Dist legal aid funds unutilised

Says MJF study

23 June 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent

Suranjit Sengupta MP speaks at a discussion on 'Government Legal Aid Services in Bangladesh: Challenges and Opportunities' at Brac Centre Inn in the city yesterday. On his right are Law Minister Shafique Ahmed, MJF Executive Director Shaheen Anam and Advocate Shahdeen Malik.Photo: STAR

Free legal aid service of the government for the poor and vulnerable remains largely unused and ineffective, as the general people are not aware of such service, according to a study conducted by the Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF). As a result, the budget allocated for the district legal aid committees remains unutilised in most cases. The study found that a total of 16 district committees failed to utilise even a portion of the funds. Only eight committees have utilised up to 90 percent of the funds while the performance of others is also quite poor, the study said. Besides, the funding itself, which is about Tk 80 lakh per year, is too inadequate. The entire system is also limping along due to a lack of staffs and logistics. The National Legal Aid Services Organisation, a statutory body which is responsible for monitoring the district committees, only has a director. The MJF shared the findings of the study at a discussion titled 'Government Legal Aid Services in Bangladesh: Challenges and Opportunities' at Brac Centre Inn in the city yesterday. Presenting the findings, Barrister Aftab Uddin said, "Apart from the lack of availability of information, there is a lack of motivation among the service providers (lawyers), as their fee is very low. The fee range starts at only Tk 300." "Senior lawyers seldom get involved with the free legal aid service," he added. He also said the legal aid offices are located far away from the town centre. So, application forms are not easily available. The procedure of getting free legal service is also too complicated. Speaking at the programme, Suranjit Sengupta, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on law, justice and parliamentary affairs ministry, suggested decentralisation of the judiciary so that justice can be delivered at the doorstep of the people. Those who need free legal aid often cannot afford a bus ride to go to the district office, he said. Speaking as the chief guest, Law Minister Shafique Ahmed differed with Suranjit, saying that decentralisation of the judiciary was introduced by General Ershad, but it didn't work as expected. The main problem facing the state in providing free legal aid is the lengthy process of disposal of a case, he said, adding that if it takes five years to dispose of a case, the state will have to pay the lawyer throughout this period. The minister also said the government is considering making it mandatory to use the Alternative Dispute Resolution system so that the parties involved in the legal battle can settle their dispute outside the court. Shaheen Anam, executive director of MJF, Dr Shahdeen Malik, an advocate of the Supreme Court, Faustina Pereira, director of Human Rights and Legal Services, Brac, Farida Yasmin, deputy director of Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust, Toufique Al Mannan, senior coordinator of Ain O Shalish Kendra, and Aminul Islam, director of National Legal Aid Services Organisation, also spoke.