Chairman:
Mr. Justice Mustafa Kamal

Mr. Justice Mustafa Kamal was appointed Chairman of the Law Commission on 6/12/04. He was the former Chief Justice of Bangladesh.

He was born at Domar, in the district of Nilphamari in 1935. His father late Abbas Uddin Ahmed was a legendary singer of folk and Islamic songs in the Indo-Bangla sub-continent.

Mr. Kamal had a brilliant academic career. He stood 7th in order of merit in the Matriculation Examination from the Dhaka Collegiate School in 1948. He also secured 5th position in the Intermediate Arts Examination from Jagannath College in 1950. He obtained B.A. (Hons.) and M.A. degrees in Political Science from the University of Dhaka in 1953 and 1954 respectively securing 1st position in the 1st class. He took M.Sc. (Economics) degree in Political Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science by availing of a merit scholarship for higher studies from the Government of the then Pakistan. He also completed the Bar-at-Law course and was called to the Bar from the Hon'ble Society of Lincoln's Inn in 1959.

On return from abroad, he started practicing law in the then Dhaka High Court and Supreme Court of Pakistan and developed a roaring practice.

He was a part-time lecturer of law in the University of Dhaka from 1961-1968.

He was appointed Additional Attorney General of Bangladesh in 1976. He was also appointed Advocate General of Bangladesh in 1977. He was elevated as a Judge of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in 1979. He was appointed a Judge of the Appellate Division in 1989. He was appointed to the exalted office of the Chief Justice of Bangladesh on June 1, 1999.

He participated in many international conferences representing Bangladesh in the United Nations. He was one of the authors of India Bangladesh Ganges Water Sharing Treaty that was signed in 1977. He was deeply connected in the field of law for a long period of more than 40 years both as a lawyer and a Judge and enormously contributed to the dispensation of fair justice.  He offered a flood of writings and speeches of high quality on a variety of subjects. He is a scholar of exceptional standing who devoted his life to continuous study and sophisticated thought in the realm of legal literature and jurisprudence. He was a great Judge of scholarly merit and a great thinker on legal theology. His legal activities and judicial pronouncements are still treated with reverence.

His popular image emerged after his retirement on 1st January, 2000 as the pioneer in introducing Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), which left an indelible mark on the mind of the nation. His ideas and works on ADR are being implemented and put into practice in the legal system considerably lessening backlog of cases in law courts. Various programs on ADR have been formulated on his special initiative, which are being taught and trained by himself with others in various training sessions of judicial officers, lawyers and court staffs. He was the first to foresee the importance of ADR in the judicial system of Bangladesh. ADR was incorporated in S.89A of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 on his initiative.

He is an indefatigable fighter for separation of judiciary from the executive. His landmark judgment in Masdar Hossain and others, 52 DLR (AD) pp. 82-114, bears testimony to his vast legal acumen.

He deserves a fulsome praise for the sweep of his subtle legal thoughts, jurisprudence and quality of vision. He shakes the Law Commission by making the elites share the tumult of his intellectual mind towards legal reforms.

Member:
Mr. Justice Md. Sirajul Islam

Mr. Justice Md. Sirajul Islam was appointed as the member of the Law Commission on February 22, 2004. He was a former Judge of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.

He obtained Master's Degree in Political Science and Bachelor of Law Degree from the University of Dhaka.

Ever since his academic life, he bore the impress of a judicial sentiment which consequently called upon him to join as a Munsif (now Assistant Judge) in the then East Pakistan Civil Service (Judicial) on August, 1965. He reared up a sublime judicial personality with continual promotion as Subordinate Judge (now Joint District Judge), Additional District & Sessions Judge and District & Sessions Judge. He has given the best part of his life to the careful study of law in the quest for fair justice.

He got the opportunity of acquainting himself with diverse experiences in the field of law and administration by being posted as the Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs along with continual promotion as Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary-in-charge. Thereafter, he was elevated as a Judge of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. While being functional as a Judge of the High Court Division, he became devoted to the critical study of law and his thoughts contributed to the flow of legal literature and jurisprudence of legal reform.

He actively took part in many training programs to enrich his professional career. He participated in Orientation Training Program in the then National Institute of Public Administration. He visited London, Manchester, Edinbrough and Belfast as a UN-Fellow for Human Rights Programs Organized by UNDP in 1985. His radical thoughts have gone towards all possible directions of legal necessity. His critical understanding of law finds a path of legal reform in the Law Commission.

Member: