Blanket immunity to World Bank?

Late Shah AMS Kibria, the former Finance Minister of the previous government, opposed the introduction of the bill and termed it 'objectionable, illogical, immoral and unnecessary." He said passage of the bill with such privileges to the World Bank, would impede people's fundamental rights. He also informed the House that the World Bank does not enjoy such privileges in any country in South Asia. In response to the argument of his predecessor, Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman said, the enactment is necessary for smooth functioning of the World Bank. He also admitted that there was no precedence of such immunity, but at the same time, the international institution is not facing any legal actions elsewhere such as that in Bangladesh.

It may be mentioned here that a bench of the appellate division of the High Court granted a petition filed by Mrs. Ismat Zerin Khan, who lost her job in the World Bank and was seeking justice in accordance with the law of the land, a right she enjoys as a citizen of this country. The World Bank impeded the process by claiming it enjoys legal immunity. So the High Court had to direct the trial court to decide whether Mrs. Khan's case was at all maintainable, since the international institution is above any form of legal process. In fact the World Bank formally asked the government for legal immunity about three years ago, after being sued by their dismissed official. The government subsequently sought legal opinion from the Attorney General and also from the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs which suggested introduction of the bill in Parliament.

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The World Bank is generally given some privileges when a country signs the Article of Agreement with the bank. There is no scope for providing further privileges to this international institution. Article VII, Section III of the Articles of Agreement signed between the Government of Bangladesh and the World Bank states that, "Action may be brought against the World Bank in a court of competent jurisdiction in the territories of a member in which the Bank has an office." As such the World Bank cannot seek blanket immunity from every form of legal process violating the conditions of the agreement. According to the agreement, the officials of the World Bank enjoy some immunity while discharging of duty in their official capacity. But the Bank as a body does not have immunity.

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Barrister Moudud Ahmed, while defending the government move said that, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the country's another major development partner, enjoyed the legal immunity. It is learnt that the situation on which the Asian Development Bank (ADB) enjoyed the immunity is different from that of the World Bank as the ADB's constitution allows it to seek legal immunity all over the world. Finance and Planning Minister M. Saifur Rahman also referred to other international organizations including the Food and Agricultural Organisations (FAO) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). But the World Bank is not a UN body that can be granted immunity under the UN Convention on Immunities and Privileges of the UN passed by the United Nations General Assembly. The World Bank is not also entitled to diplomatic immunity and privileges enjoyed by diplomatic missions under the Vienna Convention.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) the twins of Bretton Woods Conference are said to be involved in a global effort to promote the interests of the industrialised countries. These twins have specific responsibilities with regard to the Third World and they perform their role in close collaboration with each other. The World Bank i.e. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and its two other affiliates i.e., International Development Association and International Finance Corporation, were established on the initiative of the United States of America for promoting international investment for reconstruction of economies destroyed by the World War-II, and development of the countries which were emerging gradually on the international scene by winning their independence from colonial rule. As such neither the World Bank nor the IMF can seek legal immunity from the government as these are striving to change the socio-economic conditions of the poor countries around the world.

Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman said that the necessity for providing legal immunity to the World Bank was felt following the filing of a case against the World Bank by a local citizen, "because of which we had to face an embarrassing situation in the international arena." The Finance Minister's argument favouring legal immunity for World Bank does not conform to reason. The operation of the World Bank in the field of socio-economic development and its policy-based lending have enormous implications for the common people. If development is conceived as a right and is acknowledged, the process of development could not be immune. Prof. Muzaffar Ahmed, the noted economist of the country, expressed his deep concern over providing legal immunity to World Bank and said that, the whole move would lead to decline of national sovereignty and democratic control over local economic process and resources, while it would strengthen influence by the multilateral lender on domestic policy decisions which would conclusively affect economic, social and cultural rights of the people.

The bill, initially scheduled for introduction in the last Parliament session, was introduced on October 31, after the opposition's protest against the bill was rejected by voice vote. Earlier, the cabinet in July, 2004 endorsed a draft bill seeking an amendment to the International Financial Organisations Order, 1972 to grant blanket immunity for the World Bank in Bangladesh. The International Financial Organisations Order, 1972 will be dubbed as "The International Financial Organisations (Amendment) Act-2004 if it is approved by the Parliament. The bill was sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Finance Ministry, who okayed it amid strong opposition protest. The representative of the main opposition Awami League in the Parliamentary Standing Committee on finance ministry gave a note of dissent and walked out of the meeting while the parliamentary panel was scrutinising the bill, terming it a violation of the constitution and democracy.

There has been angry response from the civil rights groups and the NGO activists on introduction of the bill in the Parliament. About 50 organisations, under the banner of the 'Alliance against World Bank Immunity' has chalked out several programmes to protest the immunity likely to be given by The International Financial Organisations (Amendment) Act, 2004 at this Parliament session. The programmes include rallies and discussions across the country, road march and submission of a memorandum to the Speaker of the Parliament. The alliance has also decided to go to the court to challenge the blanket immunity.

World Bank, the Washington-based lender asked for the legal immunity from the government some 30 years after it began operation in Bangladesh. Under the existing provisions of the International Financial Organisations Order 1972, no legal action is allowed against the activities of employees of World Bank as long as they act in an official capacity at the directive of the bank. No immigration related rules are applicable against the foreign staff of the bank according to the existing provisions of the Order. The multilateral agencies for aid and trade such as the World Bank, IMF and WTO came under severe criticism at an international conference held in Dhaka in June-2004, for their role as external forces of powerful states backing indiscriminate liberalisation. The organisations were blamed for maintaining double standard -- one policy for poorer nations and another for richer ones. So the government should think once again the far reaching consequence on peoples' interest and human rights while providing blanket legal immunity for World Bank.

ANM Nulul Haque is a banker.