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 Cyber Law in Bangladesh
By Mohammad Ershadul Karim

Overview

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this practical guide to cyber law – the
law affecting information and communication technology (ICT) – in Bangladesh covers every aspect of the subject,
including intellectual property rights in the ICT sector, relevant competition rules, drafting and negotiating ICT-related
contracts, electronic transactions, privacy issues, and computer crime. Lawyers who handle transnational matters will
appreciate the detailed explanation of specific characteristics of practice and procedure.

Following a general introduction, the book assembles its information and guidance in seven main areas of practice:
the regulatory framework of the electronic communications market; software protection, legal protection of
databases or chips, and other intellectual property matters; contracts with regard to software licensing and network
services, with special attention to case law in this area; rules with regard to electronic evidence, regulation of
electronic signatures, electronic banking, and electronic commerce; specific laws and regulations with respect to the
liability of network operators and service providers and related product liability; protection of individual persons in
the context of the processing of personal data and confidentiality; and the application of substantive criminal law in
the area of ICT.

Its succinct yet scholarly nature, as well as the practical quality of the information it provides, make this book a
valuable time-saving tool for business and legal professionals alike. Lawyers representing parties with interests in
Bangladesh will welcome this very useful guide, and academics and researchers will appreciate its value in the study
of comparative law in this relatively new and challenging field.

For more information, visit kluwerlaw.com/store

Phone: +31 (0) 172 641562 • Email: international-sales@wolterskluwer.com
Cyber Law in Bangladesh
By Mohammad Ershadul Karim

Table of Contents

The Authors
The
ListAuthor
of Abbreviations Part IV. Electronic Transactions
List of Abbreviations Chapter 1. Legal Status of Electronic Transaction
Preface
General Introduction Chapter 2. Regulation of Electronic Signatures and
Contributions Certification Services
General1.Introduction
Chapter General Background of the Country Chapter 3. Legal Aspects of Electronic Banking
Chapter 2. Telecommunications Infrastructure Chapter 4. Protection of Users of Electronic Services
Part I. Land
Chapter 3. The Information and Communications
Technology
Chapter 1. Market
Meaning of Land Part V. Non-contractual Liability
Chapter Chapter 1. Non-contractual Liability
Chapter4.2.E-Commerce: Facts and Figures
General Classifications
Chapter 5. E-Government Initiatives Chapter 2. Product Liability
Chapter 3. Co-ownership
Chapter
Part 4. The Torrens
I. Regulation of the ICTSystem
Market Part VI. Privacy Protection
Chapter1.5.
Chapter Caveats Framework of the
Regulatory Chapter 1. Regulation of Personal Data Processing
Chapter 6. Leases and ICT Sector
Telecommunications Chapter 2. Protection of Telecommunications Privacy
Chapter
Chapter2.7.Regulation
Licencesof Competition in the
Telecommunication Sector Part VII. Computer Related Crime
Chapter 8. Easements
Chapter 3. Regulation of Cryptography and Other Dual- Chapter 1. General Legal Development
Chapter 9. Covenants Relating to Land
Use Goods Chapter 2. Application of Substantive Criminal Law in
Chapter4.10.
Chapter Mortgages
Legal Status of Standardization the Area of ICT
Chapter5.11.
Chapter Planning
Legal Status ofLaw
Out-of-Court Dispute Chapter 3. Application of Criminal Procedure Law in the
Chapter 12.
Settlement in Neighbourhood
the ICT Sector and Urban Problems Area of ICT
Chapter 13. Comparative Property Law
Part II. Protection of Intellectual Property in the ICT Selected Bibliography
Sector Index
Part II. Personal Property
Chapter 1. Application of Copyright in the Area of ICT
Chapter2.1.Legal
Chapter General Classifications
Protection of Software
Chapter 2. Security Interests
Chapter 3. Legal Protection of Databases
Chapter 4. Legal Protection of Computer Chips
Chapter
Part III.5.Acquisition
Internet Domain Name Registration
of Property Rights
Chapter 1. Contract for the Sale of Land
Part III. ICT Contracts
Chapter 2. Contract for the Sale of Goods
Chapter 1. Hardware and Software Contracts
Chapter2.3.Turnkey
Chapter Transfer upon Death
Contracts
Chapter 3. Other Contractsand Appropriation
Chapter 4. Possession
Chapter4.5.Government
Chapter AccessionContracts
and Specification
Chapter 6. Expropriation
Chapter 7. Insolvency

Part IV. Trusts

Chapter 1. Introduction to Trusts
Chapter 2. Express Trusts
Chapter 3. Formalities
Chapter 4. Constitution
Chapter 5. Resulting Trusts ISBN: 9789403521015 • Released: March 2020
Chapter 6. Constructive Trusts Price: € 85 - $ 95 - £ 75 • Format: Softcover, 304pp
Chapter 7. Trustee’s Duties
Chapter 8. Fiduciary Duties Available in our eStore and Digital Book Platform
Selected Bibliography
Table of Cases
Table of Statutes
Index
KluwerLaw.com/Store
Bangladesh
by
Md Ershadul Karim
Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Malaya, Malaysia

This monograph is up-to-date as of December 2019

2020

Cyber Law – Suppl. 77 (2020) Bangladesh – 1

Published by:
Kluwer Law International B.V.
PO Box 316
2400 AH Alphen aan den Rijn
The Netherlands
E-mail: international-sales@wolterskluwer.com
Website: lrus.wolterskluwer.com
Sold and distributed in North, Central and South America by:
Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S.
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Sold and distributed in all other countries by:
Air Business Subscriptions
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Email: international-customerservice@wolterskluwer.com

The monograph Bangladesh is an integral part of Cyber Law in the International Encyclopaedia of Laws
series.

Printed on acid-free paper.

ISBN 978-90-411-2188-2
Cyber Law was first published in 2004.
Karim, Md Ershadul. ‘Bangladesh’. In International Encyclopaedia of Laws: Cyber Law, edited by Jos
Dumortier. Alphen aan den Rijn, NL: Kluwer Law International, 2020.
This title is available on www.kluwerlawonline.com

© 2020, Kluwer Law International BV, The Netherlands

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without written permission from the publisher.

Permission to use this content must be obtained from the copyright owner. More information can be
found at: lrus.wolterskluwer.com/policies/permissions-reprints-and-licensing
Printed in the United Kingdom.

2 – Bangladesh Cyber Law – Suppl. 77 (2020)

The Author

Mohammad Ershadul Karim, LLB (Hons.), LLM (University

of Dhaka), PhD in Nanotechnology Law and Policy (University
of Malaya) is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University
of Malaya, Malaysia. Dr Karim has been teaching Research
Methodology, ICT Law, and Privacy and Personal Data Protection
Law and has widely published in peer-reviewed Journals and
presented papers in a number of national and international
Conferences in his areas of interest, i.e., ‘legal and regulatory
aspects of nanotechnology’, ‘science, technology and law’,
‘privacy and data protection law’, ‘human right to health’,
‘legal research’ and ‘renewable energy law’, etc.
The Second Edition of his co-authored book on ‘Personal
Data Protection Law in Asia’ published by Thomson and Reuters, Hong Kong was
released in December 2017. He has written Chapters on the Legal System of Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Iran, Nepal, Maldives and Myanmar in GlobaLex, New York
University, United States (US). He has also developed the Research Guide on Nanotechnology
Law and Policy, and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC
for the same database. His contribution on ‘Nanotechnology and International Environmental
Law’ was included in a book as a chapter published by the Royal Society of Chemistry,
the United Kingdom (UK) in November 2016 and his contribution on ‘Legal Issues
in Polymer Nanocomposite’ was published as a Book Chapter by Elsevier Inc in
March 2018. His forthcoming contributions on ‘Functionalised Nanomaterials and
Legal Issues’ will be published as Book Chapters by Elsevier Inc in April 2020, and
Legal and Ethical Issues on Biosensors will be published as a Book Chapter by Springer
Nature in 2020.
Dr Karim has been managing the National Chapter on Bangladesh for the Yearbook
of International Environmental Law published by the Oxford University, the UK
since 2013. As an enlisted lawyer with Bangladesh Bar Council and Bangladesh
Supreme Court, Dr Karim was instrumental in developing Bangladesh Code, a collection
of thirty-eight volumes containing all existing Acts of Parliament, Ordinances and
President’s Orders in force in Bangladesh between 1836–2006. He was also a member
of the translation team of Bangladesh Code. Dr Karim also served as the Web Administrator
and Editor of the first ever online case law database of Bangladesh, Chancery Law
Chronicles (www.clcbd.org) for six years.

Cyber Law – Suppl. 77 (2020) Bangladesh – 3

The Author

Dr Karim has been consulted by different national and international organizations

including Japan Government’s Patent Office through Kyoto Comparative Law Center,
United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United Nations (UN) Women, World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), World Bank Group, European Union (EU),
Canadian International Development Agency, Japan International Cooperative Agency,
Consumer International, Prime Minister’s Office of the Government of Malaysia,
and Ministry of Justice, Abu Dhabi.

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Table of Contents

The Author 3

List of Abbreviations 17

General Introduction 23

Chapter 1. General Background of the Country 23

§1. GEOGRAPHY 23

§2. CLIMATE 24

§3. HISTORY 24

§4. ECONOMY 26

§5. DEMOGRAPHIC AND CULTURAL COMPOSITION 30

§6. POLITICAL SYSTEM 32

§7. POPULATION AND VITAL STATISTICS 33

§8. LEGAL SYSTEM AND SOURCES OF LAW 34

§9. LEGAL STATUS OF POLICY 39

Chapter 2. Telecommunications Infrastructure 41

§1. INTRODUCTION 41

§2. EMERGENCE OF TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEM 41

I. Pre-independence Era 41
II. Post-Independence Era 42
A. National Telecommunication Policy, 1998 43
B. National Telecommunication Policy, 2015 (Draft) 44
C. National Telecommunication Policy, 2018 45
III. Mobile Network Providers 46

§3. HISTORY OF RADIO 48

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Table of Contents

§4. HISTORY OF TELEVISION 49

§5. HISTORY OF COMPUTER 50

I. Pre-independence Era 50
II. Post-Independence Era 51

§6. HISTORY OF THE INTERNET 52

§7. HISTORY OF SUBMARINE CABLE 53

§8. HISTORY OF SATELLITE 54

§9. TELECOMMUNICATION INFRASTRUCTURE 56

§10. SHARING OF MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATION INFRASTRUCTURE 58

§11. LAST FEW WORDS 62

Chapter 3. The Information and Communications Technology

Market 63

§1. INTRODUCTION 63

§2. MOBILE PHONE SUBSCRIBERS 64

§3. INTERNET SUBSCRIBERS 65

§4. COMPUTER USERS 66

§5. ICT MARKET: AN OVERVIEW OF RELEVANT SECTORS 67

§6. HARDWARE MANUFACTURING 68

§7. REVENUE GENERATED 69

§8. CONCLUSION 70

Chapter 4. E-Commerce: Facts and Figures 72

§1. INTRODUCTION 72

§2. DEFINITION OF E-COMMERCE AND RELATED TERMS 73

§3. TYPES OF E-COMMERCE 74

§4. EMERGENCE OF E-COMMERCE IN BANGLADESH 74

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 Table of Contents

§5. CHALLENGES OF E-COMMERCE 76

§6. LEGAL AND REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS 76

§7. ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFER 77

§8. IMPROVED PRODUCT DELIVERY SYSTEM 78

§9. DIGITAL MARKETING 79

§10. LEGAL AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: AN ASSESSMENT 79

§11. THE NATIONAL DIGITAL COMMERCE POLICY, 2018 80

§12. WAY FORWARD 82

Chapter 5. E-Government Initiatives 84

§1. INTRODUCTION 84

§2. E-GOVERNMENT DEVELOPMENT AND E-PARTICIPATION INDEX 85

§3. NATIONAL ICT POLICIES 86

§4. DIGITAL BANGLADESH INITIATIVE 89

§5. IMPORTANT E-GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES 91

Part I. Regulation of the ICT Market 95

Chapter 1. Regulatory Framework of the Telecommunications

and ICT Sector 95

§1. INTRODUCTION 95

§2. REGULATION: AN OVERVIEW 95

§3. TELECOMMUNICATION REGULATION IN BANGLADESH 96

§4. TELECOMMUNICATION AND ICT REGULATORS IN BANGLADESH 98

§5. BANGLADESH TELECOMMUNICATION REGULATORY AUTHORITY 99

§6. BANGLADESH POST OFFICE 105

§7. BANGLADESH SUBMARINE CABLE COMPANY LIMITED 105

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Table of Contents

§8. DEPARTMENT OF ICT 105

§9. BANGLADESH HI-TECH PARK AUTHORITY 106

§10. BANGLADESH COMPUTER COUNCIL 106

§11. MINISTRY OF INFORMATION 107

§12. OTHER RELEVANT NATIONAL REGULATORY AUTHORITIES 107

§13. ASSOCIATION OF TRADE BODIES 108

§14. ASSOCIATION OF MOBILE TELECOM OPERATORS OF BANGLADESH 108

§15. BANGLADESH ASSOCIATION OF SOFTWARE & INFORMATION SERVICES 108

§16. BANGLADESH ASSOCIATION OF CALL CENTER AND OUTSOURCING 108

§17. INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATION BANGLADESH 109

§18. BANGLADESH COMPUTER SAMITY 109

§19. OTHER ASSOCIATIONS 109

Chapter 2. Regulation of Competition in the

Telecommunication Sector 110

§1. INTRODUCTION 110

§2. COMPETITION AND NATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK 110

§3. COMPETITION REGULATION IN TELECOMMUNICATION SECTOR 114

§4. NUMBERING 115

§5. SINGLE MARKET POWER GUIDELINES 116

§6. MERGER AND ACQUISITION SCENARIO 117

§7. MERGER AND ACQUISITION UNDER BANGLADESH LAWS 119

Chapter 3. Regulation of Cryptography and Other Dual-Use

Goods 121

§1. INTRODUCTION 121

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 Table of Contents

§2. CRYPTOGRAPHY REGULATION IN BANGLADESH 122

Chapter 4. Legal Status of Standardization 125

§1. INTRODUCTION 125

§2. STANDARD SETTING ORGANIZATIONS 125

§3. STANDARD MAKING PROCESS 127

§4. STANDARDS ON ICT 128

Chapter 5. Legal Status of Out-of-Court Dispute Settlement

in the ICT Sector 133

§1. INTRODUCTION 133

§2. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE SETTLEMENT UNDER DOMESTIC LAW 134

§3. THE ARBITRATION ACT, 2001 (ACT NO. 1 OF 2001) 135

§4. DISPUTES BETWEEN THE ICT AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS PLAYERS 138

§5. DISPUTES BETWEEN THE MARKET PLAYERS WITH CONSUMERS 139

§6. DISPUTES BETWEEN THE ICT AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS PLAYERS

WITH THE REGULATORS 140

§7. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS 141

Part II. Protection of Intellectual Property in the ICT Sector 143

Chapter 1. Application of Copyright in the Area of ICT 145

§1. INTRODUCTION 145

§2. IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS 145

§3. INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT 146

§4. REGISTRATION OF COPYRIGHT 147

§5. COPYRIGHT OWNERSHIP 149

§6. REMEDIES 149

Cyber Law – Suppl. 77 (2020) Bangladesh – 9

Table of Contents

§7. CONCLUSION 150

Chapter 2. Legal Protection of Software 151

§1. INTRODUCTION 151

§2. SOFTWARE PROTECTION LAW 151

§3. PATENT LAW 151

§4. NEW PATENT BILL, 2018 152

§5. SOFTWARE PATENTABILITY UNDER THE PATENT BILL, 2018 153

§6. CONCLUSION 154

Chapter 3. Legal Protection of Databases 155

§1. INTRODUCTION 155

§2. DATABASE PROTECTION LAW 155

§3. DATABASE PROTECTION UNDER NATIONAL LAW 156

Chapter 4. Legal Protection of Computer Chips 159

Chapter 5. Internet Domain Name Registration 160

§1. INTRODUCTION 160

§2. DOMAIN NAME REGISTRAR 160

§3. OFFENCES AND DISPUTE SETTLEMENT 161

Part III. ICT Contracts 165

§1. INTRODUCTION 165

§2. LAW OF CONTRACT IN A NUTSHELL 165

§3. ELEMENTS OF A CONTRACT 167

§4. BREACH OF CONTRACT AND REMEDIES AVAILABLE 167

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Chapter 1. Hardware and Software Contracts 172

Chapter 2. Turnkey Contracts 173

Chapter 3. Other Contracts 175

§1. DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENTS 175

§2. MAINTENANCE AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT CONTRACTS 176

§3. NETWORK SERVICES 176

Chapter 4. Government Contracts 177

Part IV. Electronic Transactions 181

Chapter 1. Legal Status of Electronic Transaction 181

Chapter 2. Regulation of Electronic Signatures and

Certification Services 185

§1. CERTIFICATION SERVICES 187

§2. THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (CERTIFYING AUTHORITIES) RULES,

2010 188

§3. THE DIGITAL SIGNATURE INTEROPERABILITY GUIDELINES, 2018 189

§4. THE TIME STAMPING SERVICES GUIDELINES FOR CERTIFYING

AUTHORITIES, 2016 189

§5. CONCLUSION 190

Chapter 3. Legal Aspects of Electronic Banking 191

§1. INTRODUCTION 191

§2. BANGLADESH BANK 191

§3. OVERVIEW OF FINANCIAL SYSTEM OF BANGLADESH 192

§4. ELECTRONIC BANKING IN BANGLADESH: AN OVERVIEW 192

§5. PAYMENT SYSTEMS 193

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Table of Contents

§6. AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINE (ATM) 194

§7. CREDIT CARD SERVICE 194

§8. ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFER 195

§9. MOBILE FINANCIAL SERVICES 196

§10. ICT SECURITY FOR BANKS 198

§11. STATUS OF CRYPTOCURRENCY OR VIRTUAL CURRENCY 199

§12. CONCLUSION 199

Chapter 4. Protection of Users of Electronic Services 201

Part V. Non-contractual Liability 203

Chapter 1. Non-contractual Liability 203

§1. NEGLIGENCE 203

§2. LIABILITY OF NETWORK OPERATORS 205

§3. LIABILITY OF SERVICE PROVIDERS 208

Chapter 2. Product Liability 210

§1. INTRODUCTION 210

§2. CONSUMER PROTECTION AND GLOBAL MOVE 210

§3. PRODUCT LIABILITY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION 211

§4. IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS 213

§5. REMEDIES AVAILABLE UNDER THE LAW 215

§6. PRODUCT LIABILITY UNDER THE ACT OF 2009 216

§7. DEFENCES 218

§8. PRODUCT LIABILITY IN THE LAW OF CONTRACT 218

§9. THE SALE OF GOODS ACT, 1930 219

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§10. TORT 220

§11. FINAL WORDS 220

Part VI. Privacy Protection 223

§1. INTRODUCTION 223

§2. PRIVACY, INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTRUMENTS AND

BANGLADESH 223

§3. STATUS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW IN BANGLADESH 228

§4. PROTECTION OF PRIVACY UNDER DOMESTIC LAW 229

§5. PROTECTION OF PRIVACY AND DOMESTIC COURTS 233

Chapter 1. Regulation of Personal Data Processing 236

§1. INTRODUCTION 236

§2. DOMESTIC LAW ON PERSONAL DATA 236

§3. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS 239

§4. CONCLUSION 240

Chapter 2. Protection of Telecommunications Privacy 242

Part VII. Computer Related Crime 245

Chapter 1. General Legal Development 247

§1. INTRODUCTION 247

§2. FACTS AND FIGURES 251

§3. CYBER SECURITY 253

Chapter 2. Application of Substantive Criminal Law in the

Area of ICT 257

§1. INTRODUCTION 257

§2. SUBSTANTIVE CYBERCRIMES 257

I. Illegal or Unauthorized Access and Hacking 257

Cyber Law – Suppl. 77 (2020) Bangladesh – 13

Table of Contents

§3. DAMAGE TO COMPUTER AND COMPUTER SYSTEM 259

§4. IDENTITY THEFT 260

§5. SPAM 260

§6. DIGITAL OR ELECTRONIC FORGERY AND FRAUD 262

§7. CRIMINAL BREACH OF TRUST 262

§8. SEXUAL HARASSMENT 263

§9. DEFAMATION 264

§10. PORNOGRAPHY 267

§11. CYBER TERRORISM 270

§12. MISCELLANEOUS 270

§13. GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES 271

§14. CONCLUSION 273

Chapter 3. Application of Criminal Procedure Law in the

Area of ICT 274

§1. INTRODUCTION 274

§2. OFFENCES IN GENERAL 274

§3. INVESTIGATION OF OFFENCES 277

§4. SEARCH AND SEIZURE DURING INVESTIGATION 278

§5. ARREST AND DETENTION 278

§6. TRIAL OF OFFENCES 280

§7. ELECTRONIC EVIDENCE 282

§8. BURDEN OF PROOF 284

§9. BAIL 285

§10. RULES FOR ASSESSMENT OF PUNISHMENT 286

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 Table of Contents

§11. EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION ISSUES 286

§12. CONCLUSION 290

Selected Bibliography 291

Index 293

Cyber Law – Suppl. 77 (2020) Bangladesh – 15

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