MD ABBAS

Following demands from several parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami, National Citizen Party, and Islami Andolan Bangladesh, the National Consensus Commission is considering a proposal to make the July National Charter a legally binding document.

The commission is likely to urge political parties to pledge to enact an ordinance with special constitutional provisions, giving the charter the highest legal authority with precedence over all other laws and court rulings.

According to pledges for the parties in the latest draft of the July National Charter 2025, parties are likely to be asked to commit to ensuring full legal and constitutional protection at every stage of implementing it. If any word, sentence, or policy of the charter conflicts with the constitution or other laws, the charter would prevail.

The commission will also seek a pledge from the parties to give constitutional and state recognition to the uninterrupted struggle for democracy, human rights, and justice, and to the historical significance of the 2024 anti-discrimination democratic movement and mass uprising.

Prof Ali Riaz, vice-president of the commission, told The Daily Star yesterday that they hope to send the draft to the political parties today or tomorrow. “Our work on the draft is at the final stage,” he said.

Asked whether the document will be legally binding, he said the commission was holding discussions with legal experts on the matter.

Prof Riaz yesterday briefed Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on the overall progress of the July Charter. Asked when the commission would hold its third-phase meetings with political parties on the implementation and legal basis of the charter, he said no decision has yet been made.

The pledges to be sought from the parties also include ensuring constitutional recognition of the July uprising, justice for those killed during the uprising, granting state honours to the martyrs, and arranging treatment and rehabilitation for the injured.

“Any recommendations in this charter deemed immediately implementable will be carried out by the government and relevant authorities without delay and with effective measures before the next national parliamentary election,” one of the pledges in the draft states.

On Sunday and Tuesday, the commission held talks with constitutional and legal experts and, according to sources, prepared a nine-point pledge for implementing the charter.

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