Law Minister Moudud Ahmed, State Minister for Law Muhammad Shahjahan Omar and Canadian High Commissioner Barbara Richardson were present at the ceremony.

The lexicon was compiled and edited by former chief justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman and Prof Anisuzzaman of Dhaka University and published by Annoprokash with the assistance of Canadian International Development Assistance (CIDA) Legal Reform Project-Part A.

The 1,328 page volume provides Bengali equivalents for about 6,000 English legal terms, including those that previously had no Bengali terminologies.

Moudud, who was the chief guest, termed the publication of the lexicon as a milestone in the field of law.

"This will be of immense importance in drafting laws," he said, adding that every law to be introduced from now on will be in Bangla.

Paying tribute to Justice Habibur Rahman and Prof Anisuzzaman for their gigantic task, Barbara Richardson said the lexicon will facilitate the drafting of the legislation and legal documentation generally in the official language of this country.

Prof Anisuzzaman and CIDA Legal Reform Project Field Project Director Alnoor S Meghani also spoke at the ceremony.