Should Foreign Courts have the ability to effectively disqualify Bangladeshi MPs?

The article addresses the disqualification of Mohammad Shahid Islam as a Member of Parliament under Article 66(2)(d) of the Constitution, notified on 22 February 2021 on the basis of his conviction by a criminal court in Kuwait.

Without arguing that he should not have been disqualified, it writes: ‘Accordingly, foreign courts could now be said to have the ability to effectively disqualify Bangladeshi MPs by convicting them of a criminal offense.’

It allows that the repercussions may be overstated, and concludes: ‘Nonetheless, relevant legislative or judicial safeguards need to be adopted to protect MPs, ministers and the Parliament from interventions of foreign states, and thereby, safeguard Bangladesh’s sovereignty.’