The National Consensus Commission is working on a special order that would authorise a referendum on implementing the just-signed July National Charter.

The order may also empower the next parliament -- beyond its legislative duties -- to implement the constitutional reforms set out in the charter.

The commission is consulting experts to establish the legal foundation of the special order, which is expected to be presented to the interim government soon.

To this end, legal experts and commission members met at the commission's office in the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban yesterday evening, according to sources present.

Experts initially suggested that the special order be issued as an expression of the people's will, which emerged from the July uprising.

The expert panel included retired Appellate Division justice MA Matin, retired justice Moinul Islam Chowdhury, Supreme Court lawyer Dr Sharif Bhuiyan, Dhaka University law faculty Dean Mohammad Ikramul Haque, Barrister Imran Siddiq, and Barrister Tanim Hossain Shawon.

At the start of the meeting, the commission presented the political parties' positions on the July charter to the experts and discussed a draft of the special order.

After the discussion, it was decided that the experts would submit the full text of the draft special order to the commission by the end of this week.

The draft will call for a referendum and recommend granting the next parliament dual powers, allowing it to function both as the legislature and as a constitutional reform assembly.

The proposed duration of this assembly would be six to nine months. "Some of us favour a six-month term, while others prefer nine months. Thus, the recommendation will likely propose a minimum of six months and a maximum of nine months," said one expert.

The commission also discussed with experts the possible legal basis for the special order.

Initially, experts suggested that the order could be issued by the government under Section 22 of the July Declaration, but political parties criticised that approach during the dialogue process.

When asked, one expert said, "The preamble of the order will explain how the interim government has the authority to issue it. The justification will come from the July uprising itself, which conferred this authority on the current government. Therefore, we are considering recommending that the government issue the order based on the people's mandate through the uprising, rather than citing Section 22 of the July Declaration."

The meeting also discussed whether the special order should be issued by the president or the chief adviser.

According to meeting sources, participants said that while ordinances and gazettes are usually issued by the president, the special order would be issued under exceptional authority, not as an ordinance or gazette. Hence, no final decision has yet been made regarding who will issue it.

When asked about the contents of the proposed special order, one expert indicated it would likely include a preamble, the key provisions of the July charter, and the specific questions to be posed in the referendum.

Prof Ali Riaz, vice president of the National Consensus Commission, told The Daily Star, "Discussions are underway. We want to submit a complete proposal that will include everything clearly and comprehensively."

He added that with the experts' opinions incorporated, the commission aims to submit its final recommendations to the government this week for the implementation of the July charter.

After weeks of uncertainty, 24 political parties and alliances, including the BNP and Jamaat, signed the July National Charter on October 17.

However, the parties remain divided over whether the referendum should be held on the same day as the next national election or before it.

During the dialogues, more than half of the participating parties, including the BNP, wanted the referendum to be held on election day, while Jamaat, NCP, and other Islamist parties preferred it be held before the election.

Experts have suggested that the government decide the timing of the referendum.

Parties also disagree over how many questions should be included in the referendum. Experts initially proposed two: one on consensus issues and another on dissenting issues.

However, it is now being considered that there may be only one question, asking whether the people support the special order. Alternatively, it could ask whether the people support the constitutional reform proposals.

Meanwhile, Gono Forum yesterday signed the July charter, as the consensus commission decided to retain the Proclamation of Independence in the constitution.

On behalf of the Gono Forum, its acting president Subrata Chowdhury and General Secretary Mizanur Rahman signed the charter at the LD Hall of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban at 12:30pm.

With this, a total of 25 parties have signed the charter.

However, the National Citizen Party, formed by student leaders who led the July uprising, has yet to sign the charter, citing a lack of legal foundation and assurance for its implementation.

The party demanded that Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus issue the implementation order of the July Charter as an expression of the people's sovereign will.