Constitutional Rights and Remedies in Bangladesh from a Comparative Constitutional Law Perspective

Abstract

The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh is an autochthonous, i.e., home grown, as well as a right-based constitution in nature. It was self-adopted by the people of Bangladesh that signifies its autochthonism. Nonetheless, it should not be assumed that every concept embodied in the Constitution is unprecedented or exclusively devised by the framers of the Constitution of Bangladesh. As a comparatively new country, Bangladesh had less opportunity to bring novel principles in its Constitution. Instead, it was influenced by the concepts and principles of foreign constitutions as well as the customary and international law, through applying comparative constitutional law, in order to frame a comprehensive Constitution that reflects the will of the people. The right-based provisions and the remedial provisions of the Constitution of Bangladesh do not differ from this trend. The civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the people are recognized in the Constitution as rights and principles. It also provides constitutional remedies against the infringements; however, the enforcement mechanisms are not the same. Following the qualitative methodology, the present article demonstrates the influence of comparative constitutional law on the formulation and development of constitutional rights and remedies in Bangladesh. It is observed that the models of recognizing the rights of the people and implementing the constitutional remedies are the results of applying comparative constitutional law. Additionally, it explores the continuous effort of the judiciary to expand the scope of constitutional remedies with the assistance of comparative constitutional law. This article concludes through acknowledging the significance of comparative constitutional law on the gradual development, including the future scope, of the constitutional rights and remedies in Bangladesh.