Bill to strengthen village courts passed in JS

The 'Village Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2024' was passed in Parliament on Tuesday (7 May), empowering the village courts to impose fines of up to Tk3 lakh. 

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister M Tazul Islam moved the Bill.

As per the Bill, a village court, which is comprised of five members - including the union parishad chairman, cannot function if any member remains absent.

According to the draft law, if a vote occurs on a disputed matter in the absence of a member, and an equal number of votes are cast in favour of two sides, then the party gaining the chairman's vote will be declared victorious.

Additionally, in some instances of the previous law, the term 'minor' is being replaced with 'child'.

In 2013, by amending the Village Court Act, the government strengthened the court, allowing it to impose fines of up to  Tk75,000.

According to the objective of the Bill, the 1976  Village Courts Ordinance was enacted to ensure speedy and easy settlement of minor disputes of local people in rural areas. 

The Village Courts Act, 2006 was enacted by repealing the ordinance and some sections of the act were amended in 2013.

The government is working to promote the concept and process of alternative dispute resolution in minor disputes, reducing the pressure on the institutional justice system and ensuring easy and speedy access to justice for the poor and disadvantaged.

A Village Court is a semi-formal dispute resolution mechanism founded on the concept of alternative dispute resolution.