Village courts: An end to the woes of common people

A total of 11,669 cases have been referred to the village courts from the regular courts during this period and more than taka 150 crore has been collected as compensation. The village courts have become a major tool to reduce the sufferings of marginalized people.

October 1, 2022

"For resolving petty disputes Village Court is our first choice"- inhabitants of Asidrone Union, Moulvibazar

It takes approximately 25 days to settle a case through the village court and the total cost including case application fees and other expenses sums to an average of only taka 233. The low cost and fast resolutions of the cases are leading to a rise in public confidence on the village courts.

According to the latest data of the village courts’ project, a total of 2,36,00 cases have come under the village courts under 1,080 unions of 154 upazila in 30 districts since 2009. Of them, 84 percent of the cases, 1,99,000 cases, have been resolved. The rest of the cases have either been scrapped, dismissed, or sent back to the regular courts for resolution.

A total of 11,669 cases have been referred to the village courts from the regular courts during this period and more than taka 150 crore has been collected as compensation. The village courts have become a major tool to reduce the sufferings of marginalized people.    

Although the Village Courts Ordinance was promulgated in 1976 to ensure justice for the common people in villages, it took 36 years before the benefits reached the target masses. The Activating Village Courts in Bangladesh project was piloted from 2009-2015, a joint initiative of UNDP Bangladesh and Local Government Division, to explore and strengthen the system and had proven success. The Village Court Act was passed by Parliament in 2006 but was amended in 2013.

The second phase of the project, with funding and technical assistance from the European Union, was implemented from 2016 to 2022 in 1,080 unions of 154 upazila in 30 districts. And the process to expand the operations to other areas is underway.

The village court handles disputes on issues such as stolen property, recovery of movable property, compensation for destroyed property, loss of crops due to livestock, etc. As a result, disputes regarding small issues no longer have to go to the police or regular courts for resolution leading to savings of funds and time. 

Local Government Department Additional Secretary and National Project Director Dr. Malay Chowdhury told Samakal that the success of the village courts in the pilot unions have motivated the government to expand the operations to cover the whole country. Union Parishad will conduct regular village courts under this law and there will be no need to file minor complaints in police stations or district courts. 

No lawyer would be needed to run this court. As a result of the activities of the village court, the cases in the main trial court of the country will be reduced and the enmity between the people of the village will also be reduced, he added.

In a recent event, Local Government Minister Md. Tajul Islam said that with financial support from the European Union, village court operations would be expanded to cover the whole country soon.

According to source in the AVCB project, the cost of filing a civil case is Taka 10 and criminal case fee is Taka 20. The court has been given the scope to reconcile the two parties and resolve the issue. Village courts are in operation in various European countries, United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.