The book will come in handy as an instant guide to relevant laws as the laws in Bangladesh are neither codified up-to-date nor arranged in orderly manner, said its author advocate MR Hasan, a Supreme Court lawyer.

The book contains names and titles of laws and ordinances in alphabetical order, including amendments, enacted from 1838 to December 2004 with reference to their sources, he said.

The index aims to overcome a situation where ignorance of law cannot be pleaded as defence, by describing what the law is and where it is available to address a particular subject, Hasan said.

The index will be useful for lawyers, judges and the litigant public, said senior advocate Dr M Zahir while unveiling the cover of the book on the Supreme Court premises.

Making an index of laws is a difficult job, but once done, it will be helpful for all concerned, said eminent jurist Dr Kamal Hossain.

It is an up-to-date book on index of laws and extremely useful for the law practitioners, said Barrister Rokanuddin Mahmud, vice-chairman of Bangladesh Bar Council.

The first edition of the book was published in 1991 and its copy is also preserved at the Law Library of Congress, USA.

The book, with a forward by former chief justice and currently chairman of Bangladesh Law Commission Mustafa Kamal, is priced at Tk 200.

President of the Supreme Court Bar Association Mahbubey Alam was also present at the launching ceremony.