Advisory Council empowers ICT to confiscate accused's assets

The Advisory Council has given final approval to the draft of the 'International Crimes (Tribunal) (Third Amendment) Ordinance, 2025' to amend the International Crimes (Tribunal) Act.

The Advisory Council gave this approval in its 41st meeting chaired by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Thursday.

The approval was given subject to the scrutiny of the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Ministry of Justice.

Law Ministry sources said that several important amendments have been made to the draft of the 'International Crimes (Tribunal) (Third Amendment) Ordinance, 2025'. These include - According to sub-section (4) of section 11 - 'The Tribunal may order the seizure or confiscation of the property of an accused. So that the escape of the accused can be prevented. At the same time, compensation can now be recovered to ensure justice under Section 20 (a). There was no such provision in the previous 'International Crimes (Tribunal)' Act.

The amendment to Section (F) states that- 'Aggression by those who are in a position to effectively exercise control or direct the political or military action of a State may be considered a crime against peace.' This has also been newly added.

In addition, a new sub-section (5) has been added to Section 19 of the 'International Crimes (Tribunal) Act. It says- 'Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the Tribunal shall not be bound by technical rules in relation to the taking of evidence and may adopt and apply non-technical methods to complete the taking of evidence expeditiously.'

In addition, a new section 20C has been added to the International Crimes Tribunal Act through the Ordinance. According to the newly added section, if a formal charge sheet is filed against a person under the International Crimes Tribunal Act, he will be disqualified from being elected or remaining as a member of parliament. Similarly, he will not be eligible to be elected or remaining as a member of a local government council or institution, commissioner, chairman, mayor or administrator. He will also be disqualified from being appointed or remaining as a member of the republic or any other institution.

In this regard, Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal Md. Tajul Islam told Views Bangladesh: “The amendments brought in the 'International Crimes (Tribunal) (Third Amendment) Ordinance, 2025' are very important to ensure justice. It has given the tribunal new special powers to seize the assets of the accused, recover compensation, prevent abuse of power and take testimony expeditiously in court. "I hope this will make the judicial system of the state stronger and more dynamic."

"If a formal charge sheet is filed with the tribunal under the amended law, the accused person will be disqualified from being elected or remaining in office as an MP or any other institution. It has been mentioned that he will also be disqualified from being appointed or employed in the service of the Republic or any other institution," he added.