Increase lower court judges to 6,000

The Judiciary Reform Commission has suggested increasing the number of lower court judges to at least 6,000 by appointing around 4,000 additional ones in order to bring the backlog of pending cases to a tolerable level.

The commission also proposed to appoint honest, efficient and healthy retired judges on contractual basis for a period of two to three years in the districts where at least 1,000 appeals or revision cases are pending.

The number of total judges for the lower courts is now 2,187, including 496 female judges. They are burdened with around 39 lakh pending cases. On average, a single judge is burdened with 1,783 cases, Supreme Court sources said.

"The number of judges should be increased step by step. With the increase in the number of judges, the necessary infrastructure, manpower and logistic support must be provided on an urgent basis," the commission said in its final report handed over to the chief adviser on February 5.

The commission emphasised introduction of an effective local Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) system for resolving small disputes at village level and taking assistance of legal aid activities if necessary.

It also recommended establishing an independent Criminal Investigation Service for speedy and impartial investigations; taking necessary steps to improve the enrollment and quality of lawyers in due process; providing necessary infrastructure in all courts; allocating necessary budgets for the judiciary and keeping the executive as free as possible from control and proper decentralisation of the judiciary to reduce the case backlog.

The eight-member commission was formed on October 3 last year with former Appellate Division judge Justice Shah Abu Nayeem Mominur Rahman as its chief.

Other members include retired HC judges Justice Emdadul Haque and Justice Farid Ahmed Shibli; former district and sessions judge and former SC registrar general Syed Aminul Islam; former district and sessions judge Masdar Hossain; Dhaka University associate professor Kazi Mahfuzaul Haque Supan; and a student representative.