By Mahmudul Hasan Raju
 
DHAKA, April 26, 2024 (BSS) - In line with present government's commitment to provide justice for all, National Legal Aid Services Organisation (NLASO) from 2009 to March, 2024, has provided legal aid to 3, 77,454 people in different cases through its 64 district committees.

Of total 2, 53,825 cases, in which legal aid were provided from 2016 to March, 2024, 1, 75,279 were criminal cases, 22,283 were civil and 52,106 were family cases. Apart from these, the NLASO district committees have provided government legal aid to 1, 16,645 more people kept in different prisons across the country.
 
In spite of such successful operation of the organization, the government has laid emphasis on bringing the free and easily accessible legal aid to the doorsteps of more people and Law Minister Anisul Huq, in this regard, asked the legal aid officers to hold regular meetings with chairmen and members of their own union councils to increase the periphery of legal aid.
 
"If we can hold these meetings regularly, government legal aid service would get more publicity among the people. People will not come to get the government legal aid as long as they do not get familiar with this," he said.
 
As per the Annual Performance Agreement (APA) 2024-25 of Law and Justice Division, the NLASO is supposed to provide legal aid to 1, 60,000 people, but Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq already called upon the concerned officials to make the service available for people beyond the target.
 
The NLASO district offices have so far gave free legal advices to 1,95,266 people, and the most significant matter is that of these 1,27,918 were female. From disputes ranging from post-divorce maintenance, mahr, guardianship of underage child, divorce, family quarrels, women and child repression, land disputes, people are knocking doors of National Legal Aid Services Organisation's district offices for free legal advices.
 
Legal aid activities are going on in the country's Supreme Court from 2015 through the Supreme Court Legal Aid Office (SCLAO). It is also providing the following services - legal advice, filing and dealing cases, expert opinion on the merit of the cases and bearing the actual cost of cases. A total of 24,319 beneficiaries received its services one way or another till now.
 
Dr Md Rezaul Karim also said the legal aid advices were given to 20, 710 labourers from 2013 till now through the labourer legal assistant cells situated in Dhaka and Chattogram. Of the total number of beneficiaries, 4,216 were women and 16,494 were men, he added.
 
A total of 4,327 people have received government legal aid in different labour courts also.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the National Legal Aid Day on April 28, 2016, launched the service of toll-free national helpline '16430' and it became more and more popular with the passing of time. A total of 1, 64,797 people were given free legal aid through the helpline till March, 2024," the law ministry official added.

 The present government from the very beginning is pushing for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to ease case backlogs in different courts across the country, and so far the number of beneficiaries from disposed of cases or disputes are 2, 11,891.

 Of the beneficiaries', 1, 75,541 people' cases or disputes were disposed of in pre-case stage, whereas 36,350 people's cases or disputes were disposed of in post-case stage.
 
From 2018, a total of 5,525 cases were withdrawn all because of successful ADR, while Taka 180, 45, 27,425 were realized from the cases or disputes disposed of successfully through ADR so far.

The NLASO is a statutory body working under the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs to adopt policies and principles for making legal services available under the Legal Aid Services Act, 2000.

Any poor person is entitled to get free legal aid services. Besides, any individual receiving old-age allowance, distressed mother holding a VGD card, women and children victims of trafficking and acid throwing, insolvent widow, abandoned or distressed woman, disabled person and poor detainee can avail of the free legal services.