Bangladesh鈥檚 International Crimes Tribunal on Thursday amended its Rules of Procedure 2010, granting its investigation officers the authority to arrest accused or suspected individuals and conduct evidence discovery and seizure without prior approval from the tribunal.
The amendments were published in a gazette notification signed by the ICT registrar ASM Ruhul Imran on the day.
According to the revised rules, if an investigation officer has reasonable grounds to believe that an offence under the ICT Act has been committed, they may proceed to the scene, investigate the facts and circumstances, and arrest any accused or suspected person.
The officer is also empowered to carry out necessary searches and seizures of evidence and may seek assistance from law enforcement agencies in this regard.
The amended rules also clarify that while investigation officers may act independently, they may, if deemed necessary, request the tribunal to issue an arrest warrant through the prosecution at any stage of the investigation or trial.
The tribunal further empowered law enforcement agencies, investigation officers and prosecutors involved in the investigation to execute any arrest warrants issued by the tribunal.
Additionally, the chief prosecutor has been granted the authority to decide which offences and accused persons will be formally charged before the tribunal.
Before submitting a formal charge, the chief prosecutor may also refer an offence or an accused to any other competent court or tribunal in Bangladesh for prosecution, if deemed appropriate.
The amendments also define 鈥榓ccused鈥� to include both individuals and organisations against whom investigations have been initiated.
In a move towards gender-inclusive language, the tribunal substituted masculine pronouns such as 鈥榟e鈥� and 鈥榟im鈥� with 鈥榟e or she鈥� and 鈥榟is or her鈥� in the official forms of the ICT.
