The InternationalCovenant on Civil and Political Rights: A Study on Bangladesh Compliance especially after the collapse of the Soviet empire. In 1992, Thomas Franck in his pioneering article, The Emerging Right to Democratic Governance, claimed that in international law, a new norm was emerging that required democracy to legitimise the governance of the State. While governance has always been within the internal affairs of a State protected under its sovereign veil, Franck argues, this emerging law is becoming “a requirement of international law, applicable to all and implemented through global standards, with the help of regional and international organisations”.6 The normative position in favour of democratic governance, which has been translated into international law as an ‘entitlement’ in recent years, is well accommodated in the Constitution of Bangladesh. The Constitution not only declares democratic governance as one of the fundamental principles of State policy,7 but also stipulates that “[t]he Republic shall be a democracy in which fundamental human rights and freedoms and respect for the dignity and worth of the human person shall be guaranteed [...] and in which effective participation by the people through their elected representatives in administration at all levels shall be ensured.”8 6 7 8 Franck, 47. See, article 8 (1) of the Constitution. Article 11 of the Constitution. See also, the preamble, and articles 7 (1) and 59 (1) of the Constitution. 19