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Bangladesh became independent in 1971, but much of its law is far older. The statutes below were enacted by the British Indian legislature in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and inherited, first by Pakistan and then by Bangladesh, through the continuity provisions of the Constitution. All ten remain in force, listed without repeal in the government’s own chronological index of laws.

1. The Penal Code 1860

Drafted by a commission led by Thomas Babington Macaulay in the 1830s and enacted in 1860, the Penal Code defines almost every crime in Bangladesh, from theft and murder to sedition and defamation. Its numbering, section 302 for murder, section 420 for cheating, has passed into everyday speech. No comprehensive replacement has been proposed.

2. The Police Act 1861

Passed in the aftermath of the 1857 uprising, the Police Act created a police force designed to control a colonised population rather than to serve it. Its structure of executive control over the police remains largely intact, and it is the starting point for every debate about police reform.

3. The Contract Act 1872

Every agreement in Bangladesh, from a rickshaw fare to a bank loan, is governed by the Contract Act. Its rules on offer, acceptance, consideration and breach are a codification of the English common law of the 1860s, and students of English contract law will find them familiar.

4. The Evidence Act 1872

Drafted by James Fitzjames Stephen, the Evidence Act governs what courts may consider and how. It was substantially amended in November 2022 to admit digital records and to restrict cross-examination of rape complainants about their sexual history, the first major modernisation in 150 years.

5. The Specific Relief Act 1877

The Specific Relief Act provides the remedies that money cannot: specific performance of contracts, injunctions and declarations of right. It is the daily companion of every civil litigator.

6. The Transfer of Property Act 1882

Sales, mortgages, leases and gifts of land in Bangladesh are governed by this Act. Given that land disputes make up a large share of the country’s civil litigation, it is among the most heavily used statutes in the country.

7. The General Clauses Act 1897

The least glamorous law on this list may be the most important. The General Clauses Act supplies definitions and rules of interpretation that apply to every other statute: what a month means, how to count time, what happens when a law is repealed. Lawyers cite it without noticing.

8. The Code of Criminal Procedure 1898

The CrPC governs arrest, investigation, bail and trial. Section 54, on arrest without warrant, and section 167, on remand, were the subject of the BLAST guidelines. In April 2026, the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2026 rewrote section 54 to require written reasons for arrest, added new sections on the rights of arrested persons, capped police custody at fifteen days and imposed time limits on investigations. It is the most significant reform of the Code since 2007.

9. The Code of Civil Procedure 1908

The CPC sets out how civil suits are filed, tried and appealed. Its generous provisions on adjournments and interlocutory applications are frequently blamed for the backlog of more than four million civil cases.

10. The Limitation Act 1908

The Limitation Act fixes the time within which claims must be brought: three years for most contracts, twelve years for possession of land, and so on. Miss the deadline and the right is lost, however good the case.

Why It Matters

There is nothing inherently wrong with old law. The Contract Act has served three countries for a century and a half. But colonial statutes carry colonial assumptions, and the Penal Code’s provisions on sedition, the Police Act’s command structure and the CrPC’s arrest powers were designed for a state that did not trust its subjects. Reform has come piecemeal, through court guidelines and individual amendments. Whether Bangladesh will ever undertake the comprehensive rewriting that India attempted with its new criminal codes in 2023 remains an open question.

Sources

1. Bangladesh Laws, chronological index of laws: http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/laws-of-bangladesh-chronological-index.html
2. Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 (as amended 2026), Bangladesh Laws: http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-details-1640.html
3. The Business Standard, Parliament passes law allowing digital evidence in court trials (November 2022): https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/law-order/parliament-passes-law-allowing-digital-evidences-court-trial-525158
4. Penal Code 1860, Bangladesh Laws: http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-11.html