A parliamentary special committee has recommended the full approval of 98 ordinances and the partial revision of 15 others out of a total of 133 ordinances issued by the interim government, while withholding immediate approval for 20 key ordinances, including the proposed referendum legislation.
The report was formally presented on Thursday (2 April) in Parliament by the chair of the special committee, Jaynul Abedin (Barishal-3). The committee was constituted following the submission of the ordinances during the first session of the 13th National Parliament on 12 March, when they were laid before the House in accordance with parliamentary procedure. A 13-member panel, comprising representatives from both the treasury and opposition benches, was tasked with scrutinising their legal, procedural, and constitutional validity.
Overview of Ordinance Review Outcome
| Category | Number of ordinances | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Fully approved | 98 | Recommended for passage without amendment |
| To be revised | 15 | Requires modification before resubmission |
| Deferred / not approved | 16 | To be reworked for future submission |
| Recommended for repeal | 4 | To be withdrawn via legislative bill |
| Total reviewed | 133 | Interim government ordinances |
Under the committee’s recommendations, the 20 ordinances in question will not receive immediate parliamentary approval. Of these, 16 are to be withdrawn from the current legislative agenda and substantially reworked before potential reintroduction, while four have been recommended for outright repeal through formal bills.
The report highlights that, under constitutional provisions, an ordinance ceases to have effect if it is not approved by Parliament within 30 days of being laid before the House. Consequently, the delayed consideration places these 20 ordinances in a state of legal uncertainty.
Among the affected instruments are several high-profile proposals, including the Referendum Ordinance, the Anti-Corruption Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, the National Human Rights Commission Ordinance, the Police Commission Ordinance, and the Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Remedy Ordinance.
Ordinances Recommended for Repeal
| Ordinance | Year |
|---|---|
| National Parliament Secretariat (Interim Special Provision) Ordinance | 2024 |
| Supreme Court Judges Appointment Ordinance | 2025 |
| Supreme Court Secretariat Ordinance | 2025 |
| Supreme Court Secretariat (Amendment) Ordinance | 2026 |
The committee further recommended that 16 ordinances be withheld from immediate approval and instead subjected to further review, refinement, and strengthening before being reintroduced as fresh legislative proposals. These span key governance and regulatory areas, including revenue administration, financial oversight, human rights, and institutional reform.
Notable among them are the National Human Rights Commission (Amendment) Ordinance 2024, Revenue Policy and Management Ordinance 2025, Microfinance Bank Ordinance 2026, Information Rights (Amendment) Ordinance 2026, and the Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Remedy Ordinance 2025.
Other measures in this category include amendments related to VAT and supplementary duties, customs legislation, income tax regulation, civil aviation governance, and travel agency registration and control.
The committee also identified several ordinances that faced no objection from opposition members, particularly those relating to VAT and supplementary duty, customs, income tax, civil aviation, and travel agency regulation.
Separately, the report recommended full parliamentary approval for a broad range of legislative instruments covering local government reforms, the Bangladesh Bank Act, the Energy Regulatory Commission, the Special Security Force, Grameen Bank, cyber security laws, public service regulations, electoral boundary delimitation, and rehabilitation measures linked to the July uprising, among others.
However, the review process was not without dissent. Members of the opposition, including three representatives from Jamaat-e-Islami, submitted notes of dissent, raising objections to aspects of the committee’s findings on the 20 disputed ordinances. In total, objections were recorded against 11 of the 16 deferred ordinances.
The committee also recommended 15 ordinances for revision prior to resubmission to Parliament. While detailed clause-by-clause amendments were not specified in the report, it indicated that substantial restructuring would be required before these measures could be reconsidered for approval.
These 15 include legislative amendments relating to the Prevention of Violence against Women and Children Act, public procurement rules, banking sector regulation, anti-terrorism frameworks, criminal procedure reforms, national data governance, labour legislation, human organ transplantation, police oversight mechanisms, tobacco control, human trafficking prevention, land use regulation, telecommunications regulation, and pension and welfare arrangements for non-government educational institution staff.
The recommendations mark a crucial juncture in the legislative handling of the interim government’s ordinance package. Parliament is now expected to determine the fate of dozens of legal instruments spanning governance, security, financial regulation, and institutional reform, with significant implications for policy continuity and administrative direction in the months ahead.