Legal aid for ensuring access to justice in Bangladesh: a study of standard and practice

After an introduction, the thesis contains five chapters. The second chapter attempts to conceive the concept of access to justice. It then addresses the barriers that disable the poor in their access to justice. It should be noted that while discussing and analyzing the barriers to access to justice, this chapter focuses on the context of Bangladesh. Chapter Three begins with the conceptualization of legal aid. The conceptualization is made from a historical and broader perspective of basic human rights. The chapter describes the development of legal aid from the international human rights standards in the following sections. The next part of this chapter discusses the legal aid practice of India. Chapter Four gives an overview of the legal framework of government operated legal aid in Bangladesh. First, it discusses the legal system of Bangladesh in general. Then it looks at the historical development of the legal aid system in the country. This chapter discusses and analyzes the present laws and regulations of legal aid in greater detail in the following sections. Chapter Five examines the current laws and practices of the government supported legal aid system of Bangladesh on the basis of the international human rights standards as well as the practice of India. In doing so, the chapter outlines the developments already made in this sector. It also points out the areas of concern that require reforms and development. The concluding chapter contains a set of recommendations from the researcher. The researcher believes that these recommendations will contribute to the development of legal aid laws, policy and eventually the practices in Bangladesh with regard to its international human rights obligation towards an accessible, substantial and comprehensive system. Finally they will contribute to ensure access to justice for the poor justice seekers of the country