Bangladesh Parliament Research Articles

The International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh and International Law

The International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh was re-established in 2010 in order to hold the perpetrators of the 1971 War accountable for international crimes; namely, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The Trial has already begum to operate and has been dealing with various challenges. The basis of the trial proceedings is the International Crimes (Tribunal) Act 1973. The Parliament of Bangladesh enacted the Act in accordance with international law shortly after the War. This paper assesses the key legal issues that arise from the context of the 1973 Act, and will provide a reflection on trial proceedings in light of international law. It concludes that any initiatives to address the impunity of perpetrators and offer redress to the victims of gross human rights violations should be applauded, while any trial proceedings that do not follow appropriate standards for a fair trial and offer the right of due process should be deprecated.

Right to Information: The Roles and Contributions of Information Professionals of Bangladesh

With increasing recognition of information as a critical ingredient of development, the issue of ‘right to information’ is gaining prominence quickly. Although Bangladesh parliament passed the Right to Information Act in 2009, larger cross-sections of people still suffer from an acute paucity of information because of lack of awareness and weak information infrastructure of the country. Globally, library and information professionals are making substantial contributions in the ‘right to information’ campaign, but in Bangladesh, their role in this regard is quite negligible. The paper highlights the roles and possible contributions of library and information professionals of Bangladesh in ensuring right to information for common people. It underscores the dilemmas faced by the information professionals in this regard and indicates ways for information professionals to play a more dominant role in the campaign for right to information.Philosophy and Progress, Vol#53-54; No#1-2; Jan-Dec 2013

The Parliament of Bangladesh: Representation and Accountability

This article is inspired by a recent debate in Bangladesh about the representative credentials of members of parliament (MPs) who have started to assert a pre-eminent and exclusive role for themselves as people's elected representatives. It investigates three dimensions of their representative role. Political representation is analysed by fairness of the electoral process and the space for opposition. Representation of social diversity is evaluated by gender, religion, ethnicity and socio-economic background of MPs. Constituency representation is explored with a particular focus on parliamentarians' involvement in local development work. Provision of constituency services by the MPs, through control and partisan distribution of public resources, has led to allegations of corruption and conflict of interest. Adoption of a code of parliamentary conduct is essential to establish a formal mechanism to hold MPs accountable to citizens.

The Inclusion of Excluded Majorities in South Asian Parliaments: Women, Youth, and the Working Class

This article provides a new perspective on parliamentary representation in South Asia, focusing on the collective under-representation of population majorities based on the macro-demographic categories of age, class, and gender. Situating this analysis within debates on descriptive representation, it presents the first comparative analysis of the contemporary demographic characteristics of members of parliament (MPs) in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Highlighting three major gaps in parliamentary representation, it finds quotas, proportional representation electoral systems, and leftist parties to have positively impacted the descriptive representation of South Asian women, the working class, and young adults.

Competitive Market Environment and Implementation Mechanism of Competition Law in Bangladesh: Lesson from Other Countries

Competition law aims at ensuring consumer welfare, interest and sound competitive market environment by restricting anti-competitive practices like abuse of dominant position, price setting by agreement, deterring supply, business syndicalism, and so on. The market of Bangladesh is a bit far from competitive environment. However, National Parliament of Bangladesh passed the desired competition law on July 2012 to prevent such malpractices. A suitable implementation framework of competition law and a strong and independent competition commission can make an antitrust regime more effective and dynamic in a practical sense. Along with other challenges the proper coordination with other concerned policies and departments is also inevitable and obligatory for the sustainable implication of the law. The competition act of Bangladesh mandates the establishment of Bangladesh Competition Commission (BCC) but it is not established yet in the country. A significant number of economies have started their competition regime and made success stories in terms of the implementation and inducing consumer welfare. Therefore, the lesson from such an effective competition regime can be guidelines for sound implementation of the antitrust law of Bangladesh. The Government itself, consumer associations, and member of business communities should step forward to create a competition culture in Bangladesh.

Parliament and Citizens in Asia: The Bangladesh Case

This paper explores key dimensions of the relationship between parliament and citizens in Bangladesh. It identifies the mechanisms of contact and their impact on encouraging dialogue between representatives and represented. In recent years, a greater need for interaction between MPs and electorate has developed due to several reasons, such as the change in the composition of the electorate, stiff competition between the two main parties and change in electoral behaviour. Recent efforts made to bring parliament within the public domain, among others, by telecasting/broadcasting live parliamentary proceedings, have also made greater MP–constituency linkage imperative. In general, MPs in Bangladesh now have to spend more time in addressing public grievances and/or promoting the interests of their electorate than in the past. Yet MPs are considered as less trustworthy than other professional groups, and the parliament as an institution does not enjoy as much support as one would expect. The paper explains the reasons accounting for this paradox. It ends with a brief comparison with other countries in the region.

Standing Committees on Ministries in the Bangladesh Parliament

Since parliamentary democracy in Bangladesh was restored in 1991, the reorganisation of parliament has become the centre of attention. Development partners have been keen on organisational and institutional reforms in parliament to make a meaningful shift to the parliamentary system that was put in place abruptly and without adequate preparations. This transformation called for a revision of rules and the modernisation of the parliamentary secretariat, rejuvenating the committee system. This article highlights the major steps taken in the reorganisation of the standing committees of the parliament in Bangladesh, in an attempt to increase the parliament’s institutional/oversight capacity on the executive. It traces the weaknesses of the parliamentary standing committees of the early 1990s, findings and recommendations of the major reform measures and the state of affairs in the aftermath of reforms. However, strengthening parliamentary committees and their oversight capacity on the executive needs systemic and institutional changes, which calls for strong political commitment and strategic leadership on the part of senior parliament management and change in the mindset of the executive.

IMPACT OF WORK LIFE BALANCE ON EMPLOYEE JOB SATISFACTION IN PRIVATE BANKING SECTOR OF KARACHI

In recent times the issues of good governance have received wide attention from the policymakers, researchers and the international donor agencies. The existence of the Ombudsman promotes good governance around the world by ensuring administrative accountability and transparency. The necessity for the office of Ombudsman has been felt in Bangladesh ever since its independence. Our constitution makers incorporated provision for Ombudsman in article 77 of the constitution of 1972. In 1980, the parliament in Bangladesh passed the Ombudsman Act in pursuance of article 77 of the constitution. The office, however, has not yet been established and the provisions of the act have remained as dead letters. As a result, we have so far from the good governance in public administration. This paper provides an analytical overview of the Ombudsman institution as a mechanism of good governance in Bangladesh.

Parliamentary Control and Oversight: A Study on the Performance of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Environment & Forests on Environment Related Issues

The scope and limits of parliamentary control and oversight of environmental issues in Bangladesh are explored in this research. It focuses on individual & collective techniques of parliamentary control and identify constrains that limit their potential in ensuring parliamentary accountability to achieve environmental sustainability. The role of parliament and parliamentary committee on ministry of environment and forest to protect our environment has largely been analyzed on the basis of collective and individual activities of the members of parliament from seventh Bangladesh parliament. The findings have shown that parliamentary committee on ministry of environment and forest of the 7th parliament had given more importance to the routine matters of the ministry & its department's activities (e.g., irregularities and corruption) than that of 8th parliament. In 8th parliament, this committee had dealt with more on environmental issues. Committees' discussions were general in nature on environmental issues and often switched to other issues without completion of the discussion. This committee also has worked in an environment with limited resources, without expertise which was antagonistic to its natural growth. Although the relationship between this committee & concerned ministry (environment & forest) had more harmonious during 8th Bangladesh parliament than of 7th, still standing committee on ministry of environment and forest needs to do more to protect the country's environment.

The Limits of Foreign Aid in Strengthening Bangladesh's Parliament: Analysis of the U.N.'s Strengthening Parliamentary Democracy Project

This paper examines the multi-donor-funded project called Strengthening Parliamentary Democracy (SPD), designed to strengthen Bangladesh's Parliament. In particular, it focuses on attempted reforms in the parliamentary committee system and in its rules of procedure. The article argues that the SPD has only been marginally successful in meeting its objectives, and identifies reasons for this limited success.

OMBUDSMAN FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE: BANGLADESH PERSPECTIVE

In recent times the issues of good governance have received wide attention from the policymakers, researchers and the international donor agencies. The existence of the Ombudsman promotes good governance around the world by ensuring administrative accountability and transparency. The necessity for the office of Ombudsman has been felt in Bangladesh ever since its independence. Our constitution makers incorporated provision for Ombudsman in article 77 of the constitution of 1972. In 1980, the parliament in Bangladesh passed the Ombudsman Act in pursuance of article 77 of the constitution. The office, however, has not yet been established and the provisions of the act have remained as dead letters. As a result, we have so far from the good governance in public administration. This paper provides an analytical overview of the Ombudsman institution as a mechanism of good governance in Bangladesh.

Parliament and Good Governance: A Bangladeshi Perspective

AbstractThe attainment of good governance is the question of the day in Bangladesh. This paper discusses the ‘bedrock of good governance’, parliamentary accountability, and assesses the effectiveness of the Bangladesh Parliament in ensuring governmental accountability and promoting good governance since 1991 when the country re-entered into parliamentary democracy. Considerable discrepancies between the expected role and practical performances are identified and the study further identified a number of problems that severely hinder parliament's accountability function. This paper primarily argues that Bangladesh vested excessive powers in the hands of the executive branch; it, therefore, lacks the proper checks and balances a strong parliament could provide.

In search of institutionalisation: Parliament in Bangladesh

This paper examines the scope and nature of the working of the parliament in Bangladesh. It specifically analyses the implications of the various changes made in parliamentary procedures and practices in the 1990s, identifying, for example, the extent to which these have helped the parliament to affect policy outcome and to become an effective scrutineer of government policies and activities. The evidence shows that although it still remains a marginal legislature, the parliament in recent years has nevertheless become more active and visible, at least compared with its predecessors. The changes made in parliamentary procedures have the potential to make it (parliament) a better policy influcencer and scrutineer of government actions. There are, however, several structural and political constraints ‐ external variables ‐that are likely to discourage any radical redefinition of parliament‐executive relations, at least in the short term; these may also make the process of achieving the institutionalisation of parliament difficult.

Reforming the parliament in Bangladesh: Structural constraints and political dilemmas

This article provides a critique of parliamentary reforms made in Bangladesh in the 1990s. It specifically seeks to identify and analyse the implications of these reforms for parliamentary influence, in particular, the extent to which they have strengthened the parliament vis‐à‐vis the executive. The general argument is that although the reforms do not provide a panacea, neither can they be seen as a mirage. They are capable of increasing the oversight capacity of parliament and can be considered an important step towards balancing the relations between parliament and the executive.

Parliamentary Opposition in Bangladesh

This paper examines the role of the opposition in the fifth parliament in Bangladesh (1991-5). It identifies two distinct but interrelated aspects of the role of the opposition, referred to here as proactive and reactive. The evidence presented in the article shows that the opposition MPs fared better than their ruling party counterparts in both respects. The level of activism of the opposition MPs in the fifth parliament was much higher than it was in the earlier parliaments. The government, despite its suspicion of the opposition's motive, was nevertheless more tolerant of its role, at least compared with the past. The article argues that the potential of the parliament, however, could not be harnessed in full because of lack of preparedness of the opposition and the government to acknowledge each other's legitimacy and to abide by the `rules of the game'. Both these factors discouraged the growth of a stable pattern of parliamentary politics in Bangladesh.

The Quest for Accountability: Parliament and Public Administration in Bangladesh

This article examines the scope and limits of parliamentary control over public administration in Bangladesh. It adopts a comparative approach, focusing on the use of surveillance techniques by members of Bangladesh’s first, second, and fifth parliaments. The evidence presented here shows that the three JSs, as a natural rule, have fared differently in scrutinising the activities of the government and administration. But the data do not always reveal any positive correlation between the nature of partisanship and the performance of the parliament in overseeing governmental activities. Furthermore, the various surveillance techniques do not generally appear to be very effective in probing into the operations of the government. Two factors that account for this are first, the intransigent attitude of the bureaucracy; and second, the lack of willingness and ability of MPs to seriously enquire into government policies and operations. The article suggests that the traditional control mechanisms be supplemented...

The Mirpur Parliamentary by-Election in Bangladesh

Voting behavior, electoral politics, and national and local-level elections are institutionalized topics of research in comparative politics, political geography, and political economy, and will draw increasing attention with the recent wave of democratization in many hitherto authoritarian parts of the world. However, instances are rare in which a single constituency by-election to a parliament has received attention. By-elections occur at haphazard times during the life of a government, usually have low turnout, and occasionally produce results that seem out of line with the prevailing national political opinion. In democratic political systems, especially in parliamentary systems, a by-election is often treated as a barometer for testing an incumbent government's degree of popularity. The electoral analysis of a single constituency can acquire special significance for several reasons: the constituency's strategic importance, its socioeconomic and cultural characteristics, its voting patterns in the preceding general election, and the current national political sentiment. The purpose of this essay is to analyze the Dhaka11 (Mirpur) by-election to the Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) of Bangladesh held on February 3, 1993. To demonstrate why this by-election deserves special academic attention, it must be put in its appropriate context. The semi-dictatorial Ershad regime had collapsed in the face of an urbanbased, middle-class movement spearheaded by mainstream political alliances and parties and actively supported by various professional groups. Ershad handed over power to a caretaker government headed by Chief Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed in December 1990, the first succession of power to a civilian regime in independent Bangladesh. All previous successions had been effected by the military at gunpoint. The main responsibility of the caretaker government was to organize and conduct free and fair parliamen-

Members of Parliament in Bangladesh

This article, based on data collected from a large sample of MPs in 1972 and 1974, sketches a demographic and class profile of Parliamentarians in Bangladesh and analyzes their perception of their roles outside the Parliament. Data on the Parliamentarians' socioeconomic and political backgrounds show that the majority of the MPs were on the whole young, educated, and members of the middle class. Moreover, the trend is toward more MPs in these groups and toward members with less experience in parliamentary politics. The Parliamentarians identified more strongly with the party than with the Parliament. They also took their role outside the Parliament more seriously than their role inside; they spent most of their time in procuring services from the government for their major constituents, which led them to a conflict situation with the bureaucracy. The dislike and the noncooperation between the MPs and the bureaucracy was a major factor behind the administrative inefficiency in the three years following the birth of Bangladesh, which in its turn influenced the downfall of the parliamentary system of government in this new nation.

Examining Parliamentary Accountability System in Bangladesh: Theory and Practice

This paper addresses the parliamentary accountability system in Bangladesh. With a view to that Bangladesh constitution (CoB) and the Rules of Procedure (RoP) of Bangladesh parliament were analyzed. The mechanisms for ensuring accountability are questions, discussion, budgetary debate, motions, ombudsman, committees and resolution. The effectiveness of these mechanisms is determined by various factors such as active parliament, expertise and interest of parliamentarians, unbiased role of the Speaker and dynamism in committee systems. Absences of such factors have made multifarious problems in ensuring accountability of the executive branch of government through parliament. The implication is to remove all the barriers to ensure accountability for better democratic governance.