Bangladesh State and Criminal Justice System

Course Objectives

This course is an introductory survey of the criminal justice system of Bangladesh in its social and institutional context and its structure and functioning. The course provides an overview of the foundations and components of the criminal justice system, including substantive and procedural criminal law, police, courts, and corrections and their impact on victims, offenders and society. The main emphasis will be placed on the criminal justice process and how the various institutions of criminal justice interact, highlighting the balance between crime control and due process.

Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate knowledge regarding:

• CLO1: Students will gain an understanding of Bangladesh’s criminal justice system with a view to its social and institutional context and its structure and functioning.
• CLO2: Students will gain an understanding of why societies punish certain behavior in the first place, how the law distinguishes between lawful and unlawful behavior, and what legal safeguards have been established in democratic societies against unfair and unreasonable punishment.
• CLO3: Students will gain an understanding of how and why crimes are committed and what this means for individual victims and for society.
• CLO4: Students will gain an understanding of the sequence of events that leads to the determination of guilt or innocence of an individual alleged to have committed a crime, and how police, courts, and corrections interact.
• CLO5: Students will gain an understanding of why and how offenders are punished, and what the individual and social consequences of punishment are.