1st Edition
A History of the Constitution of Bangladesh The Founding, Development, and Way Ahead
Marking the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh's Constitution, this book gauges its development from 1972 to 2022, focusing on its foundational goals, performances, and current challenges.
The collection, presenting diverse but issue-specific chapters, shows how the people, political parties and leaders, and constitutional and legal institutions interact with each other in advancing, breaking, and remaking their Constitution. It examines the local context, parliamentary history, and interpretive tools adopted by the Supreme Court in understanding the Constitution as well as the future prospect of constitutional politics and practices. The work brings together legal professionals and constitutional law scholars to encapsulate the panorama of the country’s constitutional evolution. The authors look back to the history of constitution-making, to reflect critically on the present in light of the founding goals, spirits, and aspirations and with a view to offering a forward-looking and resilient vision of constitutionalism in Bangladesh.
The book will be of interest to researchers, academics, and policy-makers working in the areas of comparative constitutional law and politics and South Asian Studies.
List of contributors
Preface
Acknowledgements
Chapter I: Introduction: The Fifty Years of Bangladesh’s Constitutional Journey: Reflections and Hopes
Ridwanul Hoque and Rokeya Chowdhury
Part I: The Founding of the Constitution, Competing Legal Norms and Identity Building
Chapter II: Emergence of Bangladesh’s Legal System: Revolutionary Legality and a New Rule of Recognition
Nafiz Ahmed
Chapter III: The Constitution of Bangladesh and International Law
Kawser Ahmed
Chapter IV: Secularism and Islam as the State Religion: Conflict or Co-existence?
Muhammad Rezaur Rahman
Part II: Constitutionalism, Rule of Law, and Judicial Review
Chapter V: Rule of Law within the Constitutional Scheme: A Judicial Perspective
The Hon. Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed
Chapter VI: Judicial Policy-making by the Supreme Court of Bangladesh
Md. Abdul Halim
Chapter VII: Judicial Review and Separation of Powers: Is one Contingent upon the Other?
Chowdhury Ishrak Ahmed Siddiky
Part III: Political Parties, Executive Authority, and Parliament under the Constitutional Scheme
Chapter VIII: Constituting Limits and Accountability of the Executive Power in Bangladesh
Md. Lokman Hussain
Chapter IX: Parliament of Bangladesh: Constitutional Position and Contributions
M. Jashim Ali Chowdhury
Chapter X: Political Parties in the Process of Constitution-making and Amending: From Multi-party to One-party Dominant Politics?
Nizam Ahmed
Part IV: Social Justice, Inclusion, and the Protection of Rights
Chapter XI: Constitutional Protection of Economic and Social Human Rights: Intention of the Constitution Makers and Judicial Interpretations
Muhammad Ekramul Haque
Chapter XII: Locating women within ‘we, the people’ of Bangladesh
Psymhe Wadud
Chapter XIII: Justice as Fairness and the Constitution of Bangladesh
Tashmia Sabera and Naveed M Rahman
Chapter XIV: Conclusion: Constitutionalism Interrupted or Constitutionalism Absent? The Divergence of Constitution and Politics in Bangladesh
Ali Riaz
Biography
Ridwanul Hoque is Senior Legal Officer at Charles Darwin University, Australia.
Rokeya Chowdhury is an independent law and society researcher and is currently working with a Montreal-based law firm as its Senior Corporate Mobility Advisor.
