The scope of the collection
Coverage
& sources
What we examine, where the primary materials come from, and what readers should know when using the collection.
A developing research collection.
Judgments
Browse judgmentsWe aim to scrutinise all recent publicly available judgments within our coverage, beginning with the Appellate Division and High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. This is a continuing programme of close reading, extending across the recent caseload. Older decisions may be examined where they help explain an issue, a line of authority or the treatment of precedent.
The aim of systematic coverage is a direction for the work. It is not a claim that every recent judgment has already been obtained or analysed. Access to full texts, verification and editorial capacity determine how the collection develops.
Legislation
Explore legislationOur legislative work concerns Bangladesh’s Constitution, Acts, ordinances, amendments and relevant rules, regulations and other instruments. Particular attention goes to recent changes and the texts needed to understand them. Preservation accompanies scrutiny so that a reader can return to the material being discussed.
A source copy, an amendment record and an academic analysis serve different purposes. A text may be available before a full analysis is prepared; its availability alone does not indicate that every provision or later change has been examined.
Academic analysis
Read analysisAnalysis examines legal reasoning, statutory interpretation, rights and the development of doctrine. It may draw together several decisions or provisions. Subject labels help readers locate related work; the legal proposition and its limits must be assessed from the entry and the underlying authorities.
The limits of inclusion
District court, tribunal and foreign materials may appear where relevant to an entry. Their inclusion does not establish routine coverage of those jurisdictions. The absence of an item from ain.bd says nothing by itself about its legal importance.
Start with the primary text.
Our starting point is the full judgment or legislative text. Preference goes to material published by the issuing court, the official gazette or the relevant government publication. These official collections provide useful starting points for readers checking an authority.
| Source | Use in research |
|---|---|
| Supreme Court of Bangladesh (opens in a new tab)supremecourt.gov.bd | Published judgments and orders, with separate collections for the Appellate Division and High Court Division. |
| Laws of Bangladesh (opens in a new tab)bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd | Legislative texts and the provisions cited in an entry. Check the version and amendment information relevant to the question being researched. |
| Bangladesh Gazette archive (opens in a new tab)dpp.gov.bd | Gazette publications, including the instruments and notifications needed to verify a legislative development. |
Where another repository, a reported version or a contributor-supplied copy is used, the entry should identify that provenance and any limits on verification. A news report or a short online summary may help locate a development; it does not establish the full wording of the primary text.
These links lead to external publications. Their availability and coverage are controlled by the publishing institutions. An ain.bd entry should cite the particular document it uses, with a paragraph, page or provision reference where available.
Keep the text.
Keep its context.
Preserved copies support access when an original website is unavailable. Each copy records particular material at a particular point in time. Its source, completeness and version are essential to understanding what it can establish.
Our editorial standards- The source and date
- Identify the originating publication and document link, together with the date the material was accessed or preserved.
- The version and completeness
- State which version is held. Missing pages, schedules, annexures or other known limitations should be disclosed.
- The form of the copy
- Distinguish a source document from a transcription, OCR text, translation or editorial consolidation. Unofficial translations should be identified.
- The legal position
- A saved copy does not update itself when a law changes or a decision receives later treatment. Any statement about current status needs its own verification.
Check the entry’s basis.
The source information and dates attached to an entry matter as much as its summary. Our standard is to make the basis of an account clear and to identify a material uncertainty rather than leave readers to infer that it has been resolved.
- For a judgment
- Check the case name and number, court or division, decision date, citation and source text. Keep the court’s holding, the parties’ submissions and the author’s assessment distinct.
- For legislation
- Check the instrument, number and year, source and version. Enactment, gazette publication and commencement may have different dates. A preserved text should not be treated as an automatically updated consolidation.
- For later developments
- Check what has actually been verified about an appeal, stay, review, later judgment, amendment or repeal. Silence about later treatment does not establish that there has been none.
- For publication dates
- A judgment’s decision date is different from its online release date and the date of the ain.bd entry. The same distinction applies between the date of a legal instrument and the date we publish an analysis of it.
Citing the material
Use the primary authority for a proposition attributed to a court or instrument. Cite the ain.bd author and entry separately when referring to the analysis. This collection is an academic publication, not an official law report or a source of individual legal advice.
Gaps are part of the record.
The collection is developing. Delayed publication, inaccessible or incomplete documents, verification difficulties and the time needed for analysis can leave gaps. A newly available decision may be added after more recent entries. Publication on ain.bd does not mean an item has been checked continuously for every later development.
Search results reflect material indexed on this website. A result may depend on spelling, transliteration, citation format or the text available for indexing. Words contained only in an unindexed scan or attachment may not be found. Try the case number, parties, citation or provision, and check the relevant official collection if the item remains missing.
Where a source is unavailable or a material point remains unverified, the entry should say so. A correction or later development that materially changes the account should be explained in a dated note, in line with our editorial standards.
Report an error or later developmentHelp us fill a gap.
If you can identify a missing judgment, supply a reliable source or clarify a version, write to editor@ain.bd. Include the case or instrument, its date and a public source link where possible. For an issue with an existing entry, please use the corrections form.