Eleventh Constitution (Eleventh Amendment) Act 1991
It validated a one-off transition in 1990 and 1991, and its effect has passed. The paragraph it added to the Fourth Schedule was omitted by the Fifteenth Amendment of 2011.
Mass protests in late 1990 led President Ershad to resign on 6 December 1990. The main opposition alliances had agreed that a neutral figure should lead the country to an election, rather than any party or the outgoing government.
Chief Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed was appointed Vice-President and, on the President's resignation, became acting President. He led a non-party interim government while remaining, in principle, the holder of the office of Chief Justice. The Constitution had no provision for this.
The interim government held a general election on 27 February 1991. The Fifth Parliament, elected that day, then had to decide how to give legal cover to the unusual arrangement and to the acts of the interim government.
As reported, the Eleventh Amendment, passed on 6 August 1991, added paragraph 21 to the Fourth Schedule. It ratified his appointment and acts, and let him return to the bench as Chief Justice once his term as acting President ended.
He held office as acting President until a President elected by Parliament took office in October 1991, and then returned as Chief Justice. His acting service counted as service as Chief Justice for leave, pension and similar purposes.
In plain English
Constitution (Eleventh Amendment) Act 1991
The Eleventh Amendment added paragraph 21 to the Fourth Schedule. As reported, it ratified and confirmed the appointment of Chief Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed as Vice-President after President Hussain Muhammad Ershad resigned in December 1990, validated the acts he performed as acting President, and allowed him to return to his office as Chief Justice. It also provided that his period as acting President would count as service as Chief Justice for leave, pension and similar purposes.
It matters because it gave constitutional cover to the neutral interim arrangement under which the February 1991 election was held, which later informed the caretaker model.
Background
Mass protests against President Ershad's government grew through late 1990. On 6 December 1990 Ershad resigned. Under an arrangement agreed by the main opposition alliances, Chief Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed was first appointed Vice-President and, on the President's resignation, became acting President, heading a non-party interim government. The Constitution did not provide for a sitting Chief Justice to take these offices and later return to the bench. A general election was held on 27 February 1991.
The new Fifth Parliament then passed the Eleventh Amendment, alongside the Twelfth, to regularise the arrangement.
What changed
What the Eleventh Amendment changed, article by article
Fourth Schedule
Eleventh AmendmentParagraph 21, as reported: ratified and confirmed the appointment of Chief Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed as Vice-President and his acts as acting President, provided for his return to the office of Chief Justice, and counted his acting service as service as Chief Justice.
Paragraphs 18 to 23 of the Fourth Schedule were omitted by the Fifteenth Amendment of 2011, according to the bdlaws footnote.
What happened next
What happened to the Eleventh Amendment next
The Eleventh Amendment was not struck down. Its purpose was spent once Shahabuddin Ahmed handed over the presidency in October 1991 and returned to the Supreme Court as Chief Justice. Paragraphs 18 to 23 of the Fourth Schedule, which included paragraph 21, were omitted by the Fifteenth Amendment of 2011. The interim arrangement of 1990 and 1991 was later cited as a model for the non-party caretaker government introduced by the Thirteenth Amendment in 1996.
Timeline
- President Ershad resigns and Chief Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed becomes acting President
- General election to the Fifth Parliament
- Eleventh Amendment passed by Parliament, as reported
- New President takes office and Shahabuddin Ahmed returns as Chief Justice
- Fifteenth Amendment omits paragraphs 18 to 23 of the Fourth Schedule
Questions
Eleventh Amendment: frequently asked questions
Why was the Eleventh Amendment needed?
A sitting Chief Justice had become Vice-President and then acting President in December 1990, an arrangement the Constitution did not provide for. The amendment ratified his appointment and acts and allowed him to return to the Supreme Court as Chief Justice without any break in his service.
Is paragraph 21 still in the Constitution?
No. The Fifteenth Amendment of 2011 omitted paragraphs 18 to 23 of the Fourth Schedule, according to the official footnote. The transition it validated had been completed long before, so the omission had no practical effect.
Sources
- Laws of Bangladesh (bdlaws): Constitution, Schedules (footnote on paragraphs 18 to 23)
- Banglapedia: Constitutional Amendments
- The Daily Star Law and Our Rights (3 April 2004): summary of constitutional amendments
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.
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