Description

Ensuring ‘Access to Justice’ in order to establish the rule of law has been identified as a priority area in the Sustainable Development Goals-16. Similarly, the concept of Alternative Dispute Resolution (‘ADR’) mechanismsis being widely promoted in Bangladesh as a tool to reduce cost and delay in litigation and decrease case backlog. This article aims to define the concept of ‘Access to Justice’ and examines the correlation between ‘Access to Justice’ and ‘ADR’ in the Civil Court System. As Bangladesh has amended its core procedural legislation to accommodate the ADR mechanism into the civil jurisdiction, this article discusses the historical development of ADR in the Bangladeshi legal system, highlighting the existing legal framework. The article reviews the procedure of court-annexed ADR within the civil courts. As these two ideas are intertwined, the article explores the role of court-annexed ADR in ensuring access to justice. The article also attempts to identify the challenges of successfully implementing an ADR mechanism to guarantee access to justice. In assessing the situation in Bangladesh, it also examines the link between access to justice and ADR in the United Kingdom, which is an established and mature common law jurisdiction, and its impact on the legal system. In conclusion, this article offers insights to make the ADR mechanism more efficient to support the vision of access to justice in light of the United Kingdom example, arguing that instead of reacting to the challenges and limitations faced by the ADR mechanism, the legal institutions and method of implementation shall be strengthened for greater success.