United News of Bangladesh

The government has taken some measures aimed at accelerating the disposal of pending cases in lower courts and expanding access to legal aid. Officials said the reforms are designed to ensure faster, more transparent and affordable justice, and to reduce the suffering of litigants. As part of the latest legislative push, parliament has amended two key laws to streamline civil and criminal procedures. The Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2026 introduces provisions for serving summons through SMS and voice calls, filing plaints and written statements via affidavit, allowing direct cross-examination, and enabling execution petitions to be filed within the original suit—removing the need for separate execution cases, according to an official document. Besides, the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2026 allows courts to bypass the lengthy proclamation and attachment process for absconding accused and mandates digital methods for serving summons. In a significant shift towards digitisation, testimony from investigating officers, doctors and magistrates recording confessions is now being accepted online under the Information Technology Use Act, 2020, reducing the need for physical court appearances and expediting trial proceedings. To ease the burden on magistrates, the government has set up dedicated judicial magistrate courts, allowing them to focus more on trials rather than administrative and ancillary duties. In a bid to tackle the longstanding backlog, authorities have established 871 new courts and created 232 judicial posts, with 304 more in the pipeline. Recruitment is underway for 150 civil judges, while the appointment process for hundreds of judicial staff is also progressing. The Legal Aid Services (Amendment) Act, 2026 has made pre-litigation mediation mandatory in most cases under scheduled laws, with settlements gaining the status of court decrees once certified by the Chief Legal Aid Officer. The mediation programme, currently active in 20 districts, has already contributed to higher dispute resolution rates and a decline in new case filings, officials said. Other measures include expansion of legal aid services, introduction of online platforms, support for expatriates, appointment of specialised mediators, and a toll-free hotline (16699). To address infrastructure shortages, the government has proposed constructing Chief Judicial Magistrate court buildings in 23 districts and expanding existing facilities in four others. Plans for additional court buildings and judges’ residences are also being revised. Besides, an e-bail bond management system is now operational in 16 districts and will be introduced nationwide in phases. E-family courts are functioning in Dhaka and Chattogram, with plans for expansion across the country. Additionally, cause lists for all courts have been made fully accessible online while information and service centres have been set up on district court premises to assist litigants. The government is also preparing to launch online registration of Muslim marriages and divorces in selected areas under an ICT-based civil registration project, aimed at reducing fraud and litigation. An “e-Judiciary” project is in the pipeline to digitise the entire judicial process, from case filing to record management. The authorities also plan to amend the Bangladesh Legal Practitioners’ and Bar Council Order, 1972 to modernise the bar examination system and improve professional standards. Case backlog remains a major challenge in Bangladesh. As of December 31, 2025, a total of 4,041,924 cases were pending in subordinate courts, according to Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Asaduzzaman. Experts attribute the delays to a shortage of judges, inadequate infrastructure, lengthy procedures and frequent adjournments, underscoring the need for sustained reforms.