Bureaucrats dominate legal aid services: CJ
Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan today expressed utter dismay at the inconsistencies and financial constraints of the National Legal Aid and Services Organization (NLASO), saying that this organisation is not run by the judiciary, but in fact dominated by the bureaucrats.
"The chief justice has no role in the national committee of this organisation. There are no representatives from the chief justice there. After the minister, those who are in the committee, are all bureaucrats. It is also not clear to whom the Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee is accountable. These things are inconsistent," he said.
The chief justice was speaking as chief guest to a discussion meeting titled, "Smart Legal Aid, Smart Country -- Bangabandhu's Bangladesh" and "Proliferation of Smart Legal Services in the High Court" organised by the Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee.
The event was organised at the Supreme Court Auditorium on the occasion of National Legal Aid Day-2024.
He said there is a Legal Aid Committee in the Supreme Court whose chairman will be nominated by the chief justice.
"He or she will be a judge of the High Court Division. It has been said who will be with the chairman of the Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee. But to whom is the chairman responsible? To the National Legal Aid and Services Organization or the chief justice? It is not clarified," he said.
He also said the lawyers who are providing services to the litigants are also being deprived. He said he learned from the three former chairmen of the Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee that the budget is very low. "Only Tk 10 to 12. If the budget is low, how will it work?"
In his written speech, the chief justice said helpless litigants are constantly facing physical, mental and financial losses due to long delays in disposal of cases, and one of the ways to resolve this problem is to settle the cases through alternative dispute resolution (ADR) system.
"The judiciary of Bangladesh has become hunchbacked due to an intolerable backlog of cases today. Against the huge number of cases, the number of judges is very insufficient. As a result, justice-seeking people are being affected mostly. Due to long procrastination in settling the cases, helpless litigants are constantly facing physical, mental and financial losses. One of the ways to overcome this problem is to settle the case through alternative dispute resolution. I believe the country's legal aid offices can play a significant role in this regard," he said.
Appellate Division's judges and former chairmen of Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim and its Chairman Justice Naima Haider, Supreme Court Bar Association Secretary Shah Monjurul Hoque and SC Registrar General Md Golam Rabbani, among others, spoke on the occasion.
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