The structure of the Courts in Bangladesh is based on the constitution and the laws implemented by the legislature, which are interpreted by the higher courts. The Supreme Court is regarded as the highest authority in the Judiciary structure of Bangladesh. Article 94(1) of the Constitution states that the Appellate Division and the High Court

division shall comprise the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. The Supreme Court’s two divisions have distinct jurisdiction, where Article 101 provides the jurisdiction for the High Court Division and Article 103 of the Constitution states the jurisdiction of the appellate division.

The Structure of Supreme Court in Bangladesh

September 2021, the structure of the Supreme Court in Bangladesh consists of two main divisions: the Appellate Division and the High Court Division. Please note that there may have been changes or developments in the structure of the Supreme Court in Bangladesh since that time. Here is an overview of the structure as it existed then:

Appellate Division:

• Highest court in Bangladesh
• Hears and decides appeals from the High Court Division
• Headed by the Chief Justice and includes at least two other judges

High Court Division:

• Handles constitutional matters, writ petitions, civil, and criminal cases
• Headed by the Chief Justice and has a variable number of judges
• Empowered to issue writs for fundamental rights enforcement

Supreme Court Bar Association:

• Organization of lawyers eligible to practice in the Supreme Court
• Advocates for lawyers’ rights and provides legal services

Judicial Administration:

• Managed by the Supreme Court
• Responsible for organizing and administering the judiciary

Subordinate Courts:

• Consists of District Courts, Magistrate Courts, and others
• Handles cases at local and district levels below the Supreme Court

High Court Division

High court can hear a case or suit as court of first instance, according to the original jurisdiction of high court division. The article 102 of Bangladesh’s constitution has granted special original jurisdiction towards High Court, under which the High Court Division can impose the fundamental rights which are promised towards the citizen of Bangladesh in Part 3 of the constitution. It also states, High court can ensue it’s power of Judicial review under article 102.

Different statuary acts states different division of jurisdiction which lies within the High court. Namely, issues regarding the Company Act , Admiralty related cases, Cases originating from the Bank and Companies Act, Will and Probate under Succession Act, Family matters including Divorce, Bangladesh Merchant Shipping Ordinance, The contempt of courts etc. do fall under the ordinary & original jurisdiction of the High Court Division. The High Court Division’s further jurisdiction is governed by the Rules of the 1908 Code

of Civil Procedure and the 1973 Rules of the Supreme Court (High Court Division).

Appellate Jurisdiction:

Any law may confer jurisdiction on any matter on the appeal of the High Court Division. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898; the Civil Procedure Code, 1908; Section 42 of the Value Added Tax Act, 1991; Section 196D of the Customs Act, 1969 etc. and the Rules of the High Court Division, 1973 conferred on the appeal jurisdiction of the High Court Division.

Revisional Jurisdiction:

(A) Section 115 of the 1908 Code of Civil Procedure granted revisional jurisdiction to the High Court Division. The subordinate court choices may be examined by the High Court Division.

(B) Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, conferred on the High Court Division the revisional jurisdiction of the judiciary subordinate to it as regards criminal matters. In addition, under section 561A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the High Court Division has the inherent power to make such orders as may be necessary to give effect to any order under this Code or to prevent abuse of any court’s proceedings or otherwise to secure the ends of justice.

Review Jurisdiction:

Section 114 of the 1908 Code of Civil Procedure conferred the review jurisdiction to the High Court Division. The Rules of the High Court Division, 1973 Part II, Chapter X and Order XLVII of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 deal with procedural review issues.

Cases from Subordinate Courts to the High Court Division:

According to Article 110 of the Constitution, if the Division of the High Court is satisfied that a case pending before a Court subordinate to it includes a significant question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution or a matter of overall government significance which is essential for the disposal of the case, it shall withdraw the case from that Court and may, (a) either discard the case itself; or (b) determine the question of law and return the case to the Court from which it was withdrawn (or transferred to another subordinate tribunal) together with a copy of the Division’s decision on that matter, and the tribunal to which the case is so returned or transmitted shall, upon receipt thereof, continue to determine the case in accordance with the provisions of the Rules of Procedure.

Appellate Division

Appellate Division is responsible for hearing and determining appeals from the High Court Division’s decisions, decrees, orders or sentences. An appeal to the Appellate Division shall be deemed to be a matter of law where the High Court Division-( a) certifies that the case involves a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution; or (b) condemns or confirms a person’s sentence to death or life imprisonment; or (c) punishes a person for the contempt of that Division; and, in other cases, where the Appellate Division has appealed, and in other cases ;where the Appeals Division grants leave to appeal and also in accordance with Parliament’s Acts.

Issue and execution of process

According to Article 104, the Appellate Division shall have the power to issue such instructions, orders, decrees or writings as may be necessary to do justice in any case or matter pending before it, including orders for the purpose of securing any person’s attendance or the discovery or production of any document.

Authority to Review

Article 105 offers that, subject to any Act of Parliament and any regulations taken by the Division, the Appellate Division shall have the authority to review any decision or any order produced by it.

Advisory Jurisdiction

Article 106 of the Constitution states that if, at any moment, it appears to the President that a issue of law has arisen, or is likely to occur, of such a nature and government significance that it is expedient to acquire the opinion of the Supreme Court on it, the issue may be referred to the Appellate Division for consideration and may be referred to the Division after such hearing as it considers appropriate

Supreme Law Making Jurisdiction

With the permission of the President, the Supreme Court may, subject to any legislation made by Parliament, create laws governing the practice and procedure of each Supreme Court Division and of any Court subordinated to it.

Licenses, Business Transactions, Permits and all other company operations of a company or person are often subjected to various regulatory problems and conflicts, due to intervention or inaction by the public authority involved. Procedural violations or administrative actions that have been arbitrarily, unreasonably etc. taken in malice can be resolved rapidly by reviewing judicially the same popularly recognized as filing a writ petition before the Hon’ble High Court, where no other effective alternative forum is accessible. CLP, Counsel Law partner has an admirable track record of achieving that on behalf of numerous reputed individuals and business companies.