Rafid Azad Saumik

In recent times, we have seen an alarming phenomenon in our country: criminal defence lawyers in sensational cases are often painted as villains by many.

Last year witnessed an array of major judicial decisions shaping the jurisprudence and legal discourse in Bangladesh. Indeed, throughout the year, the High Court Division (HCD) and the Appellate Division (AD) of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh (SCB) handed down several significant judgments, of immense constitutional importance, among others.

The reason we have law enforcement agencies in modern states is to protect the rights of the citizens. However, when disproportionate force is used against the citizens by states using these agencies, the very same rights are violated. Below is an analysis keeping the quota reform movement in the background.

According to the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) around 20 lakh workers are engaged in domestic work.

In Bangladesh, a comprehensive study by the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) in 2013 found that more than 10,000 people die every year owing to suicide. It is important to note that attempting to commit suicide is a punishable offence under section 309 of the Penal Code, 1860.

2023 was a year filled with new legislation. A total of 50 new laws were enacted by the parliament on a wide range of areas. Law making in 2023 was by and large characterised by a reform spirit (i.e., reforming old laws), devising welfare schemes, and defining new offences. Few notable ones are discussed in this piece.

On 24 June 2023, four construction site workers met gruesome death due to lack of safety standards at the construction sites.

In Bangladesh, the history of infringement of the rights of the Ahmadiyya people goes back a long way.