of Pb mobility is a success key in remediation of contaminated soil. This research aimed to explore the effective low-cost amendments in mobilizing or immobilizing lead in contaminated soil, assess environmental risk, and evaluate important amendment properties. Lead-contaminated soil was incubated with 13 materials included chars, bioslurry, limes, rice husk, gypsum, citric acid, natural organic acids and the efficiency of lead immobilization (E) was studied. Soil incubated with 10% amendments was sequentially extracted to determine Pb geochemical fractions and its risk. Selected amendment properties were evaluated through a correlation study with E. The results showed that 6 amendments immobilized lead in the order of chars &gt; gypsum &gt; bioslurry &gt; rice husk. Chicken manure and chicken bone biochars, effectively decreasing lead solubility, were the best immobilising amendments, redistributed lead into the residual fraction and remediated the soil from moderate to low environmental risk. The order of mobilizing amendments was: citric acid &gt; baby orange juice &gt; limes &gt; tamarind &gt; lemon juice &gt; tomato. The citric acid was the most effective mobilizing amendment which increased soluble lead and shifted the soil into high environmental risk status. The three most important amendment properties in influencing soil-Pb mobility were pH, P, and Ca content.

Fraud Law and Misinfodemics

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many on whom the public depends for truthful information purposefully or recklessly spread misinformation that put thousands at risk. The term “misinfodemic,” coined in 2019, describes such events, where misinformation facilitates the spread of a disease or causes some other health-related outcome. Though the term was only recently defined, the recent misinfodemic was not a new or novel phenomenon. False information is spread to the public all the time. This often results in harm to public health. False claims are communicated by corporations seeking to mislead the public to make more money, by politicians to gain votes and support, and by media outlets to increase viewership and advertising revenue. Although these and other deceptions of the public for profit might be unethical, they are legal. This Article explores the question of why. There are two key components to this analysis, one centered on tort law and the other on the First Amendment. This Article will focus only on tort law aspects. This Article discusses how fraud law developed to focus almost exclusively on personal deceptions while almost entirely ignoring impersonal deceptions like deceptions of the public. As a result, there is most often no tort remedy available to individuals harmed by misinfodemics. This Article prescribes a fix for this gap in the law: treat fraud on the public like any other fraud by prohibiting misinformation and punishing those who spread it. Precedent and policy support imposing civil remedies against those who purposefully or recklessly mislead the public for gain. The important First Amendment aspects of this issue will be addressed in future scholarship.

"Just" Social Order, GST Law and the Jurisdiction of the Courts

State Policy in India was reformulated on July 1, 2017 when multiple statutes for the levy of “Goods and Services Taxes” (GSTs) commenced. The reformulation was facilitated by the Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016. The amended Constitution provides for the constitution of the Goods and Services Tax Council (GST Council) which is mandated to recommend inter alia, “model” GST statutes to be enacted as law by the Union and every State. An important amendment relates to legislative competences of the Union and the States. Prior to 2016, the matters of the respective legislative competences were either dis-joint or, if concurrent, subject to every State avoiding repugnance with the law made by the Union. Clause (1) of Article 246A enacts a paradigmatic change in providing for repugnance-free overlap of legislative competences of the States and the Union in lawmaking to levy respective GSTs. A less-noticed paradigmatic change enacted in clause (6) of Article 279A in Part XII stipulates the principle of “harmony” as constitutional guidance to regulate the functioning of the GST Council. This is in addition to the fundamental principles regulating governance by rule of law enacted in Part IV, to enforce which the Courts (including the High Courts and the Supreme Court) have no jurisdiction. In the light of legislative history, received wisdom from the social sciences and applicable norms for the interpretation of statutes, this paper examines the nature of jurisdiction of the Courts to enforce the constitutional guidance stipulated outside Part IV, in clause (6) of Article 279A.

THE 2017 AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW REFORM (MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE) ACT 1976: A MILESTONE OR A STONE’S THROW IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MALAYSIAN FAMILY LAW?

The Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 (LRA) which was passed in 1976 and came into force on 1st March 1982, standardized the laws concerning non-Muslim family matters. Many family issues concerning non-Muslim have emerged ever since, the most important being the effects of unilateral conversion to Islam by one of the parties to the marriage. There has been a lot of public hue and cry for amendments to be made to the LRA. After much deliberation, the Malaysian Parliament finally passed the amendments to the LRA in October 2017, which came into force in December 2018. Although the amendments have addressed selected family law issues, the most important amendment on child custody in a unilateral conversion to Islam was dropped from the Bill at the last minute. Howsoever, at the end of the day, the real question that needs to be addressed is whether the amendments have resolved the major issues that have arisen over the past four decades? Hence, the purpose of this article is as follows: first, to examine the brief background to the passing of the LRA, secondly, to analyse the 2017 amendments, thirdly, to identify the weaknesses that still exist in the LRA, and finally, to suggest recommendations to overcome these weaknesses by comparing the Malaysian position with the Singaporean position. In conclusion, it is submitted that despite the recent amendments to the LRA, much needs to be done to overcome all the remaining issues that have still not been addressed.

Effect of straw-incorporation into farming soil layer on surface runoff under simulated rainfall

Returning crop straw into farmland is an important application and effective soil amendment method as it can increase soil organic matter to improve soil fertility and crop yield. In addition, this practice can help retain soil moisture and slow down the rainfall runoff rate, particularly on sloping farmland. This study uses laboratory experiments with a silt loam soil to examine the effects of wheat straw incorporation into cultivated farmland soil on rainfall-runoff. The experiments involved four straw incorporation rates (0 (control), 2, 4, and 8 t/ha), three rainfall intensities (80, 120 and 160 mm/h) and three slope gradients (10, 15 and 20°), carried out by a completely randomized combination design, with three repetitions. In all the experimental runs, the total rainfall amount was 100 mm per event. Our experimental results showed that the duration of runoff initiation time at straw incorporation rates of 2, 4 and 8 t/ha were increased by 1.63% to 104.93%, 6.16% to 111.67% and 15% to 141.25%, while the total runoff amounts decreased by 11.74% to 28.81%, 24.21% to 49.67% and 38.90% to 65.93%, compared with those of our control group (0 t/ha). The effects of straw incorporation on the runoff initiation delay time and runoff reduction were significant, particularly when the rainfall intensity was 120 mm/h and the slope was 10°. With increases in rainfall intensity and slope gradient, the runoff initiation time durations were decreased and the runoff rate increased. In conclusion, incorporating wheat straw into the farmland soil can delay the runoff initiation time and reduce runoff volume, to significantly increase rainwater storage into soil, thereby increasing the rainwater utilization rate and to benefit soil erosion control. This study can provide a data basis for farmland soil and water conservation research and practice.

The Future of the Second Amendment in a Time of Lawless Violence

Reva B. Siegel and Joseph Blocher have focused attention on an underappreciated dimension of the debate about the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. They reject a narrow concept of “public safety” that evaluates regulations solely in terms of physical safety, without adequately recognizing the public’s interest in securing a “a foundation for community and for the exercise of many of our most cherished constitutional liberties.” At this level of generality, I agree. But I do not agree that an appropriately broad conception should widen the discretion of legislatures to impose restrictions on firearms. The issue that Siegel and Blocher raise is especially important during this time of politically inspired riots and flaccid government responses to mob violence. The most practically important Second Amendment issue that is ripe for Supreme Court resolution concerns the scope of the constitutional right to bear arms in public. The Constitution’s text and history offer little direct guidance, and the Justices will inevitably have to decide how to resolve the conflicts of interest that occur when governments seek to promote public safety by depriving individuals of the means to protect themselves. The single most foundational principle on which our liberal regime rests is the inherent right of self-defense against violent assaults, whether from common criminals or political activists or tyrannical governments. The Second Amendment’s core purpose is to insulate that right from improper government interference. But protecting the right to keep and bear arms also serves a broader civic purpose. An armed citizenry displays the spirit of courage and self-reliance on which genuine self-government depends. That spirit should be honored and defended more than ever in times of civil unrest, and especially when governments have responded passively or with perverse encouragement to mob violence.

Biochar Impacts on Acidic Soil from Camellia Oleifera Plantation: A Short-Term Soil Incubation Study

Nowadays, biochar is increasingly used widely as an important soil amendment to enhance soil nutrients availability. Therefore, we investigated the effect of C.oleifera shell biochar (CSB) on C.oleifera plantation soils to provide evidence that C. oleifera shell as a raw material in biochar has great potential to be a soil amendment. For this, a short-term incubation experiment was conducted in controlled conditions to evaluate the effects of CSB application on two soil chemical properties, microbial biomass, and enzymatic activity. We compared two acidic soils, mixed with CSB of three pyrolysis temperatures (300, 500, and 700 °C), and two application rates (3% and 5% (w/w)), incubated for 180 days. The results showed that the soil pH, total P (TP), and available P (AP) significantly increased under 5CSB700 in two soils, and indicated CSB application rate and pyrolysis temperature had a significant impact on soil pH, TP, and AP (p &lt; 0.05). CSB application also significantly increased the total inorganic P in two soils and presented a significantly positive correlation with soil pH, TP, and AP under redundancy analysis. The results suggested that CSB application has a variable effect on soil enzymatic activity, microbial biomass C (MBC), and microbial biomass P (MBP) on average, while it increased the soil microbial biomass N (MBN) in both soils. We concluded that CSB could be a soil amendment to increase soil nutrients of C.oleifera plantation soils. Before the application of biochar to C.oleifera plantation forest soils, long-term studies are required to assess the effects of biochar under field conditions and its promoting effect on the growth of C. oleifera.

Farewell to Revolution! Gustav Landauer’s Death and the Funerary Shaping of His Legacy

Abstract The violent death of Landauer in May 1919 at the end of the Räterepublik of Munich left several of his best friends with a terrible feeling: a sense of tension between the unique hopes incarnated by Landauer and the spiritual and political void his passing left behind. This article is an attempt to capture the tragic shift from a living revolutionary who projected his unique anarchist views onto the failed Munich Revolution to the efforts of a group of close friends who searched to save their dear Landauer from the infamy of failure, making of his months in Munich and his death an important amendment to his spiritual and political legacy.

Decentralization Experience in Pakistan: The 18th Constitutional Amendment

Of all the amendments made to the Constitution of Pakistan, the 18th Amendment passed in April 2010 is arguably the most important amendment with the most far-reaching consequences. It restored the parliamentary character of the Constitution, redefined the Parliament–judiciary relationship by proposing parliamentary oversight on high judicial appointments and devolved several important functions to Provincial Governments. This decentralization of responsibility and authority provided the context in which various institutional actors renegotiated their roles in a contested space during the years since the Amendment. However, implementation has been quite a challenge in the face of covert and overt opposition from the federal bureaucracy, which is characteristically averse to any transfer of resources and authority. This article is a critical examination of the Amendment and its implementation to understand the nature and extent of devolution of authority resulting therefrom.

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.