Sylhet Divisional Conference to improve judicial access in rural areas
Sylhet Bureau :
A divisional conference titled “Role of Local Administration in Activating Village Courts and What to Do,” organised by the Sylhet Divisional Commissioner’s Office and the Local Government Department on Tuesday, aimed to seek guidance on enhancing the effectiveness of village courts.
“Village Courts” is a government service. In 2009, the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh launched the Village Courts Activation Project in Bangladesh with the financial and technical assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the European Union to strengthen the local justice system.
“Since its inception, the project has changed the lives of millions of people by making justice accessible to the poor and disadvantaged people, especially women and backward people, at the grassroots level,” said the speakers.
The main objective of the divisional conference is to obtain direction at the divisional level to further activate the village courts in the 339 unions of the Sylhet Divisional Project Area in order to resolve local minor disputes in a short time and at low cost and increase the opportunity for judicial services among the rural people.
About 150 participants were present at the conference, chaired by the Sylhet Divisional Commissioner Khan Md Reza-un-Nabi.
Local Government Department Additional Secretary and 3rd Phase of the Village Court Activation Project in Bangladesh National Project Director AKM Tariqul Alam attended the programme as a chief guest.
In his speech, he said the village court is an effective medium of judicial service, which plays an important role in ensuring justice for the people at the grassroots level. He gave directions on further strengthening the village court activities and thanked the local government, UNDP and the European Union for their support in this project.
Sylhet Range Additional DIG (Admin and Finance) Md Azizul Islam, Additional Divisional Commissioner (General and Revenue) Debjit Singh, Sylhet Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate Mohammad Sher Mahbub Murad were present as special guests.
The conference was presided over by Divisional Commissioner (Additional Secretary) Khan Md Reza-un-Nabi.
In addition, the welcome speech was delivered by Mymensingh Division Local Government Director Mohammad Faruk Ahmed.
Bibash Chakraborty, national project coordinator of the 3rd Phase of the Village Court Activation Project in Bangladesh, spoke on behalf of the donor organisation UNDP.
In addition, important stakeholders of the local government, union parishad chairman, district resource team members, district information and legal aid officer, divisional commissioner office officials and various media representatives were also present.
Sylhet Local Government Deputy Director Subarni Sarkar presented the activities and progress of the Village Court Activation – 3rd Phase Project.
In the briefing, the speakers said local administration especially. Under the leadership and guidance of the deputy commissioner, deputy director, local government and upazila executive officers, it has been possible to successfully implement various local level activities of the project in 41 upazilas of 04 districts (Sylhet, Habiganj, Sunamganj and Moulvibazar) of Sylhet division. In addition, the leadership and role of the Union Parishad chairman of the project area in increasing awareness among the local people about the village courts and motivating the people to avail their services is commendable.
The speakers recommended regularising the meetings of the Village Court Management Committee at the district and upazila levels to further activate the village courts under all the Union Parishads of the country including the project area and implementing its decisions. At the same time, they also emphasised on the exemplary initiatives of the chairmen to create a women-friendly environment in the village courts.
The chairmen participating in the conference expected cooperation at all levels of administration in implementing the decisions, increasing the financial and judicial jurisdiction of the village courts, and increasing the financial and judicial jurisdiction of the village courts.
It is worth noting that this project is working to resolve disputes locally in an easy, low-cost, fast and clean process and to provide justice to the grassroots, marginalised and marginalised communities, especially women and backward people.
The project is currently in its third phase, reaching out to the eligible people in 4,453 unions in 468 upazilas of 61 districts (excluding 3 districts in the Chittagong Hill Tracts) of 8 divisions of the country.
The European Union and UNDP, as development partners, work in partnership with the Government of Bangladesh to ensure democratic good governance and judicial facilities for various development projects, especially for the rural people.