Law of Bangladesh is primarily in accordance with the English legal system although since 1947, the legal scenario and the laws of Bangladesh have drifted far from the West owing to difference in socio-cultural values and religious guidelines. In November 2007, Bangladesh has successfully separated the Judiciary from the Executive but several black laws still influence the rulers in creating Special Tribunals in using several black laws including the Special Powers Act.
Fundamental Rights In Bangladesh
Bangladesh People(s) has 23 Fundamental Rights. It Approve by The Constitution of Bangladesh, Part- Article 26 to 47A. The Fundamental Rights in Bangladesh under below:[1]
--Laws inconsistent with fundamental rights to be void (Article-26)
--Equality before law (Article-27)
--Discrimination on grounds of religion, etc. (Article-28)
--Equality of opportunity in public employment (Article-29)
--Prohibition of foreign titles, etc. (Article-30)
--Right to protection of law (Article-31)
--Protection of right to life and personal liberty (Article-32)
--Safeguards as to arrest and detention (Article-33)
--Prohibition of forced labour (Article-34)
--Protection in respect of trial and punishment (Article-35)
--Freedom of movement (Article-36)
--Freedom of assembly (Article-37)
--Freedom of association (Article-38)
--Freedom of thought and conscience, and of speech (Article-39)
--Freedom of profession or occupation (Article-40)
--Freedom of religion (Article-41)
--Rights of property (Article-42)
--Protection of home and correspondence (Article-43)
--Enforcement of fundamental rights (Article-44)<
--Modification of rights in respect of disciplinary law (Article-45)<
--Power to provide indemnity (Article-46)
--Saving for certain laws (Article-47)
--Inapplicability of certain articles (Article-47A)
The Judiciary of Bangladesh
The Judiciary of Bangladesh consists of a Supreme Court, subordinate courts and tribunals.
The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Bangladesh comprises the Appellate Division and the High Court Division. It is the apex Court of the country and other Courts and Tribunals are subordinate to it.
a) The Appellate Division
The Appellate Division shall have Jurisdiction to hear and determine appeals from judgments, decrees, orders or sentences of the High Court Division. It has rule making power for regulating the practice and procedure of each division and of any Court subordinate to it. Chancery Research and Consultants Trust (CRC-Trust) maintains a website [Chancery Law Chronicles-First Bangladesh Online Case Law Database][1] where it has included the judgements of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh from 1972 to till date.
b) The High Court Division
The High Court Division, though a Division of the Supreme Court, is for all practical purposes, an independent court with its powers, functions and jurisdictions well defined and determined under the Constitution and different laws. It has both appellate as well as original jurisdiction. It hears appeals from orders, decrees and judgments of subordinate courts and tribunals. It has original jurisdiction to hear Writ Applications under article 102 of the Constitution, which is known as extra ordinary constitutional jurisdiction. It has further original jurisdiction, inter alia, in respect of company and admiralty matters under statutes. The High Court Division, in special circumstances, has also powers and jurisdiction to hear and dispose of cases as the court of first instance under article 101 of the Constitution. The High Court Division shall have Superintendence and control over all Courts and tribunals subordinate to it.
The Subordinate Courts and Tribunals
There are a wide variety of subordinate courts and tribunals. Such courts and tribunals are the creatures of statutes. Their powers, functions and jurisdictions are also determined by the respective statutes. These are the basic courts in the system of the judiciary of Bangladesh. The major bulk of the cases, both civil and criminal, are tried and heard in such courts and tribunals. Certain tribunals are termed as administrative tribunals. Such courts and tribunals spread all over the country at the district levels. The subordinate courts in Bangladesh can be divided in two broad classes, namely, civil courts and criminal courts.
i) Civil Courts
The civil court system is more popularly known as the subordinate judiciary. The civil courts are created under the Civil Courts Act of 1887. The Act provides for five tiers of civil courts in a district, which bottom-up are i) court of assistant judge, ii) court of senior assistant judge, iii) court of joint district judge, iv) court of additional district judge and v) court of district judge. The first three are courts of first instances with powers, functions and jurisdictions in respect of subject matter, territory and pecuniary value determined by or under statutes. The rest two are generally courts of appeal in civil matters. now the civil suits are rapidly disclose in the court
ii) Criminal Courts
Courts of Sessions
Courts of Metropolitan Sessions
Special courts/tribunals (Criminal)
Courts of Metropolitan Magistrate
Courts of Magistrate
Legal Profession
The academic systems of the country allow two separate systems of qualifying legal degrees in Bangladesh which are college-oriented two year LL.B degrees and the University based four-year LL.B (Hons) degrees which require more extensive academic commitment and the seats at the universities remain competitive. But recent there has been a rise in the trend of obtaining foreign academic LL.B. degrees (especially from UK).
Limitations / Obstacles of law enforcement
Most of the people of Bangladesh live under a certain poverty level and few people are aware of the law and law enforcement. It's one of the main reasons that many people seeking justice are deprived from justice. These are some of the obstacles and limitations in implementing the rule of law:
>>The procedure to get justice is a lengthy process. "Justice delayed justice denied."
>>Many crime/violation of rule is overlooked for socio-political reason.
>>Involvement of influential person.
>>Lack of confidence on law enforcement authorities.
>>Witness of crime deny to assist for keeping him/her away from a hassle.
>>Weak information report by Police.
>>Corruption
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