The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh

The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
 

CONTENTS
 

PREAMBLE
 

PART I

THE REPUBLIC

Article:

1. The Republic
2. The territory of the Republic
2A. The State religion
3. The State language
4. National anthem, flag and emblem
5. The capital
6. Citizenship
7. Supremacy of the Constitution

PART II

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY

8. Fundamental principles
9. Promotion of local Government institutions
10. Participation of women in national life
11. Democracy and human rights
12. [Omitted] (About Secularism)
13. Principles of ownership
14. Emancipation of peasants and workers
15. Provision of basic necessities
16. Rural development and agricultural revolution
17. Free and compulsory education
18. Public health and morality
19. Equality of opportunity
20. Work as a right and duty
21. Duties of citizens and of public servants
22. Seperation of judiciary from the excutive
23. National culture
24. National monuments, etc.
25. Promotion of international peace, security and solidarity

PART III

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

26. Laws inconsistent with fundamental rights to be void
27. Equality before law
28. Discremination on grounds of religion, etc.
29. Eqality of opportunity in public employment
30. Prohibition of foreign titles, etc.
31. Right to protection of law
32. Protection of right to life and personal liberty
33. Safegards as to arrest and detention
34. Prohibition of forced labour
35. Protection in respect of trial and punishment
36. Freedom of movement
37. Freedom of assembly
38. Freedom of association
39. Freedom of thought and conscience, and of speech
40. Freedom of procession or occupation
41. Freedom of religion
42. Rights of property
43. Protection of home and correspondence
44. Enforcement of fundamental rights
45. Modification of rights in respect of disciplinary law
46. Power to provide indemnity
47. Saving for certain laws
47A. Inapplicability of certain articles

PART IV

THE EXECUTIVE

CHAPTER I - THE PRESIDENT

48. The President
49. Prerogative of marcy
50. Term of office of President
51. President's immunity
52. Impeachment of the President
53. Removal of President on ground of incapacity
54. Speaker to act as President during absence, etc.

CHAPTER II - THE PRIME MINISTER AND THE CABINET

55. The Cabinet
56. Minister
57. Tenure of office of Prime Minister
58. Tenure of office of other Minister
58A. Application of Chapter

CHAPTER II A - NON-PARTY CARE TAKER GOVERNMENT

58B. Non-Party Care-taker Government
58C. Composition of the Non-Party Care-taker Government,
appointment of Advisers, etc.
58D. Functions of Non-Party Care-taker Government
58E. Certain provisions of the Constitution to remain ineffective

CHAPTER III - LOCAL GOVERNMENT

59. Local Government
60. Powers of local government bodies
61. Supreme Command
62. Recuitment, etc., of defence services
63. War

CHAPTER V - THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL

64. The Attorney-General

PART V

THE LEGISLATURE

CHAPTER I-PARLIAMENT

65. Establishment of Parliament
66. Qualifications and disqualifications for election to Parliament
67. Vacation of seats of members
68. Remuneration, etc., of members of Parliament
69. Penalty for member sitting or voting before taking oath
70. Vacation of seat on resignation, etc.
71. Bar against double membership
72. Sessions of Parliament
73. President's address and messages to Parliament
73A. Rights of Ministers as respects Parliament
74. Speaker and Deputy Speaker
75. Rules of procedure, quorum, etc.
76. Stading committees of Parliament
77. Ombudsman
78. Privileges and immunities of Parliament and members
79. Secretariat of Parliament

CHAPTER II-LEGISLATIVE AND FINANCIAL PROCEDURES

80. Legislative procedure
81. Money Bills
82. Recommendation for financial measures
83. Mo taxation except by or under Act of Parliament
84. Consolidated Fund and the Public Account of the Republic
85. Regulation of public moneys
86. Moneys payable to Public Account of Republic
87. Annual financial statement
88. Charges on Consolidated Fund
89. Procedure relating to annual financial statement
90. Appropriation Act
91. Supplementary and excess grants
92. Votes on account, votes of credit, etc.
92A. [Omitted]

CHAPTER III-ORDINANCE MAKING POOWER

93. Ordinance making power

PART VI

THE JUDICIARY

CHAPTER I-THE SUPREME COURT

94. Establishment of Supreme Court
95. Appointment of Judges
96. Tenure of Office of Judges
97. Temporary appointment of Chief Justice
98. Additional Supreme Court Judges
99. Disabilities of Judges
100.Seat of Supreme Court
101.Jueisdiction of High Court Division
102.Powers of High Court Division to issue certain orders and directions, etc.
103.Jurisdiction of Appellate Division
104.Issue and ececution of processis of Appellate Division
105.Review of Judgments or orders by Appellate Division
106.Advisory jurisdiction of Supreme Court
107.Rule making power of the Supreme Court
108.Supreme Court as court of record
109.Superintendence and control over courts
110.Transfer of cases from subordinate courts to High Court Division
111.Binding effect of Supreme Court judgments
112.Action in aid of Supreme Court
113.Staff of Supreme Court

CHAPTER II-SUBORDINATE COURTS

114.Establishment of subordinate courts
115.Appointments to subordinate courts
116.Control and discipline of subordinate courts
116A Judicial officers to be independent in the exercise of their functions

CHAPTER III-ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALS

117． Administrative tribunals

PART VIA-THE NATIONAL PARTY-[OMITTED]

PART VII

ELECTIONS

118.Establishment of Election Commission
119.Functions of Election Commission
120.Staff of Election Commission
121.Single electoral roll for each constituency
122.Qualifications for registration as voter
123.Time for holding elections
124.Parliament may make provision as to elections
125.Validity of election law and elections
126.Executive authorities to assist Election Commission

PART VIII

THE CONTROLLER AND AUDITOR-GENERAL

127.Establishment of office of Auditor-General
128.Functions of Auditor-General
129.Term of office of Auditor-General
130.Acting Auditor-General
131.Form and manner of keeping public accounts
132.Reports of Auditor-General to be laid before Parliament

PART IX

THE SERVICES OF BANGLADESH

CHAPTER I-SERVICES

133.Appointment and conditions of service
134.Tenure of office
135.Dismissal, etc., of civilian public officers
136.Reorganisation of service

CHAPTER II-PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONS

137.Establishment of Commissions
138.Appointment of members
139.Term of office
140.Functions of Commissions
141.Annual report

PART IX A

EMERGENCY PROVISIONS

141A. Proclamation of Emergency
141B. Suspension of provisions of certain articles during emergencies
141C. Suspension of enforcement of fundamental right during emergencies

PART X

AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION

142. Power to amend any provision of the Constitution

PART XI

MISCELLANEOUS

143.Property of the Republic
144.Executive authority in relation to property, trade, etc.
145.Contracts and deeds
145A. International treaties

146.Suits in name of Bangladesh

147.Remuneration, etc., of certain officers
148.Oaths of office
149.Saving for existing laws
150.Transitional and temporary provisions
151.Repeals
152.Interpretation
153.Commencement, citation and authenticity

(Source: http://www.bangladeshgov.org)

RAB’s image declassify after six years by Wikileaks

RAB’s image declassify after six years by Wikileaks

Whistleblower website 'Wikileaks' have revealed that British officers have been training Rapid Action Battalion(RAB), a paramilitary force accused by human rights organisations of being a "government death squad" responsible for hundreds of extra-judicial killings in Bangladesh in recent years.

Another sources, The Guardian quoted one of the cables as saying that the Bangladeshi paramilitary force had begun receiving British training in "investigative interviewing techniques" and "rules of engagement" three years ago under the last Labour government.

Meanwhile, RAB officials have reportedly confirmed that they had taken part in a series of courses and workshops as recently as October, five months after the formation of the coalition government.

In one cable, the US ambassador to Dhaka, James Moriarty, expresses the view that the RAB is the "enforcement organisation best positioned to one day become a Bangladeshi version of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation", while another one, Moriarty quotes British officials as saying that they have been "training RAB for 18 months in areas such as investigative interviewing techniques and rules of engagement".

The paper quoted some human rights activists as saying that the RAB has been responsible for over 1,000 extra-judicial killings from the past six years, which they described as "crossfire" deaths.

However, the cables reveal that both the British and the Americans, in their determination to strengthen counter-terrorism operations in Bangladesh, are favouring the force, arguing that the "RAB enjoys a great deal of respect and admiration from a population scarred by decreasing law and order over the last decade". (ANI). In one cable discussing British and the US counter-terrorism tactics in Bangladesh, US Ambassador Moriarty noted how their plans involved asking the country's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to develop and implement a standardised curriculum for unregulated Islamic madrasas.

The moves followed a proposal for a madrasa "curriculum development programme" to the Bangladeshi government by the US government's development agency, USAID, the report mentioned.

Climate Change and its Calamities

Climate Change and its Calamities

Globalization and its negative outcome: The global climate has been changing as the world gets warmer largely due to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from human activities. This fact is now widely accepted but there are still a few formidable sceptics around, who refuse to accept evidence of human causation of recent observed warnings. 

According to latest assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a dedicated international scientific body to review and assess the most recent scientific, technical and socio-economic information produced worldwide to understand climate change, and established by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20 century due to increase in anthropogenic GHG concentrations, and that the warming of the climate system has been unequivocal.

 

About the warming of the planet, the IPCC finds that warming in the last 100 years has caused about a 0.74 degree Centigrade increase in global average temperature, which is up from 0.6 degree Centigrade increase in the 100 years prior to the Third Assessment Report. It observed that since 1961, the ocean has been absorbing more than 80% of the heat added to the climate system, and average Arctic temperatures increased almost twice the global average rate in the past 100 years. 

The changes in the atmosphere have been due to marked increase of emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide resulting in warming of the planet with infrequent cold days and nights, while hot days, hot nights, and heat waves have become more frequent. They found that the twelve-year period, 1995-2006, ranked among the top 12 warmest years since 1850.

It noticed increased incidents of high intensity winds, increased droughts and heavy precipitation. It found that mountain glaciers and snow cover have declined, land-based ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica have been lost and very likely contributed to sea level rise between 1993 and 2003, and that ocean warming caused seawater to expand, contributing to sea level rising on an average about 1.8 mm/year during the years 1961-2003 while, in 1993-2003, the sea level increased at an average rate of 3.1 mm/year.

Based on such and other factors, the Panel projected a model based future after analysing various climate models, and predicted that in the 21st century surface air warming for a low scenario would be around 1.8 degrees Centigrade, with a likely average of 1.1 to 2.9 degrees Centigrade, and for a high scenario, 4 degrees Centigrade with a likely range of 2.4 to 6.4 degrees Centigrade rise of temperature at a rate of 0.1 degree Centigrade per decade in first two decades, and rise of about 0.2 degree Centigrade for the next two. For sea level, it estimated rise of 18 to 59 cm, in low scenario, to 26 to 59 cm in a high scenario, resulting in increase in frequency of warm spells, heat waves, heavy rainfall, droughts, intensified tropical cyclones, extreme high tides etc. 

Climate change and developing countries  as like Bangladesh, Maldives, Srilanka etc Effects of climate change are all too visible in Bangladesh. According to one study, compared to present day temperature, temperature could increase to 2.4 degrees centigrade higher than the current level by 2100, causing hotter summer, and hot winters. The rainfall could increase to 10% at the same time, changing drastically usual rainfall patterns. The seawater rise would cause more havoc as it is estimated that by 2100 the level would increase by 88 cm from the current level, submerging vast tracts of land with seawater. Frequent and severe floods, frequent storms etc., have already become regular features and are likely to multiply, affecting lives of tens and thousands of people, who are mostly poor and vulnerable. 

What have human rights got to do with climate change? Human rights are universal basic rights and freedoms which all humans are entitled to, including civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights entailing such rights as right to life, liberty, freedom of expression, to worship, to own property, to be treated equally before the law, to family, to education, to culture, to health, to subsistence etc. These rights being universal and fundamental, states have obligation to prevent violations of these rights.

However, global warming has been threatening all human rights which are designed to prevent destruction of life, health, property, livelihood, culture, means of subsistence, residence, movement etc. The threats from climate change include death and danger from droughts, floods, heat, storms, rising oceans, impacts on agriculture and food production, loss of animals, various diseases, destruction of water supplies, and inability to live and sustain lives.

Forced displacements have already impacted strongly, and are likely to do so in future with the predicted rise of sea level and devastating storms, costing a huge portion of gross domestic product. In Asia and Pacific, according to the report of the Working Group on Climate Change titled "Up in the Smoke?" (2007), "human drama of climate change will largely be played out in Asia, where over 60% of the world's population, around 4 billion, lives."

To some extent, the relationship between the environment and human rights, and human well-being, has been recognised. According to Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, realisation of many human rights is necessarily related to and in some ways dependent upon one's physical environment. 

Climate change, The International Court of Justice (ICJ) also feels that damage to environment can impair and undermine all human rights. Protection of environment, according to the Advisory Council of Jurists of the Asia-Pacific Forum on National Human Rights Institutions, is a vital part of the contemporary human rights doctrine and a sine qua non for numerous human rights, such as right to health and the right to life.

Indeed, many rights recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights, Convention against Torture, Convention on the Rights of the Child, are relevant to those people whose way of life comes under threat from climate change. States therefore have responsibilities under these instruments to take action to remedy the direct and indirect threats to these rights posed by climate change. These are positive obligations to protect individuals against the threats of climate change, regardless of the causes.

Climate change discourse and human rights: In international negotiations and even in IPCC reports, human rights hardly appear as an issue. These are overwhelmed by science and economics, but not by those who matter most, the people. In climate discussions in Bangladesh too, human rights are not mentioned. It appears, despite deep and complex interlinks, climate change discourses are silent on human rights. This has to change, and discussions in all earnest should begin to understand the full impact of climate change on human rights.

Climate change, Even though it involves some difficult rights issues that might be challenging, such as weak enforcement mechanisms under international laws, or extraterritorial responsibilities in that, ordinarily, the government concerned has the primary duty to act in case of violations of rights, but in the case of climate change, responsibility of impacts cannot be attributed to the government nearest to hand, but also to countries far away, and both public and private entities.

Therefore, what is most needed now is adoption of a "human rights based approach" to policy and legislative responses to climate change, based on international human rights norms and standards, and ensuring promotion and protection of human rights. Human rights standards should be minimum thresholds for mitigation and adaptation policies.

Voyager near Solar System's edge

Voyager-1 wants to go out of our solar system

Voyager-1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, has reached a new milestone in its quest to leave the Solar System. Now 17.4bn km (10.8bn miles) from home, the veteran probe has detected a distinct change in the flow of particles that surround it.

These particles, which emanate from the Sun, are no longer travelling outwards but are moving sideways. It means Voyager must be very close to making the jump to interstellar space - the space between the stars.

Edward Stone, the Voyager project scientist, lauded the explorer and the fascinating science it continues to return 33 years after launch.

"When Voyager was launched, the space age itself was only 20 years old, so there was no basis to know that spacecraft could last so long," he told BBC News. 

"We had no idea how far we would have to travel to get outside the Solar System. We now know that in roughly five years, we should be outside for the first time."

Dr Stone was speaking here at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, the largest gathering of Earth scientists in the world.

(source: bbc online)