A daylong conference on Thematic Issues of CLEP - National Consultation Process was held at the BRAC Centre Auditorium on March 03, 2007. The Conference deliberated on three of the four thematic issues identified by the Commission for alleviation of poverty and their relevance for the legal system of Bangladesh. The Conference was held at the behest of the Commission in collaboration with the School of Law (SOL), BRACU (BU) under the direct supervision of the Chairperson of SOL, Dr Shahdeen Malik.
Mr. F H Abed, Chairperson, BRAC and Commissioner of the CLEP inaugurated the day. It was followed by the opening remarks made by Naresh Singh, the Executive Director of CLEP, New York. The first session had the presentation of the paper on "Legal Mechanism to Empower Informal Business" by Dr. Sharif Bhuiyan, Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. It was followed by a critical comment on the same paper by the Assistant Professor Dr Tureen Afroz of the School of Law. Two students of the SOL of BRACU presented case studies. Eminent lawyer Dr. Kamal Hossain chaired this session.
The second session had the presentation of the paper on "Property Rights of the Poor" by Mr. Afsan Chowdhury, Director of the Advocacy and Human Rights Unit of BRAC, followed by a critical comment by Barrister Sara Hossain. Barrister Amirul Islam, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, chaired this session.
Third session had the presentation of the paper on "From Rule of Law to Legal Empowerment for the Poor in Bangladesh" by Dr. Ferdous Jahan, Associate Professor, Department of Public Administration, Dhaka University. It was followed by the critical comment made by Dr. Abdullah-Al Faruque, Assistant Professor of the Department of Law of Chittagong University. Dr. Shamsul Bari, Chairperson of Research Initiatives of Bangladesh, chaired this session.
Barrister Moinul Hosein, Advisor of the Caretaker Government delivered his speech emphasizing the importance of the Commission's work as the Chief Guest of the Concluding Session of the Conference.