Referendum and 15 Ordinances Issued During Yunus Era Are Being Nullified

❐ Staff Reporter

A special committee has submitted recommendations to the National Assembly after reviewing 133 ordinances issued by Dr. Yunus’ interim government.

It proposes to approve 98 ordinances outright and amend 15. However, 16 important ordinances are on the verge of being automatically repealed or ‘lapsed’ as they were not tabled in Parliament within the stipulated time.

Zainul Abedin, the chairman of the 13-member special committee, presented this recommendation in the parliament session today, Thursday, April 2.

According to Article 93 of the Constitution, an ordinance must be presented at the first sitting of the next Parliament after its promulgation, and if it is not approved within 30 days, it loses its effect.

According to that calculation, 16 ordinances will be automatically repealed by April 12th.

This list includes several important ordinances, including referendums, the National Human Rights Commission, and the prevention and remedy of disappearances.

It also includes laws related to various sectors, including the Anti-Corruption Commission, Right to Information, Revenue Policy, VAT, Customs, Income Tax, Civil Aviation, Microfinance Banks.

However, the special committee recommended that these ordinances not be brought forward in bill form now, but rather be further reviewed and reintroduced in a stronger form in the future.

Meanwhile, the committee’s report also revealed dissent. Three members of Jamaat-e-Islami—Professor Mujibur Rahman, Maulana Rafiqul Islam Khan, and Gazi Nazrul Islam—gave ‘notes of dissent’ on 12 ordinances.

They objected to the ordinances related to local government amendments in particular, saying that the appointment of administrators instead of elected representatives is unconstitutional in light of Article 59 of the Constitution and the Supreme Court’s verdict in the ‘Qudrat-e-Ilahi Panir vs. Bangladesh’ case.

It is worth noting that this 13-member special committee was formed in the first session of the 13th National Parliament on March 12. In the next three meetings, they scrutinized all the ordinances and prepared this report.

Those concerned say that if some important ordinances lapse, a legal vacuum may be created, which could affect policymaking and administrative activities in the future.