ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury, former member of parliament for the Chittagong-6 constituency, has applied to the Bangladesh Bar Council, the regulatory body for lawyers, seeking permission to appoint a foreign lawyer.
Mohammad Kamal Hossain Sikder, secretary of the Bangladesh Bar Council, confirmed the matter to reporters on Saturday.
Earlier, applications were made seeking permission to appoint foreign lawyers for former law minister Anisul Huq, adviser to fallen prime minister Sheikh Hasina Salman F Rahman, former state minister for information and communication technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak, former army officer Major General (retd) Ziaul Ahsan, and journalist Farzana Rupa in cases pending before the International Crimes Tribunal. However, the Bar Council did not approve that application.
On Thursday, a meeting presided over by Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazol, chairman of the Bar Council and attorney general, unanimously decided to reject the applications of the five individuals. Members of the Bar Council were present at the meeting.
According to meeting sources, there is no precedent for appointing foreign lawyers to conduct cases in Bangladeshi courts. Foreign lawyers also have no opportunity to directly conduct cases in courts of various countries around the world, including Sri Lanka.
Furthermore, if foreign lawyers are permitted to conduct cases in courts in Bangladesh, there is no provision in the Bar Council Act to bring them under accountability for professional misconduct.
Considering these matters, members of the Bar Council expressed the view that foreign lawyers should not be permitted to directly conduct cases in Bangladeshi courts.
However, foreign lawyers can advise local lawyers appointed by the defence. For this reason, they are not being allowed direct permission to conduct cases in courts in Bangladesh.
