THE CHALLENGES OF VILLAGE COURTS TO OPERATIONALIZE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL: A CASE STUDY IN THE SOUTHWEST REGION OF BANGLADESH

Md. Mahedi Al  Masud; Sajib  Chowdhury; Nurun Nahar  Moni

doi:10.53808/KUS.SI.2023.ICSSI24-ss

Authors

Md. Mahedi Al Masud Divisional Social Services Office, Department of Social Services (DSS), Maylaputa, Khulna 9100, Bangladesh
Sajib Chowdhury Economics Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh
Nurun Nahar Moni Economics Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53808/KUS.SI.2023.ICSSI24-ss

Keywords:

Village court, Challenges, Dispute resolution, Local community, Bangladesh

Abstract

The village court and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) promised to resolve civil cases instead of regular court proceedings in rural areas, as it takes less time and is a more cost-saving process. Village courts are a useful pattern of dispute resolution in the local community by avoiding formal judicial mechanisms. This study examines the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of village courts in rural Bangladesh. Additionally, it identifies the challenges of village court to operationalization at the local level. To do that, by employing multistage sampling technique, nine unions from rural communities in Bangladesh's southwestern districts of Bagerhat, Khulna, and Sathkhria were selected as study areas. Mixed method approach was adopted, where 141 households were surveyed by using a semi-structured questionnaire for quantitative data, and three focus group discussions (FGD) and key informant interviews (KII) were applied to collect qualitative information. Descriptive statistics and SWOT analysis were carried out to address the research objective. The study result demonstrates that the middle-aged (31-40 year) group, secondary level of education, and lower middle-income (10,001-20,000 BDT/month) people are the main stakeholders in reporting disputes to the village court. The findings from qualitative part show that the main challenges of village court are the lack of manpower, logistic support, infrastructure, and lack of training for village court personnel. Other challenges are the lack of awareness of local people regarding the law relating to village courts and their limited pecuniary jurisdiction (up to 75,000 BDT). However, village courts have several strengths, including fair trials, the existence of rules and regulations, a well-accepted body, easy access to justice, and less paperwork. This study demonstrates that resolving the present problems will increase the efficacy of village courts, allowing them to provide cost-effective, timely, and harassment-free justice to local communities. Therefore, the study recommends that the government should take the necessary action and amend the law relating to village courts to overcome the existing challenges and fully functionalize them for the greater wellbeing of local communities in Bangladesh.

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