A Critical Analysis of the Need for Constitutional Reforms for Democracy in Bangladesh

Mahbuba Sultana

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijls.20230603.12

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A Critical Analysis of the Need for Constitutional Reforms for Democracy in Bangladesh

Mahbuba Sultana

Published in International Journal of Law and Society (Volume 6, Issue 3)

Received: 27 May 2023 Accepted: 13 June 2023 Published: 8 July 2023

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Abstract

In Bangladesh, Constitution is the supreme law. The Constitution of Bangladesh started its journey as ‘The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh’ on 16^th December 1972. It is a written Constitution having 153 articles. The Constitution is founded on four pillars known as nationalism, socialism, democracy, and secularism. Among these four fundamental principles of state policy, democracy has been given more priority in the Constitution. And this is because the Constitution was adopted democratically by the Constituent Assembly. From the preamble to some other provisions of the Constitution, democracy is reflected. At the same time, some provisions of the Constitution are contradicting the concept of democracy. The 50-year lifespan of the Bangladesh Constitution was ended on December 16, 2022. It has been altered seventeen times over this journey. Most of these modifications, with the exception of two or three, were passed to further the interests of the ruling party rather than those of the country and its people. The Constitution contains a number of inconsistencies that make it difficult to enact democracy in the state. This paper will discuss democracy in the light of the Bangladesh Constitution and try to point out the contradicting provisions of the Constitution with democracy and suggest possible constitutional reforms.

Published in	International Journal of Law and Society (Volume 6, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijls.20230603.12
Page(s)	181-185
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Bangladesh Constitution, Amendment, Article, Democracy, President, Prime Minister

References

[1]	Ahmed, I. (21 January 2019) The Present Constitution of Bangladesh and Democracy. Daily Nayadiganta. Retrieved from: https://www.dailynayadiganta.com/post-editorial/382298/ND
[2]	Agarwal, R. C. (1976). Political Theory - Principles of Political Science. S. Chand & Company Ltd.
[3]	Advocate Asaduzzaman Siddiqui and others v Bangladesh (2014) HCD. http://www.supremecourt.gov.bd/resources/documents/783957_wp9989of2014_final.pdf
[4]	Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/democracy.
[5]	Chowdhury, M. J. (2017). An Introduction to the Constitutional Law of Bangladesh. Book Zone Publication.
[6]	Chowdhury, M. F. I. “A Critical Approach to Constitutionalism: Bangladesh Perspective” Metropolitan University Journal.
[7]	Chowdhury, M. J. (2010). “Constitutional Reform in Bangladesh: Exploring the Agenda” Northern University Journal of Law Vol. 1, pp 39-50.
[8]	Chowdhury, S. I. (30 October 2018) Time for reforms to democratize constitution, elections. NewAge. Retrieved from: https://www.newagebd.net/article/54524/article/index.php.
[9]	Dressel, B. (2005). Strengthening Governance through Constitutional Reform. Asian Development Bank. Retrieved from: https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/28636/governancebrief13.pdf.
[10]	Halim, M. A. (2012). Constitution Constitutional Law and Politics: Bangladesh Perspectives. CCB Foundation.
[11]	Islam, M. (1995). Constitutional Law of Bangladesh. Mullik Brothers, p. 22.
[12]	Majumdar, B. A. (19 Feb. 2022) What is required for Bangladesh’s democracy to flourish? The Daily Star. Retrieved from: https://www.thedailystar.net/recovering-covid-reinventing-our-future/developing-inclusive-and-democratic-bangladesh/news/what-required-bangladeshs-democracy-flourish-2965551.
[13]	Reza, H. M. (2013). Basic concepts of Political Science. Sufi Prokashoni.
[14]	The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Appointment Act, (2022).
[15]	The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh (1972).

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Mahbuba Sultana. (2023). A Critical Analysis of the Need for Constitutional Reforms for Democracy in Bangladesh. International Journal of Law and Society, 6(3), 181-185. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20230603.12

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Mahbuba Sultana. A Critical Analysis of the Need for Constitutional Reforms for Democracy in Bangladesh. Int. J. Law Soc. 2023, 6(3), 181-185. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20230603.12

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Mahbuba Sultana. A Critical Analysis of the Need for Constitutional Reforms for Democracy in Bangladesh. Int J Law Soc. 2023;6(3):181-185. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20230603.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijls.20230603.12,
  author = {Mahbuba Sultana},
  title = {A Critical Analysis of the Need for Constitutional Reforms for Democracy in Bangladesh},
  journal = {International Journal of Law and Society},
  volume = {6},
  number = {3},
  pages = {181-185},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijls.20230603.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20230603.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijls.20230603.12},
  abstract = {In Bangladesh, Constitution is the supreme law. The Constitution of Bangladesh started its journey as ‘The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh’ on 16th December 1972. It is a written Constitution having 153 articles. The Constitution is founded on four pillars known as nationalism, socialism, democracy, and secularism. Among these four fundamental principles of state policy, democracy has been given more priority in the Constitution. And this is because the Constitution was adopted democratically by the Constituent Assembly. From the preamble to some other provisions of the Constitution, democracy is reflected. At the same time, some provisions of the Constitution are contradicting the concept of democracy. The 50-year lifespan of the Bangladesh Constitution was ended on December 16, 2022. It has been altered seventeen times over this journey. Most of these modifications, with the exception of two or three, were passed to further the interests of the ruling party rather than those of the country and its people. The Constitution contains a number of inconsistencies that make it difficult to enact democracy in the state. This paper will discuss democracy in the light of the Bangladesh Constitution and try to point out the contradicting provisions of the Constitution with democracy and suggest possible constitutional reforms.},
 year = {2023}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - A Critical Analysis of the Need for Constitutional Reforms for Democracy in Bangladesh
AU - Mahbuba Sultana
Y1 - 2023/07/08
PY - 2023
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20230603.12
DO - 10.11648/j.ijls.20230603.12
T2 - International Journal of Law and Society
JF - International Journal of Law and Society
JO - International Journal of Law and Society
SP - 181
EP - 185
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2640-1908
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20230603.12
AB - In Bangladesh, Constitution is the supreme law. The Constitution of Bangladesh started its journey as ‘The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh’ on 16th December 1972. It is a written Constitution having 153 articles. The Constitution is founded on four pillars known as nationalism, socialism, democracy, and secularism. Among these four fundamental principles of state policy, democracy has been given more priority in the Constitution. And this is because the Constitution was adopted democratically by the Constituent Assembly. From the preamble to some other provisions of the Constitution, democracy is reflected. At the same time, some provisions of the Constitution are contradicting the concept of democracy. The 50-year lifespan of the Bangladesh Constitution was ended on December 16, 2022. It has been altered seventeen times over this journey. Most of these modifications, with the exception of two or three, were passed to further the interests of the ruling party rather than those of the country and its people. The Constitution contains a number of inconsistencies that make it difficult to enact democracy in the state. This paper will discuss democracy in the light of the Bangladesh Constitution and try to point out the contradicting provisions of the Constitution with democracy and suggest possible constitutional reforms.
VL - 6
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Mahbuba Sultana

Department of Law, Premier University, Chittagong, Bangladesh

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APA Style

Mahbuba Sultana. (2023). A Critical Analysis of the Need for Constitutional Reforms for Democracy in Bangladesh. International Journal of Law and Society, 6(3), 181-185. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20230603.12

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ACS Style

Mahbuba Sultana. A Critical Analysis of the Need for Constitutional Reforms for Democracy in Bangladesh. Int. J. Law Soc. 2023, 6(3), 181-185. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20230603.12

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AMA Style

Mahbuba Sultana. A Critical Analysis of the Need for Constitutional Reforms for Democracy in Bangladesh. Int J Law Soc. 2023;6(3):181-185. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20230603.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijls.20230603.12,
  author = {Mahbuba Sultana},
  title = {A Critical Analysis of the Need for Constitutional Reforms for Democracy in Bangladesh},
  journal = {International Journal of Law and Society},
  volume = {6},
  number = {3},
  pages = {181-185},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijls.20230603.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20230603.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijls.20230603.12},
  abstract = {In Bangladesh, Constitution is the supreme law. The Constitution of Bangladesh started its journey as ‘The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh’ on 16th December 1972. It is a written Constitution having 153 articles. The Constitution is founded on four pillars known as nationalism, socialism, democracy, and secularism. Among these four fundamental principles of state policy, democracy has been given more priority in the Constitution. And this is because the Constitution was adopted democratically by the Constituent Assembly. From the preamble to some other provisions of the Constitution, democracy is reflected. At the same time, some provisions of the Constitution are contradicting the concept of democracy. The 50-year lifespan of the Bangladesh Constitution was ended on December 16, 2022. It has been altered seventeen times over this journey. Most of these modifications, with the exception of two or three, were passed to further the interests of the ruling party rather than those of the country and its people. The Constitution contains a number of inconsistencies that make it difficult to enact democracy in the state. This paper will discuss democracy in the light of the Bangladesh Constitution and try to point out the contradicting provisions of the Constitution with democracy and suggest possible constitutional reforms.},
 year = {2023}
}

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