How to Pass a Law in Bangladesh: Drafting, Enactment and the 2026 Legislative Process

How to pass a law in Bangladesh: the 2026 legislative process

Knowing how to pass a law in Bangladesh is no longer an academic exercise. Between August 2024 and February 2026 the country was governed largely by ordinance, and in March and April 2026 the newly elected 13th Parliament had thirty days to decide which of 133 interim-government ordinances would survive as Acts. Businesses that relied on those ordinances, and businesses that want the next round of laws to work for them, need to understand where law actually comes from: the Constitution, the Rules of Procedure of Parliament, the drafting machinery inside government and the gazette that brings an Act into force.

This guide follows a law from idea to commencement. It covers Article 80 and the President's fifteen-day assent window, money bills under Articles 81 and 82, ordinances under Article 93 and how they lapse, the stages of a bill under the Rules of Procedure, the role of standing committees and private members, drafting and vetting by the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division, gazette publication and commencement, the 2026 treatment of the interim ordinances, the status of the proposed upper house as at October 2026, and the practical routes by which companies and business associations can influence legislation.

Summary: In Bangladesh, every law made by Parliament starts as a Bill under Article 80 of the Constitution. A government Bill is drafted by the sponsoring ministry, approved by the Cabinet, vetted by the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division, introduced in Parliament on notice, usually examined by a standing committee, passed by a majority of members present and voting, and assented to by the President within fifteen days. It then takes effect on publication in the Gazette or on the date the Act or a notification fixes. Ordinances under Article 93 are temporary and lapse unless Parliament acts on them.

Key point: Of the 133 ordinances made between 2024 and 2026, Parliament validated 113 through 87 bills, repealed seven and let 13 lapse when the thirty-day window under Article 93 closed on 10 April 2026. Before relying on any interim-era measure, check whether its ordinance was re-enacted, amended, repealed or simply allowed to expire.

At a glance

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Table of Contents

The constitutional foundations of law-making

Any answer to the question of how to pass a law in Bangladesh begins with Part V of the Constitution. Article 65(1) vests the legislative powers of the Republic in Parliament, the Jatiya Sangsad or House of the Nation, subject to the Constitution. Parliament may, by Act, delegate to other persons or authorities the power to make orders, rules, regulations, by-laws and other instruments with legislative effect, but the primary power stays with the House. Article 65 provides for three hundred directly elected members and, under clause (3), fifty seats reserved for women.[1]

Article 80 sets out the legislative procedure in five short clauses. Every proposal for making a law must be introduced as a Bill; a Bill passed by Parliament is presented to the President for assent; the President has fifteen days to assent or, for a Bill other than a Money Bill, to return it with a message; a returned Bill that Parliament passes again must be assented to within seven days; and a Bill becomes an Act of Parliament once assent is given or deemed to be given.[1]

The limits on what Parliament can enact

Parliament is supreme in law-making but not unlimited. The Constitution declares itself the supreme law, Parliament cannot legislate inconsistently with the fundamental rights in Part III, and Article 83 forbids any tax except by or under an Act of Parliament.[1] An Act that crosses these lines can be challenged in the High Court Division. Our guides to constitutional law in Bangladesh and judicial review in Bangladesh explain how the courts test legislation; this guide concentrates on the process of making it.

Who can start a law

Almost every Act starts as a government Bill sponsored by a ministry. Private members can also introduce Bills, though few become law, and the President can legislate by ordinance when Parliament is not sitting. Knowing which route is in play is the first step in deciding how and when to intervene.

Stage one: drafting and vetting inside government

Most of the work of turning policy into law happens before Parliament sees a word of it. The sponsoring ministry identifies the problem, consults the departments and agencies affected, and prepares a draft Bill with a summary for the Cabinet. For anyone working out how to pass a law in Bangladesh, or how to change one, this is the stage at which influence is cheapest and most effective, because the structure of the law, its definitions and its delegated powers are still open.

Cabinet approval in principle and final approval

The Cabinet usually considers a draft twice: first for approval in principle of the policy and text, then for final approval after legal vetting. The two stages can be combined. On 24 August 2026, for example, the Cabinet gave both in-principle and final approval to the draft Armed Police Battalions Act 2026 at a single meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.[5] Final approval is often expressed to be subject to vetting, as on 3 August 2026 when the Cabinet approved the draft Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Act 2026 subject to vetting by the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division.[4]

The Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division

The Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs is the government's drafting and vetting office, and Cabinet approvals are routinely made subject to its vetting.[4] In practice its lawyers test a draft for consistency with the Constitution and existing statutes, tighten definitions, settle the repeal and savings provisions and frame the rule-making powers. That vetting is the last technical filter before a Bill goes to the Parliament Secretariat, which is why a ministry's consultation draft and the Bill eventually introduced can differ materially in wording.

Language and form

Modern Acts are drafted and passed in Bangla, and older English-language laws are steadily being replaced by Bangla Acts; the draft Armed Police Battalions Act 2026, which would replace a 1979 ordinance, is to be written in Bangla.[5] Where an Act authorises an authentic English text, the Bangla text generally prevails in any conflict, so English translations circulated during consultations should be treated as convenience versions only.

Public consultation on drafts

There is no general statute in Bangladesh requiring every draft Bill to be published for comment, but ministries increasingly post drafts on their websites before Cabinet approval. The Home Ministry did so with the draft Armed Police Battalions Act 2026, inviting public opinion before the Cabinet considered it.[5] Consultation windows vary widely and can be very short, so anyone with an interest in a sector should monitor the websites of the ministries and regulators that govern it rather than wait for an announcement.

How to pass a law in Bangladesh through Parliament: the Rules of Procedure

Once a Bill reaches the Jatiya Sangsad, its progress is governed by the Rules of Procedure of Parliament, made under Article 75 of the Constitution.[1] The Rules do not use the Westminster labels of first, second and third reading, but the three stages are recognisable: introduction, consideration of principles and committee scrutiny, then clause-by-clause consideration and passing.[2]

Notice and introduction

For a government Bill, the minister gives the Secretary of Parliament seven days' written notice of the motion for leave to introduce, with copies of the Bill, a statement of objects and reasons and, where needed, a certificate that the President's recommendation has been obtained. The Speaker may shorten the notice for sufficient reasons. The motion is listed on a day allotted to government business; if it is opposed, the Speaker may allow brief statements before putting the question, and once leave is granted the Bill stands introduced.[2] The Secretary then publishes the Bill in the Gazette, with its statement of objects and reasons and any financial memorandum, as soon as practicable.[2]

Motions after introduction

After introduction, the member in charge may move that the Bill be taken into consideration at once or on a later day, that it be referred to a standing committee, that it be referred to a select committee, or that it be circulated for the purpose of eliciting opinion. Copies must normally be available to members for three days before any of these motions, unless the Speaker suspends the requirement. Debate at this stage is confined to the principles of the Bill.[2] The choice of motion matters: circulation for opinion is the only route on which the House itself formally invites the public to comment.

Standing committee scrutiny

Article 76 allows Parliament to appoint standing committees that may examine draft Bills and other legislative proposals, review the enforcement of laws and investigate the activities of a ministry; Parliament may by law give them powers to summon witnesses and require documents.[1] Each ministry has a parallel standing committee under the Rules. In practice, a Bill is usually referred to the relevant standing committee with a deadline for its report, and the committee may propose amendments. After the report, the member in charge may move that the Bill as reported be taken into consideration, recommitted or recirculated.[2]

Clause-by-clause consideration and passing

Members must give three clear days' notice of amendments, again subject to the Speaker's power to waive it, and amendments must satisfy conditions of relevance and form. The Speaker puts the Bill clause by clause and schedule by schedule, with the first clause, the enacting formula, the preamble and the title taken last. The member in charge then moves that the Bill be passed; if amendments were made, any member may object to that motion being taken on the same day. Questions are decided by a majority of members present and voting, subject to the quorum rule.[2]

When the procedure is compressed

The Rules give the Speaker wide powers to suspend notice periods, and governments sometimes rely on them. The Invest Bangladesh Bill 2026, approved by the Cabinet on 9 July 2026, was introduced and passed by voice vote on 15 July 2026 without referral to a standing committee. Opposition members objected that they had not received the documents within the notice period, and the minister responded that the procedural requirements had been waived and undertook to consider justified amendments in a future session.[11] For businesses, the lesson is that a Bill can move from Cabinet to statute book in days, so engagement must happen earlier. Our note on the Invest Bangladesh Act 2026 covers its substance.

Private members' bills

A private member who wishes to introduce a Bill must give fifteen days' written notice with copies of the Bill and a statement of objects and reasons, and a financial memorandum if the Bill involves expenditure. If the Constitution requires the President's recommendation, the notice is not valid until that recommendation has been obtained through the minister concerned. Thursday is the default day for private members' business, and the order in which private members' Bills are taken is decided by ballot.[2]

The track record is thin. Only nine private members' Bills have been passed since independence, eight of them moved by members of the ruling party or coalition, and the best known is the Bengali Language Introduction Act 1987. In the 13th Parliament, the Standing Committee on Private Members' Bills and Resolutions was formed on the opening day of the first session, which ran from 12 March to 30 April 2026, and recommended that the Parliament Secretariat's Legislative Drafting Unit continue helping members to draft Bills.[10] A private member's Bill is therefore better seen as a way of putting an issue on the record and prompting government action than as a reliable answer to how to pass a law in Bangladesh.

Money bills, taxation and the budget

Article 81 defines a Money Bill as one containing only provisions dealing with matters such as the imposition, alteration or remission of taxes, government borrowing and guarantees, the Consolidated Fund and the Public Account, charges on the Consolidated Fund, the audit of government accounts and incidental matters. A Bill is not a Money Bill merely because it imposes fines, fees for licences or services, or local taxes. When a Money Bill is presented for assent it carries the Speaker's certificate that it is a Money Bill, and that certificate is conclusive and cannot be questioned in any court.[1]

Article 82 adds a gateway: no Money Bill, and no Bill involving expenditure from public money, may be introduced except on the President's recommendation, although an amendment reducing or abolishing a tax does not need one.[1] The President cannot return a Money Bill under Article 80(3), so once passed it must receive assent.[1] Each year's Finance Bill, which carries the tax changes announced in the budget, follows this route alongside the Appropriation Bill, and business lobbying on tax measures is concentrated in the weeks between the budget speech and the Finance Bill's passage.

The budget itself is constitutionally tied to Parliament through the annual financial statement under Article 87 and the related provisions on supplementary grants. When Parliament stood dissolved in 2025, the interim government could not place the budget before it, and instead issued the Specification Ordinance 2025 and the Specification (Supplementary) Ordinance 2025 under Article 93. On 17 March 2026 the new Cabinet approved converting both into law.[9]

Presidential assent within fifteen days

Assent is the constitutional end point of how to pass a law in Bangladesh through Parliament. After passage, the Speaker signs the Bill in triplicate and presents it to the President for assent; in urgent cases when the Speaker is absent from Dhaka, the Secretary may authenticate it.[2] Article 80(3) then gives the President fifteen days to assent or, for a Bill other than a Money Bill, to return it with a message asking Parliament to reconsider the Bill or particular provisions, or to consider specified amendments. If the President does neither, he is deemed to have assented when the fifteen days expire.[1]

A returned Bill goes back to Parliament with the President's message. If Parliament passes it again, with or without amendments, it is presented once more, and the President must assent within seven days, failing which assent is deemed given.[1] The power to return is a suspensive veto rather than a block. It is used rarely: in November 2023 President Mohammed Shahabuddin returned the Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Bill 2023 under Article 80(3), citing a provision that raised penalties for illegal strikes by workers but not for illegal lockouts by employers, and reports noted an earlier return in 1998.[14]

Gazette publication and commencement

The last formal step in how to pass a law in Bangladesh is publication. Once assent is given or deemed, the Secretary of Parliament publishes the Act in the official Gazette.[2] Publication matters because of the default commencement rule in section 5 of the General Clauses Act 1897: where an Act of Parliament is not expressed to come into operation on a particular day, it comes into operation on the day on which the assent is first published in the official Gazette, and it is treated as taking effect immediately on the expiry of the preceding day.[3]

Three common commencement models

• Immediate: the Act says it comes into force at once, or says nothing, so it starts on gazette publication of the assent.
• By notification: the Act provides that it, or particular sections, will come into force on a date the government appoints by notification in the Gazette. Parts of an Act can sit on the statute book for months before they bite.
• Retrospective: the Act is deemed to have come into force on an earlier date. This is common when an Act replaces an ordinance, so that there is no gap in the law. The Commercial Courts Act 2026, Act No. 23 of 2026, is a recent example.

Repeal, savings and continuity

Where a new Act repeals an old one, section 6 of the General Clauses Act preserves, unless a different intention appears, the previous operation of the repealed law, rights and liabilities already accrued, penalties for past offences and pending proceedings. Section 24 keeps rules, notifications and orders made under a repealed law in force, so far as consistent, where the law is repealed and re-enacted, until they are superseded.[3] Most modern Acts also carry their own repeal and savings section. The draft Armed Police Battalions Act 2026, for instance, repeals the 1979 ordinance while preserving actions and proceedings taken under it.[5] Always read that section before assuming that an existing licence, registration or proceeding is unaffected.

Ordinances under Article 93

The ordinance is the exception to the ordinary rules on how to pass a law in Bangladesh. Article 93(1) allows the President to make and promulgate an ordinance when Parliament stands dissolved or is not in session, if satisfied that circumstances exist that render immediate action necessary. From promulgation, the ordinance has the same force as an Act of Parliament. It cannot, however, make any provision that Parliament could not validly enact, cannot alter or repeal any provision of the Constitution, and cannot continue in force any provision of an earlier ordinance.[1]

Article 93(2) is the safeguard. An ordinance must be laid before Parliament at its first meeting after promulgation and ceases to have effect thirty days after being laid, unless it is repealed earlier or Parliament passes a resolution disapproving it, in which case it ends on that resolution.[1] Article 93(3) and (4) add a special power, available only while Parliament stands dissolved, to authorise expenditure from the Consolidated Fund by ordinance, subject to the budget procedure being completed within thirty days of Parliament's reconstitution.[1]

What happens when an ordinance lapses

An ordinance that is not replaced by an Act within the thirty-day window simply ceases to have effect. Article 93 contains no savings clause of its own, and the treatment of things done under a lapsed ordinance is less straightforward than the treatment of a repealed Act, because section 6 of the General Clauses Act is framed in terms of repeal.[1] [3] Where a business obtained a licence, approval or exemption under an ordinance that later lapsed, the position should be analysed specifically, and any replacement Bill checked for a validation clause.

The 2024 to 2026 transition: how the 13th Parliament dealt with interim ordinances

The period from August 2024 to February 2026, when Parliament stood dissolved and an interim government held office, produced an exceptional volume of ordinances. Understanding how to pass a law in Bangladesh in 2026 requires understanding how that backlog was cleared.

The scale of the backlog

On 12 March 2026, at the first sitting of the 13th Parliament, the Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Md Asaduzzaman, laid 133 ordinances made during the interim period: 17 in 2024, 80 in 2025 and 36 in 2026 up to February. The July National Charter (Constitution Reform) Implementation Order 2025 was not laid, a Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division official indicating that it was not an ordinance requiring it.[6] The general election and the referendum had been held on 12 February 2026.[7]

The special committee and the thirty-day race

A special parliamentary committee reviewed the ordinances and recommended that 98 be passed unchanged, 15 with amendments, four repealed and 16 strengthened through new legislation. Parliament then passed 91 bills over six consecutive sitting days ending on 10 April 2026, the last day of the window. In total, 87 bills validated 113 ordinances, some bills consolidating several ordinances, and four repeal bills nullified seven, including those on the Supreme Court Secretariat, the appointment of Supreme Court judges, the parliamentary secretariat and reform of the National Human Rights Commission.[7] Our analysis of the Supreme Judicial Appointment Council explains the repealed appointments model.

What lapsed

Thirteen ordinances were never put to a vote and lapsed. They included the Referendum Ordinance, the Police Commission Ordinance, two ordinances on the prevention of and remedy for enforced disappearance, the Anti-Corruption Commission amendment, the Microfinance Bank ordinance, the Right to Information amendment, ordinances on customs, income tax, civil aviation and travel agencies, and two ordinances on revenue policy and revenue management.[7] The government departed from the committee's recommendations in several cases, and the final day was marked by an opposition walkout over amendments to one of the validating bills.[7]

Reintroduction of lapsed measures

After the deadline, ministers said the lapsed measures would be scrutinised further and brought back as new Bills after stakeholder consultation, with the Police Commission to return in revised form and no future referendum to be held under the lapsed Referendum Ordinance.[8] Reintroduction means starting the full process again: on 3 August 2026, for example, the Cabinet gave final approval to a new draft Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Act 2026, subject to vetting.[4] Until a replacement Act is passed, the pre-ordinance law applies.

What this means for businesses

The practical consequence is that the legal basis of every interim-era reform must be checked individually. A provision introduced by an ordinance may now sit in an Act, in amended form, in a repealed ordinance whose old law has revived, or in a lapsed ordinance with no successor yet. Tax and customs measures deserve particular care, because some ordinances in those fields lapsed while the annual Finance Act made its own changes. When in doubt, read the 2026 validating Act alongside the original ordinance and the law it amended.

Constitutional amendment and the proposed upper house

Amending the Constitution follows a distinct route under Article 142. An amendment Bill may not proceed unless its long title expressly states that it will amend a provision of the Constitution; it must be passed by the votes of at least two-thirds of the total number of members; and the President then has seven days, not fifteen, to assent before assent is deemed given.[1] The official online text does not show a referendum requirement, but the referendum provision removed by the Fifteenth Amendment has been restored by the Supreme Court's verdict, as our constitutional law guide explains in detail.[12]

The July National Charter, put to voters at the February 2026 referendum, proposes among other reforms a bicameral Parliament with an upper house. As at October 2026 that upper house does not exist.

A special parliamentary committee on constitutional amendment, chaired by the Home Minister, Salahuddin Ahmed, aims to report to Parliament in December 2026, after which the Ministry of Law would prepare an amendment Bill, expected in the first session of January 2027. Changes to the Preamble, Article 142 and the caretaker provisions would need a referendum before the President's assent.[12] At its seventh meeting, on 13 October 2026, the committee discussed an upper house suited to Bangladesh's state structure and how to represent different classes and professional groups in it, and invited further written proposals within two weeks.[13]

The process remains politically contested, with opposition parties arguing for a different implementation route. If a second chamber is created, the stages of how to pass a law in Bangladesh described in this guide will change, so any long-term regulatory strategy should allow for an additional review stage from 2027 onwards.

Delegated legislation: rules, regulations and notifications

For many businesses, the law that matters most is not the Act but the rules, regulations and notifications made under it. Article 65(1) allows Parliament to delegate this power by Act.[1] Subordinate legislation is usually drafted by the ministry or regulator, vetted by the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division and published in the Gazette as a statutory regulatory order.

Where a parent Act requires rules to be made after previous publication, section 23 of the General Clauses Act requires the draft to be published for persons likely to be affected, with a date after which it will be considered, and any objections or suggestions received before that date must be considered. Gazette publication of the final rule is conclusive proof that it was duly made.[3] This is one of the few statutory consultation rights in Bangladeshi law-making, and businesses should use it whenever the parent Act triggers it. A rule that exceeds the parent Act, or that is made without required prior publication, may be open to challenge by writ petition.

Who does what in the law-making process

A recurring practical question is which institution to approach at each stage. The answer depends on how far the Bill has travelled.

How businesses can engage in law reform

Effective engagement follows the legislative timetable rather than reacting to it. The sequence below reflects how we advise companies, chambers and investors on how to pass a law in Bangladesh that works in practice, or on how to improve one that is already moving.

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Consultations and written submissions

When a ministry posts a draft, respond within the window, in Bangla or with a Bangla summary, and propose specific drafting changes rather than general objections. Submissions that identify a conflict with an existing law, a missing transitional provision or an unworkable deadline are the ones drafters act on. Where a business association is also responding, align the positions so the ministry sees a consistent industry view.

Standing committee engagement

Once a Bill is referred to a standing committee, the committee can examine it and recommend amendments before the House considers it.[1] [2] Committees generally deliberate in private, so engagement is usually through written memoranda to the committee via the Parliament Secretariat, briefings to the chair and members, and invitations to appear where the committee chooses to hear stakeholders. A short memorandum with a marked-up text of the clauses in issue is far more useful than a long position paper.

Rules and implementing measures

Many Acts leave crucial details to rules. Track whether the Act requires prior publication of draft rules, and if it does, file objections within the stated period under section 23 of the General Clauses Act.[3] Where an Act commences by notification, engage with the ministry on the timing and sequencing of commencement as well as the content of the rules.

What to avoid

• Arriving after Cabinet approval: by then the policy is settled and changes require reopening a decision the government has announced.
• Relying on an English draft: the Bangla text is the one that is enacted and, in any conflict, generally prevails.
• Assuming committee referral: notice periods can be waived and Bills passed the day they are introduced.[11]
• Ignoring commencement: a passed Act may not yet be in force, and a lapsed ordinance may have revived an older law.
• Partisan positioning: legislative engagement is most effective when it is technical, evidence-based and addressed to government and opposition members alike.

How to pass a law in Bangladesh: comparing the routes

The table below compares the main legislative routes. On a phone, scroll it sideways.

For a regulated business, the right question is rarely whether a law exists but which instrument contains the rule, whether that instrument is in force, and when it can next be changed. Our constitutional and writ litigation practice advises on both the validity of laws and engagement with the legislative process.

What to watch in late 2026 and 2027

Four developments will shape law-making over the next year. First, the lapsed interim-era measures, including the enforced disappearance, anti-corruption, right to information and revenue ordinances, are returning as new Bills, each of which will need to pass the full process.[8] Second, the constitutional amendment Bill expected in January 2027 may change the structure of Parliament itself and add a referendum step for certain amendments.[12] Third, the use of procedural waivers for significant economic legislation will remain under scrutiny after the Invest Bangladesh Act.[11] Fourth, the completion of the standing committee system in the 13th Parliament will determine how much real scrutiny Bills receive.

If a draft law, ordinance or rule affects your business, the earliest decisions carry the most weight: who to approach, what to ask for and when. To discuss a legislative or regulatory matter, contact TRW.

Frequently asked questions

What are the steps in how to pass a law in Bangladesh?

A Bill is drafted by the sponsoring ministry, approved by the Cabinet, vetted by the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division and introduced in Parliament. After committee scrutiny and clause-by-clause consideration, it is passed by a majority of members present and voting and sent to the President for assent, then published in the Gazette.[1] [2]

How long does the President have to assent to a Bill?

Fifteen days under Article 80(3). If the President neither assents nor returns the Bill in that time, assent is deemed given. A returned Bill passed again must be assented to within seven days.[1]

Can the President reject a Money Bill?

No. The power to return a Bill for reconsideration under Article 80(3) does not apply to Money Bills, and the Speaker's certificate that a Bill is a Money Bill is conclusive.[1]

When does an Act come into force in Bangladesh?

On the date the Act specifies or a notification appoints. If it states no date, it comes into operation on the day the assent is first published in the official Gazette under section 5 of the General Clauses Act 1897.[3]

How long does an ordinance last?

An ordinance must be laid before Parliament at its first meeting and ceases to have effect thirty days later, unless repealed earlier or disapproved by resolution.[1]

What happened to the interim government's ordinances?

Of the 133 ordinances laid on 12 March 2026, 113 were validated through 87 bills, seven were repealed and 13 lapsed when the window closed on 10 April 2026.[6] [7]

Can an ordinary MP introduce a Bill?

Yes, on fifteen days' notice under the Rules of Procedure, and with the President's recommendation where the Constitution requires it. Only nine private members' Bills have been passed since independence.[2] [10]

Must every Bill go to a standing committee?

No. Referral is one of several motions available after introduction, and the House may proceed directly to consideration. The Invest Bangladesh Bill 2026 was passed on the day it was introduced without committee referral.[2] [11]

Does Bangladesh have an upper house of Parliament?

Not as at October 2026. An upper house is among the July Charter proposals, and a special parliamentary committee is preparing amendment proposals, with a Bill expected in January 2027.[12] [13]

How can a business comment on a draft law?

By responding to drafts posted on ministry websites, submitting memoranda to the relevant standing committee once a Bill is referred, and filing objections to draft rules published under section 23 of the General Clauses Act.[3] [5]