News Flash
SANGSAD BHABAN, Sept 6, 2026 (BSS) - The Jatiya Sangsad today passed three bills aimed at strengthening the human rights protection, preventing enforced disappearance and introducing legal recognition of lifetime usufruct rights in property transfers.
The National Human Rights Commission Bill, 2026 was passed, repealing the National Human Rights Commission Act, 2009 and establishing a new legal framework for an effective and independent commission.
The Prevention and Remedy of Enforced Disappearance Bill, 2026 stipulated that enforced disappearance would be punishable by life imprisonment. If a victim died or remained untraced for more than five years, the offender could face the death penalty or life imprisonment, along with a fine of up to Tk 1 crore.
The Transfer of Property (Amendment) Bill, 2026 introduced legal recognition of lifetime usufruct rights, allowing eligible property donors to retain the right to use and enjoy transferred property during their lifetime.
Law minister Md Asaduzzaman placed the National Human Rights Commission Bill and the Transfer of Property (Amendment) Bill for passage, while home minister Salahuddin Ahmed moved the Prevention and Remedy of Enforced Disappearance Bill in the House.
Under the human rights commission bill, the commission will comprise a chairperson and four commissioners, including at least one woman and at least one member of a national minority community or disadvantaged group.
Qualified candidates from national minority and disadvantaged communities will receive preference on the recommendation of a selection committee comprising a university professor, a civil society representative and representatives of those communities.
The bill clarified the commission's jurisdiction and simplified the complaint process. It also empowerd the commission to issue interim orders to protect victims from immediate threats and prevent further harm while investigations are underway.
A key provision was the establishment of a National Preventive Mechanism unit in line with the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture. The unit will work to prevent torture, custodial deaths and enforced disappearances.
The Prevention and Remedy of Enforced Disappearance Bill defined enforced disappearance as a cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable criminal offence and established a legal framework for prevention, prosecution, locating missing persons and protecting victims and their families.
Under the bill, an act would constitute enforced disappearance if a government employee or member of a disciplined force, acting in that capacity or with the authorisation, support or consent of a government authority or disciplined force, arrests, detains, abducts or otherwise deprives a person of liberty and subsequently denies the deprivation or conceals the person's whereabouts, condition or fate, thereby depriving the person of legal protection.
Courts are empowered to issue search warrants to trace disappeared persons. The law also provided for trials in absentia, the admission of digital evidence and protection for witnesses, complainants, whistleblowers and victims.
Victims and their families will have the right to receive updates on investigations, seek the truth about what happened and learn the whereabouts or fate of disappeared persons.
The bill also provided for state-funded legal assistance, medical treatment, rehabilitation and compensation through a dedicated fund.
Compensation will be recovered from the assets of convicted persons, while the state will bear the cost where recovery is not possible.
Spouses and dependent family members have been allowed to use the property of a disappeared person for maintenance and essential expenses. After five years, a certificate of disappearance will be issued to facilitate inheritance matters. The law also provided for a central database and international cooperation in cases of enforced disappearance.
Both investigations and trials will have to be completed within a maximum of 120 days.
However, the legislation has not established an independent investigative body. Responsibility for investigating enforced disappearance cases will remain with the police.
The Transfer of Property (Amendment) Bill amended the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 to introduce legal recognition of lifetime usufruct rights. Under the amendment, parents, grandparents and other eligible donors can transfer property to specified blood relatives or spouses while retaining the legal right to use and enjoy the property during their lifetime.
New Sections 122A and 122B have been added to establish lifetime usufruct-preserving gifts as a distinct form of property transfer. The provision will apply equally to people of all faiths.
The government said the new arrangement would not affect ordinary gifts, heba under Muslim law or other legally recognised forms of property transfer, nor would it conflict with existing mechanisms.
The bills were first tabled in JS on August 27. The law minister placed the National Human Rights Commission Bill and the Transfer of Property (Amendment) Bill, while the home minister placed the enforced disappearance bill.
The bills were then sent to the respective parliamentary standing committees, which were asked to submit their reports within two working days.
The parliamentary standing committees on the law and home ministries subsequently recommended changes to the proposed National Human Rights Commission and enforced disappearance bills amid objections from opposition lawmakers over the scrutiny process.
The passage of the bills came against the backdrop of the expiry of a number of ordinances promulgated by the interim government.
Twenty such ordinances, including measures concerning human rights, referendums and enforced disappearance, lost their legal validity after failing to secure parliamentary approval within the constitutionally prescribed period.
