Article 7 Supremacy of the Constitution
Supremacy of the Constitution
Article 7 is the reason a citizen or company can ask the Supreme Court to set aside an unlawful law. It gives investors and citizens a legal yardstick that binds the government.
Article 7(1) says all powers belong to the people. Ministers, MPs and officials hold power only on the people's behalf and only within the limits the Constitution sets. Even a Parliament elected with a large majority must work inside those limits, and so must the President.
Parliament passes an Act, or the President issues an ordinance. Under Article 7(2) it is valid only if it is consistent with the Constitution, which sits above every other law. Laws in force before 1972 also continue only so far as they fit the Constitution, under Article 149.
A person affected by the law files a writ petition in the High Court Division under Article 102, arguing that the law conflicts with the Constitution. The court issues a Rule Nisi asking the government to explain why the law should not be declared void, and then hears the State's reply.
If the court finds a conflict, it declares the law void to the extent of the inconsistency. Using this power, the courts have struck down constitutional amendments, including parts of the Fifteenth Amendment in December 2024.
In plain English
How Article 7 works
Article 7 is the foundation of the legal system. Clause (1) says that all powers in the Republic belong to the people, and that those powers can only be exercised on their behalf under the authority of the Constitution. Clause (2) makes the Constitution the supreme law. If any other law conflicts with it, that law is void to the extent of the conflict. This is what allows courts to strike down Acts of Parliament, ordinances and even constitutional amendments that go against the Constitution's basic structure. No official, minister or Parliament is above the Constitution.
In practice
Article 7 underpins judicial review in Bangladesh. The Appellate Division used it, with the Preamble, in the Eighth Amendment case (1989) to adopt the basic structure doctrine, and again in the Fifth (2010) and Sixteenth (2017) Amendment cases. On 17 December 2024 the High Court Division declared parts of the Fifteenth Amendment void, including the abolition of the caretaker system and Articles 7A and 7B, and the Appellate Division dismissed the appeals on 9 July 2026, as reported. In November 2025 the Appellate Division also restored the Thirteenth Amendment on review.
The text
What Article 7 says
7. (1) All powers in the Republic belong to the people, and their exercise on behalf of the people shall be effected only under, and by the authority of, this Constitution.
(2) This Constitution is, as the solemn expression of the will of the people, the supreme law of the Republic, and if any other law is inconsistent with this Constitution that other law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.
English text as published on the official Laws of Bangladesh website. Where a court has changed the position, the status note above explains it.
Landmark cases
How the courts have read it
Appellate Division · 1989
Anwar Hossain Chowdhury v Bangladesh (Eighth Amendment case)
41 DLR (AD) 165; 1989 BLD (Spl) 1
Relied on Article 7 and the Preamble to hold that the Constitution is supreme and that an amendment destroying its basic structure is void.
Appellate Division · 2010
Khondker Delwar Hossain v Bangladesh Italian Marble Works Ltd (Fifth Amendment case)
62 DLR (AD) 298
Declared the Fifth Amendment and martial law proclamations unlawful as contrary to the supremacy of the Constitution.
High Court Division · 2024
Fifteenth Amendment case (writ petitions of Badiul Alam Majumdar and others, and Md Mofazzal Hossain)
Declared void sections 20 and 21 of the Fifteenth Amendment (abolition of the caretaker system), the provision removing the referendum requirement from Article 142, and Articles 7A, 7B and 44(2), as inconsistent with the Constitution's basic structure; appeals dismissed on 9 July 2026, as reported.
Case summaries are short descriptions for orientation, not a substitute for the judgment.
Connected provisions
Related articles
Questions
Article 7: frequently asked questions
What is Article 7 of the Constitution of Bangladesh?
Article 7 says that all powers belong to the people and must be exercised only under the Constitution, and that the Constitution is the supreme law. Any other law inconsistent with it is void to the extent of the inconsistency.
Can the Supreme Court strike down a constitutional amendment?
Yes. Relying on Article 7 and the basic structure doctrine, the Supreme Court struck down the Eighth, Fifth and Sixteenth Amendments in whole or part, and in December 2024 the High Court Division declared parts of the Fifteenth Amendment void.
What happens to a law that conflicts with the Constitution?
Under Article 7(2) it is void to the extent of the conflict. Only the inconsistent part falls; the rest of the law can survive. A court must usually declare this in a case brought under Article 102.
Sources
- bdlaws: The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Article 7
- Ridwanul Hoque, Indian Journal of Constitutional Law, vol 10 (2021)
- The Daily Star Law and Our Rights: Fifth Amendment full judgment (1 August 2010)
- Prothom Alo English: Caretaker govt reinstated as some provisions scrapped (17 December 2024)
- Prothom Alo English: SC verdict upholds reinstatement of caretaker govt and referendum provisions (9 July 2026)
- The Financial Express: Apex court reinstates caretaker govt system, upholds 13th amendment (20 November 2025)
- Supreme Court of Bangladesh: 19 SCOB [2024] HCD 41 (citing Anwar Hossain Chowdhury v Bangladesh, 41 DLR (AD) 165)
This guide explains the Constitution for general understanding. It is not legal advice. Constitutional reform proposals under discussion in 2026 are described as proposals until enacted.
Constitutional and writ practice
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