The Judicial Domestication of Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh: Reconciling International Refugee Standards with National Legal Practice

Kazi Hosna-Ul Islam, Ayesha Saleh

The Millennium University, Jagannath University

This research decisively interrogates the juridical condition of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh in the context of judicial domestication. This vital jurisprudential process elucidates how international norms relating to the rights of refugees are interpreted, adapted, and operationalized within domestic legal frameworks, even in the absence of formal treaty incorporation. Its significance is underscored by the need to examine how courts in non-signatory jurisdictions serve as critical sites of normative translation in a context with legislative gaps and executive ambiguity. This study addresses a notable gap in refugee law scholarship, where the judiciary's pivotal role as a norm-translating institution has often been overlooked in discussions on shaping refugee protection beyond mere legislative frameworks and executive policies. It rigorously assesses the extent to which Bangladeshi courts have reconciled international refugee standards with national legal practices through jurisprudence related to the Rohingya. Utilizing a doctrinal and jurisprudential methodology, this research analyzes constitutional principles, judicial decisions, international refugee and human rights instruments, and comparative jurisprudence, thereby illuminating patterns of judicial interactions with refugee protection norms. Findings reveal that Bangladeshi courts have, albeit inconsistently, engaged in selective judicial domestication by invoking constitutional guarantees, humanitarian principles, and persuasive international norms to address the protection deficits faced by the Rohingyas. However, this process is currently fragmented and constrained by sovereignty-centered security rationales and the lack of a dedicated refugee framework. The research asserts that judicial domestication represents an emergent jurisprudential pathway for aligning international standards with domestic legal practices. It substantially contributes to refugee law scholarship by proposing a court-centered theory of protection and offers valuable normative implications for judicial development, legal reform, and refugee governance in non-signatory states.

Article link: https://www.asianinstituteofresearch.org/lhqrarchives/the-judicial-domestication-of-rohingya-refugees-in-bangladesh%3A-reconciling-international-refugee-standards-with-national-legal-practice