ASSIGNMENT On 15 th Amendment in the Constitution of Bangladesh

Course Name: Bangladesh Studies Course Code: GEN 201 Section: 11 Submitted To Dr. Sudhangshu Sekhar Roy, Assistant Professor, Department of Business Administration, East West University. Submitted By Muhammad Nazmul Amin ID# 2009-2-10-296 Morzina Morshed ID# 2008-3-10-184 Submission Deadline: 11th August, 2011

The Constitution of Bangladesh (Bangla: Bangladesh Shongbidhan) is the supreme law of Bangladesh. It declares Bangladesh as a secular democratic republic where sovereignty belongs to the people, and lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles of the state and spells out the fundamental rights of citizens. Passed by the Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh on November 4, 1972, it came into effect from December 16, 1972, the day commemorated as Victory Day in the country, marking the defeat of the Pakistan Army in the Bangladesh Liberation War. The constitution declares Bangladesh to be a unitary, independent and sovereign Republic, founded on a struggle for national liberation, which will be known as the People's Republic of Bangladesh. It pledges nationalism, democracy, socialism and secularity as the fundamental principles defining the Republic and declares the pursuit of a society that ensures its citizens- the rule of law, fundamental human rights and freedoms as well as equality and justice, political, economic and social. Organs of the State As per the constitution of the republic it comprises three basic organs: 1. Legislative Branch 2. Executive Branch 3. Judicial Branch. Articles The constitution of Bangladesh is divided into 11 parts, which are further subdivided into 153 articles. In addition, there are 4 schedules.

Part I: The Republic Part II: Fundamental principles of state policy Part III: Fundamental Rights Part IV: The Executive Part V: The Legislature Part VI: The Judiciary Part VII: Elections Part VIII: The Comptroller and Auditor General Part IX: The Services of Bangladesh Chapter 1 Services Part X: Amendment of the Constitution Part XI: Miscellaneous Amendments As of 2011 the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh has been amended 14 times. Constitutional Amendments The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh has been amended several times. The following is a brief account of these acts and orders. First Amendment: In 1973, the Constitution (First Amendment) Act 1973 was passed inserting sub-art (3) in Article 47 whereby any law providing for the detention and trial of war criminals was kept out of the purview of the provision of Part III relating to fundamental rights. Second Amendment: The original Constitution did not have any provision for proclamation of state of emergency and preventive detention. By the Constitution (Second Amendment) Act 1973, Article 33 was amended providing for preventive detention and Part IXA was inserted conferring power on Parliament and the Executive to deal with emergency situations and providing for suspension of enforcement of the fundamental rights during the period of emergency.

Third Amendment: The Constitution (Third Amendment) Act 1974 was passed to give effect to the agreement with India giving up the claim in respect of Berubari and retaining Dahagram and Angorpota. Fourth Amendment: The Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act 1975 made major changes into the Constitution. The presidential form of government was introduced in place of the parliamentary system; a one-party system in place of a multi-party system was introduced; the powers of the Parliament were curtailed; the Judiciary lost much of its independence; the Supreme Court was deprived of its jurisdiction over the protection and enforcement of fundamental rights. This Act (i) amended Articles 11, 66, 67, 72, 74, 76, 80, 88, 95, 98, 109, 116, 117, 119, 122, 123, 141A, 147 and 148 of the Constitution; (ii) substituted Articles 44, 70, 102, 115 and 124 of the Constitution; (iii) amended Part III of the Constitution out of existence; (iv) altered the Third and Fourth Schedule; (v) extended the term of the first Jatiya Sangsad. Fifth Amendment: The Constitution (Fifth Amendment) Act was passed by the Jatiya Sangsad on 6 April 1979. This Act amended the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution by adding a new Paragraph 18 thereto, which provided that all amendments, additions, modifications, substitutions and omissions made in the Constitution during the period between 15 August 1975 and 9 April 1979 (both days inclusive) by any Proclamation or Proclamation Order of the Martial Law Authorities had been validly made and would not be called in question in or before any court or tribunal or authority on any ground whatsoever. The expression Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim was added before the Preamble of the Constitution. The expression historic struggle for national liberation in the Preamble was replaced by a historic war for national independence. One party system was replaced by multiparty parliamentary system. Fundamental principles of state policy were made as absolute trust and faith in the Almighty Allah, nationalism, democracy and socialism meaning economic and social justice.

Sixth Amendment: The Constitution (Sixth Amendment) 1981 was passed providing, inter alia, that if the Vice President is elected as President, he shall be deemed to have vacated his office on the date on which he enters upon the office of president. Seventh Amendment: The Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act 1986 was passed ratifying all the Proclamations and Proclamation Orders and the amendments made in the Constitution by such Proclamations and Proclamations Orders and all actions of the Martial law authorities and declaring those to have been validly made and done. By the same Act the retiring age of the Judges of the supreme court was fixed t 65 in place of 62. Eighth Amendment: The Constitution (Eighth Amendment) Act 1988 was passed amending Article 100 of the Constitution and thereby setting up six permanent Benches of the High Court Division outside the capital and authorizing the President to fix by notification the territorial jurisdiction of the permanent Benches. By the same Act, Islam was made the state religion of Bangladesh . This Act also amended (i) the word 'Bengali' into 'Bangla' and 'Dacca' into 'Dhaka' in Article 5 of the Constitution, (ii) Article 30 of the Constitution by prohibiting acceptance of any title, honors, award or decoration from any foreign state by any citizen of Bangladesh without the prior approval of the president. Ninth Amendment: The Constitution (Ninth Amendment) Act 1989 was passed in July 1989. This amendment provided for the direct election of the Vice-President; it restricted a person in holding the office of the President for two consecutive terms of five years each; it also provided that a Vice-President might be appointed in case of a vacancy, but the appointment must be approved by the Jatiya Sangsad. Tenth Amendment: The Constitution (Tenth Amendment) Act 1990 amended, among others, Article 65 of the Constitution, providing for reservation of thirty seats for the next 10 years in the Jatiya Sangsad exclusively for women members, to be elected by the members of the Sangsad.

Eleventh Amendment: The Constitution (Eleventh Amendment) Act 1991 ratified all actions taken by the caretaker government headed by Justice Shahabiuddin Ahmed. It also ratified the appointment of Chief Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed as the Vice President who later became

Acting President upon Ershads resignation. In addition, the Act also confirmed and made possible the return of Acting President Shahabuddin Ahmed to his previous position of the Chief Justice of Bangladesh. Twelfth Amendment: The Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Act 1991 re-introduced the parliamentary form of government; the President became the constitutional Head of the State; the Prime Minister became the executive Head; the cabinet headed by the Prime Minister became responsible to the Jatiya Sangsad; the post of the Vice-President was abolished; the President was required to be elected by the members of the Jatiya Sangsad. Thirteenth Amendment: The Constitution (Thirteenth Amendment) Act 1996 provided for a non-party Caretaker Government which, acting as an interim government, would give all possible aid and assistance to the Election Commission for holding the general election of members of the Jatiya Sangsad peacefully, fairly and impartially. The caretaker government, comprising the Chief Adviser and not more than 10 other advisers, would be collectively responsible to the President and would stand dissolved on the date on which the Prime Minister entered upon his office after the Constitution of the new Sangsad.

Fourteenth Amendment: The Constitutional (fourteenth Amendment) Act 1994 was passed providing, among others, the following provisions: reservation of 45 seats for women on a proportional representation basis for the next 10 years; increase in the retirement age of Supreme Court Judges from 65 to 67 years; and displaying of portraits of the President and the Prime Minister in all government, semi-government and autonomous offices and diplomatic missions abroad.. Background of the 15th Amendment: The Fifteenth Amendment should be viewed in the context of the battle of politics..Three developments prepared the ground for the Fifteenth Amendment. First, the Court sent the killers of Mujib to the gallows. This dealt a body blow to the counter-revolution. Secondly, the Court declared the Fifth Amendment unconstitutional. The legal and constitutional basis of the counterrevolution was demolished. Last but not the least, the movement of the Sector Commanders

Forum in 2007-08 in demand of the trial of war criminals galvanised the people, particularly the young generation, with a call for the revival and re-establishment of Mukti Judhyer Chetona the restoration of the 1972 version of the Constitution. This contributed to the massive victory of the Awami League-led Grand Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary election. The Islam- pasand Four-Party Alliance, led by the BNP, lay prostrate. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led government of the Grand Alliance, which commands more than three-fourths majority in parliament, was presented with a unique opportunity to exorcise the Constitution of the ghosts of the counter-revolution as well as to cleanse it of the Islam- pasand provisions. But that was not to happen. Fifteenth Amendment Bill The Constitution (Fifteenth Amendment) Bill, 2011 was placed at the Jatiya Sangsad on June 25, 2011. Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed placed the bill in the House amid thumping of the table by the treasury bench members The bill proposed the abolition of the provision of the non- party caretaker government system. About the abolition of the provision of the non-party caretaker government system, the bill said in the constitution, article 58A and "chapter IIA-non-party caretaker government shall be omitted. Proposals have been made to amend the Article 118 related to establishment of Election Commission. It proposed constituting the Election Commission with one Chief Election Commissioner and not more than four Election Commissioners. The bill also proposed for brining changes to the Article dealing with elections and said under the Article 123, 3(A) a general election will be held 90 days before after dissolution of the Parliament on expiry of its tenure, (B) or within the next 90 days when the parliament is dissolved for other reasons excepting expiry of its tenure. The bill, however, proposed for retaining Bismillahi-Ar Rahman- Ar-Rahim, state religion Islam and keeping the scope for religion-based politics.About Bismillahi-Ar Rahman-Ar-Rahim, the bill said "Bismillahi- Ar Rahman-Ar-Rahim" (in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful)/In the name of the Creator, the Merciful." shall be

substituted at the beginning of the Constitution, above the preamble, for the words, commas, signs and brackets "Bismillahi-Ar Rahman- Ar-Rahim" (in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful). The bill said the State religion of the Republic is Islam but the State shall ensure equal status and equal right in the practice of the Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and other religions. The bill said the principles of nationalism, socialism, democracy and secularism, together with the principles derived from those set out in this part, shall constitute the fundamental principles of the state policy Proposals have been made to replace article 6(1) and 6(2) instead of Article 6 related to citizenship. It proposed replacing the word under 6(1) - The citizenship of Bangladesh shall be determined and regulated by law and under 6(2) - The people of Bangladesh shall be known as Bangalee as a nation and citizens of Bangladesh shall be known as Bangladeshis. In the bill, proposal has been made to bring sedition charges and highest punishment against those who will capture power illegally and provide support to the usurpers.

It also proposed addition of the provision of preserving and displaying the portrait of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman instead of the President and the Prime Minister to the Constitution. The bill said the principle of secularism shall be realized by the elimination of- (a) communalism in all its forms; (b) the granting by the state of political status in favour of any religion; (c) the abuse of religion for political purposes; (d) any discrimination against, or persecution of, persons practicing a particular religion." Proposals have also been made to insert new articles making disqualified the amendment to the rules relating to the basic structures of the constitution and disqualified the

candidature of those who are accused in the war crimes and even in the case of becoming voters. The bill proposed for incorporating the historic March 7 speech of Bangabandhu and his proclamation of Independence in the early hours of March 26 in 1971 and adoption of proclamation of Independence by the Mujibnagar government on April 10 in 1971. Proposals have also been made to change article 65 (ka) (3) of the constitution by raising the number of women reserved seats to 50 from 45. In the article, proposals have been made to replace the word '50 seats' instead of '45 seats'. Proposals have been made making disqualified the enrollment of the war criminals in the voter list. It said in the case of enrollment in the voter list, if anybody was convicted under the Collaborator (special tribunal) Order 1972, he/she would not become voters. The bill proposed for replacing article 70 as per the constitution of 1972. The bill proposed for entrusting the power of discharging the judges with the Supreme Judicial Council. The bill proposed for brining changes to the Article 4 by replacing the words 'emblem and portrait of the Father of the Nation' and adding a new clause. The bill also proposed for inserting a new clause under Article 19 related to involvement of women in national life. It said under the new clause, the state will ensure equal opportunity to the women for their participation in every stage of the national life.

Salient features of 15th amendment of Constitution Salient features of the 15th amendment of the Constitution passed by parliament Thursday , June 30, 2011 The proposals were approved by 291 deputies in the 345-strong parliament amide boycott by the mainstream opposition parties. 1. Caretaker system abolished

2. Elections to be held under incumbent cabinet 3. Islam as State religion and Bismillah-Ar-Rahman-Ar-Rahim retained 4. Revival of Article 12 to restore Secularism and freedom of religion 5. The people of Bangladesh shall be known as Bangalees as a nation and citizens of Bangladesh shall be known as Bangladeshis 6. Inserted articles 7A and 7B in the Constitution after Article 7 in a bid to end takeover of power through extra-constitutional means 7. Basic provisions of the constitution are not amendable 8. In the case of a dissolution Parliament by any reason, election should be held within 90 days of such dissolution 9. Increasing the number of women reserve seats to 50 from existing 45. 10. The Supreme Command of the defense services shall vest in the President and the exercise thereof shall be regulated by law. 11. The Chief Justice shall be appointed by the President, and the other judges shall be appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice. 12. The portrait of the Father of the nation Bangbandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman shall be preserved and display at the offices of the President, the Prime Minister, the Speaker, and the Chief Justice and in head and branch offices of all government and semi-government offices, autonomous bodies, statutory public authorities, government and non-government educational institutions, embassies and missions of Bangladesh abroad. 13. Incorporation of historic speech of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on March 7, 1971, declaration of independence by Bangabandhu after midnight of March 25, 1971 and the proclamation of Independence declared at Mujibnagar on April 10, 1971

Future Prospect and Criticism Huge criticism was made and still going on against this amendment A major amendment, which has become a key political issue for the BNP and its fundamentalist allies, including the Jamaat-e-Islami, is the scrapping of the system of caretaker government for conducting parliamentary elections. The last three elections since 1996, including the one in which the present ruling alliance got elected, were conducted under such governments. Elections will henceforth be held under an interim government during the last 90 days of the incumbent go The citizen groups opined that the country didnt yet gain the political maturity to conduct the national election neutrally without Govt interference and confrontation government's tenure. Government shows unnecessary haste in passing the the bill in reference to a supreme court judgment which is not yet fully published and which was not also fully followed in the bill. The haste also create confusion and in confidence on the intention of the government move. The 15Amendment privileged Islam as a state religion but also ensured equal status to all other religions, rejecting the principle of a democratic state. On the other hand, a contradictory situation has been created, incorporating secularism separately. According to Article 12 the principleof secularism shall be realized by the elimination of the granting by the State of political status in favor of any religion. While the 15thAmendment is itself abuse of religion for political purposes, the amendment aims to eliminate such abuse. Such type of contradictory Articles severely undermines the foundation and fabric of the Constitution. Similarly, the rights of the other ethnic minority communities have been denied by adopting Banglaee Nationalism privileging one language and nation by replacing Article 9. It says, The unity and solidarity of the Bangalee nation, which, deriving its identity from its language and culture, attained a sovereign and independent Bangladesh through a united and determined struggle in the War of Independence, shall be the basis of Bangalee nationalism Article'23A' now tradition of the says: The culture tribes [upajati], of tribes, small minor ethnic groups, ethnic sects and ethnic sects and

communities- The state shall take steps to protect and develop the unique local culture and races [khudro jatishaotta],

communities [nrigoshthi o shomprodai]. These Amendment despite sustained provisions have been inserted by the 15criticisms by thousands of citizens. Some opposition leaders blamed the govt. for removing the phrase - absolute trust on the Allah, and another one on maintaining a special relationship with the Muslim world. Independent analysts believe that the campaign may get only a lukewarm response. Conclusion Amending a constitution is a continuous process but it should be amended with the opinion of all people. The govt. in this amendment did all they need one snidely. Now it seems like, fifteenth amendment introduces fusion of ideologies.

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