The Antagonistic Style of Judicial Review in Bangladesh: A Good Candidate for the Dialogic Model?

 

The Antagonistic Style of 

Judicial Review in Bangladesh:

A Good Candidate for the Dialogic Model?

M Jashim Ali Chowdhury

Published in The Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law Vol 15 (3) (2021) 549-574 (Thomson Reuters, Canada)

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/356474932_The_Antagonistic_Style_of_Judicial_Review_in_Bangladesh_A_Good_Candidate_for_the_Dialogic_Model_Journal_of_Parliamentary_and_Political_Law_Vol_153_2021_549-574_Thomson_Reuters_Canada 

Abstract

The Dialogic Model of judicial review famously carved out of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 1982, and later endorsed by the UK Human Rights Act 1998, has inspired many judicial review — strong or weak — systems worldwide. This article argues that it has relevance for the ‘antagonistic” strong-form judicial review system of Bangladesh as well. Building upon how the Parliament and judiciary in Bangladesh (un)relate each other, this article argues that Dialogic Model could solve confusions in three particular areas of Bangladeshi judicial review: fundamental right based statute review, fundamental principles based collective rights review, and constitutional amendment review. It is shown that certain areas of judicial review in Bangladesh are subtly dialogic and hence could be potential breeding grounds for broader application of the Model. The Dialogic Model’s own internal dilemmas and objection to its over generalisations also are noted in this article and a case is made why those might not constitute a very big stumbling block on the way of its application in Bangladesh. This has been done through a special consideration of the comparative judicial review regimes of some of Bangladesh’s close commonwealth neighbours in southeast Asia.