Constitutional Reform Commission

Background

History

Appointment of Ali Riaz

Members

Scope and Purpose

1. Attaining equality, human dignity and social justice as the promised objectives of the Liberation War of 1971 waged in pursuance of a long struggle and establishing a non-discriminatory and republican state inspired by the mass upsurge of the students and people in 2024.
2. Fulfillment of the people's desire to establish a participatory and democratic state as expressed through the mass upsurge of the students and people of 2024.
3. Ensuring effective participation of people at all levels in politics and state administration.
4. Preventing the emergence of any fascist system of governance in future.
5. Ensuring the separation and balance of powers between the three organs of the state: executive, legislature, and judiciary.
6. Decentralizing and adequately empowering state authorities and institutions.
7. Ensuring effective independence and autonomy of state institutions, constitutional functionaries and statutory bodies.

Recommendations

Citizenship

1. The commission recommends that the words 'প্রজাতন্ত্র' and 'গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ' in all applicable parts of the constitution be replaced by 'নাগরিকতন্ত্র' and 'জনগণতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ' respectively. However, in the English version, the terms "Republic" and "People's Republic of Bangladesh" will remain unchanged.
2. Language: The state language of the republic will be 'Bangla'. All languages used as mother tongues by citizens of Bangladesh will be recognized as prevailing languages in the constitution.
3. Citizenship: 'The people of Bangladesh shall be known as Bangalees...' The commission recommends abolishing this provision. It is suggested that the current be amended as follows: "The citizens of Bangladesh shall be known as 'Bangladeshis" to replace the existing provision.
4. The commission recommends the repeal of Articles and concerning constitutional offenses and limitations on constitutional amendments.
5. Fundamental Principles of the Constitution:
6. # The commission recommends including equality, human dignity, social justice, pluralism, and democracy as fundamental principles of the constitution.
7. # A provision reflecting the pluralistic nature of Bangladeshi society should be added to the constitution. Therefore, the commission recommends incorporating the following provision: "Bangladesh is a pluralistic, multi-nation, multi-religion, multi-language, and multi-cultural country where the coexistence and proper dignity of all communities will be ensured."
8. Principles of the State: The commission recommends removing secularism, socialism, and nationalism as fundamental principles of the state, along with,,, and of the constitution related to these principles.

Fundamental Rights and Freedoms

1. The commission has reviewed the articles related to rights in the constitution and made several recommendations. It is proposed to integrate the rights under and of the existing constitution into a single charter titled "Fundamental Rights and Freedoms", which will be enforceable in courts and eliminate disparities between economic, social, cultural rights, and civil, political rights.
2. The commission recommends including some new rights in the constitution, such as the right to food, education, healthcare, housing, internet access, information, voting, participation in state governance, privacy protection, consumer protection, children's rights, development, science, and the rights of future generations.
3. Reforms to existing articles on rights have been proposed, such as expanding the limited list of prohibited discriminations, ensuring protection against extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances to safeguard the right to life, including the right to bail, and repealing provisions related to preventive detention.
4. Instead of imposing separate limits for each fundamental right, it is proposed to establish a general limit with provisions for balancing and proportionality tests, which would reduce the risk of rights infringement.
5. For rights requiring significant resources and time for implementation, it is recommended to implement them progressively based on resource availability, ensuring accountability and effective realization according to available resources.

Legislature

• The Commission recommends a bicameral legislature: a lower house Jatiya Sangsad and an upper house. Both houses will have a tenure of 4 years.

Lower House

1. The lower house will consist of members directly elected by majority vote. It will have 400 seats. Among them, 300 members will be elected through direct voting from single regional constituencies. Another 100 female members will be elected directly from 100 constituencies designated across all districts of the country, with competition limited to female candidates.
2. Political parties will nominate candidates from young men and women for at least 10% of the total seats in the lower house.
3. The minimum age for contesting parliamentary elections will be reduced to 21 years.
4. There will be 2 deputy speakers, one of whom will be nominated from the opposition party.
5. A member of parliament will not hold more than one of the following positions simultaneously: Prime Minister, Leader of Parliament, and Head of a political party.
6. Except for financial bills, members of the lower house will have full authority to vote against their nominating party.
7. Permanent committees of the legislature will always have their chairs nominated from opposition members.

Upper House

1. The upper house will consist of 105 members. Among them, 100 members will be determined proportionally based on the total votes received in the national elections. Political parties can nominate up to 100 candidates for the upper house based on the proportional representation system. Among these candidates, at least 5 must represent socially and economically disadvantaged communities as determined by law. The remaining 5 seats will be filled by the President, who will nominate candidates from among citizens.
2. To qualify for representation in the upper house through the proportional representation system, a political party must secure at least 1% of the votes cast in the national elections.
3. The speaker of the upper house will be elected by a simple majority from among the members of the upper house.
4. There will be one deputy speaker in the upper house, who will be elected from among all members except those from the ruling party.

Constitutional Amendments

1. Any constitutional amendment will require the approval of a two-thirds majority in both houses. Once the proposed amendment is passed in both houses, it will be presented in a referendum. The referendum's outcome will be determined by a simple majority.

International Treaties

• Any international treaty affecting national interests or state security must be approved by a majority vote in both houses of the legislature before execution.

Impeachment

• The President can be impeached for treason, gross misconduct, or violation of the Constitution. After the lower house passes the impeachment motion, it will be sent to the upper house, where the impeachment process will be completed through a hearing.

Executive Branch

1. The Commission recommends that the member who enjoys the majority support of the members in the lower house of the legislature should form the government. Executive authority in the republic will be exercised by the Cabinet led by the Prime Minister.
2. The Commission recommends certain specific responsibilities for the President; apart from these special functions or matters mentioned in the Constitution, the President will act on the advice of the Prime Minister.
3. The Commission recommends the establishment of a National Constitutional Council to bring transparency and accountability in state affairs and to ensure balance among state organs and institutions.

National Constitutional Council

1. The National Constitutional Council is a national institution composed of representatives from the three branches of the state. Members of the NCC will include:
2. # President
3. # Prime Minister
4. # Leader of the Opposition
5. # Speaker of the Lower House
6. # Speaker of the Upper House
7. # Chief Justice of Bangladesh
8. # Deputy Speaker of the Lower House nominated by the Opposition
9. # Deputy Speaker of the Upper House nominated by the Opposition
10. # One member nominated from among the remaining members of both houses of the legislature by majority vote of the members of both houses. This vote must be held within seven working days from the date of formation of both houses of the legislature. In the case of a coalition government, members of coalition parties other than the party represented by the Prime Minister will be eligible to vote in this nomination.
11. Even if the legislature is dissolved, the existing NCC members will remain active until the Chief Adviser of the interim government is sworn in. During the absence of a legislature, the members of the NCC will be:
12. # President
13. # Chief Adviser
14. # Chief Justice of Bangladesh
15. # Two members of the Advisory Council nominated by the Chief Adviser

1. The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners
2. The Attorney General and Additional Attorney Generals
3. The chairperson and other Commissioners of the Public Service Commission
4. The chairperson and other Commissioners of the Anti-Corruption Commission
5. The Chairperson and other Commissioners of the Human Rights Commission
6. The Chief Local Government Commission and other Commissioners
7. The Chief of Defence Forces
8. Any other positions prescribed by law

President

1. The President's term will be four years. The President may not hold office more than twice.
2. The President will be elected by a majority vote of the Electoral college. The Electoral College will comprise the following voters:
3. # One vote per member of both houses of the legislature.
4. # Each District Coordination Council collectively having one vote.
5. # Each City Corporation Coordination Council collectively having one vote.
6. The President can be impeached for treason, gross misconduct, or violation of the Constitution. The impeachment motion will begin in the lower house.

Prime Minister

1. The Prime Minister will be appointed with the support of the majority of members in the lower house of the legislature.
2. If at any time before the expiration of the legislature's term the Prime Minister resigns voluntarily, loses a vote of confidence, or advises the President to dissolve the legislature for any other reason, and if it is clear to the President that no other member of the lower house can secure the majority support needed to form a government, then the President will dissolve both houses of the legislature.
3. An individual may serve as Prime Minister for a maximum of two terms. This provision will apply equally regardless of whether the person holds the position consecutively or otherwise. While serving as Prime Minister, the individual may not hold the position of party chief or leader of the legislature.

Interim Government

1. The commission recommends appointing an interim government after the term of the legislature ends or the legislature is dissolved, and until the next elected government takes oath;
2. The head of the interim government will be referred to as the 'Chief Adviser.' The decision to appoint the Chief Adviser must be finalized within 15 days prior to the end of the legislature's term or within 15 days after the legislature is dissolved. The Chief Adviser will operate through an advisory council comprising a maximum of 15 members.
3. The term of the interim government will be a maximum of 90 days, but if the election is held earlier, the term of this government will end as soon as the Prime Minister of the new government takes oath.
4. Chief Adviser

1. # From among individuals eligible to be members of the legislature, one acceptable person who is not a member of the NCC will be appointed as Chief Adviser by the decision of at least 7 of the 9 members of the NCC.
2. # If a decision cannot be made under subsection 4.1 above, one acceptable person from among all retired Chief Justices and retired judges of the Appellate Division will be appointed as Chief Adviser by the decision of at least 6 of the 9 members of the NCC.
3. # If a decision cannot be made under subsection 4.2 above, the President will assume the additional responsibility of Chief Adviser by the unanimous decision of all members of the NCC.
4. # If the NCC cannot reach a unanimous decision under subsection 4.3 above, the most recently retired Chief Justice of Bangladesh will become the Chief Adviser.
5. # If the most recently retired Chief Justice as per subsection 4.4 above cannot be found or declines to be the Chief Adviser, then the Chief Justice who retired immediately prior to them will become the Chief Adviser. Similarly, if they are also unavailable or unwilling, the process will continue in sequential order with the Chief Justice who retired immediately before them.
6. # If no retired Chief Justice can be found or they decline to be the Chief Adviser as per subsection 4.5 above, the most recently retired judge of the Appellate Division will become the Chief Adviser.
7. # If the most recently retired judge of the Appellate Division as per subsection 4.6 above cannot be found or declines to be the Chief Adviser, then the judge who retired immediately prior to them will become the Chief Adviser. Similarly, if they are also unavailable or unwilling, the process will continue in sequential order with the judge who retired immediately before them.

Judiciary

1. The commission recommends decentralizing the higher judiciary by establishing permanent High Court benches with equal jurisdiction in all divisions of the country. The seat of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court will remain in the capital.
2. A Judicial Appointments Commission will be formed for appointing judges to the Supreme Court. Its members will include the Chief Justice ; the next two senior judges of the Appellate Division ; the two senior-most judges of the High Court Division ; the Attorney General, and one citizen nominated by the upper house of Parliament.
3. The commission proposes that in addition to appropriate knowledge and skills, integrity and honesty be made prerequisites for becoming a judge of the Supreme Court
4. A provision should be included in the constitution institutionalizing the appointment of the senior-most judge among the Appellate Division judges as the Chief Justice.
5. The Supreme Judicial Council will remain in place. The authority to refer complaints for investigation and inquiry to the Supreme Judicial Council will rest with the head of state as well as the National Constitutional Council.
6. The commission recommends granting full financial independence to the judiciary.
7. Subordinate Courts
8. # The commission proposes replacing the term 'subordinate courts' with 'local courts'.
9. # The commission recommends that all matters related to the appointment, posting, promotion, leave, and discipline of judicial officers in local courts be vested with the Supreme Court. For this purpose, the commission recommends establishing a Judicial Secretariat under the supervision of the Supreme Court. This Judicial Secretariat will have full control over administrative activities, budget preparation, and human resource management of the Supreme Court and local courts, financed through a consolidated fund.

Local Government

1. The Commission recommends ensuring full functional autonomy in financial management and all tasks prescribed by law for all Local Government Institutions. Unless it is part of a national implementation program, local government institutions will have full financial control and authority to implement all development works at the local level.
2. The Commission recommends that all government officers and employees directly engaged in the work of LGIs should be subordinate to the elected representatives of LGIs. Additionally, all government departments involved in implementing development projects within LGI jurisdictions should work under the direction of LGI representatives.
3. LGIs will be able to locally raise their own funds. If the estimated funds are expected to be less than the LGI budget, the budget must be submitted to the Local Government Committee of the upper house of the legislature. Once the budget is approved by the Local Government Committee of the upper house of the legislature, the committee will instruct the concerned ministry to allocate the deficit mentioned in the budget within 15 working days.
4. The Commission recommends the establishment of a "District Coordination Council" in each district to coordinate activities and act as a joint performance agency for all LGIs in that district. Its members will include:
5. # Chairpersons and two Vice Chairpersons elected from each Upazila Parishad.
6. # Mayors and two Deputy Mayors elected from each Municipality.
7. # Chairpersons elected from each Union council. City Corporations will have their own Coordination councils.
8. The Commission recommends that all LGI elections be held under the direct supervision of the Election Commission.
9. The Reform Commission recommends the establishment of a Local Government Commission, which will comprise a Chief Local Government Commissioner and 4 Commissioners.

Permanent Attorney Service

1. The Commission recommends the establishment of a Permanent Attorney Service under the Constitution.

Constitutional Commissions

1. Human Rights Commission
2. Election Commission
3. Public Service Commission
4. Local Government Commission
5. Anti-Corruption Commission

Miscellaneous

1. The Commission recommends repealing of the Constitution and not including the associated,, and Schedules in the Constitution.
2. Provisions for Emergency:

Public reception