Govt mulls ADR both in civil, criminal courts to end logjam of cases
Saturday, 2 January 2010
The government is actively considering introducing Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as mandatory trial mode both in civil and criminal courts to remove the logjam of cases for mitigating the sufferings of justice-seekers.
"It needs amendment to the century-old Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) for implementation of the new justice mechanism, which has already proved effective in many countries," said Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed.
In an interview with UNB on completion of one year of the Awami League-led grand alliance government the minister said that currently the ADR had been functioning at the Artha Rin Adalat as it was incorporated into the financial loan court law enacted in 2003.
"We now want to introduce ADR in the criminal courts across the country to speedily resolve the compoundable offences punishable under the sections of the Penal Code to get rid of huge backlog cases," said the minister.
The compoundable offences, among others, include defamation, uttering words intended to wound the religious feelings of any person, wrongfully restraining or confining any person, wrongful confinement to extort confession or force restoration of property, assault or use of criminal force, unlawful compulsory labour, criminal trespass, house trespass, loss or damage to private persons.
Criminal breach of trust, criminal breach of contract of service, adultery, insult intended to provoke a breach of peace, rioting armed with deadly weapons, act endangering human life or the personal safety of others, theft in dwelling houses, theft by clerk or servant of property in possession of master, dishonest misappropriation of property, cheating, using a false trade or property mark, marrying again during lifetime of a husband or wife and eve-teasing are also among the offences.
Asked about the Law Ministry's success in the year that has gone by, the technocrat-minister said that the government established the rule of law in the country securing the final judgment of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on the long-stalled Bangabandhu murder case by increasing the number of apex court judges.
Terming it a highpoint in the past one-year run, the law minister said, "If the number of judges was not increased to constitute a Bench for hearing the long-pending appeal filed by five of the condemned former-army officers in custody, the conclusive verdict on the Bangabandhu murder case would have been a far cry."
"It needs amendment to the century-old Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) for implementation of the new justice mechanism, which has already proved effective in many countries," said Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed.
In an interview with UNB on completion of one year of the Awami League-led grand alliance government the minister said that currently the ADR had been functioning at the Artha Rin Adalat as it was incorporated into the financial loan court law enacted in 2003.
"We now want to introduce ADR in the criminal courts across the country to speedily resolve the compoundable offences punishable under the sections of the Penal Code to get rid of huge backlog cases," said the minister.
The compoundable offences, among others, include defamation, uttering words intended to wound the religious feelings of any person, wrongfully restraining or confining any person, wrongful confinement to extort confession or force restoration of property, assault or use of criminal force, unlawful compulsory labour, criminal trespass, house trespass, loss or damage to private persons.
Criminal breach of trust, criminal breach of contract of service, adultery, insult intended to provoke a breach of peace, rioting armed with deadly weapons, act endangering human life or the personal safety of others, theft in dwelling houses, theft by clerk or servant of property in possession of master, dishonest misappropriation of property, cheating, using a false trade or property mark, marrying again during lifetime of a husband or wife and eve-teasing are also among the offences.
Asked about the Law Ministry's success in the year that has gone by, the technocrat-minister said that the government established the rule of law in the country securing the final judgment of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on the long-stalled Bangabandhu murder case by increasing the number of apex court judges.
Terming it a highpoint in the past one-year run, the law minister said, "If the number of judges was not increased to constitute a Bench for hearing the long-pending appeal filed by five of the condemned former-army officers in custody, the conclusive verdict on the Bangabandhu murder case would have been a far cry."