The issue of defaulting on loans continues to be the biggest trouble for the banking industry. At the end of March 2024, total disbursed loans stood at BDT 16,40,000 crore, of which BDT 1,82,000 crore were in default, the highest in the history of Bangladesh. Currently, 11.11 percent of disbursed loans have turned into NPLs.

Bangladesh’s Constitution has seen its “basic structures” altered by several amendments. Several of those amendments altered the Constitution so drastically that we tend to call them “constitutional dismemberments”– a term borrowed from Professor Richard Albert of the University of Texas at Austin. The Supreme Court of Bangladesh declared some, such as the Fifth and Seventh, constitutional amendments, unconstitutional. Some, such as the Fifteenth, were never formally challenged.

Under the scheme of the Companies Act 1994, sections 228 and 229 require a scheme of amalgamation, be it for merger or acquisition, to get approved by the High Court Division (HCD or Court). 

When a legal rule is not adequate to reach a conclusion, honorable judges use their discretionary power by seizing assistance from legal principles, which they are entitled to do.

One of the most unique features of the Bangladeshi Constitution is that it pledges to conserve secularism (Article 12) while also declaring Islam as its state religion (Article 2A).

The shipbreaking industry implies an industry that processes (e.g., separates and stores) old and discarded steel, copper metal materials, serviceable parts and machineries, fittings, furniture, and other materials in a shipyard or any convenient place. Importing and dismantling ships can generate foreign exchange revenue for the home country and potentially boost economic growth. Bangladesh is making a significant contribution to the global shipbreaking market through resource recovery.

The heinous tragedy and torment of Gaza continues unabated. The outrage of international public opinion, overwhelming support of states in the UN General Assembly, unprecedented Security Council binding resolution, and the Secretary-General’s repeated warning of an apocalyptic situation warranting immediate cease-fire and uninterrupted access of humanitarian assistance have so far gone unheeded in this world order.

On May 20, 2024, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, announced that he would seek issuance of arrest warrants against the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli Minister of Defence,

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

The Road Safety Foundation (RSF) reports that almost 6524 lives have been lost by accident in 2023. Along with deaths, several people are also left severely injured by such accidents.

Artificial Intelligence (or AI) is a buzzword of our time. AI can come handy from understanding any topic to writing down something creative and presenting them as our own.

Lead is a toxic, non-biodegradable chemical element that mostly exists in ore form. Alhough it is a natural element of our environment, due to anthropogenic reasons such as combustion of gasoline, burning of coal, mining, smelting, using lead-based paints and batteries— the level of lead exposure has risen to an alarming level.

On 15 May 2024, the Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP) Law and Moot Court Club, in collaboration with the Department of Law, BUP, hosted a public lecture titled “LexTalk: Evolving Dynamics of Corporate Law Practice in the Era of the 4th Industrial Revolution.”

In 2015, a 15-year-old British citizen Shamima Begum travelled to Syria to join the ISIS. In 2019, the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom (UK) decided to revoke Shamima Begum’s British citizenship on the presumption of her Bangladeshi citizenship, a claim which the government of Bangladesh contradicts.

The law schools one sees in Hollywood movies and law schools in Bangladesh have tons of dissimilarities.

Eastern University’s Faculty of Law organised a public lecture titled “A Pragmatic Approach to Legal Education: Lessons from British Universities” on 14 May 2024, at the Rezakul Haider Hall at Eastern University.

This week Your Advocate is Barrister Omar Khan Joy, Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh. He is the head of the chambers of a renowned law firm, namely, 'Legal Counsel', which has expertise mainly in commercial law, family law, labour law, land law, constitutional law, criminal law, and IPR.

Following months of deliberation, the UN Security Council successfully adopted a resolution on 25 March 2024 calling for an “immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan” and emphasising the urgent need for increased humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. In practical terms, this resolution, in accordance with international law, is legally binding on all UN member states, including Israel and Palestine, the latter holding observer status.

The UN Refugee Convention 1951 was crafted to support the refugees legally and morally. Many European states benefitted from the convention after World War II. However, it is a matter of irony that many of these same states are in favour of close borders now, whenever people are seeking refuge as the victims of war, ethnic cleansing, political or communal clashes, etc.

The 6th edition of A. K. Khan Memorial Law Lecture was held at the Faculty of Law, University of Chittagong on 29 April 2024.