'Make village courts more functional'

Speakers at a consultation programme yesterday stressed the need for creating awareness among the grassroots level people to make the village courts more functional.
Mass media can play vital role for creating awareness towards the quasi-judicial system, they said.
As per the Village Court Act, 2006, a village court would be constituted consisting of five members headed by respective Union Parishad chairman to settle down disputes like family conflict, stealing and realising compensation.
The village court can realise compensation up to Tk 25,000 but it cannot give any punishment or imprisonment.
The Local Government Division (LGD) organised the programme titled “National Consultation on Role of Media in Activating Village Courts” at a hotel in the capital.
Journalists, legal experts and representatives of the government and development partners attended the programme which was a part of a project titled “Activating Village Courts in Bangladesh Project.”
LGD in association with European Union and UNDP is implementing the project to make village courts functional in 350 selected union parishads under 56 upazilas of 14 districts during its piloting period (2009-2013).
State Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives Jahangir Kabir Nanok,PIB Director General Dulal Chandra Biswas, European Union Ambassador in Dhaka William Hana, UNDP Country Director Stefan Priesner, LGD Joint Secretary Shamima Nargis, also spoke at the inaugural session with LGD additional secretary KM Mozammel Hoq was in the chair.