Bangladesh’s Interim Bar Council Committee Accused of Discriminatory Practices

Sixteen international human‑rights NGOs, together with bar associations and law societies, released a joint condemnation on Tuesday of the alleged discriminatory conduct surrounding the Bangladesh Bar Council elections. The groups allege that lawyers identified as supporters of the Awami League or as independent candidates are being systematically excluded, threatened and subjected to a politically driven boycott.

The criticism follows the government’s 30 June move to install a 15‑member ad‑hoc committee that will run the Bar Council from 1 July 2026 through 30 June 2027. The coalition argues that the committee’s composition—restricted to attorneys backed by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat‑E‑Islami—violates the democratic standards expected of professional bodies.

Based on a Justice Makers Bangladesh in France report and local media coverage, the coalition estimates that over 300 lawyers from roughly 23 bar associations have been denied the right to stand for election. Among the barred groups are the Supreme Court Bar Association and regional associations in Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Mymensingh, Khulna, Gazipur, Barisal, Cumilla, Manikganj, Munshiganj, Dinajpur, Naogaon, Jhalokati, Panchagarh, Chandpur, Sherpur, Jamalpur, Tangail, Meherpur, Patuakhali and Thakurgaon.

The organisations called on the Bangladeshi government, the legal community and the broader international audience to withdraw the order establishing the ad‑hoc committee, cancel what they describe as a flawed and discriminatory election process, and reinstate all unlawfully rejected nominations. They emphasized that the independence of the legal profession is a cornerstone of democratic governance, the rule of law and the protection of human rights.