Bangladesh Parliament Passes Key Bills Including ICT Amendment and Wetlands Protection Law

The parliament of Bangladesh on Tuesday passed a series of bills, including amendments to the International Crimes Tribunal law and a new wetlands protection act.

All bills were approved by voice vote without any amendments during the parliamentary session, which was presided over by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed.

The legislation was introduced to convert ordinances issued during the tenure of the interim government into formal laws. A parliamentary special committee had reviewed 133 ordinances, recommending 98 for approval without changes and 15 with modifications. It also suggested repealing four ordinances and introducing stronger replacements for 16 others at a later stage.

Among the bills passed was the Bangladesh Haor and Wetlands Protection Bill, 2026, which was presented by Water Resources Minister Mohammad Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie and approved by voice vote.

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman then moved four separate bills for passage: the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Civil Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2026, the International Crimes Tribunals (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2026. All were passed unanimously.

In the absence of the Health Minister and State Minister, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed introduced several bills on their behalf. These included the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Amendment Bill, 2026, the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Sheikh Hasina Medical University, Khulna (Amendment) Bill, 2026. The two medical university-related bills were approved by voice vote.

While presenting the Khulna medical university bill, Salahuddin Ahmed made a light remark, saying, “It is quite unfortunate that after everything I said, I still have to mention ‘Sheikh Hasina’ again.”

Later, Health Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain joined the session and proposed the Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Medical University, Sylhet (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which was also passed by voice vote.

All bills approved on Tuesday were passed in their final stages without clause-by-clause amendments.

Earlier, seven bills were passed on Monday and two on Sunday. With the latest approvals, a total of 18 ordinance-based bills have now been enacted.