Staff Correspondent

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman has stated that the government is working to further strengthen the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) system to resolve court case backlogs.

To achieve this, public initiatives have been paired with partnerships involving private organizations that have long operated legal aid and mediation programs, aiming to curb the filing of new lawsuits and provide litigants with swift, effective services.

The Law Minister made these remarks while addressing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony at the Ministry of Law conference room in the Secretariat on Thursday.

The National Legal Aid Services Organization (NLASO) signed separate MoUs with the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) and BRAC’s Social Empowerment and Legal Protection (SELP) program.

Recalling the evolution of legal aid in Bangladesh, which began through an administrative order in 1994 and received institutional form via legislation in 2000, the minister noted that the current government continues to modernize and make the system more people-centric.

Recent reviews indicate that between March and May 2026, the rate of new lawsuit filings under specific laws dropped by over 62 percent in 20 districts, signaling a positive outcome for ADR initiatives. The minister urged the judiciary to further encourage ADR by settling appropriate pending cases through mediation to alleviate court pressure, adding that the government is prepared to implement necessary legal reforms.

Under the new agreements, court paralegals will be deployed on a pilot basis in Dhaka, Gazipur, and Chattogram with BLAST's assistance to provide legal support to workers, while successful mediations handled by BLAST will receive legal recognition. Meanwhile, BRAC's SELP program will collaborate on training and certifying professional mediators, providing legal recognition for successful mediations, and conducting joint monitoring.

Presided over by ministry officials, the event was attended by Additional Secretaries S.M. Ershadul Alam and Md. Khademul Kaiyum, NLASO Director General Md. Monzurul Hossain, BRAC Associate Director Shashwati Biplob, and BLAST Honorary Executive Director Sara Hossain, alongside representatives from development partners and the media.