EDITORIAL We are pleased to publish the fifth issue of the quarterly Legal Counsel News Bulletin with some important updates as a part of our continuing efforts to disseminate key information to the clients and other stakeholders. Usage of Information and Communication Technology by Court Act, 2020 Bangladesh Bank (Amendment) ACT, 2020 Gazipur Development Authority Act, 2020 Bangladesh Reference Institute for Chemical Measurement Act, 2020 4 other legislations in relation to research and establishment of 3 public universities. The legal fraternity is deeply saddened by the demise of one of the most accomplished legal experts of Bangladesh, the longest-serving Attorney General Senior Advocate, Mr. Mahbubey Alam. This eminent jurist breathed his last on 27th September, 2020, nearly 4 (four) weeks after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the state appointed by the President under Article 64 of the Constitution of Bangladesh. He assumed the position on 13 January, 2009 and succeeded Advocate Salahuddin Ahmad. Mr. Mahbubey Alam represented the state in a large number of landmark cases before the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, including the Bangabandhu murder case, 5th, 7th, 13th and 16th Constitutional Amendment cases, War Crimes cases etc. He also played a vital role in the BDR Mutiny case wherein the trial court gave the highest number of death sentences to 152 accused. NEW IMPORTANT LEGISLTIONS (JULY 2020-SEPTEMBER 2020) • • • • • Mahbubey Alam (17 Feb 1949-27 Sep 2020) Glorious Life of a Legal Hero NEWS BULLETIN Continued on page 2 It has been forecasted by numerous authoritative bodies and reputed organizations that coronavirus will not derail Bangladesh’s raising potential economic growth. One of the leading global banks, namely, Standard Chartered PLC foresees faster recovery for Bangladesh than many other countries from the economic downfall caused due to the pandemic based on analysis of key indicators. The factors which gives Bangladesh a room for boosting includes balance of payment surplus, a healthy foreign exchange reserve, very low public debt-GDP ratio etc. Chief Economist of Standard Chartered for ASEAN and South Asia said that Bangladesh might be one of the two economies in the ASEAN and South Asian regions to mark a positive growth in the year 2020 despite the global recession. IMF has also projected that the GDP growth likely to be dropped to 2% in the fiscal year ending in June 2020 from 8.2% in the fiscal year 2019 is poised to rebound to 9.5% in the current fiscal year. They stated that they do not foresee any long-term scarring on the economy from the virus blow. According to Bloomberg Economics’ projections, the pace of expansion in Bangladesh should accelerate in tandem with potential growth to 7.5 % by 2026. The Times of India in a recent publication made a comparison based on fourteen World Development Indicators (WDIs) and it was found that Bangladesh has outshone India and Pakistan in seven WDIs while India did it in six and Pakistan in one. All economic and social indicators show that Bangladesh is to pose a strong challenge to other rising economies in the world. Issue 5 | Date: September 30, 2020 Page – 2 economy • There is a provision in the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 that the children of any pre-deceased son or daughter have rights to inherit the share of their father in the property of their grandfather equivalent to the share which such son or daughter would have received if they were alive. • Non-judicial stamp papers (i.e. not related to a judgment in court or by a judge) are generally required to be used for execution of the documents like power of attorney, sale deed, rent agreement, affidavits, transfer of immovable property like building, land, mortgage or other important agreements, etc. The Stamp Act,1899 prescribes the appropriate stamp value for different types of documents and instruments. However, non-compliance with the requirement of stamp duty does not automatically render an agreement invalid. The only difficulty is, in case the matter has to resort to the court, the court may refuse to admit the agreement as evidence for want of compliance to the Stamp Act 1899. The court may, however, admit the agreement by imposing a fine. There may be a penal violation for intentionally depriving the government from the revenue by not using the appropriate stamp. Mr. Mahbubey Alam started his career as an Advocate with Bangladesh Bar Council in 1973 and was subsequently awarded permission to practice in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in January, 1975 and Appellate Division in 1980. He was enrolled as a ‘Senior Advocate’ of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in 1998. Before holding the highest Constitutional law office of the country, learned Senior Advocate Mr. Mahbubey Alam held the office of the Additional Attorney General for Bangladesh from 15 November, 1998 to 4 October, 2001. He served as the elected Secretary for the term 1993-1994 and as President for the term 2005-2006 of the Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA). He also served as the elected Member of the Bangladesh Bar Council for the term 2004-2007. Mr. Mahbubey Alam was born on 17 February, 1949 in Munshiganj district. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Political Science and Law and was awarded Masters of Arts in Public Administration from the University of Dhaka in 1968 and 1969, respectively. He earned his LL.B degree from the same university in 1972. He was one of the finest lawyers Bangladesh has ever produced and was also equally known as a person of great attitude, compassion, politeness and skill. While we mourn his death, this renowned legal mind and his legacy shall inevitably be marked as an inspiring example for the whole nation for years to come and Bangladesh judiciary will be indebted to Mr. Mahbubey Alam for his great contributions to the country. COMPANIES ACT, 1994: Bill to introduce One Person Companies Amongst many of the endeavours of Government to strengthen and facilitate investments and businesses in Bangladesh, the recent proposal to amend the Companies Act, 1994 to include a third category of companies, namely, One Person Companies (OPCs)is a remarkable one. A bill was presented in the National Parliament of Bangladesh on 07th September 2020 containing proposed amendments to the Companies Act, 1994 (‘Bill’). If passed, Bangladesh will, for the first time, see introduction of OPCs, defined in the Bill as a company that only has one natural person as its shareholder. The Bill also requires that such one-person company include the words ‘One Person Company’ or ‘OPC’ at the end of its name. The Bill proposes addition of a distinct Chapter 10A to the Act containing provisions on the formation, registration and management of OPCs. The chapter mentions, inter alia, that an OPC can be incorporated for any lawful object; one natural person can only register one OPC; the sole shareholder shall mention one natural person’s name as a nominee in the Memorandum or Association, who, upon the death or incapacity of the shareholder, shall be deemed to be the shareholder of that OPC. The chapter also underscores that share transfers can only be done to another natural person. The Bill proposes that the OPC must have a minimum paid-up capital of BDT 5 Million, and maximum BDT 100 Million, and shall maintain an annual turnover of at least BDT 20 Million, and up to BDT 1000 Million. Where the OPC exceeds these upper limits, they can be registered as private or public limited companies. The sole shareholder of the OPC shall be its director and s/he may appoint the manager, secretary and other employees as necessary. Most other regulatory, operational and auditing rules and regulations are same as that of private limited companies. Despite having the definite advantage of having an OPC model over sole proprietorship model, some vagueness as to its broader purpose have been identified. Private limited companies do not have any minimum paid-up capital requirement, something that OPC has been attached with. If the broader purpose was to support small businesses and bring them under regulations, then the minimum paid-up capital set for OPCs of BDT 5 Million seems exaggerated. Even OPCs in India has minimum paid-up capital threshold of INR0 1Million. Moreover, if introducing OPC was aimed at promoting and easing foreign investments, the requirement of a ‘natural person’ to be the shareholder may mean that foreign investors,who mostly invest through a parent company by incorporating a subsidiary company, shall not benefit from the proposed Bill after all. These points need to be assessed before the Bill is passed to bring these amendments to life. Do you know ? • There is a provision in the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 that the children of any pre-deceased son or daughter have rights to inherit the share of their father in the property of their grandfather equivalent to the share which such son or daughter would have received if they were alive. • Non-judicial stamp papers (i.e. not related to a judgment in court or by a judge) are generally required to be used for execution of the documents like power of attorney, sale deed, rent agreement, affidavits, transfer of immovable property like building, land, mortgage or other important agreements, etc. The Stamp Act,1899 prescribes the appropriate stamp value for different types of documents and instruments. However, non-compliance with the requirement of stamp duty does not automatically render an agreement invalid. The only difficulty is, in case the matter has to resort to the court, the court may refuse to admit the agreement as evidence for want of compliance to the Stamp Act 1899. The court may, however, admit the agreement by imposing a fine. There may be a penal violation for intentionally depriving the government from the revenue by not using the appropriate stamp. ECONOMY It has been forecasted by numerous authoritative bodies and reputed organizations that coronavirus will not derail Bangladesh’s raising potential economic growth. One of the leading global banks, namely, Standard Chartered PLC foresees faster recovery for Bangladesh than many other countries from the economic downfall caused due to the pandemic based on analysis of key indicators. The factors which gives Bangladesh a room for boosting includes balance of payment surplus, a healthy foreign exchange reserve, very low public debt-GDP ratio etc. Chief Economist of Standard Chartered for ASEAN and South Asia said that Bangladesh might be one of the two economies in the ASEAN and South Asian regions to mark a positive growth in the year 2020 despite the global recession. IMF has also projected that the GDP growth likely to be dropped to 2% in the fiscal year ending in June 2020 from 8.2% in the fiscal year 2019 is poised to rebound to 9.5% in the current fiscal year. They stated that they do not foresee any long-term scarring on the economy from the virus blow. According to Bloomberg Economics’ projections, the pace of expansion in Bangladesh should accelerate in tandem with potential growth to 7.5 % by 2026. The Times of India in a recent publication made a comparison based on fourteen World Development Indicators (WDIs) and it was found that Bangladesh has outshone India and Pakistan in seven WDIs while India did it in six and Pakistan in one. All economic and social indicators show that Bangladesh is to pose a strong challenge to other rising economies in the world. After 5 months of vitural operaion Legal Counsel has resumed office physically from August 16, 2020 by way of taking all necessary health safety precautions and all required measures. However, Work from Home (WFH) is also done in rotation basis. https://diz.ae/U5LCP We have organized a webinar in association with Pulse Healthcare on “Mental Well-being of Professionals During Covid-19” for all professionals specially focusing on lawyers. Legal Counsel’s webinar on ‘Digital Communication, Data Protection and Privacy’. Live Broadcasted at channel-I | 12 July, 2020. As a part of the continuing growth and capacity building, we are going forward with recruiting new lawyers and pursuing different internal and external capacity building courses and activities. Follow us at: LEGAL COUNSEL NEWS https://legalcounselbd.com/special-bulletin2-covid-19 https://diz.ae/ru5AN https://diz.ae/DQZda https://diz.ae/HAhzb