Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs

Last updated

Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs
Formation1972
Headquarters Dhaka, Bangladesh
Region served
Bangladesh
Official language
Bengali
Website Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs

The Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA) is the oldest think tank in Bangladesh. It is housed in the former residence of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy on Road 7, Dhanmondi, Dhaka. [1] [2]

Contents

History

BILIA was established as a government-funded think tank on law, foreign policy, and international law. [3] [4] [5] A future president of Bangladesh, Abdus Sattar, served as its chairman from 1974 to 1975. [6] The think tank is housed in the Dhanmondi residence of former British Bengal premier and Pakistan PM Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. [1] [2] BILIA traces its origins to the Pakistan Law Institute, which was set up in Dhaka in the 1960s. BILIA can also be compared with the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs, which was set up in 1947 and modelled after Chatham House. It was renamed as the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs in 1972 after the creation of Bangladesh. [6]

In December 1974, BILIA hosted the Third International Criminal Law Conference. The meeting supported calls for the creation of a global penal court, which crystallized with the creation of the ICC in 1998. The conference was presided over by Robert Kurt Woetzel while Kamal Hossain, as Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, delivered a keynote address. Distinguished professors of international law from around the world gathered in Dhaka to attend the conference. [7] In the late 1970s, the BILIA chairman Justice Abdus Sattar was appointed Vice President of Bangladesh by President Ziaur Rahman. Sattar later became the President of Bangladesh. Prominent lawyer and human rights activist Salma Sobhan, who was the first woman barrister of Bangladesh and Pakistan, was a Research Fellow at BILIA. Tania Amir, a prominent barrister, has also been the honorary secretary of BILIA. [8] BILIA has also been affiliated with Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed, Kamruddin Ahmed, Rokanuddin Mahmud, and Muzaffar Ahmed Chowdhury.

Publications

BILIA publishes two journals, including the Bangladesh Journal of Law and Journal of International Affairs. [9] The law journal has been edited by Shahdeen Malik, Professor Mizanur Rahman and Justice Naimuddin Ahmed among others. The international affairs journal has been edited by Ambassador Fakhruddin Ahmed among others. For many years, the Supreme Court Reports were published by BILIA with Salma Sobhan as its editor. Some of the books published by BILIA include the following. [10]

BILIA Library

The BILIA Library is considered to be one of the best archives and legal resources centers in Bangladesh. It has a corner dedicated to Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman, which includes books donated by the former Chief Justice of Bangladesh. The library has law reports from the 1920s and 1930s, including cases from the Permanent Court of International Justice. According to historian Umran Chowdhury, "the division of assets [between Bangladesh and Pakistan] was never settled. As the former eastern wing, Bangladesh was entitled to a substantial share of assets of the former central government of both wings. According to Professor Rehman Sobhan, perhaps the most valuable asset which Bangladesh retained was the library of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), which is today the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS). PIDE was shifted to Dhaka in 1970 by Professor Nurul Islam. The Dhanmondi residence of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, which housed the Pakistan Law Institute, was also retained. It was renamed as the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA). The BILIA Library is also a rich repository of legal and political history". [1] [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy</span> Bengali barrister and politician (1892–1963)

Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was a Pakistani Bengali barrister and politician. In Bangladesh, Suhrawardy is remembered as a pioneer of Bengali civil rights movements, later turned into Bangladesh independence movement, and the mentor of Bangladesh's founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He is also remembered for his performance as the Minister for Civil Supply during the Bengal famine of 1943. In India, he is seen as a controversial figure; directly responsible for the 1946 Calcutta Killings, for which he is often referred as the "Butcher of Bengal" in West Bengal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdus Sattar (president)</span> President of Bangladesh from 1981 to 1982

Abdus Sattar was a Bangladeshi statesman. A leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), he served as the president of Bangladesh from 1981 to 1982, and earlier as the vice president. A jurist by profession, Abdus Sattar held numerous constitutional and political offices in British India, East Pakistan and Bangladesh. He was a cabinet minister, supreme court judge, and chief election commissioner. He took oath and became president shortly after the assassination of president Ziaur Rahman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shah Azizur Rahman</span> Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 1979 to 1982

Shah Azizur Rahman was a Bangladeshi politician who served as the prime minister of Bangladesh. However, he was the subject of considerable controversy for his collaboration with the Pakistan Army against the struggle for the independence of Bangladesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kamal Hossain</span> Bangladeshi politician and lawyer (born 1937)

Kamal Hossain, better known as Dr. Kamal, is a founding leader, lawyer and politician of Bangladesh. He is known as the "Father of the Bangladeshi Constitution" and regarded as an icon of secular democracy in the Indian subcontinent. Hossain currently heads his own law firm in Dhaka. He retired from political activities and from the post of president of Gano Forum in October 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suhrawardy Udyan</span> National memorial in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Suhrawardy Udyan is a national memorial and public space located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Originally known as Ramna Race Course, it holds significant historical importance due to its association with key events in the country's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Front (East Pakistan)</span> Coalition of political parties

The United Front was a coalition of political parties in East Bengal which contested and won Pakistan's first provincial general election to the East Bengal Legislative Assembly. The coalition consisted of the Awami Muslim League, the Krishak Praja Party, the Ganatantri Dal and Nizam-e-Islam. The coalition was led by four major Bengali populist leaders- A. K. Fazlul Huq, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Maulana Bhashani The election resulted in a crushing defeat for the Muslim League. Veteran student leader of East Pakistan Khaleque Nawaz Khan defeated sitting Prime Minister of East Pakistan Mr. Nurul Amin in Nandail Constituency of Mymensingh district and created history in political arena. Nurul Amin's crushing defeat to a 27 years old young Turk of United Front effectively eliminated the Muslim League from political landscape of the then East Pakistan with United Front parties securing a landslide victory and gaining 223 seats in the 309-member assembly. The Awami League emerged as the majority party, with 143 seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh</span> Highest court of Peoples Republic of Bangladesh

The High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, popularly known as High Court, is one of the two divisions of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, the other division being the Appellate Division. It consists of the Chief Justice of Bangladesh and the Justices of the High Court Division.

Salma Sobhan was a Bangladeshi lawyer, academic and human rights activist. She became the first woman barrister in Pakistan in 1959. A member of the law faculty of the University of Dhaka, she was a co-founder of Ain-O-Salish Kendra (ASK), a national human rights watchdog. She was also a key figure at the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fazlul Qadir Chaudhry</span> Indian politician

Fazlul Quader Chowdhury was a Bengali politician who served as the 5th speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan from East Pakistan. He belonged to Ayub Khan's Convention Muslim League. He was also the acting president of Pakistan from time to time when Ayub Khan left the country. His elder brother Fazlul Kabir Chowdhury was the leader of the opposition in East Pakistan assembly. Quader was preceded by Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan of Awami League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tofazzal Hossain Manik Miah</span> Bengali politician and journalist (c.1911–1969)

Tofazzal Hossain, popularly known as Manik Miah, was a Pakistani Bengali journalist and politician. He served as the founding editor of The Daily Ittefaq. He wrote the editorial Rajnoitik Moncho. Most of his newspaper's journalists were considered leftist, as Miah followed the pattern of Awami League. According to journalist and editor of Shongbad Bozlur Rahman, Awami activists followed his editorial more than any actual decision of a meeting. He was a close associate of the founder of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Bengalis in Pakistan are ethnic Bengali people who had lived in either West Pakistan or East Pakistan prior to 1971 or live in present-day Pakistan. Most Pakistani Bengalis, are bilingual speaking both Urdu and Bengali and are mainly settled in Karachi. Bengalis that arrived in Pakistan before 1971 have now assimilated with the Urdu-speaking people in Karachi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anjuman Mufidul Islam</span>

Anjuman Mufidul Islam is a Bangladeshi welfare organisation specially designed to enrich the livelihood of orphans and the distressed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All-Pakistan Awami League</span> Political party in Pakistan

The Awami League was a Pakistani political party founded by Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy in February 1950. Pir of Manki Sharif and Khan Ghulam Mohammad Khan from the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) joined it soon afterwards.

The Law Commission of Bangladesh is an independent body, set up through an act passed in the national parliament that reviews laws and recommends reforms when necessary in Bangladesh and is located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Former chief justice A. B. M. Khairul Haque is the present chairman of the commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bengal Provincial Muslim League</span> Branch of the All India Muslim League in British Indian Bengal (1912-1947)

The Bengal Provincial Muslim League (BPML) was the branch of the All India Muslim League in the British Indian province of Bengal. It was established in Dhaka on 2 March 1912. Its official language was Bengali. The party played an important role in the Bengal Legislative Council and in the Bengal Legislative Assembly, where two of the Prime Ministers of Bengal were from the party. It was vital to the creation of the Dominion of Pakistan, particularly after its election victory in 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kamran Hossain Chowdhury</span> Bangladeshi politician

Kamran Hossain Chowdhury is a former Member of Parliament from Faridpur, Bangladesh. He was a member of the 4th Jatiyo Sangshad. He was a member of the parliamentary standing committee on foreign relations.

The Suhrawardy family with over nine hundred years of recorded history has been one of the oldest leading noble families and political dynasties of the Indian subcontinent and is regarded as an important influencer during the Bengali Renaissance. The family has produced many intellectuals who have contributed substantially in the fields of politics, education, literature, art, poetry, socio-religious and social reformation. Numerous members of the family, both biological descendants and those married into the family, have had prolific careers as politicians, lawyers, judges, barristers, artists, academicians, social workers, activists, writers, public intellectuals, ministers, educationists, statesmen, diplomats and social reformers.

Md. Moinul Islam Chowdhury is a judge of the High Court Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court.

Umran Chowdhury is a Bangladeshi lawyer, writer, surveyor, historian, and columnist. He has been a researcher at Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs and the School of Oriental and African Studies. He frequently writes for the Dhaka Tribune.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Parleys with Pakistan".
  2. 1 2 3 Chowdhury, Umran (27 March 2024). "Parleys with Pakistan".
  3. ↑ "Symposium on Artha Rin Adalat Ain held at BILIA". The Daily Star. 4 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  4. ↑ "A slow judiciary". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  5. ↑ "Boost diplomatic efforts keeping regional interest in mind". The Daily Star. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs". Banglapedia. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  7. ↑ Chowdhury, Umran (26 March 2024). "Third International Criminal Law Conference".
  8. ↑ https://www.biliabd.org/secretary/
  9. ↑ https://www.biliabd.org/bd-journal-of-law-published-volumes/
  10. ↑ https://library.biliabd.org/bilia-publications
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.