The thirteenth amendment to the constitution of Bangladesh (1996): a critical assessment

Abstract

A constitution provides major guideline for national governance and should hold compatible provisions for functional regularity, law and order. Due to societal changes over time, circumstances may give cause to amend a constitution such as the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Bangladesh (1996), which established provisions for a non-politically affiliated caretaker government for the specific purpose of ensuring free and fair elections. After successful implementations for three terms, a Fifteenth Amendment (2011) has since abolished the need for elections under a caretaker government. The present study ascertains the context in which the Thirteenth Amendment was rescinded and identifies causes for its abolition. The authors applied ‘Historical Institutionalism Approach Theory’ (Hall & Taylor) to analyze the Thirteenth Amendment’s functional role. This theory proposes three stages of Institutional history: prior issues giving cause for creation, historical factors and institutional structure. The present study addresses institutional structure with a qualitative approach to analysis that achieved our objectives. The study’s findings support reformation of the Thirteenth Amendment rather than abolition.