Dhaka: Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed said, “Even bricks of Lower Court buildings take bribes, lets not to talk about their occupants.”

“The whole bunch of officials and employees keep their mouth wide open for gobbling up the bribes money provided by each and every litigants. There is no improvement in mending the situation there,” Shafique said this while answering a question of a public prosecutor.

The Law Minister said this while opening a two-day workshop at the Electricity Building for resolving the problems of law, justice and parliamentary affairs issues on Saturday.

He said, “People from all walks of life suffer immensely in lower courts as in every step from depositing file to taking the case in cause list – people had to pay bribes for proceeding the case. There is a saying that even bricks of the lower court’s walls take bribe and all the people there keep their mouth wide open for bribes to do anything and everything.”

A public prosecutor told the Law Minister, “What we get as salary and allowance, it is really inadequate to lead our life.”

Then the Law Minister questioned, “If the salary and benefits are inadequate then why you people get involved in massive lobbying for being a PP?”  

The minister said, “Before being made PP you people get involved in massive lobbying by local lawmakers, elected local representatives and even by ministers. But afterwards you do not play your part regarding your responsibility in various cases as public prosecutor. You people only remain busy how you would earn money misusing your power and position.”

“People have lost their trust and faith in it due to your illegal activities. So to restore the people’s faith in judiciary, all irrespective of their position should have to work unitedly for regaining its prestigious position,” said the Law Minister.

The aims and objectives of the workshop was to make field level and national level people aware of the case management committee, its formation, constitution, procedures and their effects. After conducting details discussion and review through the workshop, two pilot projects in Comilla and Pabna will be implemented by forming two case management committees in the two districts. 

The law minister also said, “Numbers of criminal cases are increasing rapidly and this trend is putting extra pressure on the judiciary. So we’re trying to settle ordinary cases over trivial matters outside the court. But we’ve to be careful about one thing that criminals should be punished and in no way they should be spared.”

“So to handle the huge backlog of cases, we’re planning to bring about changes to the CrPC for resolving cases quickly,” Shafique said.

“For making the process of resolving cases expeditiously, judges, lawyers and public prosecutors  must act in unison,” he said. 

Community police will also play role in resolving and making alternative resolution of disputes system effective. The alternative case management committee will have to hold meeting once in a month to make it functional, the minister added.

The workshop was addressed among others by National Law Assistance Project director and Joint Secretary Syed Aminul Islam, Justice Sector Facility Project’s Chief Technical Adviser Christian Eldon. District Magistrates,  Public Prosecutor and Police officials took part I the workshop as participants for enhancing their efficiency and skills in case management.

Ends/OSR/AMA/06/07/13