The Council of Advisers on Wednesday gave the final approval to the draft of the International Crimes (Tribunals) (amendment) Ordinance 2024, bringing significant amendments to address concerns from both local and international communities regarding trials under the law.
But the provision for punishing an organisation (such as a political party) has been removed from the draft law.
The approval came during a meeting of the Council, chaired by Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus.
“We felt the need to amend the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973 due to substantial criticism of the trials held under the law during the regime of the fascist government,” said Law Adviser Asif Nazrul at a press briefing.
The briefing was held at the Foreign Services Academy to announce the outcomes of the meeting.
Nazrul said that local and international human rights organisations had raised several concerns about the flaws in the law during the trials conducted under the Awami League (AL) regime. “Since we want to conduct fair trials and ensure due process, we have initiated these amendments,” he added.
The government, he said, consulted a wide range of stakeholders, including law experts, human rights activists, journalists, prominent local and international lawyers, and human rights organisations, as well as the UN Human Rights Forum. “The draft law is based on the opinions of all these parties,” Nazrul said.
The law adviser noted that while the existing law included provisions for punishing organisations, this provision had been removed in the new draft. Under the draft ordinance, tribunals will be able to recommend that the proper authorities punish an organisation, rather than carrying out the punishment directly.
“If any political party were punished under this law, it would open unnecessary avenues for questioning the legitimacy of the trials. We aim for the trials to be conducted in a fair and proper manner, which is why this provision was scrapped,” he said.
Nazrul emphasised that political parties could still be punished under other existing laws, such as the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Political Party Ordinance of 1978, should there be popular demand or a necessity to ban a party for criminal activities.
Highlighting key changes, the adviser said that the definitions of ‘crime against humanity’ and ‘genocide’ in the proposed ordinance are aligned with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
He also pointed out that the draft ordinance provides equal rights to the defence during prosecution. Additionally, there is a system in place to protect victims and witnesses, and victims will be entitled to compensation.
According to Nazrul, the draft ordinance includes a provision allowing forces from three types of institutions – discipline forces, intelligence agencies, and auxiliary forces – to be involved. “These forces have been clearly defined in the draft, following our constitution and traditional human rights law,” he said.
The proposed ordinance also allows for the appointment of foreign lawyers, should either the prosecution or defence wish to engage them.
Another significant provision in the draft law allows observers, both local and international, to monitor the trial process.
Human rights organisations, both domestic and global, will be able to observe the proceedings.
Responding to a question about the death penalty, the law adviser said the provision for death penalty in the laws for hundreds of years in the country. “There is nothing new. Bangladesh is not a signatory to the international convention on abolition of the death penalty. So, it (the demand for abolishing the death penalty) is also not compatible with the legal culture of Bangladesh,” he said.
Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan, Adviser Mahfuj Alam and Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam were present at the briefing.