page_title: Bangladesh
section_title: Legal system
hierarchical_section_title: Bangladesh / Politics and government / Legal system
caption_attribution_description: বাংলা: বাংলাদেশ সুপ্রীম কোর্ট বাংলাদেশ সুপ্রীম কোর্ট হচ্ছে দেশের সর্ব্বোচ্চ আদালত এবং এর বিচারকবৃন্দ প্রধান বিচারপতির সঙ্গে পরামর্শক্রমে রাষ্ট্রপতি কর্তৃক নিযু্ক্ত হয়ে থাকেন। This is a photo of a monument in Bangladesh identified by the ID BD-C-13-90
context_page_description: Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 162 million people. In terms of land mass, Bangladesh ranks 92nd, spanning 148,460 square kilometres, making it one of the most densely-populated countries in the world. Bangladesh shares land borders with India to the west, north, and east, Myanmar to the southeast, and the Bay of Bengal to the south. It is narrowly separated from Nepal and Bhutan by the Siliguri Corridor, and from China by Sikkim, in the north, respectively. Dhaka, the capital and largest city, is the nation's economic, political and cultural hub. Chittagong, the largest sea port, is the second-largest city.
  Bangladesh forms the larger and eastern part of the Bengal region. According to the ancient sacred Indian texts, Ramayana and Mahabharata, the Vanga Kingdom, one of the namesakes of the Bengal region, was a strong naval ally of the legendary Ayodhya. In the ancient and classical period of the Indian subcontinent, the territory was home to many principalities, including the Pundra, Gangaridai, Gauda, Samatata and Harikela.
context_section_description: The Supreme Court of Bangladesh is the highest court of the land followed by the High Court and Appellate Divisions. The head of the judiciary is the Chief Justice of Bangladesh, who sits on the Supreme Court. The courts have wide latitude in judicial review and judicial precedent is supported by the Article 111 of the constitution. The judiciary includes district and metropolitan courts, which are divided into civil and criminal courts. Due to a shortage of judges, the judiciary has a large backlog. The Bangladesh Judicial Service Commission is an independent body responsible for judicial appointments, salaries and discipline.
  Bangladesh's legal system is based on common law and its principal source of laws are acts of Parliament. The Bangladesh Code includes a list of all laws in force in the country. The code begins in 1836 and most of its listed laws were crafted under the British Raj by the Bengal Legislative Council, the Bengal Legislative Assembly, the Eastern Bengal and Assam Legislative Council, the Imperial Legislative Council and the Parliament of the United Kingdom. One example is the 1860 Penal Code. From 1947 to 1971, laws were enacted by Pakistan's national assembly and the East Pakistani legislature. The Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh was the country's provisional parliament until 1973, when the first elected Jatiyo Sangshad (National Parliament) was sworn in. Although most of Bangladesh's laws were compiled in English, after a 1987 government directive laws are now primarily written in Bengali. While most of Bangladeshi law is secular; marriage, divorce and inheritance are governed by Islamic, Hindu and Christian family law. The judiciary is often influenced by legal developments in the Commonwealth of Nations, such as the doctrine of legitimate expectation.
caption: Supreme Court of Bangladesh
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