ABSTRACT
International law has played a crucial role as an instrument to advocate for and justify Bangladesh’s independence in 1971. International law was central to the establishment and sustenance of Bangladesh’s statehood in the international community. After securing Bangladesh’s statehood and its recognition by the international community, primarily through the attainment of membership of the United Nations (UN) in 1974, 1 Bangladesh has gone on to chart its distinct framework of engagement with international law on the bases of its history, and its geopolitical, economic, and security interests. These bases can largely be extrapolated prima facie from Article 25 of its Constitution. The Article, entitled “Promotion of International Peace, Security and Solidarity”, states that
[T]he State shall base its international relations on the principles of respect for national sovereignty and equality, non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, peaceful settlement of international disputes, and respect for international law and the principles enunciated in the United Nations Charter, and on the basis of those principles shall
strive for the renunciation of the use of force in international relations and for general and complete disarmament;
uphold the right of every people freely to determine and build up its own social, economic and political system by ways and means of its own free choice; and
support oppressed peoples throughout the world waging a just struggle against imperialism, colonialism or racialism.
