Context
Access to the law and justice remains a major challenge in Bangladesh, particularly for the poor and vulnerable. While the government propagates ‘access to justice for all,’ in reality the vast majority of the population has limited access to fair court proceedings. The reasons for this are manifold. The justice system lacks financial and human resources and it operates with outdated colonial laws. There is a high level of corruption, and justice is commonly seen as a commodity rather than a right. Wide-ranging problems, including a lack of cooperation between the different criminal justice bodies, have resulted in an enormous backlog of cases in the courts, while the prisons are severely overcrowded. Consequently, countless pre-trial detainees, most of them very poor, spend long periods in prison waiting for their cases to be resolved. Such long detentions without conviction or fair trial constitute a serious violation of human rights. The overcrowding is exacerbated because many cases unnecessarily end up in the formal criminal justice system since too little use is made of alternative approaches to formal criminal proceedings, such as village courts or mediation.
Objective
The justice sector adopts new reform approaches based on good examples of working practices of institutional cooperation from selected pilot sites.
Approach
The project consists of two components:
Improvement of the Real Situation of Overcrowding in Prisons
The project deploys paralegals to reduce case backlog and overcrowding in prisons. Following a short, intensive period of training, the paralegals work with police, prison staff, lawyers and courts, and encourage cooperation between them. They bridge the gap between the judicial system and prisoners, making a key contribution to law and justice. In ‘paralegal aid clinics’ they use educational theatre and songs to inform prisoners of their rights and about the different stages involved in legal proceedings.
Paralegals also take part in meetings of the case coordination committees, in which the relevant actors from the criminal justice and rehabilitation fields work together to identify the reasons for case backlogs and to find solutions. The findings of the meetings are passed on to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs and other institutions, so that the necessary reforms can be initiated.
In partnership with communities and the actors in the criminal justice system (police, prisons, courts, social welfare institutions), the project is supporting the introduction of restorative justice as an alternative approach for settling disputes in order to divert cases from the formal system, as well as foster the rehabilitation of offenders. Restorative justice builds on mediation, which has a long tradition in Bangladesh. Rehabilitation (e.g. drug therapy) and reintegration measures (e.g. vocational training) for released prisoners are supported by building partnerships between prisons and specific NGOs as well as private companies. These approaches help to reduce the number of repeat offenders and, as a result, the extent of prison overcrowding.
This component began in five prisons and will expand gradually till 2018 to cover 40 of Bangladesh’s 64 districts.
Justice Reform and Corruption Prevention
The project is advising the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs on the revision of outdated laws. The focus here is on identifying barriers to progress. In a ‘Justice Audit,’ experts collected data from relevant judicial and executive bodies, and they interviewed practitioners and conducted a representative household survey. The aim was to identify links and interdependencies and to draw up as complete a picture as possible of Bangladesh’s criminal justice system. This Audit will enable policymakers to take better informed decisions for the reform of the system. The data collected is published on the Justice Audit website, which means Bangladesh is now one of the few countries in the world to make such information openly available to the public.
The project also supports the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). As well as providing strategic capacity development measures, it is also enhancing the Commission’s approach to corruption prevention by promoting partnerships between civil society and state actors at the district level.
Results achieved so far
All the actors in the criminal justice system now work together for the first time. They exchange information and take decisions collectively on how to implement measures. The flow of information between the different institutions in the project’s districts has improved considerably.
With respect to prison reform, the work of the paralegals and the case coordination committees has already brought the rapid release of over 9,500 detainees from 20 district prisons (status December 2015) – something which would previously have been difficult to achieve. Many of these prisoners are once again able to work and provide for their families. The abolition of safe custody in three districts serves as a model for the new districts that are to be integrated into the programme. Over 2,600 cases have been diverted from the courts, and around 5,300 cases have been dealt with by restorative justice facilitators and mediators. Partnerships have been started with institutions providing training and therapy.
Corruption prevention has been greatly enhanced by the measures taken within the ACC. A prevention officer is being appointed in each pilot district, financed by the ACC, which demonstrates the Commission’s serious intent to address the issue. Through partnerships with universities and private media companies, the ACC is jointly organising an annual competition for journalists on ‘Best Practice in Reporting on Corruption.’ The Commission has pushed ahead with its strategic planning process. For the first time it has promised to document examples of anti-corruption and to define the expertise of individual agencies. With the help of the corruption prevention committees, networks are being set up at district level between schools, civil society actors and state actors such as the police.