The Bangladesh government has taken the necessary steps to implement the third phase of the Activating Village Courts programme across the country to make sure justice is more accessible, fair, and affordable for the poor, women, and vulnerable groups, LGRD Minister Md Tajul Islam said.
“The government is committed to ensuring the people's right to get justice and curb the backlog of cases in the court by activating village courts. It takes the judicial service to the rural people in the quickest possible time,” he said during a national workshop on ‘The Impact of the Village Court Project and the Way Forward’ at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dhaka on Wednesday.
He noted a situation that was resolved within 22 days by the village court, which could have taken over 22 months if it went to a higher court, reports bdnews24.com.
The government is also working to amend the Village Court Act 2006 to make it more effective and people-friendly, the minister continued. He thanked the EU and UNDP for their support on the matter.
Phase II of the Activating Village Courts Project facilitates local authorities in making village courts functional at 1,080 unions with financial support and a tri-partnership with the EU, UNDP and the Bangladesh government. In phase II, 236,868 cases have been reported, of which 30 per cent were by women. Almost 200,000 cases were resolved, benefiting 473,736 people.
“The village court system has been proven as an effective system to resolve petty disputes at minimal cost with no legal and administrative complications,” said Charles Whiteley, the EU ambassador to Bangladesh.”
“The EU has been closely engaged with the government of Bangladesh and has committed further to finance 25 million euros for functionalising the village court services through the Activating Village Courts programme in Bangladesh for the final phase and to scale up the services all over the country so that no one is left behind.”
“By implementing the Activating Village Courts project, Bangladesh has made an investment that is benefiting the people of the rural communities, particularly women and helping the country in achieving SDGs,” said Sudipto Mukerjee, resident representative of UNDP Bangladesh.
“The future scale-up of Village Court services through the upcoming phase of the project will ensure the accessibility of justice for the people who are left behind across Bangladesh. Resolution through judicial systems can only be ensured when the grievances of the rural people are recognised.”
