Law and Justice Division

division · verified (verified 2026-05-17)

Profile

Head: Md Liakat Ali Mollah
Role: Secretary
Annual budget: ৳22,000,000,000
Staff: —
Established: 2009
Legal basis: Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Reorganization Order, December 2009; Rules of Business 1996 (Schedule I); Constitution of Bangladesh, Articles 95, 98, 116, 116A

Executing repeal of interim-era judicial appointment ordinances and pushing constitutional reform for a permanent judge-appointment framework, while simultaneously advancing court digitization (e-family courts, online cause lists) under a Tk 2,200 crore budget the minister himself describes as critically inadequate.

Recent activity

2026-02-17 appointment Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman continued in office under the BNP-led government of PM Tarique Rahman following the February 17 election; Secretary Md Liakat Ali Mollah remained in post. ↗↗
2026-03-15 reform Law Minister Asaduzzaman told parliament the judiciary is the most neglected sector, receiving only Tk 2,200 crore in the national budget -- less than the Tk 2,500 crore allocated to BTV -- leaving virtually no funds after salaries for court modernization. ↗
2026-04-09 legal Jatiya Sangsad passed the Supreme Court Judge Appointment (Repeal) Bill, 2026, revoking the interim government's Supreme Court Judge Appointment Ordinance, 2025. A savings clause validated all prior appointments. Law Minister Asaduzzaman moved the bill, stating that permanent judge-appointment criteria will be set through a constitutional amendment committee. ↗↗↗↗
2026-04-09 legal Jatiya Sangsad also passed the Supreme Court Secretariat (Repeal) Bill, 2026, on the same day, rolling back another interim-era ordinance on Supreme Court administrative autonomy. ↗↗
2026-04-20 reform Law minister highlighted ongoing judiciary digitization before parliament: e-bail bond management, e-family courts (first launched Chattogram, November 2025), online cause lists, and digitized marriage/divorce registration are all active, with further expansion planned. ↗↗

Provenance & notes

Established December 2009 when Prime Minister Hasina split the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs into the Law and Justice Division (judicial apparatus) and the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division (legislation, parliament). Legal basis: Ministry reorganization order 2009 + Rules of Business 1996. Secretary Md Liakat Ali Mollah (confirmed October 6, 2025) replaced Sheikh Abu Taher, who was appointed HC Additional Judge on August 25, 2025 as one of 25 new HC judges appointed under the now-repealed Supreme Court Judge Appointment Ordinance, 2025. Chief Justice: Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury (26th CJ, sworn December 28, 2025). Budget figure Tk 2,200 crore (annual_budget_bdt = 22,000,000,000) is the total judiciary allocation per Law Minister's parliament statement; this covers LJD's entire operating and development budget. Wikipedia source cites Tk 17.4 billion for FY2020-21 -- consistent order of magnitude. Key bodies under LJD: Bangladesh Supreme Court, Judicial Service Commission, JATI, NLASO, Directorate of Registration, International Crimes Tribunal, Solicitor Wing. Verification based on 4+ primary sources (BSS, Dhaka Tribune, Daily Star, Prothom Alo, UNB) for recent_activity events.

Law and Justice Division

Profile

Recent activity

Sources