Law & Our Rights, The Daily Star

12/01/2025

Greetings, everyone! We are excited to announce that we are hiring official contributors for Law & Our Rights, The Daily Star. The primary job of a contributor is to write for the page occasionally.

If you are interested in working with us, you may apply by 25th January. Send your CV along with a write-up on "Bangladesh and the culture of constitutionalism" or "The liminal space between criminal justice and human rights" (not more than 1200 words).

10/01/2025

Any justice system must have fair trials as a cornerstone, ensuring that each individual receives the same impartial treatment while in conflict with the law. Articles 27 and 31 of the Constitution of Bangladesh upholds the concept of fair trial. Nevertheless, there are several obstacles that hamper...

10/01/2025

Throughout the year, the High Court Division and the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh handed down several significant judgments of immense constitutional importance.

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 imme...

10/01/2025

As Bangladesh stands at a crossroads and awaits meaningful reforms within its policy-legal framework, 2025 looks both full of hopes and anticipations.

The year 2024 presented new hopes for Bangladesh. New laws and ordinances were enacted, some old laws were revised as the spirit of reforming the state touched the legal landscape.

27/12/2024

The procedural limitation is minimal in the NGTA (India) as it provides in sections 19(1) and 19(3) that the tribunal is not bound by the procedure laid down in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 (The Indian Code of Criminal Procedure) or rules of evidence contained in the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 (Indian Evidence Act). In the context of Bangladesh, however, section 14(1) and 14(6) of the ECA have provided for the application of CPC 1908 and CrPC 1898 in the trial and disposal of environmental suits and cases.

Bangladesh has long been prone to the adverse impacts of climate change coupled with environmental degradation and pollution due to the ineffectiveness of the enforcement mechanisms available for environment conservation.

27/12/2024

One of the most pressing examples of environmental exploitation in conflict zones is the ongoing situation in Palestine. Decades of conflict have left Palestine's environment in a state of ruin, impacting everything from agricultural lands to access to clean water. The Israeli-Palestinian war has led to restrictions on Palestinian access to essential water resources, leaving many communities with grossly limited or contaminated water supplies.

It is important to recognise the hidden costs that armed conflicts inflict upon the environment and the communities living in the affected areas.

27/12/2024

Education plays a crucial role in shaping attitudes. Teaching children from a young age about mutual respect, equality, and non-violence is essential to breaking the cycle of intergenerational abuse. Schools should incorporate programs on healthy relationships, gender equality, and conflict resolution, equipping future generations with the knowledge and skills to promote respect and prevent violence.

The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh enshrines the principles of freedom, justice, and equality, affirming that all individuals are equal before the law and entitled to equal protection under it.

20/12/2024

The involvement of a foreign state in a non-international armed conflict presents a significant challenge for IHL in classifying these types of armed conflicts. A non-international armed conflict becomes an international armed conflict when foreign intervention is involved.

Rebel forces, particularly Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Syrian National Army (SNA), carried out an offensive that ended the 50 years of the Assad family’s authoritarian rule in Syria. An armed coalition, supported by both state and non-state actors, was involved in this offensive.

20/12/2024

While Section 35 of the draft PDPA details the composition and operations of the Data Protection Board, it lacks explicit guarantees of the agency's independence. Without clear safeguards for autonomy, there is a risk of conflict of interest that could undermine its impartiality as a regulatory body.

In digital age, personal data fuels the online ecosystem while also raising privacy concerns. To address this issue, Bangladesh aims to strengthen its data privacy framework by adopting the draft Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (PDPA).

13/12/2024

In the name of development, Bangladesh has frequently undertaken various environmentally hazardous projects and policies. The incorporation of the right in the Constitution would create an obligation on the State to scrutinise policies and developments from a healthy-environment lens.

The notion that a safe and healthy environment can be a right may still sound new to us.

13/12/2024

Local authorities in the UK nowadays are increasingly distanced from the care workers, especially the Bangladeshi migrants, due to adopting the outsourcing policy and contractual arrangements through labour suppliers instead of government agencies. Note that in the UK, care workers are tied to a sponsoring employer for their visa status. As a result, the care workers are less likely to air their grievances against the employers.

There are many critical human rights issues of Bangladeshi healthcare workers who went to the United Kingdom (UK) under the Health and Care (HC) worker visa scheme.

13/12/2024

As Bangladesh stands at a crossroads and awaits reforms, the patriarchal legacies embedded in its laws need to be scrutinised, challenged, and, in some cases, amended to better align with principles of equality and human rights.

From family structures to politico-legal frameworks, deeply rooted patriarchal views have historically influenced every aspect of life.

08/12/2024

As part of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, we collected queries from our readers over the past one month. The queries ranged from violence, abuse, harassment to issues concerning gender-based family responsibilities. Your Advocate, Barrister Omar Khan Joy, Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, responded to the queries at length.

https://www.thedailystar.net/law-our-rights/news/16-days-activism-readers-queries-3770751?fbclid=IwY2xjawHCSL5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHUEXtK0sqG5sT1vwueIOeRJHFcp3O6IaOLMDj8YRNfvA4sKSsd8s5uzwIA_aem_XzAc9J0KqFxUtVO0f9JC4g

08/12/2024

As part of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, we collected queries from our readers over the past one month. The queries ranged from violence, abuse, harassment to issues concerning gender-based family responsibilities. Your Advocate, Barrister Omar Khan Joy, Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, responded to the queries at length.

As part of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, we collected queries from our readers over the past one month.

06/12/2024

A very brief discussion of the possible legal steps to be taken by a r**e victim is discussed in this piece.

A very brief discussion of the possible legal steps to be taken by a r**e victim are discussed in this piece.

06/12/2024

In their sensitive investigation, Monsoor and Thambapillay ably highlight the intersection of gender, law, and cultural values, which gives a very strong case for legal reform by respecting tradition and furthering the protection of women and children.

https://www.thedailystar.net/law-our-rights/news/custody-guardianship-and-adoption-comparing-bangladesh-and-malaysia-3769496

The book named Impact of Gender on Custody, Guardianship, and Adoption authored by Professor Dr. Taslima Monsoor and Dr. Sridevi Thambapillay is an important cross-country study. In this book, the authors undertake a careful comparative study on how gender influences the practice of family law withi...

06/12/2024

The underlying factors driving crimes against women remain inadequately studied and appreciated due to societal discomfort in discussing gender-based violence, but general crime literature suggests that economic, educational, social factors all play a role in shaping the context within which r**e happens.

https://www.thedailystar.net/law-our-rights/news/multidimensional-analysis-r**e-3769476

R**e and other sexual crimes are largely misunderstood because people refuse to understand or fail to understand why they are crimes in the first place.

06/12/2024

When it comes to violence against women, we make a conscious choice and turn all our focus on sexual violence. It is not necessarily because sexual violence causes women serious harm but perhaps because we consider, with r**e or any other forms of sexual violence, a woman is robbed of her honour and chastity.

When it comes to violence against women, we make a conscious choice and turn all our focus on sexual violence.