Fundamental Rights in Search of Constitutional Remedies : The Emergence of Public Law Compensation in Bangladesh

Increasingly, courts around the world are recognising the importance of redressing state violations of constitutional rights with monetary compensation. In countries where tort liability in private law remains underdeveloped, such as Bangladesh, compensation in public law becomes the only viable option for those who suffer violations of fundamental rights. This article argues that victims of rights violations, human rights organisations and public interest lawyers have used art 102(1) of the Constitution of Bangladesh as a tool to secure public law compensation as an alternative to establishing tort liability in private law. Through a comprehensive and chronological analysis of the existing jurisprudence on public law compensation under art 102(1), this article tries to decipher the current judicial test for public law compensation and concludes that although the Appellate Division has, over the years, been severely reluctant to develop public law compensation, more recent cases mark the onset of a liberal approach by the High Court Division