As reported in the 2024 EUAA COI Report Bangladesh – Country Focus, Bangladesh has a common law system.320 The judiciary has been facing capacity issues, including significant backlogs, delays in case disposal,321 and an insufficient number of judges in relation to caseload322 and population size.323 The average time for a judgement from districts courts was six years according to a research study from 2023,324 while some cases could take decades to resolve.325 Integrity issues included a lack of judicial independence stemming from the then government’s influence appointments,326 that also judicially harassed the opposition and other dissenting voices.327 There were moreover high rates of corruption within the justice sector, including bribery,328 and a selective justice administration.329 Some sources indicated that it is possible to ‘purchase’ outcomes of court verdicts.330
- 320
Mattsson, M. and Mobarak, A. M., Formalizing Dispute Resolution: Effects of Village Courts in Bangladesh, EliScholar, Yale University, 2023, url, p. 6
- 321
Bangladesh, Ministry of Planning, Financial Sector, Investment Climate, ICT and Governance, December 2021, url, pp. 210–211; CGS, Challenges with Access to Justice in Bangladesh, 13 January 2021, url
- 322
Bdnews24.com, Chief Justice Siddique sets sight on combating court case backlog crisis, 2 January 2022, url
- 323
Dhaka Tribune, Bangladesh has one judge for 95,000 people, 30 August 2023, url
- 324
Mattsson, M. and Mobarak, A. M., Formalizing Dispute Resolution: Effects of Village Courts in Bangladesh, Eli Scholar, Yale University, 2023, url, p. 2
- 325
Jaan, A. R., What makes access to Justice elusive in Bangladesh?, South Asia @ LSE, 1 May 2023, url; France, OFPRA, Rapport de mission en République populaire du Bangladesh, 22 April 2024, url, p. 41
- 326
USA, USDOS, 2023 Investment Climate Statements: Bangladesh, 27 July 2023, url
- 327
UN OHCHR, UN experts urge Bangladesh to end judicial harassment of journalists, 22 February 2023, url
- 328
Solaiman, S. M., Prevention of Judicial Corruption in Bangladesh: Cutting the Gordian Knot by Ensuring Accountability, Penn Carey Law: Legal Scholarship Repository, 2023, url, p. 39; Zaman, I., Executive Director of TIB, online interview, 5 April 2024
- 329
Local analyst, email communication, 16 April 2024
- 330
Solaiman, S. M., Prevention of Judicial Corruption in Bangladesh: Cutting the Gordian Knot by Ensuring