Supreme Court of Bangladesh

This article seeks to give a brief discussion on the entire judicial system in regards to the court structure of Bangladesh. The purpose of this discussion is to visualise mostly every court of the country. It has tried to outline the jurisdiction of the proceedings of the courts. The aim is to show the transformation from the very early period including the British era and the Pakistan era to the concurrent court system of Bangladesh, with reference to the independence of judiciary. In present days, after two landmark decisions by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in Secretary, Ministry of Finance vs. Md Masdar Hossain & Ors 52 DLR (AD) 82 and Government of Bangladesh & Ors vs. Advocate Asaduzzaman Siddique & Ors 2017 CLR (SpL), we have reasons to believe that the judiciary is independent, not only in theory but in practice as well

The fascinating doctrine of Basic Structure resides in the nitty-gritty of the highly sophisticated debate on the scope of constitution amending power. It has become a vibrant tool of judicial activism to protect the constitutional edifice faced with the invincible parliamentary super majority from ruination. The substance of the claim is that there are certain structural pillars of the Constitution which cannot be dismantled by parliament in the name of amendment. It was planted strappingly in the judicial culture of Bangladesh by Anwar Hossain Chowdhury v. Bangladesh 1989 BLD (Spl) 1. Though since Anwar Hossain it has got a confident practical acceptance, a plain reading of Article 142 of the Constitution puts the doctrine into the fogginess of controversy, incongruity and inapplicability in certain cases. This article aims at outlining the clarified range of the reach of the doctrine as well as the flat standard of its identification to shun the duskiness rotating round the contents of the notion.

The Supreme Court is the apex institution of the adjudication system and constitutional body in Bangladesh. The Constitution mandates its functions and jurisdictions. It performs functions and duties not as a servant of the government but performs constitutional functions as a guardian to uphold the Constitutionalism, secure the Constitutional guarantee of the citizens’. It has unique and extraordinary inherent jurisdictions like writ, taking action for doing complete justice,
review of its own decision, punish to contemnor, settle issues arise under the Constitutional interpretation, providing perfect direction of unambiguous law, and provide advice. This paper analyzes the momentous issue of jurisdiction and functions of the Supreme Court from the legal and economic aspects with highlighting the efficiency of the apex court. It also examines with particular consideration of contempt of court matter.