Govt fully separates civil, criminal courts

For the first time in the history of Bangladesh, civil and criminal courts have been fully separated.

The law ministry issued a notification in this regard on Thursday.

As a result, the time for handling cases will be saved and the disposal of civil and criminal cases will increase significantly.

Previously, in district courts, three tiers of judges - Joint District Judge, Additional District Judge, and District Judge, had to handle both civil and criminal (sessions) cases simultaneously. 

This dual responsibility was a major factor behind the backlog of cases and judicial delays.

Currently, around 16 lakh civil cases and 23 lakh criminal cases are pending in the country's lower courts. 

Despite the higher number of criminal cases, judges had to divide their time between civil and criminal matters, slowing down proceedings and increasing the backlog.

To address this, the government has established 203 separate additional sessions courts and 367 joint sessions courts. 

Judges in these new courts will exclusively handle criminal cases, ending the dual responsibilities and expediting judicial processes.

As a result of this landmark decision, civil and criminal courts at the district level will now operate fully separately. 

This will greatly enhance the speed and volume of case disposal and is expected to significantly reduce the existing backlog.