Second Constitution (Second Amendment) Act 1973
Its main provisions, Article 26(3), the substituted Article 33 and the emergency powers in Part IXA, remain in force. Later amendments in 1975, 1991 and 2011 changed the emergency provisions.
The 1972 Constitution had no emergency provisions and did not allow preventive detention. Fundamental rights in Part III could not be suspended, and Article 26 made any law inconsistent with them void.
On 22 September 1973 the First Parliament passed the Constitution (Second Amendment) Act 1973, Act XXIV of 1973. It changed several provisions on fundamental rights, Parliament and constitutional amendment.
Section 6 inserted Part IXA. Article 141A lets the President proclaim an emergency when security or economic life is threatened. Articles 141B and 141C free the state from Articles 36 to 40 and 42, and allow enforcement of fundamental rights to be suspended.
Section 3 substituted Article 33. The safeguards on arrest do not apply to enemy aliens or to people held under a preventive detention law, subject to an advisory board review. The Special Powers Act 1974 used this power.
Section 2 added clause (3) to Article 26, so that a constitutional amendment made under Article 142 cannot be voided for inconsistency with the fundamental rights. Clauses (2) and (3) of Article 63 were also omitted.
The emergency powers remain. The Twelfth Amendment of 1991 required the Prime Minister's prior countersignature on a Proclamation, and the Fifteenth Amendment of 2011 limited a Proclamation to one hundred and twenty days.
In plain English
Constitution (Second Amendment) Act 1973
The Second Amendment, passed on 22 September 1973, gave the state powers the 1972 Constitution had left out. It inserted Part IXA (Articles 141A to 141C), letting the President proclaim an emergency and suspend certain fundamental rights and their enforcement. It substituted Article 33 to allow preventive detention, and it added clause (3) to Article 26 so that constitutional amendments under Article 142 cannot be voided for conflict with fundamental rights. It also omitted clauses (2) and (3) of Article 63 and amended Articles 72 and 142.
Most of these provisions are still in force.
Background
The 1972 Constitution contained no emergency powers and no provision for preventive detention. Commentators link this to the framers' experience of repeated emergencies under Pakistani rule. Within a year of independence the government faced law and order problems and economic difficulty, and it sought wider powers. The First Parliament passed the Second Amendment in September 1973. The Special Powers Act 1974, a preventive detention law, followed on 9 February 1974.
What changed
What the Second Amendment changed, article by article
Article 26
Second Amendment(3) Nothing in this article shall apply to any amendment of this Constitution made under article 142.
Added by section 2.
Article 33
Second AmendmentThe original Article 33 on safeguards as to arrest and detention.
The present Article 33, under which the safeguards in clauses (1) and (2) do not apply to enemy aliens or to persons held under a law providing for preventive detention, with limits and advisory board review for such detention.
Substituted by section 3.
Article 63
Second AmendmentClauses (2) and (3) of Article 63.
Omitted by section 4. Article 63 now contains only clause (1) on the declaration of war.
Article 72
Second AmendmentAmended, as listed by Banglapedia. The exact wording of the change could not be checked against the Act text.
Not reflected in the bdlaws footnotes, as the Twelfth Amendment later substituted the provisos to clause (1).
Article 142
Second AmendmentAmended, as listed by Banglapedia. The exact wording of the change could not be checked against the Act text.
Article 142 was later substituted by the Fifteenth Amendment of 2011, so bdlaws footnotes do not record the 1973 change.
Article 141A
Second AmendmentProclamation of emergency: if the President is satisfied that a grave emergency exists in which the security or economic life of Bangladesh is threatened by war, external aggression or internal disturbance, he may issue a Proclamation of Emergency.
Part IXA inserted by section 6. Later amended by the Fourth (1975), Twelfth (1991) and Fifteenth (2011) Amendments.
Article 141B
Second AmendmentWhile a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation, nothing in Articles 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 and 42 restricts the State's power to make laws or take executive action.
Part of Part IXA, section 6.
Article 141C
Second AmendmentWhile a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation, the President may by order suspend the right to move any court for the enforcement of specified rights in Part III.
Part of Part IXA, section 6. The Twelfth Amendment added the requirement of the Prime Minister's written advice.
What happened next
What happened to the Second Amendment next
The Second Amendment has not been undone. Part IXA, Article 26(3) and the substituted Article 33 remain in the official text. Later amendments reshaped the emergency powers: the Fourth Amendment of 1975 omitted the original proviso to Article 141A, the Twelfth Amendment of 1991 required the Prime Minister's prior countersignature on a Proclamation and the Prime Minister's written advice for an order under Article 141C, and the Fifteenth Amendment of 2011 limited a Proclamation to one hundred and twenty days.
Emergencies have since been proclaimed under Article 141A on several occasions.
Timeline
- Second Amendment passed by Parliament
- Special Powers Act 1974 enacted
- Fourth Amendment omits the proviso to Article 141A
- Twelfth Amendment adds Prime Minister's countersignature
- Fifteenth Amendment limits emergencies to 120 days
Questions
Second Amendment: frequently asked questions
Did the original Constitution allow emergencies?
No. The 1972 Constitution had no emergency provisions. Part IXA, Articles 141A to 141C, was inserted by the Second Amendment in September 1973, allowing the President to proclaim an emergency and suspend certain fundamental rights and their enforcement.
What is Article 26(3)?
Article 26 makes laws inconsistent with fundamental rights void. Clause (3), added by the Second Amendment, says that nothing in Article 26 applies to an amendment of the Constitution made under Article 142. Courts have still reviewed amendments under the basic structure doctrine.
Did the Second Amendment introduce preventive detention?
Yes. It substituted Article 33 so that the safeguards on arrest do not apply to people held under a preventive detention law, subject to limits and review by an advisory board. The Special Powers Act 1974 was enacted under this provision.
Sources
- bdlaws: The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh (full text with footnotes)
- Banglapedia: Constitutional Amendments
- The Daily Star: 50 Years of Bangladesh Constitution in a nutshell
- bdlaws: Special Powers Act 1974 (Act XIV of 1974)
- The Daily Star: Emergency provisions in Bangladesh constitution (20 March 2025)
- The Daily Star: Victory Day special 2011, fundamental rights and 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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