Schedule 4 · Fourth Schedule Transition to the 1972 Constitution
Transitional and temporary provisions
It is the legal bridge that made the actions of 1971 and 1972 valid under the Constitution. The removal of martial law ratifications shows the courts' role in protecting constitutional government.
In force under Article 150(1), but largely spent. Paragraphs 3A, 6A, 6B and 18 to 23, including those that ratified martial law regimes, were omitted by the Fifteenth Amendment in 2011, after the Fifth and Seventh Amendment judgments.
On 16 December 1972, having framed the Constitution, the Constituent Assembly stood dissolved under paragraph 1. The new state now needed a Parliament, so paragraph 2 provided for the first general election as soon as possible, using existing electoral rolls.
Paragraph 3 ratified and confirmed all laws made, powers exercised and things done between 26 March 1971 and the Constitution's commencement under the Proclamation of Independence or any law, so the actions of the wartime and interim government were legally secure.
The President, Prime Minister, ministers, judges, the Chief Election Commissioner and public servants continued in office as if appointed under the Constitution, and took the new oaths. Courts, taxes and public property also carried over without interruption.
Later amendments added paragraphs ratifying the martial law periods of 1975 to 1979 and 1982 to 1986. After the Supreme Court declared the Fifth and Seventh Amendments void, the Fifteenth Amendment omitted those paragraphs in 2011.
In plain English
How Fourth Schedule works
The Fourth Schedule contains the transitional rules that moved Bangladesh from its provisional wartime arrangements to the new Constitution in December 1972. It dissolved the Constituent Assembly, arranged the first general election, ratified laws made and actions taken since 26 March 1971, and kept the President, Prime Minister, judges, Election Commission, public service commissions and public servants in office until replaced under the new rules. It also covered taxes, finance, property and adaptation of laws. Later governments added paragraphs to ratify martial law regimes, but those were removed after court judgments.
In practice
Most of the Fourth Schedule is spent, because its transitional arrangements were completed decades ago. Its continuing importance lies in paragraph 3, which ratifies the legal acts of 1971 and 1972, and in the history of the paragraphs added later. In the Seventh Amendment case the Appellate Division held that paragraph 19, which had ratified the martial law of 1982 to 1986, ceased to exist, and the Fifth Amendment case had invalidated the earlier martial law instruments. The Fifteenth Amendment then formally omitted paragraphs 3A, 6A, 6B and 18 to 23.
The text
What Fourth Schedule says
FOURTH SCHEDULE
[Article 150(1)]
1. Upon the commencement of this Constitution, the Constituent Assembly having discharged its responsibility of framing a Constitution for the Republic, shall stand dissolved.
2. (1) The first general election of members of Parliament shall be held as soon as possible after the commencement of this Constitution ...
3. (1) All laws made or purported to have been made in the period between the 26th day of March, 1971 and the commencement of this Constitution, all powers exercised and all things done during that period, under authority derived or purported to have been derived from the Proclamation of Independence or any law, are hereby ratified and confirmed and are declared to have been duly made, exercised and done according to law.
...
[* * *]
Key clauses shown. Omitted text is marked with an ellipsis; read the full text on the official site.
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 · 2010
Bangladesh Italian Marble Works Ltd v Government of Bangladesh (Fifth Amendment case)
The High Court Division declared the Constitution (Fifth Amendment) Act 1979 and the martial law instruments of 1975 to 1979 void, subject to condonations; the Appellate Division approved that finding in 2010.
Appellate Division · 2011
Seventh Amendment case (petition of Siddique Ahmed)
Upheld the 2010 High Court ruling that the Seventh Amendment and the martial law of 24 March 1982 to 10 November 1986 were void, and held that paragraph 19 of the Fourth Schedule ceased to exist.
Case summaries are short descriptions for orientation, not a substitute for the judgment.
History
Amendments
- Fifteenth Amendment 2011Substituted the heading reference to Article 150(1), substituted paragraph 12, and omitted paragraphs 3A, 6A, 6B and 18 to 23.
Connected provisions
Related articles
Questions
Fourth Schedule: frequently asked questions
What is the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution of Bangladesh?
It contains the transitional and temporary provisions given effect by Article 150(1). It dissolved the Constituent Assembly, arranged the first election, ratified laws and actions from 26 March 1971 onwards, and continued officeholders, courts and taxes into the new constitutional order.
Were martial law regimes ratified in the Fourth Schedule?
Paragraphs were added to ratify the martial law periods of 1975 to 1979 and 1982 to 1986. After the Fifth and Seventh Amendment judgments declared those regimes void, the Fifteenth Amendment of 2011 omitted the paragraphs concerned.
Sources
- Laws of Bangladesh: Schedules to the Constitution (PDF)
- Laws of Bangladesh: The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
- Supreme Court of Bangladesh: 19 SCOB [2024] HCD 41 (citing Anwar Hossain Chowdhury and the Fifth Amendment case)
- The Daily Star: Martial law stays illegal for good (Seventh Amendment full verdict)
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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