About the Book This book is a collection of articles that have been published in the weekly Juris section of the Dhaka Tribune during the months between July 2013 and April 2015. Articles in this book are on diverse topics that have some bearing on law. However, despite being a book containing articles on legal topics, Juris is not designed only for the people with a background in law; rather the aim of the book is to enlighten ordinary readers about the legal issues that come up on a daily basis. In this book we have included articles on contemporary legal issues, e.g. women’s rights, rights of the third gender, rights of the indigenous people, freedom of expression in the cyber world, labour rights and workplace safety, vesting of power of impeachment of Supreme Court Judges to the parliament, right to information, prison and police reform and many more.
Articles on some of the most renowned law schools in Bangladesh, e.g. Dhaka University Law Faculty, Rajshai University Law Department and Jagannath University Law Department are also included in the book. These articles will provide a clear picture of legal education in Bangladesh. Some of the articles will offer useful legal information that the ordinary citizen needs to know on a day to day basis, e.g. laws relating to registration of deeds, how to execute an affidavit, how to notarise a document, how to open a company, etc.
Abdullah Al Arif is an academic, a legal researcher and a journalist. He was born and brought up in Khulna and attended Khulna Zilla School for his secondary education and Government MM City College, Khulna for higher secondary education. He has completed his LLB (Honours) and LLM from University of Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2008 and 2009 respectively. He has also completed a second LLM from South Asian University, New Delhi, India in 2013. During his study at SAU, he received the esteemed SAARC-India Silver Jubilee Scholarship. Furthermore, he was awarded the prestigious SAU Gold Medal for securing the first position in LLM. Presently, he is working as a Lecturer at the Department of Law, Daffodil International University. His teaching areas include legal history, international law, intellectual property rights law, human rights law, humanitarian law, and law of the sea. Along with these, he was the editor of Juris, the erstwhile weekly law page of Dhaka Tribune from July 2013 to April 2015. He has written numerous articles on diverse issues in all the leading newspapers of Bangladesh. One of his research papers has recently been published in Macquarie Journal of International and Comparative Environmental Law (MqJICEL), which is published by Macquarie School of Law, Australia.
Contents * About the editor I * Foreword III * Introduction V
Women’s rights * From the bedroom to the courtroom – Farzana Hussain * Legal protection from domestic violence – Raihanatul Jannat * Repeal character evidence in rape trials – Sk Farzana Ahmed * Promoting access to justice for women – Kabir Hossain * Equality in the eye of the law? – Farzana Hussain * Calling a spade, a spade – Raihanatul Jannat * Addressing the skin colour discrimination in ads * – Mohammad Habibur Rahman * Talking taboo – Raihanatul Jannat * ‘It is not Cupid but stupid...’ – Al-Imran Khan * Vulnerability of female garment workers – Saraban Tahura Zaman
Legal know-how * Register your deeds to secure your property – Raisul Islam Sourav * Opening a company in Bangladesh – Md Raziur Rahman * How to execute an affidavit – Raisul Islam Sourav * Laws that favour foreign investment in Bangladesh – Luc Mvono * Availing notary services in Bangladesh – Raisul Islam Sourav * Fly the national flag judiciously – Mohammad Mozadded Hassan Adnan * Filing a flawless first information report (FIR) – Raisul Islam Sourav * ‘You’re under arrest!’ – Abdullah Al Arif * Gunslingers, beware – Raju Mollah * Relief against unsatisfactory investigation reports – Raisul Islam Sourav
Legal system * Significance of amicus curiae in legal systems – Naimul Muquim * Case management committee to reduce backlog of cases – Kabir Hossain * Restoring the lost glory of law profession – Omar Hasan Al Zahid * Access to legal services hindered by middlemen – Abu Bakar Siddique Autopsies for criminal investigation – Md Ayub Ali * Guarding our environment – Abdullah Al Arif * The two finger test abomination – Md Ayub Ali * Questioning the police remand – Nabil Ahsan
Legal education * Agony of teaching and learning law in Bangladesh – Rokeya Chowdhury * Vanguard of legal education in Bangladesh – Emraan Azad, Preeti Kona * Pioneer of legal studies in Bangladesh – Sadiqul Islam Sagar, Md Moniruzzaman * Transforming legal education in Bangladesh – Md Abdur Razzak * A new horizon in legal education – Farhana Helal Mehtab * Nailing down your graduate law admission application abroad – Rokeya Chowdhury * Freedom of speech and expression Look before you speak – Md Nasir Shikder * Freedom of expression or right to reputation? – Mohammad Nayeem Firoz * Crime and punishment in the cyber world – Nabil Ahsan * Freedom of press to report court proceedings – Md Nasir Shikder * Freedom of expression: A myth or a right? – KM Ashbarul Bari, Nusrat Jahan
Constitution * What constitutes a Constitution? – SM Masum Billah * Winner takes all – ABM Imdadul Haque Khan * Faith, hope and promise – SM Masum Billah * Article 70: Contradiction with the spirit of the Constitution – Md Ariful Islam
Children’s rights Creating a child-friendly world – Md Abdur Razzak * Putting an end to child marriage – Raihanatul Jannat * Combating domestic emotional abuse of children – Mirza Farzana Iqbal Chowdhury * BMS law: Protecting the future generation – Kajal Abdullah
Juridical insight * Penalising the paralympian peculiarly – Naurin Aktar Kankon, Mohammad Nayeem Firoz * Double jeopardy in criminal proceedings – Mohammad Nayeem Firoz * Unlocking the puzzle of police remand – Naurin Aktar Kankon
Human trafficking * A journey to Hell – Mohammad Rubaiyat Rahman * Tackling human trafficking – Sushmita Choudhury, Rokeya Chowdhury * A rising plight and the way out – Md Nahidur Rahman
Tort * Tort law: A basic remedy we are missing – Salvia Jannat * Tortuous liability in road accident cases – Md Safiullah * The cost of negligence – Nabil Ahsan
Alternative dispute resolution Mediation, not litigation – Khandker Dider us Salam * Creating an arbitration friendly regime – Ashiqul A Khan, Sk La-Tainur Rahman * Give ADR a break – Khalid Yahyea
Intellectual property rights * Jamdani is ours – Mohammad Ataul Karim * TICFA’s impact on Bangladesh’s IPR regime: Nothing lies beneath – ABM Hamidul Mishbah
Labour and employment * Legal status of employment bonds – Saida Sharmin Esha * The plight of tea plantation workers – Mir Raisa Rakiba
Right to information * People’s right to know – Md Abdur Razzak * Be informed – Raisul Islam Sourav
Prison reform * Punishment fails, rehabilitation works – Muhammad Ziadul Islam Chowdhury * Life in prison: Social demise or birth of a new hope? – Farah Sonda
Refugees * Bangladesh’s obligation towards refugees – ABM Imdadul Haque Khan * Legal basis for seeking refugee status – Arif Ahmed
Human rights and humanitarian law * How the torture report will change the future of human rights – Khaled Saifullah * Knock on the roof – Emraan Azad
Legal luminaries * Unsung hero: Justice Radhabinod Pal – Abdullah Al Arif
Drug adulteration * Justice at long last – Sanaul Islam Tipu
Food safety * Ensuring safe food for all – ABM Imdadul Haque Khan
International law * How customary international law works – Naimul Muquim
Maritime boundary * Legal battle in the Bay – Mohammad Rubaiyat Rahman
Medical malpractice * Tackling medical malpractice – Mohammad Nayeem Firoz
Nationality and citizenship * Nationality or citizenship? – Dr Md Shahjahan Mondol, Dr Reba Mondol
Police reform * Restructuring law enforcement – Raihanatul Jannat
Rights of the ethnic community * ‘Adivasi’ denialism in Bangladesh – Rokeya Chowdhury
Rights of the people with disabilities * Protecting the rights of persons with disabilities – Abdullah Al Arif
Rights of the third gender * Ensure rights of the third gender – Farzana Hussain
Book review * CSR laws and practices in the developing world – Toufiqul Islam, Azizur Rahman Sharif