Delivering justice swiftly and efficiently has long been an issue for Bangladesh; there are around 3.6 million cases still pending at different levels of the courts of the country, with no end in sight regarding when these cases will be resolved.
Currently, we have one judge in the country for every 1,883 cases, and the number of judges per 100,000 citizens stands at less than 1 -- is it any wonder then that citizens of this country have to spend years in court to find some sort of resolution in their cases. And even then, justice remains elusive.
To that end, the idea for a new court system which helps with the settlement of minor issues is an encouraging and forward-thinking proposition, especially in urban areas, and deserves serious consideration.
Our justice system is marred in particular by a culture of negligence and disregard, which ultimately results in long delays, with some cases never even seeing the light of day. Add corruption, harassment, and threats of violence to the mix and you have a system that thrives on injustice, the exact opposite of what it is supposed to do.
The introduction of such courts has proven to be immensely successful in villages, cutting down on time spent waiting for a resolution, and there is no reason additional resources in charge of dealing with small cases will not life much easier for urban citizens.
The authorities concerned would do well to explore the possibilities – smaller city courts would go a long way towards clearing the backlog and creating a more efficient justice system.
