Role of Delegated Legislation in the Parliamentary System of Bangladesh (1991-2001): A Quest for Its Dominance

Abstract

This study seeks to unveil the role of delegated legislation in the re-instigated parliamentary system of government from 1991 to 2001. While assessing Bangladesh's overall system of law and legislation, it has sought to investigate the formal and informal role of the actors like the executive along with bureaucracy and the Parliament in framing and shaping of delegated legislation in Bangladesh. The study has explored an obscure area of legislation originated from the authority of the law(s) and most often referred by the Constitution or executive policy, which ultimately controls and formulates the wide horizon of governance and everyday life of the people. It seeks to find out the causes and consequences of dysfunctional dilemma of Bangladesh's rebirth parliamentary democracy from 1991 to 2001. In specific, it has analyzed the dysfunctional role of the Fifth and Seventh Bangladesh Parliament, corresponding to delegation legislation. Although delegated legislation has been the focus of the study, it has pertinently made an inclusive comparison of primary and delegated legislation made within the study period with a view to explore the extent, authority and influence of delegated legislation over the whole processes of governance. The study has incorporated, compared and analyzed Statutory Rules and Orders (S.R.O.) as the genre of delegated legislation in Bangladesh. It has engrossed and examined altogether 495 pieces of primary laws (including Act, Ordinance, and PO) and 3466 pieces of available S.R.O.s made in between 1991 and 2001. 92 relevant primary laws made prior to 1991 has included in the study as well. It has further considered exclusive Gob documents, and specific primary references in applying the procedure of delegated legislation. The study has extensively and intensively reviewed the classics of delegated legislation including contemporary scholarly works. The study has employed primary and secondary sources of data. Finding its relevance, the study has included descriptive, critical and evaluative analysis. However, the study is primarily based on contents analyses. Although the study occupies multifarious features of Political Science, Law, Public Administration and Legislative Studies, it has concentrated on the Political Science approach. Having involved with the instruments and issues of law and legislative process the study partially employed the tools of legal studies as well. For being first of its kind in Bangladesh, the study has incorporated concerned matters in as much detail. The dissertation has seven chapters. The first chapter encloses introduction, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, review of relevant literature, justification of the study, scope and limitation of the study, methodology, and definition of key terms. The second chapter considers theories, polemics and problems concerning delegated legislation. While dealing with the origin, development and the nature of control, chapter 2 highlights on the practices and procedures of delegated legislation in UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India. The legal-constitutional basis, structure and procedure and the spheres and limits of control of delegated legislation in Bangladesh has been analyzed in chapter 3. The Chapter-4 includes a survey of legislation in Bangladesh from 1991 to 2001. While surveying the exact feature of primary and delegation legislation, the chapter has sought out the nature, sphere and the role of delegated legislation as well as legislative efficacy and authority of the Parliament. Chapter 5 measures the impact of delegated legislation over the institutions and values of democratization and democratic governance in Bangladesh. Chapter 6 aims at disclosing the reasons for Bangladesh's prevalent feature of delegated legislation. Congruently, the chapter assesses a futile effort of parliamentary control over delegated legislation in Bangladesh. The final Chapter 7 recapitulates summary of the study, puts forward preferences of reforms and locates the areas in which future researches may be carried on.