A. F. Hassan Ariff

A. F. Hassan Ariff is a Bangladeshi lawyer, former Attorney General of Bangladesh and Advisor of Caretaker Government led by Fakhruddin Ahmed.

Early life
Ariff was born in Calcutta in 1941. Ariff completed his Secondary Education and High Secondary Education from St. Xavier's College Calcutta. He completed his bachelor's and LLB degrees from the University of Calcutta.

Career
Mr. A. F. Hassan Ariff is a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and has been practicing since 1970. Mr. Ariff was enrolled as an advocate of the Calcutta High Court, West Bengal India in 1967. He practiced in the Calcutta High Court as an associate of Senior Advocate late Somen Bose, an eminent constitutional lawyer. Late Justice Bhagabati Prosad Banerjee, an eminent author of “Writ Remedies” was a senior colleague of the same chamber.

Thereafter he shifted to Dhaka and was enrolled in the High Court in 1970. He is the Head of Chambers of the A. F. Hassan Ariff & Associates, a law firm based in Dhaka, Bangladesh having a branch at Chittagong, the commercial and port city.

He held the office of Attorney General for Bangladesh from October 2001 to April 2005. He was the Law Adviser (Cabinet Minister) of the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh from January 2008 to January 2009. He is a panelist in the pool of Arbitrators of the Bangladesh International Arbitration Centre (BIAC) & SAARC Arbitration Council (SARCO). Besides this, Mr. Ariff is a Court Member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration.

His practice area includes advising Foreign Investors; Construction Arbitration; Commercial Arbitration; Finance, Banking & Securities Matter; Corporate, Commercial & Taxation Matter; Constitutional Law Matter; Public Procurement; Arbitrations and other modes of Alternative Dispute Resolution.

He advised the Roads & Highways Department, Government of Bangladesh; Chittagong Port Authority; Mongla Port Authority; Security Exchange Commission; Bangladesh Bank; Capital Development Authority; Chittagong Development Authority; Chittagong Stock Exchange; University Grants Commission (UGC) Robi Axiata Limited and Grameen Phone Bangladesh. He is the adviser of Dhakeshwari National Temple Complex.

Mr. Ariff was a resource person at the Continuing Legal Education Program and Human Rights Training Program of the Bangladesh Bar Council. He is a leading member of the International Business Forum of Bangladesh, a business community platform for advocating policy formulation at the government level.

Mr. Ariff acted as the Chief of the Election Observer Mission, Asian Network For Free Elections (ANFREL), Manila, Philippines in 2010.

Professional positions

 * April 1982 – August 1985:	Assistant Attorney General for Bangladesh.
 * August 1985 – March, 1996: Deputy Attorney General for Bangladesh.
 * October 2001 – April 2005: Attorney General for Bangladesh.
 * January 2008 – January 2009: Adviser (Cabinet Minister), Ministry of Law Justice & Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Land, and Ministry of Religious Affairs, Caretaker Government, Bangladesh.

Professional affiliations

 * Enrolled as an Advocate on 15 December 1967, Calcutta High Court, West Bengal India;
 * Enrolled as an Advocate on 15 September 1970, Erstwhile Dhaka High Court, East Pakistan;
 * Member, Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association;
 * Panel Arbitrator, Bangladesh International Arbitration Centre (BIAC);
 * Vice President, Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association (1996-1997);
 * Assistant Secretary, Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association (1975-1976).
 * Court Member, ICC International Court of Arbitration (2021-to date).

Areas of practice

 * Constitutional Matter: Judicial Review & Administrative Action;
 * Corporate & Securities Matter;
 * Banking & Insurance Matter;
 * ADR: Arbitration, Construction & Commercial
 * Custom, VAT & Income Tax Matter;
 * Intellectual Property (Patent, Copyright, Trade Mark and Design) Matter;
 * Labour, Employment & Industrial Relations Matter;
 * Court & Tribunal Proceedings.

Assignments (abroad)

 * 2010		Chief, Election Observer Mission, Asian Network For Free Elections (ANFREL), Manila, Philippines;
 * 2002		Election Observer, Asian Network For Free Elections (ANFREL), Pakistan;
 * 2001		Election Observer, Asian Network For Free Elections (ANFREL), East Timor Constituent Assembly Election;
 * 2001		Election Observer, Asian Network For Free Elections (ANFREL), Thailand;
 * 1999		Election Observer, Asian Network For Free Elections (ANFREL), Indonesia;
 * 1998		Election Observer, Asian Network For Free Elections (ANFREL), Cambodia;
 * 1993		International Polling Station Officer, United Nations Transitional Authority Cambodia.