Constitutional guarantees of fundamental rights must be backed by effective legal safeguards and accountable state institutions to ensure their protection in practice, speakers said at a Constitution Day discussion held at the Supreme Court Bar Association auditorium on Wednesday.
They called for legal reforms and stronger institutional accountability to ensure the effective implementation of rights, including equality, personal liberty, freedom of expression and the right to life.
The discussion, titled “54 Years of the Constitution: Rights and Protection Achievements and Realities,” was jointly organized by the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), the Supreme Court Lawyers Guild and Banglar Pathshala Foundation.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer and BLAST Honorary Executive Director Sara Hossain moderated the discussion. Acknowledging the Constitution's achievements, she stressed the need to address gaps in its implementation.
In his welcome address, Ahmed Javed, assistant professor of economics at City University and founder of Banglar Pathshala Foundation, questioned whether ordinary citizens had equal access to the justice system compared to powerful individuals. He also raised concerns about people who remained outside the protection of constitutional safeguards.
Discussing equality, Nurunnahar Urmi, lecturer in the Department of Law and Justice at Presidency University, said fulfilling the constitutional promise of equality required consideration of people's different social positions and lived experiences.
She emphasized the need to move beyond formal equality and ensure substantive equality for women, Indigenous communities and other disadvantaged groups.
Addressing arrest, detention and personal liberty, Supreme Court lawyer MM Khalequzzaman highlighted the experiences of people subjected to arrest and custodial torture. He stressed the need for effective enforcement of constitutional safeguards and legal reforms to protect individual liberty.
Supreme Court lawyer Priya Ahsan Chowdhury said existing laws, including those inherited from the colonial period, needed to be reviewed and reformed to align with the right to freedom of expression.
She stressed that laws must not be used to suppress dissent and called for any restrictions on freedom of expression to comply with the principles of necessity and proportionality under international human rights standards.
Environment rights activist and researcher Barish Hasan Chowdhury highlighted the connection between environmental protection and the right to life.
He stressed the need to implement constitutional commitments on environmental protection while considering the rights of marginalized communities and the interests of present and future generations in addressing the impacts of climate change.
In his concluding remarks, senior Supreme Court lawyer Prabir Niyogi described the 1972 Constitution as highly progressive for its time.
He said the main challenge to protecting constitutional rights lay in shortcomings in their implementation.
Niyogi said decisions on constitutional amendments should be based on an understanding of the Constitution's historical background and thorough research. He added that amendments must follow the procedures prescribed by the Constitution while it remains in force.
He also underscored the Supreme Court's role as the guardian and interpreter of the Constitution.
Retired Appellate Division judge Borhan Uddin described the Constitution as a commitment by the state to its people on how the country would be governed.
He said the Constitution's survival despite numerous amendments was an achievement, but its implementation required regular review.
Questioning the effectiveness of safeguards against torture despite its prohibition, he said arrest or imprisonment did not deprive anyone of their human dignity.
He also stressed the judiciary's responsibility to protect the fundamental rights of all citizens, including workers, young people and women.
In his vote of thanks, Khandaker Shahriar Shakir said the Constitution defined the relationship between individuals and the state, while protecting citizens' rights remained a state responsibility.
He called on the government to establish an effective mechanism to implement Supreme Court directives and judgments.
Shakir also stressed that no one should face legal cases or arrest simply for criticizing the government.
He urged stakeholders to assess whether reform initiatives were making meaningful progress in reflecting the aspirations expressed by the people during the July 2024 uprising.
