Key legislative reforms of 2025 in Bangladesh

Bangladesh experienced major changes to its legal framework through ordinances in 2025. In total, the President promulgated 78 ordinances (at the time of writing this piece) across a wide range of areas. Most of them came into being as part of the ongoing reform process. Some of the most notable ones are discussed in this piece.

The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment and Second Amendment) Ordinance 2025

The long-awaited amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, introduces several important reforms. A key change is the revision of the power of magistrates under section 32, empowering first-class, second-class, and third-class magistrates to impose fines of up to BDT 5 lakh, BDT 3 lakh, and BDT 2 lakh, respectively. The amendment further inserts sections 46A-46E to strengthen safeguards for the arrested persons. Those provisions require disclosure of police identity, preparation of a memorandum of arrest, mandatory recording and digital display of arrest information in the General Diary (GD), access to a lawyer preferably within twelve hours of arrest, and the provision of necessary medical treatment where the arrestee is ill or injured.

The power of arrest without a warrant under section 54 has also been tightened. Newly inserted section 67A concerns accountability of the arresting authorities in cases of non-compliance or negligence. Additionally, section 167(2A) introduced that the physical condition of the accused may be examined both before and after police custody. To ensure effective supervision, senior police officials may call for an interim investigation report before submission of the final report under Section 173A.

Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance 2025

The Code of Civil Procedure 1908 has been amended to make it up to date. Compensation for false claims or defence has been raised to BDT 50,000 to prevent unnecessary harassment. To reduce procedural delays, Order V now recognises electronic modes of service of summons, including by Short Message Service (SMS), voice calls, and instant messaging services. Accordingly, the plaint must now include the mobile numbers, National Identity Numbers, and email addresses of both the plaintiff and the defendant. Further reforms to expedite proceedings include limiting adjournments before peremptory hearings (Order XVII), allowing up to ten suits per day (previously five), and increasing the total suits at the peremptory stage from 100 to 200 (Order XVIII, Rule 20). Additionally, Order XXI, Rule 104 allows a decree-holder to apply for execution of the decree within the same suit, eliminating the need to file a separate execution case and thereby reducing procedural complexity.

Women and Children Repression Prevention (Amendment) Ordinance 2025

Notable changes to this Act include the redefinition of rape to recognise that perpetrators of any gender may be held criminally liable, replacing the earlier definition, which presumed the perpetrator to be only male. The inclusion of the term "Balatkar" now recognises as rape any forced sexual act committed by any person involving the mouth or anus of a male child (sections 2(gg) and 9(2)). However, this protection is limited to boys under the age of sixteen, leaving men above this age unprotected from non-consensual sexual acts. Additionally, fines for certain offences have been increased and a separate Tribunal for Child Rape Offences have been introduced.

International Crimes (Tribunals) (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, followed by Second and Third Amendments

The International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973 underwent significant amendments in 2025 through three successive ordinances aimed at modernising the trial process and establishing better public accountability. This reform was first initiated by Ordinance No. 04, i.e., The International Crimes (Tribunals) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025. Sections 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, and 19 were amended. Specifically, these amendments clarified the process for initiating proceedings, enhanced judicial powers, and importantly, amended section 19 to modernise evidentiary rules by allowing non-technical procedures. The second amendment inserted a new clause under section 2 to define "organisation" broadly to include political parties and their affiliates, and inserted a new section 20B titled "Punishments, etc. for organisation," empowering the Tribunal to suspend, ban, or confiscate the property of organisations found involved in crimes. The harshest amendment came through the Third Amendment, which introduced a new section 20C. Going against the general norm that disqualification occurs only after conviction, this particular amendment states that an accused shall lose their eligibility and be disqualified from being elected or serving as a Member of Parliament as soon as a formal charge has been submitted against them under section 9(1). This provision also bars an accused from holding any key position within the service of the Republic. This amendment implied that these disqualifications will be effective throughout the entire trial and shall only cease if the accused is formally discharged or acquitted by the Tribunal.

Cyber Protection Ordinance 2025

This Ordinance was introduced to replace the harsh Cyber Security Act 2023 (CSA). Even though the new Ordinance removed the contentious section 42 of the CSA (arrest without warrant); arguably, section 35 of the new Ordinance serves the same purpose with a safeguard clause as per article 33 of the Constitution. Additionally, the Ordinance retains punishment for technical crimes under sections 17-20, namely hacking, identity theft, and cyber-terrorism. Finally, offences committed under this new legislation have been made mostly bailable, thereby aiming to mitigate practices of indeterminate pre-trial detention that characterised the predecessor legislation.

Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Ordinance 2025

The Ordinance made some essential changes to the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 and is mainly intended to meet the EU roadmap and ILO convention requirements. The most important change is under section 179, which lowers the percentage requirement needed to establish a trade union for all factories, irrespective of their size. Lastly, this Ordinance has increased the imposed penalty for "unfair labour practices" under sections 294-295.

The writers are Official Contributors to Law & Our Rights, The Daily Star.