Feature
LONDON BANGLA = Friday 23 August 2013
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An enlightened personality of the British-Bangladeshi community:
Barrister Nazir Ahmed
Barrister Nazir Ahmed – a renowned lawyer, writer, analyst and thinker – is one of the well known personalities in the UK and Europe’s Bangladeshi diaspora community. He is a multitalented personality. He was born in a respectable Muslim family in the Village of: Bahara Dubag, Post Office and Union: Doulot Pur, Upazila: Biswanath, District: Sylhet, Bangladesh. His father’s name is Alhaj Md Rofiz Ali and his mother’s name is Mrs Sitaf Bibi. He is the second son of his parents. His two younger brothers are: Immigration Advisor Wahid Ali and Zubaer Ali, Principal of A-Z Law Associates. Barrister Nazir Ahmed married Mrs Salma Ahmed, the only daughter of Alhaj Akikur Rahman and Mrs Sultana Rahman Chowdhury – of Jalalabad R/A, in 1997. He is blessed with three daughters (Tasnia Ahmed, Farhana Ahmed and Tahmina Ahmed) and two sons (Ahsan Ahmed and Hasan Murshed Ahmed). Educational and professional background Barrister Nazir Ahmed was a meritorious student. He displayed signs of excellence in each and every stage of his education. He used to be the top student, right from Class I to X. In Class VII, he was awarded the “Cash Prize” for the best result with the highest marks in the school. He would always secure the first prize in the general knowledge competitions held every year when he was in secondary school. He was accustomed to spending his time according to a strict routine and plan. That, along with his strong determination and hard work, made Barrister Nazir Ahmed successful in his education and professional life. In Class IX he was elected as a School Captain and led the students on the then contemporary issues. He studied at Bahara Dubag Primary School, Daulatpur Adarsha High School and Sylhet Government College (the former M.C. College). In both the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Exams and the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) Exams, he secured a place in the merit list from the Humanities (Arts) Group and he won a scholarship, with a stipend, from the then Comilla Education Board. He was then admitted to the University of Dhaka as well as being among the first batch of entrants to the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology. Barrister Nazir Ahmed then went to the UK with his parents for higher education. Having arrived to the UK, he studied various courses at Tower Hamlets College, Tottenham College, the College of North-East London and Hackney College. He successfully completed the Cert. LC from London City University, the Leadership Training Course and Skills Development Course from reputable institutes with international standards, an Advisory Training Course (consisting of five core modules) from the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (NACAB) and Governors Training Courses from the Local Education Authority (LEA). Barrister Nazir Ahmed successfully completed an LLB (Hons) at Queen Mary, University of London in 1997. Later on, he completed a Master of Laws (LLM) at the same University. Mr. Ahmed was admitted as a solicitor in the Supreme Court of England and Wales, having secured Grade A, and he enrolled as an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. He is currently a Member of the Dhaka Bar and the Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association. He was called to the Bar (Barrister-at-Law) by the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn in 1999. It should be noted that Mr Ahmed was at the top of the combined Pass List (of all Inns – Gray’s Inn, Lincoln’s Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple) of the British Bar Council’s Bar Final Exams. Barrister Nazir Ahmed has skills and experience in international arbitration. He is a Fellow (FCIArb – the highest grade) of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), UK – very few people of Bangladeshi origin have this title and prestige. Barrister Nazir Ahmed has advanced management skills, qualifications and experience. He has led various organisations at senior level in the past. He was awarded a Fellowship (FCMI – the higher grade) by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). Mr. Ahmed is a leading professional in environmental health and safety law. He achieved the highest grade (FRSPH) of the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH). He was a Fellow of the former Royal Society of Public Health (RSPH) and the Royal Institute of Public Health (RIPH). Apart from this, Mr. Ahmed is a Fellow (FInstSMM) of the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management (ISMM). Barrister Nazir Ahmed was the Director of his law firm
Akbar Hussain named ‘Ahmed Law Associates’ for nearly a decade. He is the Consultant of ‘A-Z Law Associates’ and the Proprietor/Head of his reputed legal practice named ‘Lincoln’s Chambers Solicitors.’ Position and responsibility at various organisations Alongside his studies and professional responsibilities, Mr. Ahmed has been directly or indirectly involved with many local, national and international organisations. He has held in the past and is still holding various positions in different types of organisations. Barrister Nazir Ahmed was in the past: a Member of Oxford House, London; a Member of the Association of Lawyers for the Defence of the Unborn (ALDU), UK; a Member of the Consultative Forum of the Refugee Legal Centre (RLC), London; an Executive Member of the Barkantine Management Team (BMT), London; an Executive Member of the Spitafield Community Association (SCA), London; a founder Board Member of the Biswanath Islamic Welfare Society (BESW), UK; the Secretary General of the Barkantine Bangladeshi Association (BBA), UK; a Patron Member of the International Bar Association (IBA); a School Governor of the Central Park Primary School, Newham, for a year; a Founder Director (in that capacity he drafted its constitution) of the Al-Wafa Housing and Financing Company Limited, UK, which was authorised to have shares of £1m; a School Governor of George Green Secondary School, Tower Hamlets, for three years; a legal advisor for the Tower Hamlets Citizens Advice Bureaux (THCABx), London, for three years; a school governor of St Pauls Way Secondary School, Tower Hamlets, for three years; a legal advisor of Age Concern Hackney (ACH), London, for a year; the Secretary General, the Vice President and the Convenor of the Bangladesh Development Initiatives (BDI) UK, a UK based think tank; the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Tower Hamlets Cooperative Development Agency (TH CDA), UK. In 1999, Barrister Nazir Ahmed was awarded the Nationwide’s “Award for Voluntary Endeavour.” Barrister Nazir Ahmed has been actively involved in various charitable, human rights and humanitarian works. He is a life member of: the Biswanath Aid, UK; the Central Muslim Sahittta Sangsad (CMSS), Sylhet; the QM, University of London, Association (QMA); the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI). He is the Advisor of the Biswanath Development Trust (BDT), UK. Barrister Nazir Ahmed is currently the Chair of Justice for Bangladesh (JfB), UK; the Secretary General of the Coalition for Human Rights and Democracy (CHRD), – an umbrella organisation of more than 15 social, political and human rights organisations; a Director of the Policy Review Centre (PRC), UK; and the Law and Human Rights Secretary of the All European Bangladeshi Association (AEBA), a representative organisation of Bangladeshis living in 30 European countries. He is a full member of the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn and the Law Society. He is a member of the World Jurist Association (WJA) and a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Great Britain. Acted as a mediator, arbitrator and election commissioner Barrister Nazir Ahmed is well respected in the community and wider society. He has acted in the past and is still acting as a mediator and arbitrator among two or more rival opposing parties in various social, family, legal and community problems, including complex one. He has solved many social and family problems, resulting in a win-win situation for the rival parties and avoiding unnecessary litigation. Apart from this, he has acted as an election commissioner and a chief election commissioner for elections in various community, voluntary and social organisations. He was the election commissioner and then the chief election commissioner for three consecutive elections (2007, 2009 and 2011) of the Collective of Bangladeshi School Governors (CBSGs), a reputable and prestigious organisation in the UK: its significant members and voters are either current or former councillors and mayors.
Legal advice and appearance as an expert both in print and electronic media Barrister Nazir Ahmed is a well known figure in Bengali communities in the UK and Europe. He wrote continuous articles on “Legal Problems and Legal Advice” in the widely publicised first weekly broadsheet Bengali newspaper for more than three years. He also wrote a continuous column under the heading of “Higher education in the UK” in a monthly magazine for over a year. Often he does live programme on TV and radio on Legal Advice. Frequently he attends and contributes to live TV talk shows on legal and social issues and current affairs. He has appeared on Channel 9 Europe, ATN Europe, Somoy TV, Channel I Europe, Bangla TV, NTV Europe, the Islam Channel and Channel S on numerous occasions in the last decade. Dozens of lead news stories and reports on contemporary and legal issues have been published in various leading newspapers or broadcast on TV which have contained barrister Nazir Ahmed’s opinion or interviews with him. Seminars and symposiums Barrister Nazir Ahmed often takes part in national and international seminars and symposiums. He has presented more than couple of dozen keynote papers in those seminars and symposiums at national and international levels on issues concerning national and international matters. The brief details of main keynote papers Barrister Nazir Ahmed has presented in the past are as follows. lA keynote paper entitled “English and French Judges: a comparative analysis of their constitutional positions, independence and impartiality” was presented by barrister Nazir Ahmed at the University of Huddersfield, UK, in 2002. lA keynote paper entitled “Bangladesh: a land of huge potentials” was presented by Barrister Nazir Ahmed at a seminar held at Queen Mary, University of London, UK, organised by the Bangladesh Forum in Europe (BFE), in 2005. lA keynote paper entitled “The Role of Muslims in UK Politics” was presented by Barrister Nazir Ahmed on 8th July 2007 in London at an event organised by the weekly Bangla Mirror, at which the Right Honourable Lord Nazir Ahmed was present as the chief guest. lA keynote paper “Expatriates’ investment in Bangladesh: problems and prospects” was presented by barrister Nazir Ahmed at a seminar held in Sylhet in 2007, which was organised by the Sylhet Chapter of Bangladesh Development Initiatives (BDI), UK. lA keynote paper entitled “Bangladesh: contemporary debates for the fundamental changes of its current Constitution” was presented by Barrister Nazir Ahmed at a roundtable discussion held on 6th December 2009 at the Davenant Centre in London, at an event organised by Justice for Bangladesh (JfB) which Baroness Uddin of Bethnal Green and the first Bangladeshi Continued on page 28