Backlog of cases biggest hurdle

Mediation can effectively reduce the backlog of cases, the biggest impediment in the way of dispensing "quality" justice, Chief Justice Muzammel Hossain said yesterday.
The Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism, of which mediation is an important component, was originally conceived as an out-of-court settlement system to avoid time consuming and expensive court procedure, he said.
The chief justice said this while inaugurating Mediation Awareness Workshop, organised jointly by the Supreme Court and UNDP at the Supreme Court auditorium in the morning.
About 27 lakh cases are pending with courts across the country, including the Appellate Division and the High Court, according to Supreme Court sources.
Justice Muzammel said the backlog of cases was causing delay in their disposal, increasing litigation cost, discouraging people from bring genuine disputes to the court and encouraging extra-judicial means for solving a dispute.
"Mediation will substantially reduce the backlog, strengthen peace and fraternity, and allow our courts to concentrate on cases involving complicated legal issues.
"It has been proved that quick disposal of cases through mediation encourages people to bring their disputes to court, consequently increasing the number of new cases," said the chief justice.
According to him, litigation through adversarial judicial system leads to a win-lose situation, resulting in animosity between the parties, which is not always desirable and congenial for a peaceful society.
He said it was a wrong concept that mediation would impact negatively on law practitioners. It rather opens a new horizon for them encouraging many advocates to become professional mediators.
Mediation offers a structure to increase and facilitate direct negotiation between the parties in a dispute without the intervention of a third party, he said, adding that a mediator simply facilitates communication, or may help direct and structure a settlement, but he does not have the authority to decide or rule on the settlement.
Justice Mohammad Anwarul Haque, a High Court judge, and Assistant Country Director of UNDP Won Young Hong, among others, spoke at the programme.