The National Legal Aid Services Day-2023 was observed across the country on Friday (April 28) with a view to ensuring the rule of law, fundamental human rights and justice for everyone.
The theme of the day for this year is ‘FulfillingBangabandhu’s Dream, Opening the Doors of Free Legal Services’.
To mark the day, various programmes, including discussions, meetings, legal aid fairs, publication and distribution of magazines, souvenirs and wallpapers, were organized in Dhaka and at the district levels.
As part of the programmes, the ‘National Legal Aid Services Organization’ released a report containing statistics on activities from 2009 to March 2023.
Several programmes were arranged by the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.
A procession was brought out from the premises of the Directorate of Registration in the capital in the morning. The procession ended at the Judicial Administration Training Institute.
Secretary of Law and Justice Division of the ministry, Mohammad Golam Sarwar joined the rally where officers and employees of different offices, organisations, and institutions under the ministry and representatives from various non-government organisations participated.
Golam Sarwar and other important people participated. Besides, all the officials and employees of the Law and Justice Department and the institutions under itand representatives of NGOs participated in the rally.
After the procession, Mohammad Golam Sarwar spoke at a brief rally where he presented the significance of the day.
In his speech, Mohammad Golam Sarwar said that the law ministry has taken various initiatives to further expandthe legal aid programmes.
He said everyone should work together to ensure equal legal protection for the underprivileged and disadvantaged people of the society, through which a just and welfare state can be established.
The Law Secretary said, “Under the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, we achieved independence to establish a non-discriminatory and justice-based society, where ensuring rule of law and justice for all citizens is one of the goals of the state. The government of Bangabandhu’s daughter Sheikh Hasina is taking and implementing various steps to establish human rights, social development and justice.”
The National Legal Aid Services Organization has been established in order to institutionalize the government’s legal aid programmes, he added.
According to him, legal aid offices have been established in Bangladesh Supreme Court and 64 districts of the country, and legal aid cells for labourers have been established in Dhaka and Chattogram to provide legal protection to helpless workers.
Mohammad Golam Sarwar said that the present government has laid more emphasis on alternative dispute resolution to resolve the backlog of cases. As a result, on the one hand, the people of the country are enjoying the benefits of legal aid programmes in a short time and cost, on the other hand, the backlog of cases in the courts is decreasing.
Since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the toll-free national helpline 16430 in 2016 to make the government’s legal aid programmes more comprehensive and accessible, free legal advice and information services have been provided through the helpline. Due to these steps, legal aid offices have become the place of trust of the service-seeking people to establish the rule of law, said the Law Secretary.
According to the Law Ministry, the total number of beneficiaries who received legal aid through the National Legal Aid Services Organization from 2009 to March 2023 is 8,79,929. The agency has provided legal advice to 3,53,656 people during its tenure.
During the same period, the agency disposed of 82,588 disputes/cases through the ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) system and recovered Tk 134.91 crores in favour of the aggrieved parties.
The National Legal Aid Services Day-2023 was also observed in Manikganj, Laxmipur, Sunamganj, Madaripur, Chapainawabganj and other districts.
In Manikganj, a discussion was held at the conference room of the District Judge Court with District and Sessions Judge JoyosreeSamaddar in the chair. Additional District and Sessions Judge Sabina Yeasmin, Chief Judicial Magistrate Utpal Bhattacharya, Legal Aid Officer SubarnaSejuti, Civil Surgeon Dr. Moazzem Ali Khan Chowdhury, Manikganj Municipality Mayor Md. Ramjan Ali, Public Prosecutor (PP) Abdus Salam and others spoke on the occasion.
A colourful procession was also brought out from the premises of the District Judge Court in Manikganj town.
In Laxmipur, a colorful procession was brought out in the district town marking the National Legal Aid Services Day. Later, a discussion was held in the district judge court premises.
District Legal Aid Committee Chairman and Senior District and Sessions Judge Rahibul Islam presided over the function, where Deputy Commissioner (DC) Md. Anwar HoshainAkanda and others spoke.
In Sunamganj, a discussion following a colorful procession was held at the Hashanraja Auditorium of the ZilaShilpakala Academy with Senior District and Sessions Judge Md. Hemayet Uddin in the chair.
In Chapainawabganj, the district unit of Legal Aid Committee took out a colourful procession in the district town to mark the day. Later, a discussion was held at the conference room of the District Judge Court with the Chairman of Chapainawabganj District Legal Aid Committee and also Senior District and Sessions Judge Md. Adib Ali in the chair.
District Legal Aid Officer RukhsanaKhanam at the discussion disclosed that there were 736 ongoing cases under the Legal Aid Committee and of them, 109 applications were resolved through ADR. A total of Tk 31,69,351 was realised from debtors and was refunded to the creditors without any cases.
