ADR May Cut Pending Cases to 2m Next Year

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Asaduzzaman today spoke at a seminar at the Law Ministry conference room at the Secretariat today.

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Asaduzzaman on Tuesday said effective implementation of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) system could reduce the country's pending court cases from about 4.5 million to around two million within the next year.

He made the remarks while virtually inaugurating the mandatory pre-filing mediation programme in 10 districts from the ministry's conference room.

The minister said expanding mandatory pre-filing mediation is essential to reducing the growing backlog of cases and ensuring faster, more accessible justice.

"Alongside the conventional judicial system, strengthening the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism has become the need of the hour," he said.

Asaduzzaman noted that the country's judiciary is burdened by around 4.5 million pending cases despite having an inadequate number of judges, putting pressure on courts from the Supreme Court to the district level.

Highlighting the success of a pilot programme conducted between February and May 2026, he said cases filed under the Family Courts Act fell by about 51 percent, dropping from 3,559 during the same period in 2025 to 1,744 this year.

He said partition suits under the jurisdiction of Civil Judge Courts declined by around 67 percent, while pre-emption cases under the State Acquisition and Tenancy Act dropped by more than 88 percent.

The minister also said cases filed under the Dowry Prohibition Act fell sharply from 5,605 to 1,810, a decline of 67.71 percent, demonstrating the effectiveness of mandatory pre-filing mediation.

Overall, the number of cases filed under various laws declined by an average of 62.2 percent, he added.

"If this trend continues and the programme is expanded nationwide, it will substantially reduce the number of new cases being filed every day," he said.

The minister urged judges to refer disputes suitable for amicable settlement to district legal aid offices or accredited mediators at an early stage.

He said resolving disputes through mediation, even after cases are filed, could significantly reduce litigation costs, delays and hardship for litigants.

"As disputes are resolved before cases are filed and mediation becomes more effective for pending cases, we believe the current backlog of around 4.5 million cases can be reduced to about two million within the next year," he said.

The programme was chaired by Director General of the Directorate of Bangladesh Legal Aid Md Monjurul Hossain, while Law and Justice Division Secretary Liaquet Ali Molla attended as a special guest.

District judges, legal aid officials and representatives of bar associations from Jessore and Cox's Bazar also joined the event virtually.