Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Asaduzzaman on Monday said authorities should ensure that the current Bar Council examination system does not create difficulties for students educated in English-medium institutions or abroad.
He made the remarks at a program held at the Supreme Court Auditorium in Dhaka.
The event marked the completion of the first phase and the beginning of the second phase of a six-month internship program for law students from different universities, organized by the Attorney General’s Office and funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Asaduzzaman said: “Many of our talented boys and girls who studied in English-medium schools or abroad have to face an unfavorable reality because the Bar Council examination question pattern is in Bangla. The Bar Council authorities can think about whether this area can be modernized.”
Alluding to the stereotype that those who cannot make progress in life become advocates, the minister said there is a need to move beyond such perceptions and raise the social status of the legal profession. He also urged everyone to help improve the standard of the profession.
The minister praised the Attorney General’s Office internship program.
He said: “This program has inspired me so much that I have spoken to the prime minister and members of parliament about providing one intern from different universities for them. The interns will do research work for MPs, which will help them become involved in the legislative process and create a healthy political environment.”
He also said he had instructed that budget allocations be made for the modernization of the Attorney General’s Office and to address its seating shortage.
On the Law Commission, he said: “Over the last 2 decades, the Law Commission has recommended 169 laws at a cost of more than Tk 150 crore, but only 8 have been adopted. Even after spending Tk 8 crore to Tk 10 crore of public money every year, the expected input is not coming.”