PM Hasina pledges free government legal aid to ensure justice for all

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged all to work towards ensuring justice to the people in Bangladesh and spread the legal aid by the government to the every corner.

“We want everyone to have justice. You should take action required to ensure it. We don’t want anyone else being denied justice like we had been. Everyone should get justice,” Hasina said in an event marking National Legal Aid Day on Sunday. 

“We want to reduce the delays in the legal process. There are many people in the prison who are unaware of the reason they are in for. They are unaware if they have done any crime. I have taken initiative to monitor it.”

The prime minister mentioned the government’s initiative to provide free legal aid to the acid victims, widows or women dumped by husbands, trafficked women and children, members of small ethnic groups, the poor, and those unable to get justice due to different socio-political reasons.

“The legal aid by the government will help reduce the disparity in society. We want to spread this initiative to the roots and institutionalise it to ensure justice to everyone. We hope everyone will support us in this endeavour.”

“It’s true that we are helping those who are in need and poor. But at times people from the affluent class in society also face the wrong. Especially, sometimes daughters do not get their share in the assets left by the parents. Their brothers do not want to give them their share.

"We have witnessed inhuman attitudes in the rich families as well. People are the ones who get subjected to the cruelty of others. We need to focus on this social injustice as well,” said the prime minister.

Financially poor persons are getting legal aid from the government through the Bangladesh Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee, she said.

The government has provided 393,790 persons with legal aid over the past ten years and 100,668 cases were settled under the government initiative, said the prime  minister.

Hasina added the legal aid office has initiated 17,929 alternative dispute resolution, or ADR, and mediation in last four years including pre-case and post-case while 16,513 justice seekers have received the benefit of the mediation.

The prime minister mentioned the government’s initiative on appointing judges to the lower courts, establishing new courts, tribunal, introducing positions and higher training to detangle the cases and reduce the delay in procedure.

She also spoke about the government’s initiative to use information technology and e-judiciary project to ensure transparency and accountability of the judiciary.

Law Minister Anisul Huq and other high-ups from the ministry were present on the occasion.