Expectation is not a frequently used word in the legal arena. Legal minds are often absorbed in the crowd of rights, duties, obligations, liabilities and other objective terms. If you don’t have any right recognised by law, I have no corresponding duty to act in your favour. So it does not matter what you expect from others. In order to get something, you must have some right, mere expectation will do no good. But does it mean that law does not recognise any expectation of the citizens if it lacks the legal elements that constitute rights? If any public authority says that it will provide a certain facility, will be fair to say that the expectation of the citizens that the facility will actually be provided unjustified simply because the authority is not legally bound to provide the same? Here comes the scope of legitimate expectation, which is actually a doctrine of public law developed by the courts under the broader concept of natural justice. Legitimate expectation is the right ...
| a lawyer and teacher living in Bangladesh.