Delay in Justice in Bangladesh : Causes and Impact on Access to Justice

Abstract 

The justice system of Bangladesh is burdened with excessive delays in the backlog of cases, which  initially impacts to the access to Justice and hampers public trust in the judiciary system. This  study examines the principal causes of such delays including corruption, shortage of judges and  judicial staff, continual dependency on backdated laws inherited from the colonial era. To compete  this research , a wide range of articles, appropriate data , official reports, relevant cases were  reviewed within the scope of my subject matter. The analysis were conducted using a qualitative  research method , where the finding reveals the impact of delay in justice in Bangladesh. Similarly  the study approaches the targeted reformation such as strengthening judicial independence,  introducing digital case management systems, improving transparency.  

Keywords : Legal system , administration, judicial and social aspects.  

Introduction  

“Justice delayed is justice denied” – maxim that is applicable in our real life scenario where a large  number of people in Bangladesh are heavily affected by this common problem directly or  indirectly. In a result, people tends to lose their faith and confidence in the judicial system. They  suffer severely financially along with mentally. Lack of judges , judicial staff, continual  dependency on outdated laws , lack of using modern technology and corruption are main causes  to be considered. The reality is many cases are manipulated to delay the proceedings for an  unlimited period of time and the success rate of such cases usually turns to be too less to notice.  Law meant to be the powerful instrument through which the state will address the social needs by  delivering timely and effective justice. However, it is alarming that , according to The Daily Star (September 2025) 1– the total number of pending cases stood at about 4652000 across all levels of courts, including Supreme court, High court and other Subordinate court. As of March 31, 2025  – there were 74259 pending cases in family courts including more than 5000 cases that are pending  for over 5 years.  

Though various measurements have been taken by the state while a number are still in  consideration. However a comprehensive analysis says that the solution of this problem is yet to  achieve. This study will identify most of the causes and it’s impact in details and will explore the  issue with sustainable solutions that can come up with.  

Concept of Delay in Justice and Access to Justice  

Delay is currently one of the main diversion to Justice which led to the point where main reason  is injustice, corruption. Just a suit of 1-2 year can stretch upto 10-15 years or even more still there’s  no final closure for the case. The judicial system of Bangladesh points out many reasons to cause  delay such as corruption, cost of litigation, complex procedure that people finds difficult to  proceed, backlog of cases as cases piling up which puts an tremendous load on the current cases ,  non availability of legal aid , lack of judges etc.  

And access to Justice is basically ensuring people getting all laws and dignity, equality, legal  protection and right to a fair trial which also includes the awareness of a persons rights. It means  people should be able to receive justice and equality regardlessly not based on their gender,  sexuality and ethnicity . However due to many issues the legal system failed to ensure equal justice  for everyone.  

Legal Framework Governing Speedy Justice in Bangladesh  

In Bangladesh, the Constitution ensures the right to a speedy trial under Article 35(3), which means  that anyone accused of a crime has the right to a quick and public hearing by an independent and  impartial court.2 

To give effect to this right, the Law and Order Disruption (Speedy Trial) Act, 2002 was enacted. It  requires certain criminal cases to be completed within 120 days, with a possible extension of 60 days.3 Special Speedy Trial Courts were created to handle these cases quickly. The Act has been  applied in cases such as State vs. Mehedi Hasan Rasel and Others 4 Although the Act was  originally temporary, it was made permanent in 20245, which has raised concerns among legal  experts and human rights groups. There some other landmark cases to look at such as BLAST and  Others V Bangladesh and Others6, State v Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Dhaka7, Abdul Latif Mirza v Government of Bangladesh8etc.  

Present Scenario of Case Backlog in Bangladesh  

The backlog of pending cases , including in criminal and civil cases is growing at the appellate  division of the supreme court regarding to the slow pace of hearings and disposals. As for June  30, 2025- pending cases at the AD surged to 37002 up by more than 8000 from the previous year,  according to the latest SC case disposal. Shortage of judges balmed for growing backlog since  there are only 7 judges in AD , 111 in the High court and 2187 in the lower court9. According to  The daily star, Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed has also formed 13 monitoring committees led  by High court judges to fasten case disposals in the lower court. Not only that, Appellate division  has over 37000 pending cases, High court division has over 616000 pending cases and lower court  has over 3998000 pending cases10 ; according to Daily Industry BD , subordinate courts carry  nearly 86% of the total backlog , which indicates a growing pressure on the judicial system.11 

Causes of Delay in the Justice System  

Lack of insufficient judges, outdated procedural laws , corruption, lack of resources, weak  investigation process , complex procedure, political interference, slow management and lack of legal awareness creates a system where justice is often postponed or delayed .  

In our country’s court , there isn’t enough judges to handle various judges . While number of  pending cases are piling up, current cases also get delayed to solve the previous ones. Also judges  are continually getting transferred to different cities where cases left behind. Slow procedure of  investigation and complex procedure to legal aid leads people to lose their interest on signing up  for justice. Also the processing takes too long more often that people bribe the corresponding  officials to make it faster or more often official gets bribery to not work on the case with honestly  because of political intervention or because of rivalry. It’s also important to note that , malicious  prosecution is quite present nowadays, where there are many false cases. Investigators and legal  representative often find it harder to get to the truth as it’s a lengthy process. Financial crisis is also  an issue here , as many people can’t afford the fees of lawyer and for the cases , so cases just get  delayed. People lack awareness that they can even file for a financial aid to continue their suit  which is unfortunate. A developing country like Bangladesh , often tends not to develop their  technology to get rid of their case Backlog suffering of the judiciary system.  

Impact of Delay on Access to Justice  

Most sufferer of these circumstances are the victim , while they face emotional and psychological  distress which prevents them to move on their life . They often get threatened . Lack of evidence  makes it further frustrating the victims pursuit of justice. Societal pressure often goes unnoticed,  where women faces violence and can’t even file for a suit . According to UN Women report, 64%  of women in Bangladesh faces domestic violence by their partner but only 7.4% of women takes  legal action.12 Public looses faith in the judicial system for it’s complexity and ineffective results.  More importantly it delay affects the rights of the accused to fair and speedy trial. But despite the  sufferings and impact , there’s also reformation and amendment. The legal aid services (second  amendment) ordinance,2025 is expected to ease pressure on courts by enabling one fourth of cases to be resolved through legal aid mechanisms if effectively implemented. The attorney general of  Bangladesh has publicly called for Collective efforts among legal actors to overcome delays in  delivering justice, emphasising that delays undermine the rule of law. 

Recommendation  

Among the discussed crisis, we should come up with solution as well. For that , ADR should be  compulsory in it’s full extend, negotiation and conciliation has to be included in CPC and ADR  where it will be mandatory in both pre trial as well as trial stage13. We must digitalize our court to  broad terms so that people could understand the proceedings, though it’s still under process and  government trying to make sure of that. Critical Society needs to change its perspective over  victims . Many reforms such as increase the number of judges and judicial staff , ensuring  accountability and transparency while justice is being served, necessary law amendment, and more  sincerity from the public officials side would be have a huge impact to the reformation.  

Conclusion  

Bangladesh is developing in many sectors but it is a matter of fact that whether that development  is coming handy to people of it’s country or not , whether that development ensuring equality and  justice or not , whether it’s binding by “Right to Protection of Law” or not. It is one of the  significant rights ensured by the constitution of Bangladesh . Present Scenario of the judicial  system is indeed frustrating as we discussed above but it is high time for the society and it’s people  to get the access to Justice and ensure fairness by abiding by law. We should come forward as a  nation and contribute in our society and country as much as we could as an individual to make a  difference.  

Reference (S):

Cases 

Abdul Latif Mirza v Government of Bangladesh (2002) 22 BLD (AD) 276. 

Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) v Bangladesh and others (2012) 64 DLR  (HCD) 129. 

State v Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Dhaka (1998) 18 BLD (HCD) 558. State v Mehedi Hasan Rasel and others (Speedy Trial Court, Bangladesh).

Legislation  

Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, art 35(3). 

Law and Order Disruption (Speedy Trial) Act 2002. 

Legal Aid Services (Second Amendment) Ordinance 2025. 

Reports and Institutional Publications 

Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Annual Report on Case Disposal (2025). 

Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), Access to Justice and Legal Aid in  Bangladesh (2024). 

Newspaper Articles 

Ashutosh Sarkar, ‘Case backlog piling up in SC’ The Daily Star (Dhaka, 27 September 2025). The Daily Star, ‘Over 45 lakh cases pending in courts’ (Dhaka, 3 January 2025). The Daily Star, ‘Speedy Trial Act made permanent despite concerns’ (Dhaka, 2024).

Articles  

Daily Industry Bangladesh, ‘Backlog of cases crosses 4.65 million’ (2025) https://www.dailyindustrybd.com/news/1699 accessed 25 December 2025. 

Sabina Yasmin, ‘Alternative Dispute Resolution: A Strategic Solution to Bangladesh’s Judicial  Backlog’ The Business Standard (5 May 2025) https://www.tbsnews.net/thoughts/alternative-dispute-resolution-strategic-solution-bangladeshs judicial-backlog-1134421 accessed 25 December 2025. 

Reports 

UN Women, Violence against Women in Bangladesh (UN Women Report, 2024).

1The Daily Star, ‘Over 45 lakh cases pending in courts’ (Dhaka, 3 January 2025) https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/over-45-lakh-cases-pending-courts-3933306 , accessed 15  December 2025

2 Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, art 35(3) http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-367.html , accessed 15 December, 2025.

3Law and Order Disruption (Speedy Trial) Act 2002.  

4 State v Mehedi Hasan Rasel and others (Speedy Trial Court, Bangladesh). 

5The Daily Star, ‘Speedy Trial Act made permanent despite concerns’ (Dhaka, 2024) 

https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/speedy-trial-act-made-permanent-3613481 

6 Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) v Bangladesh and others (2012) 64 DLR (HCD) 129. 7 State v Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Dhaka (1998) 18 BLD (HCD) 558. 

8 Abdul Latif Mirza v Government of Bangladesh (2002) 22 BLD (AD) 276. 

9The Daily Industry Bangladesh, ‘Backlog of cases crosses 4.65 million’ (Dhaka, 2025) https://www.dailyindustrybd.com/news/1699 , accessed 15 December, 2025. 

10 Ashutosh Sarkar, ‘Case backlog piling up in SC’ The Daily Star (Dhaka, 27 September, 2025) https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/case-backlog-piling-sc-3995741 , accessed 25 December, 2025). 

11 Case backlog surpasses 4.65 m Daily Industry BD (Bangladesh, date not stated) https://www.dailyindustrybd.com/news/1699 , accessed 25 December, 2025.

12 Bangladesh legal aid and services trust (BLAST)  https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17UQ8VpwyM/ accessed 25 December, 2025.

13The business standard report by Sabina Yasmin , on May 5, 2025. https://www.tbsnews.net/thoughts/alternative-dispute-resolution-strategic-solution-bangladeshs-judicial-backlog 1134421 , Accessed 25 December, 2025.