The parliamentary committee system in Bangladesh [Elektronische Ressource] : an analysis of its functioning / submitted by K. M. Mahiuddin

Mahiuddin

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• Publié par: ruprecht-karls-universitat_heidelberg
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 69
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

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The Parliamentary Committee System in Bangladesh
An Analysis of its Functioning














Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde der Fakultät Fur Wirtschafts
und Sozialwissenschaften der Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg










Dissertation Submitted by

K.M. Mahiuddin









Supervisors

Professor Subrata Kumar Mitra, Ph.D. (Rochester)

Professor Dr. Marcus Nüsser The Parliamentary Committee System in Bangladesh
An Analysis of Its Functioning
















Ph.D. Dissertation


















Department of Political Science
South Asia Institute
Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg

Abstract 

In modern democracies, parliament has numerous duties. As a key state organ it examines 
the legislative proposals in the process of their passage and is entrusted with overseeing 
executive  responsibilities  and  keeps  an  eye  on  government  activities.  Parliamentary 
committee system is the most vital structure that permits the legislators to divide up their 
labor and specialize in particular areas of activities. It is therefore the most significant 
legislative mechanism and is often referred to as “miniature legislatures” or “microcosms” 
of their parent bodies.   
 
There is a tendency around the world to rely on committees for accomplishing much of the 
parliamentary activities. In this regard, Bangladesh is not an exception. Being a South Asian 
country, it has had familiarity with committee system since last century when the country 
was  under  British  colonial  rule.  Bangladesh  emerged  as  an  independent  state  in  1971 
following nearly two centuries of British rule and a further quarter century of Pakistan. The 
new state of Bangladesh adopted parliamentary system of government. All legislative power 
of the state were vested to the parliament. Though all favorable conditions for parliamentary 
democracy were ensured in the constitution, differences between the political parties and 
overwhelming domination of government party and their refusal to recognize the official 
opposition  party  in  the  parliament  prevented  building  a  responsible  executive.  In  a 
sweeping  change,  parliamentary  form  of  government  was  replaced  by  one  party‐
presidential system and soon the new system was abolished when the military seized the 
state by a bloody military coup in 1975. Between 1975 and 1990, the country was under 
military  dominated  civil‐military  regimes.  Parliaments  formed  during  this  period  were 
intended to serve the purpose of the regime’s interests. With mass upsurge, authoritarian 
regime was ended and parliamentary form of government was restored in 1991.  
 
Since the restoration of parliamentary democracy in Bangladesh, committee system is taken 
seriously in the political as well as in the academic arena because of its importance in the 
parliamentary process. Therefore, this study intends to analyze the functioning and role of 
parliamentary committees in the post‐1990 Bangladesh parliament. In doing so, this study 
I
identifies and examines the factors that have considerable influence in the working of the 
parliamentary committees in general and Bangladesh in particular.  
 
The methodology applied in this research is a combination of historical, analytical and 
descriptive approaches. Descriptive and analytical approaches are chosen to show in what 
institutional environments committees are working in the Bangladesh parliament. Much of 
the analyses that follow are based on the examination of the proceedings and reports of the 
important committees, Rules of Procedure of the JS. Other secondary sources include books 
of the reputed scholars and articles published in various journals, working papers and study 
reports, newspapers published at home and abroad. Socio‐political characteristics of the 
committee members are calculated from the parliamentary records and the questionnaire 
used  for  the  interviews.  Besides,  information  is  also  gathered  from  discussion  with 
prominent political leaders and academia.  
 
The  analysis  presents  in  this  study  showed  that  the  committees  were  more  active  in 
overseeing  government  activities  rather  than  analyzing  policy  issues.  In  a  conflicting 
political environment, committee activities are greatly influenced by the political parties. 
Lack  of  compromise  between  the  parties  to  some  extent  makes  the  committees 
dysfunctional. Despite the existing limitations, committees provide a training ground for the 
legislators to improve their parliamentary norms and procedural knowledge.  
II
DECLARATION 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I do hereby declare that I have written this PhD thesis myself, and that it has not 
been submitted to any other university for a degree.  
 
 
 
 
 
K.M. Mahiuddin  
 
Heidelberg, February 8, 2009  
III
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In the writing of this thesis, I have received great help from various academics, colleagues,
friends and many other people. First I must express my debt of gratitude to my supervisor,
Professor Subrata Kumar Mitra at the Department of Political Science, South Asia Institute,
Heidelberg University, for his intellectual support. His kind guidance and constant support
enabled me to complete this research work. It must be mentioned that his scholarly
supervision helped me clarify my thoughts and ideas. Also, I owe special gratitude to Prof.
Marcus Nüsser, my co-supervisor at Heidelberg, who examined the manuscript and made
incisive observations, and helped me to improve my work.

Professor Gerhard Loewenberg, the distinguished Professor of Political Science of Lowa
University was kind enough to make some valuable comments after reading my research
proposal. I am also grateful to Mrs. Angelika Koester-Lossack, Gert Weisskirchen and Lothar
Binding, Members of the German Bundestag who helped me to understand German
parliamentary politics. I g