Bangladesh

Legal tradition

Bangladesh belongs to the common law tradition. A common-law system descending from British India through the Pakistan period, retaining the 1860 Penal Code, the 1872 Contract and Evidence Acts and both procedural codes. The Supreme Court has two divisions — the Appellate Division and the High Court Division — and the High Court Division exercises writ jurisdiction under Article 102. Muslim, Hindu and Christian personal laws govern marriage, divorce and succession according to the parties' community, and the Family Courts Ordinance 1985 provides a single procedural forum for all of them.

How power is divided

Unitary, with eight administrative divisions and 64 districts exercising delegated rather than constitutional authority. The Chittagong Hill Tracts have a distinct regional council arrangement under the 1997 Peace Accord, and the three hill districts apply special rules on land transfer intended to protect indigenous communities.

Where law comes from

The Constitution of 1972

Supreme law; Part III rights are enforceable.

Acts of Parliament

Including inherited British Indian and Pakistan-era statutes still in force.

Judicial precedent

Appellate Division decisions bind all subordinate courts.

Religious personal law

Applies to marriage, divorce and succession by community.

Ordinances

Presidential legislation when Parliament is not in session, requiring later ratification.

The legal profession

A fused profession of advocates enrolled by the Bangladesh Bar Council after a law degree and the Bar Council examination. Rights of audience are tiered: enrolment permits practice in subordinate courts, and separate permission is needed to appear in the High Court Division and then the Appellate Division. The Bar Council is elected and, like Pakistan's, politically prominent.