Govt considers to enforce mediation before lawsuits

The government is considering making alternative dispute resolution mandatory before filing a lawsuit to resolve disputes more efficiently, said Law Adviser Prof Asif Nazrul yesterday.

"However, accepting the outcome of the mediation will remain voluntary," he said.

He made the remarks while presiding over a views-exchange meeting on the preliminary draft of the "Legal Aid Services (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025", held at the office of the National Legal Aid Services Organisation (NLASO) on Bailey Road in the capital.

Leaders of bar associations from various districts, officials from the law ministry and NLASO, and representatives of different organisations attended the event and shared their views on the draft ordinance.

Addressing the event, Prof Asif said anyone not satisfied with the mediation outcome will still have the opportunity to file a case.

"In other words, participating in mediation will be made mandatory, but accepting its outcome will not be. So, no one's right is being taken away," he added.

The adviser noted that around five lakh cases are filed in Bangladesh each year, while only about 35,000 of those are resolved through government legal aid.

Mediation under the legal aid programme takes less time compared to court trials and achieves a satisfaction rate of about 90 percent. This is a huge opportunity, he said.

"If we can expand, institutionalise, and professionalise the legal aid programme further, the number of cases resolved through mediation can rise to one to two lakhs," he added.

Highlighting the government's reform goals, the adviser said the law ministry has been working with three primary objectives -- ensuring speedy and low-cost dispute resolution, enhancing access to justice, and alleviating the burden of litigation.

He said with the aim to expedite case disposal at low cost, they have already made an amendment to the Code of Civil Procedure.

"Also, we are in the final stages of amending the Code of Criminal Procedure, which we aim to pass into a law within the next month," he added.

Mentioning ensuring justice is the second objective in the reform plan, Prof Asif said to strengthen the justice system, they have been focusing on digitalisation, upgrading the training curriculum for the judges, and enhancing judicial accountability with the support of legal experts.

The law adviser also said to improve access to justice and reduce case backlog, the government is going to reform the country's legal aid system.

He also said to expedite the resolution of legal aid cases, the ministry has planned to increase judicial manpower in this area.