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November 1, 2003 

Amendments of the Constitution

By all counts, the constitution has been subjected to far-reaching changes from the mid-seventies to the late eighties, including changes in the four fundamental principles. Principles of socialism and secularism have been re-interpreted or deleted and the independence of the judiciary impaired through amendments. Most of the other changes have been characterised as 'for personal' and not 'national' reasons.

The Constitution, since coming into force on the 16th December 1972, has been amended thirteen times:

1. for changing the form of government from parliamentary to presidential and back again to parliamentary [Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act, 1974, (Act II of 1974) and Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Act, 1986 (Act XXVIII of 1991)];

2. twice for validating acts and deeds, and orders and laws passed during the martial law regimes [Constitution (Fifth Amendment) Act, 1979, (Act I of 1979) and Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1986 (Act I of 1986)];

3. twice for qualifying an individual who was otherwise disqualified to hold a particular constitutional post [Constitution (Sixth Amendment) Act, 1981 (Act XIV of 1981) and Constitution (Eleventh Amendment) Act, 1991 (Act XXIV of 1991)];

4. for the return of the Chief Justice to the Supreme Court [Constitution (Eleventh Amendment) Act, 1991 (Act XXIV of 1991)];

5. for creating the post of Vice President and then abolishing it [Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act, 1974 (Act II of 1974) and Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Act, 1991 (Act XXVIII of 1991), respectively];

6. for limiting the terms for the office of the President and that of Vice President [Constitution (Eleventh Amendment) Act, 1991 (Act XXIV of 1991];

7. for extending the period to 120 days from 60 that may intervene between the end of one session and the first sitting of Parliament in the next session and then restoring the earlier provision [Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act, 1974 (Act II of 1974) and Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Act, 1991 (Act XXVIII of 1991), respectively]; and

8. for providing a Non-party Caretaker Government before holding the general election for Parliament [Constitution (Thirteenth Amendment) Act, 1996 (Act I of 1996)].

9. Part VI that deals with the judiciary, the least "dangerous" part of the government, was amended at twenty-one different places.

Paraphrased from: Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman, "Our Experience with Constitutionalism", 2:2 (1998) Bangladesh Journal of Law, 115, at pp. 118-19.

Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed,
"It is never desirable to amend a constitution in the interest of individuals or the government in power. Yet several of the amendments to our Constitution are such as have been made sometimes in the interest of the individual and sometimes merely to keep a government in power."

From Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed: "The Constitution Journey of Bangladesh", Constitutional Day Lecture, 4th November, 2000, published in the Daily Star, 13th November, 2000.

Courtesy: ERGO, Legal Counsel .