Bangladesh Bar Council is the regulatory body for Advocates and it is also responsible for admitting new lawyers. Enrolment in Bangladesh Bar Council after passing tests allows one to practice law in courts.
Since the introduction of the three-steps (MCQ, Written & Viva) examination procedure for the enrolment of lawyers, Bar Council has been lagging behind to take regular examinations which led to large criticisms as the regulating body is taking nearly three years to complete a session. The most recent MCQ examination was held in February 2020 but the written examination could not be held in March due to the nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The written examination was then held in December 2020 but it ended in chaos as many of the examinees demanded “auto pass”, like it was done for school and college tests, for the four-hour written exam citing the pandemic and they had been demanding the authorities hold viva voce exam only. Due to the protests, Bar Council had to suspend examination in several centers. Later on, the examination was held for the suspended centers. However, the result of the written examination is yet to be published. In consequence, around 70,000 students of law including the 12,878 examinees of the written examination are eagerly waiting for the results of the written examination.
Moreover, Some students were recently served with a show-cause notice by Bar Council Secretary Rafiqul Islam for allegedly being involved in or provoking the December 19 exams.
“The notice and its responses will be submitted to the Bar Council’s enrollment committee,” Bar Council Secretary Rafiqul Islam told the media when asked about the effectiveness of the show-cause notices. Further, Bar Council Secretary said, “the enrolment committee will discuss about it, and we’ll take action based on their decision.”
Advocate Yusuf Hossain Humayun, Vice Chairman of the Bar Council and one of the members of the enrollment committee, told the media, “we will take legal action against those involved in the riots.”
Regarding the publication of the results of the written examination, Advocate Yusuf Hossain Humayun said, “The scripts have been examined by both outsiders and the judges for quick release of the results. I hope to be able to publish the results later this month. However, the results that will be released this month cannot be specified. We are expecting to be able to publish results within this month. Again, the time for results may be delayed.”
