access the justice through legal aid in Bangladesh

"Access to justice through legal aid : particular example to Save the children in

Bangladesh "

Definition of law• Law is the rules and regulations made and enforced by

government that regulate the conduct of people within a society.

Dr. S K KAPOR• A body of rules of conduct of binding legal force and effect,

prescribed, recognized, and enforced by controlling authority. Legal dictionary • Law is the system of rules which a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and which it may enforce by the imposition of penalties

Oxford dictionary

Definition of legal aid• Legal aid means Free or inexpensive advice, assistance, or representation concerning the law. Given to those cannot afford it, based on jurisdictional criteria. The LawDictionary

• Legal aid is state-funded legal representation, advice and assistance, usually carried out by a solicitor or a barrister . Legal aid is a system by which those below a certain income can receive free or subsidized legal representation or advice

Importance of legal aid

• Help people figure out if they have a problem that might be resolved by using the legal system

• Help people understand and analyze their legal options

• Help people understand and analyze available choices, including options that don’t involve using the police or courts

• Step back to give survivors time to decide which options to try

• Work with the survivor to implement their choices

Legal aid and justice

MD. MOFEJUL ISLAM

How we can get justice through legal aid

• Community-level legal and human rights education• Paralegal and human rights training for community leaders 

• Legal aid support to the most disadvantaged groups• Promotion of Shalish as means toward more fair and equitable dispute resolution

• Building community institutions such as Shalish committees and Human Rights Monitoring Groups (HRMG) to build community activism

• Publication of quarterly newsletter with specific focus on women’s and children rights 

• Monitoring of the local human rights situation and the fostering of human rights activism at the grassroots level

Continue…• Ensure timely and speedy disposal of cases instead of delay disposal.

• To establish one-stop service center at every district.

• To develop monitoring system.• To ensure certificates for to Union parishads providing speedy legal aid.

• To implement the existing laws in violence related cases.

• To inform the grassroots people about govt. legal aid services.

• For insuring justice by legal aid fund it is essential to monitor the violence related cases.

Continue….• Increase the panel lawyers.• Make more effective the Legal Aid committee at Upazilla and Union Committee.

• To advertise in media on legal aid support• Ensuring support of victims for medical test including DNA test, travelling allowance and case paper collection cost.

• Coordination must exist among Government and NGO.

• Access to Justice and Legal Aid through NGO’s• Access to Justice and Legal Aid and its international aspect

Application of legal aid in different sectors

Legal Aid may provide representation in the types of cases:

• Public benefit • Housing Problem• Consumer Cases• Family Law Issues• Senior Law Problem• Juvenile Legal Problems• Immigration

Legal Aid: Bangladesh Perspectives

Governmental & Non-governmental Organizations

Concept of Legal Aid at National Level

• The concept of legal aid has been found in some of the legal instruments in our country. The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh

The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 The Legal Aid Act, 2000 The Legal Aid Rules, 2001

The Constitution of the People’s Republic of

Bangladesh• In the preamble of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh it has been pledged that one of the fundamental aims of the state is to realize a society in which equality of justice would be secured for all citizens.

• Article 27 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, 1972 states the fundamental rights as follows, ‘all citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law’.

• ‘Equal before law’ implies the absence of any special privilege to any individual in his or her favor.

• ‘Equal protection of law’ expressed that the citizens and the residents of Bangladesh have the inalienable right to be treated in accordance with law and is guaranteed and speedy and fair trial are ensured.

The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908

• As regards civil matters, Order 33 of this code deals with the ‘Pauper’ suit.

• A ‘pauper’ is a person who does not own property worth 5000/- other than his necessary wearing-apparel.

• He is too poor to bear the expense of prescribed fee and must be supported at public expense.

The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898

• As regards criminal matters, Section 340 of this code states that an accused should be defended by a lawyer and he (the accused) pay the fees.

• This does not extend to a right that the state or the police or the magistrate can provide the lawyer for the accused.

• It is only a privilege that he can ask for a lawyer and can engage one or his relations can engage one for him.

The Legal Aid Act, 2000and

The Legal Aid Rules, 2001• In 1994, the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary

Affairs passed a resolution to provide legal aid to poor litigants.

• A particular amount of money was allocated to the District Judge.

• The Legal Aid Act,2000 is the broader and sustainable version of this resolution.

• This provides for an organization named ‘National Legal Aid Services Organization’ which will organize and monitor proper functioning of this act.

• This organization works through two board of committee name ‘National Legal Aid Board’ and ‘District Legal Aid Committee’.

• National Legal Aid Board act as policy making authority and formulate rules.

• The board decide policies to provide legal aid to those people who are unable to get justice due to financial crisis and due to different socio economic reasons

• It also provide awareness raising activities through media (electronic, print, campaign etc.).

• District committee is responsible for providing legal aid at grass root level.

• It perform the duties that invested by the national board.

• The Legal Aid Rules, 2001 mainly determines the criteria of getting legal aid, the process of application and the costs and fees of legal aid.

• According to the statistics published in December 2003 by

the National Legal Aid Services Organization-

Legal aid has been given in total of 8208 cases.

Among them there were 1296 civil cases, 5915 criminal

cases, 886 family matters, and 111 miscellaneous cases.

• In the fiscal year of 2004-2005, 10million taka were

sanctioned for legal aid.

• During 2005-2006, legal aid has been given in total of

11808 cases, in 61 districts.

Legal Aid at Non Governmental Level

• In Bangladesh some leading NGOs have pioneered

the legal aid movement.

• Among them most prominent are- Save the Children Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) Ain o Salish Kendro (ASK) Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) Bangladesh National Woman Lawyers’ Association (BNWLA) Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF) Mohila Parishad BRAC

Ngo- Save the children

• Save the Children is the world's leading independent organization for children. It work’s in around 120 countries including Bangladesh.Also 30 member organization of Bangladesh is working with them.

Vision and Goals Their vision is to make a world in which every child attains the

• right to survival,• protection, • development and• participation. • Their goal is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives

Area of giving legal aid

They fight for Children’s rights in legal way Children have the same access to justice as adults, they ensure children’s right by forcing governments to take children’s rights more seriously. They provide legal aid in the area like

• Child Trafficking• Violence against Children • Child marriage• Child Rape• Child Prostitution etc…

Major Areas of concern ( Save the children)

Major Areas of concern ( Save the Children)

• Children Education• Hunger• Child Poverty• Child Protection Sector including-

– Child labor– Child trafficking– Girl child in sex work– Child marriage

Child labor• Child labor refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labor.

• Child labor is defined as all economic activity for children less than 12 years, any work for those aged 12-14 of sufficient hours per week to undermine their health or education, and all “hazardous work” which could threaten the health of children under 18.

• The International Labour Organisation (ILO), reports that approximately 19 percent (%) of school children and 40 percent (%) of street children have been forced into child labour.(ILO,2009)

Continuing…• Save the children- provide rescue, repatriation and psychosocial support services and promote quality institutional and community-based care.

• They provide learning opportunity for working children, work with employers for improved working condition. 

• They work together with government, parliamentary bodies, local administration and elected bodies, media, community and network to establish the  Child Protection mechanism. 

Causes of child labor

• Poverty and family size• Victims of migration• Illiteracy & Ignorance• Child labor law and rights :-Employment of Children Act, 1938; -The Children (Pledging of Labor) Act, 1933; -The Factories Act, 1965;- The Plantations Labor Ordinance, 1962 -The Shops and Establishment Act, 1965

Child trafficking• Thousands of children trafficked from Bangladesh to other countries go unreported each year.

• “We cannot be certain about the actual number,” Michael McGrath, country director of Save the Children Bangladesh, told IRIN. “The only reliable statistics [on missing children] are those that refer to the number of children `rescued’ each year, and the number of cases opened against traffickers or traffickers convicted each year. Each of these figures is very small.” 

• Any person can call 1098, a toll free number, to report a missing child. With the help of this last year 2012 January to 2013 January they have rescued 132 children from 17 districts of Bangladesh.

Continuing…• Children can stay at the shelter, where they also get an education, until the age of 18. While they are here, they keep looking for their parents with the help of law enforcing agencies.

• Bangladeshi children are trafficked internally for commercial sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and forced and bonded labor, including forced begging.

Girl child in sex work

• Girls were twice as likely to have experienced all forms of violence as boys (24 percent as against 11 percent).

• About 10% of street girls are forced in prostitution.

Girl child in sex work• Save the children work with the mothers and children living inside the brothels in Daulatdia and Faridpur.

•  Safe Space inside the brothel allow children, women and men to report on any cases of abuse and violence inside the brothel and prevent girls trafficked into the brothel getting engaged into sex work.

• Safe Home provides residential support to the extremely vulnerable daughters of the sex workers.

• Safe Home reintegrates the girls into families/wider communities by empowering them to be independent and setting up a new life in a new environment and as such creating a new place for themselves in society.

Child marriage• “Save the children” also work against child marriage as its also a cause of maternal and infant mortality.

• They help the children by providing safe shelter, education, funding a child and also provide legal support to help girls under 18 to rescue from their abusive married life under the Child marriage restraint act 1929.

2012, Save the childrenCategory Number

Child labor 243

Child Trafficking( girls) 132

Girl sex workers 18

total 393

Laws to protect children

ACT FOR CHILDREN IN PENAL CODE – 1860Section 360,361,362,363,364 A,366 , 366 A, 367, 371, 372, 374(1,2).

The Children Act of 1974NATIONAL CHILDREN POLICY – 1994Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act 1933.The Bangladesh Shishu Academy Ordinance, 1976 (Ordinance No. LXXIV of 1976)

Oppression Against Women and Children 2000Acts of Violence against Children in 2001

International Conventions

Bangladesh ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in August 1990.

Bangladesh ratified the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1984.

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29)UN Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the

Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (1949).

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999

Conclusion

The gains for Save the Children and other education

actors in being part of a co-led cluster include:

1.The opportunity to influence humanitarian policy decisions and strategic

direction, both in the countries implementing education clusters and at a global level.

2. Increased knowledge and expertise on education in emergency issues and cluster coordination, both within and beyond the organization.

3. Greater organizational visibility and opportunities to champion education in emergencies and children’s rights in general.

Continue…Challenges for Save the Children in implementing our

co-lead responsibilities include:• An uneven response in terms of our own education

in emergency programming.

• Varying levels of success in mainstreaming cluster lead responsibilities across countries and Save the Children organizations.

• The need for more pre-emptive planning with UNICEF and other partners to agree on the working methods of the Education Cluster before crises.

• A shortfall of resources, both in terms of the right people to coordinate the cluster and the money to deliver on our commitments.

Continue…Elements of a Preschool Education: Practices for

Engaging Children in the Developmental Domains and Assuring

School Readiness • Responsive Interaction Style • Responsive Interactions: Warm, Sensitive, and

Contingent on Children’s Signals • Responsive Style + Content Plan • Responsive Style + Content + Planning That

Effectively Builds New Memories • Implementing Effective Plans + A Balance of

Teaching Strategies • Incorporating Flexible Groupings + Balanced

Strategies • Effective Planning + Content + A Responsive Style

References• Md.  Ansar Ali  Khan, Legal System  of Bangladesh,   1st ed.  (Dhaka: National Law Book House, 2007).

• The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

• The Legal Aid Act, 2000 (Act VI of 2000).• The Legal Aid Rules, 2001.• The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.• The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898.• http://www.nlaso.gov.bd/index.php/nlaso-overview