According to LGRD Minister Md Tajul Islam, the government of Bangladesh has taken the required measures to execute the third phase of the Activating Village Courts initiative throughout the nation to make justice more accessible, fair, and economical for the poor, women, and vulnerable communities. The minister added that the government is also trying to reform the Village Court Act of 2006 to make it more functional and user-friendly. He appreciated the EU and UNDP for their assistance with this issue.
During a national workshop titled ‘The Impact of the Village Court Project and the Way Forward’, which was held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dhaka, he stated, “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 referred to a case that was settled by the village court in just 22 days, which would have taken nearly 22 months if it had gone to a higher court.
Phase II of the Activating Village Courts Project provides financial support and a tri-partnership between the European Union, the United Nations Development Programme, and the government of Bangladesh to help local authorities make village courts operational in 1,080 unions. In phase II, as many as 236,868 cases have been recorded, of which 30% were by women. The resolution of over 200,000 cases benefited 473,740 individuals.
Charles Whiteley, the EU ambassador to Bangladesh, said, “The village court system has been proven as an effective system to resolve petty disputes at minimal cost with no legal and administrative complications”. He added, “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.”
According to Sudipto Mukerjee, resident representative of UNDP Bangladesh, “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”. He added, “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.”
