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| Mobashir Akbar Khan |
Introduction
A housewife from a remote village in
Bangladesh's northwest filed a land dispute case in order to receive prompt
relief. She had no idea at the time that it would be over ten years before
there was anything approaching a solution. She had been in a state of perpetual
limbo and poverty due to a protracted legal battle that had also damaged her
relationships with her family. In Bangladesh, civil justice cases are now
routinely handled slowly; Nirmala was hardly an exception. The foundation of
Bangladesh's legal system continues to be civil justice. At the core of the
civil justice system is the idea of evidence-based enforcement of rights, as
opposed to the detention and imprisonment that characterize the criminal court.
Its goals are to uphold the rule of law, safeguard individual liberties, and
offer a forum for fair trials in order to settle disputes. It is rooted in both
contemporary reform and the colonial past's historical legal relics. However,
that goal has been undermined by persistent obstacles and structural issues,
and there are now significant doubts about how access will change in the
future.
The first
is digitalization
Even though Bangladesh has embraced the
rhetoric of "Digital Bangladesh," the majority of its courts continue
to function on paper. Case logs that are handwritten, bureaucratic obstacles,
and missing files are examples of inefficiencies. In certain ways, the recently
launched E-Judiciary Project has been beneficial; through video hearings,
e-filing, and digital case tracking, some cases have been resolved in record
time. "With computer-based technology, decisions that once took over a
century to make in a courtroom can now be made in minutes," attorney Aazad
Chandran says. Over the course of eighteen working days, 1,849 petitions were
received. Its application is still far from equal, though. Despite all the
evidence that it can also help reduce backlogs in cases and improve
transparency, the process has been sluggish in Bangladeshi courts.
Disenfranchised
Groups and Gender
Access Inequalities in access to
civil justice cases exist, and the backlogs are especially detrimental to
women, marginalized communities, and the impoverished in rural areas. Women
frequently find themselves in precarious situations during protracted divorce,
maintenance, and child custody proceedings. A lawyer is frequently out of reach
for vintners, and underrepresented groups are reluctant to file a lawsuit for
fear of retaliation or rejection in a relationship-based industry. Community
legal services and mediation that is sensitive to gender. Despite being started
by UNDP and BRAC, community legal services and gender-sensitive mediation have
not yet gained widespread adoption. The first is that, aside from those
well-funded legal aid programs, the impoverished still do not have adequate
access to the system.
Victim assistance and prison reform
Lost Phases of Prison Reform and Victim
Assistance The other side of judicial delay, which is represented in
Bangladesh's prison system, is quite different. The vast majority of the
inmates in the overcrowded jails have been waiting for their trials for years
on end. Organizations that provide aid to victims have also been impacted.
Access to housing, witness protection, and psychological care that could aid in
their recovery is rarely available to victims of crimes such as sexual assault
or domestic abuse. Additionally, research shows that this kind of service has
numerous issues and that it urgently needs to be changed. There is no recourse
once it is nullified.
The Economic Impact of Justice Delayed Becomes Growth
Denied
Legal Knowledge and Public Involvement
Increasing Credibility People think that the courts are too costly, too slow, and corrupt. Douglaston Civic Association members gathered in Zion Church Parish Hall were informed by Nassau County Surrogate's Judge Edward W. McCarty III. Thus, informal village arbitration has emerged as the favored choice for the rural populace, despite the fact that it may be quicker but isn't always equitable or rights-based. Restoring public trust requires legal literacy campaigns, rights education in schools, and the presence of local legal aid desks. Organizations like BRAC have been at the forefront of addressing legal literacy models that the villagers, particularly women, can comprehend for the purpose of defending their own rights. It is necessary for these programs to be implemented on a national level.
Conclusion
Lastly, here are some further ideas: To a complete overhaul, it should have taken a Nirmala to be lost, demonstrating the extent of the silent crisis that has gripped Bangladesh's civil justice system. These reforms cover a variety of topics, including the financial costs of court delays, community outreach and victim participation, victim support, prison reform, digitalization, and women and minorities. Deferred justice erodes trust, prevents a reversal or degradation of rights, and blocks justice. If the civil justice system in Bangladesh is to advance, it must change from being a cumbersome, paper-based organization to one that is more transparent and easily accessible.
Too good,commendable,
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