Proposal gets cabinet nod

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presides over a cabinet meeting at the secretariat in the city yesterday. Photo: PID

The government yesterday approved a proposal for obtaining membership in the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) and the drafts of the Bangabandhu Poverty Alleviation and Rural Development Academy Act, 2011, the Competition Act, 2011 and the Forest (Amendment) Act, 2011.
The approval came at the weekly cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
The PCA, an international organisation based in The Hague in the Netherlands, provides services for the resolution of disputes involving various combinations of states, state entities, intergovernmental organisations, and private parties.
Since resolving of the maritime boundary with the neighboring countries is under process, it is special need for Bangladesh to get membership of the court, Prime Minister's Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad told reporters after the meeting.
Once Bangladesh becomes the member of the court, the country will get several facilities, including an equal rights of the maritime boundary with India, he said adding that after getting the membership, Bangladesh will able to send four legal experts to the court for its cases apart from having the right to nominate a Judge in the court.
The other facilities include gaining legal capacity, submitting application to the Arbitration Court seeking financial help to continue any legal process and upholding Bangladesh as a peace-loving country in the globe, Azad added.
The membership will also facilitate Bangladesh to settle any dispute over energy and commerce sectors.
On the Competition Act 2011, the press secretary said it would be enacted to ensure fair competition in the market while the forest (amendment) act for protecting the national forests.