Thesis Proposal

on

Justice for Poor through Village Courts: Quest for

Effectiveness from Villagers Perspectives
Course no. : PAD 525
Course Title: Thesis Proposal Presentation

Supervised By
Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Hossienie
Assistant Professor
Department of Public Administration
SUST, Sylhet

Prepared By
Khushnoor Rubaiyath
Reg. No. 2012227042
MSS 3rd Semester
Department of Public Administration
SUST, Sylhet

Date of Submission: 31. 01. 2016

Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet-3114

Letter of Permission
I am extremely pleased to declare that Khushnoor Rubaiyath, Reg. No. 2012227042, MSS
3rd Semester, Dept. of Public Administration has prepared a thesis proposal on Justice for
Poor throughVillage Courts: Quest for Effectiveness from Villagers Perspectives under
the Course No. PAD-525.

I have supervised her Thesis Proposal and permitted her to submit it to the department of
Public Administration. I also certify that the paper is an original one and has not been
submitted elsewhere previously for publication in any form.
I wish her all the best in her endeavor.

.
Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Hossienie
Assistant Professor
Department of Public Administration
Shahjalal University of Science and Technology
Sylhet, 3114

Table of Contents
1.

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1

Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................................ 2

1.2 Rationale of the Study ................................................................................................................... 5

1.3

Objectives of the Study ........................................................................................................... 6

1.4

Research Questions ................................................................................................................. 6

1.5

Research Hypothesis ............................................................................................................... 6

2.

Literature Review............................................................................................................................ 7

3.

Conceptual Framework ................................................................................................................. 12

4.

Operational Definitions ................................................................................................................. 13

5.

Research Design............................................................................................................................ 14
5.1

Types of the Research ........................................................................................................... 14

5.2

Research Methodology ......................................................................................................... 14

5.3

Approaches of the Study ....................................................................................................... 14

5.3.1 Why Qualitative Approach ...................................................................................................... 14

5.3.2 Why Quantitative Approach .................................................................................................... 15
5.4

Data Collection Techniques .................................................................................................. 15

5.5

Area of the Study .................................................................................................................. 16

5.5.1. Area of the study ................................................................................................................. 16

5.5.2. Reason of Choosing this Area as My Study Area ............................................................... 17
5.6

Sources of data Collection .................................................................................................... 17

5.6.1 Primary and empirical sources ............................................................................................. 17

5.7

Population ............................................................................................................................. 18

5.8 Sampling ..................................................................................................................................... 18

5.9 Data Processing & Analysis........................................................................................................ 19
5.9.1 Quantitative Analysis ........................................................................................................... 19
5.9.2 Cyclical Process of Qualitative Analysis ............................................................................. 19
5.10
6.

Values and Ethical Consideration ......................................................................................... 20

Proposed Time Frame ................................................................................................................... 21

References ............................................................................................................................................. 22

1. Introduction
Village Court with a quasi-formal nature is the lowest judicial tier in the judicial hierarchy of
Bangladesh. The concept of village court is not new in our judicial system. Village Court is
the only institution backed by an enacted law to administer justice at the Union level plays a
vital role in administering both criminal and civil justice at the rural area (Murshed,
2012).Union Parishad as the most ancient institution has been more enlightened with the
running of Village Courts. Village court was established with the objective of enabling rural
people to settle their disputes and to offer them justice within a relatively short period of time
with a minimum cost (Hossain, 2012). The formal justice system in Bangladesh is under
tremendous pressure with much workload and inadequate number of officials and staff to
dispose the cases. As a result, the case backlogs add up to the existing pending cases and at
present it stands on about 2.2 million cases (Yusuf, 2015). It creates a negative impact for the
rural poor and vulnerable group of people who cannot afford the expenses of cases and do not
have clear understanding of how to get access to justice in the upper courts on some issues
that could be easily resolved at the local level (UNDP, 2005). Access to Justice is
recognized as one of the fundamental preconditions for development and good governance.
According to the article 1 of United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948),
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Therefore all human beings
should have equal access to justice when their dignity or their rights are infringed upon.
However, deficient or discriminatory justice systems can undermine the basic human rights
principle (Hossain, 2012). So, the government introduced village court to provide justice at
the door of the poor rural villagers.
Bangladeshs formal system largely derives from 200 years of colonial British rule and
involves a normative framework that draws upon distinct traditions of Bengali customary
law, and religious traditions (Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist and Christian) or shalish (a social
system for informal adjudication of petty disputes, both civil and criminal, by local notables)
(USAID, 2011).The decade of eighties was characterized by administrative and judicial
decentralization. Magistrate Courts and Munsif Courts were shifted from districts
headquarters to thana (Upazila headquarters). After the withdrawal of Magistrate Courts and
Munsif Courts from Upazilas in the early 1990s, legal services and judiciary in the rural areas
seemed to face crisis (Quader, 1995). Ensuring access to justice is the main prerequisite of
good governance. An accountable and efficient justice sector promotes the rule of law and
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enhances human rights; contributes to the rise of public trust and confidence in justice system
which strengthens good governance (Local Government Division, 2012).

1.1 Statement of the Problem

Village is a group of houses usually in the countryside (Cambridge Dictionary, 2015). Court
is a place where trials and other legal cases happen, or the people present in such a place,
especially the officials decide if someone is guilty, take legal action against someone or solve
a legal disagreement without taking legal action (Cambridge Dictionary, 2015). Therefore,
Village Court is the lowest formal courts at the union level, which is composed of both
elected and nominated members, and where petty civil and criminal cases are solved.
Gladstone said, Justice delayed is justice denied. Bryce stated, There is no better test of
excellence of government than the efficiency of its judicial system. But a very few citizens
of Bangladesh are solvent enough to run the cases in formal courts. Our formal judiciary is
overburdened with cases and our policing system is corrupted. Though Metropolitan Police
Acts are reformed several times but rural thanas (police station) are still working on the basis
of police Act, 1861. As a result, the rural people have to depend on traditional Salish to
settle local disputes. But Salish is very much influenced by the rural elites, interest groups or
even by the musclemen and touts.

About two-thirds of the disputes do not enter the formal court process; instead, they are either
settled this at the local level through informal process by local leaders or a Village Court
(Gram Adalat) or they remain unsettled (Golub, 2003). Through village court rural poor
people can get justice.

Access to justice and speedy trial are constitutional rights of all citizens of Bangladesh. The
most crucial mechanism for government in ensuring law and order situation of rural area is
Village Court. It is the constitutional liability of the state to ensure the right to protection of
rule of law, protection in respect of trial and punishment (respectively Article 31, Article 35,
constitution of the peoples republic of Bangladesh). The main provisions of constitutional
base of village court are Article 31, Article 33 and Article 35(3). Article 31 of The
constitution of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh provides that, To enjoy the protection
of the law, and to be treated in accordance with law, and only in accordance with law, is the
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inalienable right of every citizen, wherever he may be, and of every other person for the time
being within Bangladesh, and in particular no action detrimental to the life, liberty, body,
reputation or property of any person shall be taken except in accordance with law (GoB,
2014). Again Article 35(3) states that, Every person accused of a criminal offence shall have
the right to a speedy and public trial by an independent and impartial court or tribunal
established by law (GoB, 2014).

The story of rural justice system started with the enactment of the Bengal Village Self
Government Act, 1919. The Act established union courts dealing with offences and disputes
of relatively lower scale in the rural areas. Later, the Pakistan government, in order to deal
with the minor civil and criminal disputes, replaced the act and enacted the new Conciliation
Courts Ordinance, 1961 (Sarker, 2013). Village Courts were introduced in 1976 aiming to
create an opportunity to resolve the disputes at the community level. It was introduced by the
ordinance 61 of 1976. A village Court can deal with both petty civil disputes and criminal
cases. The village court ordinance came in force from the first of November, 1976. But it has
not achieved any considerable success to ensure equal access to justice by the vulnerable and
marginalized people. The Village Courts Act, 2006 (Act No. XIX of 2006) repealed the
ordinance Once again the village courts have failed to achieve the objectives. So, the
government has initiated Village Courts Activating Project with the assistance of UNDP
from 2009. The Local Government Division (LGD), UNDP and the European Commission
jointly have undertaken a programme titled Activating Village Courts in Bangladesh to
provide support to the justice system in 350 selected Union Parishads (UP) of the country. It
also intends to develop capacity of the village court members, etc. (local Government
Division, 2011).
Later, the Government of Bangladesh upgraded the Village Courts Act 2006 with the
Village Court (Amendment) Act, 2013. This represents a major achievement and presents
itself as a key tangible result of the Village Courts project, (UNDP). Theoretically, the
Village Courts are statutory courts and are composed of local government (Union Parishad)
representatives (as community leaders) and members nominated by disputant parties. The
Jatiya Sangsad (House of the nation) passed The Village Court (Amendment) Bill, 2013 on
18 September 2013 with a provision to incorporate several new clauses into the existing
Village Court Act, 2006 for the smooth carrying out of judicial activities at the village level.
The jurisdiction of the Village Court has increased with the enactment of the Village Court
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(Amendment) Act, 2013. Now, Village Court can fine up to BDT 75,000.00 (USD 974.00).
Inclusion of a women member is made mandatory in forming five members judges panel,
while disputes are related with the interest of minor and women. There is a new provision of
fining up to BDT. 5000 (USD 65) for filing false case in village courts. If any order of village
court contempt or for non-compliance of its order the perspective body will be fined up to
BDT. 1000 (USD 13.00) (The Village Court Amendment Act, 2013). Poor people have very
little access to justice globally including Bangladesh. Village people of Bangladesh are
interested in local justice systems and government can bring justice to their door step at law
cost and in a reasonable time-frame by activating village court (Walker, 2012).

The Village Courts can be proved as the most useful tools for preventing violation of human
rights of marginalized people, violence against women, and to reduce pressure from formal
courts by solving petty disputes. Cases become expensive and lengthy affairs if they leave the
Village Courts. So, only efficient and effective Village Courts can render help to rural people
when they need to seek legal aid. It can save people from lengthy trial and costly justice.
As the Village Court is a three-and-a-half decades old institution, so several remarkable
studies were conducted on the functioning of Village courts or on its effectiveness. These
studies found several drawbacks of village courts. To overcome these barriers Government
has taken initiatives to strengthen village court through the enactment of the Village Court
Act, 2006 and the Village Court (Amendment) Act, 2013 with the assistance of different
development partners (especially UNDP, EU) and NGOs (Non-government organizations).
But after the enforcement of new law and initiatives, mentionable research has not conducted.
So, the present condition of this quasi-formal judicial institution is vague to us which leads to
the need of this study. The study will help us to understand the present scenario of village
court. Government initiatives to strengthen Village Court and overcome its barrier, vague
&insufficient knowledge about present scenario leads to the need of this study.

Some salient features of this study are new or almost new. After several initiatives of
government, no mentionable study has not been conducted. So, present study is exploratory
in one extent. Later, collected information will be analyzed on the basis of causal relation, so
it is an explanatory study too. Moreover, no mentionable study have found on the ground of
village court after enactment of Village Court Amendment Act, 2013. Therefore, the present

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research will help to explore, understand, analyze the role of village court in rural area after
enactment of new law and will solve unasked question in this regard.

1.2 Rationale of the Study

Through this study various problems of village courts and their current and timely preventive
measures will come out in context of real situation. The study will also facilitate access to
justice of rural people. From ancient period, village disputes of Bengal settled through local
initiatives. Village court is the institutionalization of this custom through union Parishad.
Proper service delivery of village court can improve the law and order situation of our rural
area. It will provide new dimension and thinking to the academicians, NGOs, government,
development partners, local government practitioners, stakeholders of village courts,
government officials. It will help policy makers while making new policy regarding village
court and also the mass people to understand the present scenario of village court. There are
very few research regarding village court after amendment of village court amendment act,
2013. So, the study will help to reduce the present knowledge gap. Failure to assess the
present condition will lead to ineffective functioning of Village Courts, so, the study is highly
rationale. This study will trace the current area of impact of village courts on providing
justice for rural poor people and will examine the effectiveness of existing activities of
village court. It is an effort to ensure effective functioning of the Village Courts. The study
will provide a guidance to researchers for further study on this regard. They will get reliable
information from this study. Here, I selected Kamalgonj Upazilla as my study area for easy
availability of data.

Successful service delivery of village court in rural area is mandatory for settlement of petty
rural disputes rapidly, locally, with low cost and time; to create opportunity of justice and
social security for poor, disadvantaged, women, underprivileged, hazardous population; for
permanent settlement of local disputes; to create equity, justice & reducing pressure from
formal court. Most of the people in our country lives in villages who are poor, illiterate and
ignorant about modern judicial system. So, the study is highly rationale which will help
marginalized people to get justice and to find out the problems regarding implementation of
the jurisdiction and functions of village court. Ensuring access to justice for the people is
always a big challenge for Bangladesh, because, about 67% of total population lives in the
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villages and around 31.5% lives below the poverty line, and for that it is not easy for rural
poor to go to the formal courts in the district headquarters. Moreover, our formal judicial
system is overburdened with pending cases.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The general objective of the study is to assess the role of the Village Courts in providing
services to rural area.

The specific objectives will be examined into following purposes.

a. To identify the role of Village Court in providing legal services to the rural area.
b. To examine the effectiveness of existing activities of Village Court.
c. To identify the existing problems of village court.
d. To explore the strategies to minimize the existing problems and to suggest for the
betterment of village court.

1.4 Research Questions

The research will try to answer the following questions:
a. How do the village courts provide legal services to the rural area?
b. How effective are activities of village courts?
c. What are the problems of village courts in rural area?
d. What can be the strategies to minimize the problems of the village courts?

1.5 Research Hypothesis

Following hypothesis may be tested:
Hypothesis 1: Village court is helpful for ensuring justice to the poor.
Hypothesis 2: Village Court is effective justice system to the villagers.

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2. Literature Review
Justice is a fundamental public service (Hossain, 2012; and Walker, 2012), that cannot be
delayed or denied. The absence of access to justice is a major defining dimension of human
poverty where people are unable to have their voices heard, are unable to exercise their
rights, to challenge discrimination or hold decision-makers accountable (Sarker, 2013; and
Walker, 2012). The rural poor and vulnerable people often have no resource or knowledge to
access to justice (Hossain, 2012; Sarker, 2013; and Walker, 2012), so they have very little
access to justice (Local Government Division, 2010). The State must provide the mechanism
to effectively address & remedy the grievances of citizens. The Village Court is such legal
mechanism of the state closer to the rural people that bring justice to their door step at low
cost and reasonable timeframe (Hossain, 2012; and Walker, 2012). It could be an attractive,
available, and accessible alternative to the formal system of justice for the rural people that
can help spur and consolidate economic growth and can contribute to creating a safe, secure
and reliable environment that positively impacts other development (Sarker, 2013).

The Judicial system of Bangladesh has two-tier, district court (subordinate court) at the
district level and Supreme Court at the centre. The Supreme Court has two divisionsHigh
Court Division and Appellate Division. The district court is headed by the District and
Sessions Judge who is assisted by Additional District Judges, Subordinate Judges and
Assistant Judges (Hossain, 2012).

In Bangladesh, the major problems of the formal justice system are pending cases (Halim,
2010; Saadi et al., 2014; and Hossain, 2012), huge caseloads, inadequate and overstretched
human resources (Sarker, 2013; and Local Government Division, 2010), lengthy procedure,
expansible (Asaduzzaman, n.d.; Hossain, 2012), huge backlog of cases (Faruque& Khaled,
n.d.; Hossain, 2012; Local Government Division, 2010), delayed dispension of justice
(Faruque& Khaled, n.d. ; Hossain, 2012), complex procedural rules (Asaduzzaman, n.d.). A
statistics of the Supreme court revealed that in 2008 pending cases were 1,834,965 (Saadi et
al., 2014), and a law commission report stated that in 2009 pending cases were 19,13633
(Sarker, 2013). Sometimes it takes 20 to 25 years for a case to be resolved (Hossain, 2012)
and there is 10 to 15 years backlog (Asaduzzaman, n.d.).

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The credibility of the judiciary is at stake (Halim, 2010), aggrieved people sometimes are not
interested to go to court for seeking justice (Hossain, 2012). About two-thirds of disputes do
not enter the formal court process; instead, they are either settled at the local level, through
informal settlement by local leaders or a village court, or they remain unsettled (Morshed,
2010; and Islam, 2008).

Many Asian countries have rich tradition of Non-formal justice system that is based on local
wisdom and culture (Faruque& Khaled, n.d.). Traditional-Informal Shalish (Arbitration)
system is prevalent in Bangladesh from time immemorial (Morshed, 2010; Hossain, 2012;
and Faruque& Khaled, n.d.). Salish is basically a practice of gathering village elders and
concerned parties, exclusively male, provide a forum for discussion for the resolution of local
disputes through arbitration and/or mediation. Sometimes Chairmen and elite members of the
Union Parishad are invited (Islam, 2008; Sarker, 2013; and Morshed, 2010). It is the first
preference of the people living in rural Bangladesh for seeking justice (Hossain, 2012). If the
Shalish fails to settle the dispute only then the petitioner/respondent goes to the relatively
bigger and stronger forum- the Village Court of Union Parishad (UP) (Hossain, 2012).

Traditional Salish are often undemocratic, exclusionary (Ahmed & Islam, 2013), subjective
and patriarchal notion of justice (Islam, 2008). Class- based or gender based biases (Kabir,
2002) creates an impediment to ensure justice for the marginalized poor people and women
(Hossain, 2012; Ahmed & Islam, 2013). The malpractices of traditional Salish are biasness,
(Hossain, 2012); Corruption (Aminuzzaman, 2000; Hossain, 2012; and Kabir, 2002), gender
discrimination (Kabir, 2002; Hossain, 2012; and Ahmed & Islam, 2013). Salish has no legal
validity in formal justice system (Faruque& Khaled, n.d.), has little appreciation of the rule of
law (Ahmed & Islam, 2013), and considers political affiliation (Hossain, 2012).

The objectives of establishing the village courts were to settle petty disputes, both criminal
and civil, locally to which villagers are the parties. It offers easy access to justice without any
cost (Hossain, 2012; Sarker, 2013; and Islam, 2008) within a relative short period of time
(Hossain, 2012).

The local justice system in the subcontinent namely Panchayet resolved disputes and petty
judicial cases from time immemorial (Barkat et al., 2012; and Murshed, 2012). It performed
both police and judicial duties (Morshed, 2010).The term panchayet implies an assembly of
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five or more persons (Banglapedia, 2006) or the body of elders (Faruque& Khaled, n.d.)
which was retained at the initial stage of British rule (Quader, 1995; and Barkat et. al., 2012).

The present legal and judicial system of Bangladesh owes its origin from British colonial rule
(Sarker, 2013). The Fraser Commission Report, 1902-03, the Hobhouse Commission of
1907-09 and Levinge Committee of 1913 proposed the creation of village-level courts to
handle minor cases amongst village people (Asaduzzaman, n.d.). The story of rural justice
system started with the promulgation of the Bengal Village Self Government Act, 1919
(Sarker, 2013; Barkat et al., 2012; and Asaduzzaman,n.d.) which established two rural justice
institutions namely, the Union Bench and the Union Courts with judicial responsibility to try
petty criminal cases (Hossain, 2012; and Asaduzzaman, n.d.). The Act established a 'union
bench', corresponding to the present day village court, with concurrent jurisdiction with
formal criminal courts to try petty criminal cases (Asaduzzaman, n.d.; Hossain, 2012;
Banglapedia, 2006; and Sarker, 2013).

Later, in 1961 the Pakistan government promulgated the Conciliation Courts ordinance which
empowered the union council to deal with minor criminal offences and civil disputes
(Hossain, 2012; Sarker, 2013; Asaduzzaman, n.d.; Ahmed & Islam, 2013; Murshed, 2012;
Barkat et al. 2012; and Quader, 1995).

In 1976 the Government of Bangladesh enacted the Local Government Ordinance through
which Union Parishad was entrusted with limited judicial duties. The Village Court
Ordinance of 1976 provided each Union with basic authority to try cases by the village
courts, (Hossain, 2012; Sarker, 2013; and Barkat et al., 2012). According to the act, the
village courts were set to deal with petty disputes (Barkat et al., 2012).

The ordinance was repealed and replaced by the Village Courts Act, 2006 (Sarker, 2013;
Faruque& Khaled, n.d.; Ahmed & Islam, 2013; and Murshed, 2012) with enhanced pecuniary
jurisdiction from tk 5000/ to tk 25000 (Sarker, 2013; and Murshed, 2012). In 2009 the Local
Government Division (LGD) of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and
Cooperatives (MLGRD & C) has initiated the 5 year (2009-2013) project on Activating
Village Court in Bangladesh with the help of UNDP and European Union (Hossain, 2012;
Sarker, 2013; Ahmed & Islam, 2013; and Walker, 2012).

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Village courts can be blamed for excessive formalities and delays (Ahmed & Islam, 2013;
and Hossain, 2012), moderate enforcement of verdicts (Ahmed & Islam, 2013), wrong
verdicts which often go against poor and helpless people, absence of objective judgment,
misuse of legal power and are not free from outside influences like- local political leaders,
community leaders, wealthy people and other influential individuals in the villages (Ahmed
& Islam, 2013; and Morshed, 2010). Pecuniary jurisdiction is not adequate to run the court
(Ahmed & Islam, 2013). Many UP Chairmen and members have no training program and
confused knowledge and understanding of the legal jurisdiction of village courts and some
are corrupt and politically motivated (Khair, 2002; Hossain, 2012; and Islam, 2008). The
Village Courts Rules, 1976 have not been replaced till today (Murshed, 2012; and Sarker,
2013). Women members dont get equal respect and power to work (Democracywatch,
n.d.). Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), Deputy Director of Local Government (DDLG) and
Deputy Commissioner (DC) are responsible for the monitoring and supervision of the village
court (Hossain, 2012).

Village courts are state supported rural justice system having legal validity (Ahmed & Islam,
2013), and the specific body of laws, rules and procedures to follow (Sarker, 2013). It focuses
on the root causes of the disputes, and looks for win-win solution which brought peace and
service seekers are satisfied with the judgment of the village court (Sarker, 2013; and
Asaduzzaman, n.d.). They do not impose the fatwas and harsh punishments (Islam, 2008).
These positive effects are contributing towards minimizing social conflict, human rights
violation, establishing peace and unity at the locality, enhancing societal cohesion to fight
against local issues including poverty reduction and improving mutual respect to each other
(Ahmed & Islam, 2013; and Asaduzzaman, n.d.).The justice seekers prefer the village courts
because of minimum costs, minimum time requirement, less harassment, better and fair
judgment, the personal knowledge of the persons involved in the village courts (Ahmed &
Islam, 2013). Cases are settled easily and implementation of the verdict is easy and feasible
(Ahmed & Islam, 2013).

The UP Chairmen, Members, Secretaries and local elites who are very often nominated as a
representative of the village courts should be given appropriate legal and procedural training.
Administrative and logistical support efforts should be ensured (Barkat et al.; 2012; Morshed,
2010; and Sarker, 2013). Village Courts should be gender-friendly and sensitive to the needs
of vulnerable and poor people including women and children; broader human rights
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principles and human rights framework should be upheld in village courts (Walker, 2012).
Special honorarium should be provided to the Village Courts chairman, members and
officials (Faruque& Khaled, n.d.; and Barkat et al., 2012). To enhance the fairness of village
courts inclusion of refusal rules, limiting the authority of the UP chairperson, public
announcement of the sessions, and the right of parties to exclude a panelist should be
introduced (Ahmed & Islam, 2013). Activating Village Court Project should make selfsustaining and scattered throughout the country (Sarker, 2013). Activating Village Courts in
Bangladesh project is providing support to the justice system through this project in 350
selected Union Parishads (UP) of the country. A panel of judicial members should be elected
at the time of election of the Union Parishad (Murshed, 2012). Monitoring and supervision of
the village court proceedings should be increased, or, judiciary should involve in it (Hossain,
2012; Ahmed & Islam, 2013; and Barkat et al., 2012). The secretaries should be additionally
trained up for the record management (Sarker, 2013), or a post of Court Assistant should be
created (Barkat et al., 2012).

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3. Conceptual Framework
In this paper a conceptual framework is build up on the basis of the study of relevant
literature and according to research title, research objectives, and research questions
according to cause effect relationship, this conceptual framework has shown interrelationship
between dependent variable and independent variable.

Independent Variable

Dependent
Variable

Access
Rural power structure
Social acceptance of Salish
Backlog and pending cases in formal courts
Legal awareness of service seekers and providers
Perception and attitudes towards village courts
Competencies and resources of village courts
Adjudication
Jurisdiction of VCs
Political involvement of chairman and members
Fair trial and appeal procedure
Implementation
Enforcement of verdict
Getting compensation by victim
Fine for not obeying the verdict
Monitoring
Accountability and transparency of judges panel
Accountability and transparency of adjudication
process
Figure: Conceptual framework

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Justice for
poor
through
Village
Court

Effectiveness
from villagers
perspectives

Independent Variable

An independent variable is that whose values are not problematical in an analysis but are
taken as simply given. Independent variables are those that do not depend on other variables
and whose effect upon the dependent variables should be understand and defined
(Aminuzzaman, 1991). In this study, independent variables are access, adjudication,
implementation and monitoring.

Dependent Variable

The variable that the researcher wishes to explain is the dependent variable (Nackmias &
Nackmias, 1996). In this study effectiveness of village courts in providing justice for poor
through villagers perspectives will be considered as dependent variable. Here, effectiveness
of village courts in providing justice for poor is dependent on access, adjudication,
implementation, and monitoring.

There is a cause-effect relationship among dependent and independent variables. Access,

adjudication, implementation and monitoring are influencing effectiveness of village courts
in providing justice for poor. Identification, and reduction of these factors will make Village
Court an effective legal service providing institution.

4. Operational Definitions
a. Justice: Justice is an elementary public service but the rural poor and marginalized
people often have little access to justice causes human poverty.
b. Village Court: In this study, Village Court means Village Court as defined under
the Village Court (Amendment) Act, 2013.It is a quasi- formal justice system and
constituted for easy and speedy trial of certain cases and disputes, under each union of
the country. The judges panel of village court consisted of 5 members. The chairman
of the Union Parishad shall be the chairman of village court, but where he is, for any
reason, unable to act as Chairman or his impartiality is challenged by any party to the
dispute, any member of the Union Parishad other than those appointed as members of
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village court shall be the Chairman of the Village Court. There are four members and
each party of dispute nominates two members and between two one must be a
member of Union Parishad. While resolving matters related with the interest of minor
and women, inclusion of a women member is mandatory by the parties in forming
five members judges panel. Village Court can fine up to 75 thousand taka.

c. Effectiveness: Formal laws and rules provide the standards to know who is expected
to do what and how have been considered as standards of effectiveness.

5. Research Design
5.1 Types of the Research
This study will be integration of both exploratory and explanatory research.
5.2 Research Methodology
Social survey method will be deployed to collect data and information. A well-structured
Interview Schedule (both open ended as well as close ended) will be used for collecting data
and several case studies will be conducted for in-depth qualitative information. To analyze
the problems and prospects of Village Courts, contents (like books, journals, relevant laws
and rules) will be reviewed.

5.3 Approaches of the Study

Methodological Triangulation (Mixed research approach) of quantitative and qualitative
methods will be used in this study and data will be collected and analyzed by using these two
approaches.

5.3.1 Why Qualitative Approach

Qualitative approach will be used to focus on specific situation, to provide actual words of
the people in the study, to offer many different knowledge based perspectives on the study
topic, to provide a complex picture of the situation, to obtain a detailed understanding of the
study, to deal with critical problems of practice and to develop in-depth description and
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analysis. Qualitative research focuses on specific situation and emphasis on words rather than
numbers. This research will be qualitative in nature because the study will be exploratory to
listen the informants and will represent real condition of village court. In this study, primary
data will be collected from face to face interview with open ended questions and case study
will be interpreted with qualitative approach.

5.3.2 Why Quantitative Approach

Quantitative approach will allow us to use statistical method to identify interrelation between
data, to assess the frequency and magnitude of trends, and to provide useful information for
systematic, empirical investigation of effectiveness of village court in ensuring justice for
poor from villagers perspectives via statistical, mathematical, or computational techniques.

5.4 Data Collection Techniques

To conduct any research data collection is one of the important requirements. The validity
and reliability of any type of research depends on the collected information. The study will be
conducted through survey method, case study method, content analysis method, and nonparticipant observation method.

Researchers often use a combination of methods to elicit information related to their areas of
investigation because there is no one best method of collecting data and information. Several
techniques, such as content analysis, interview schedule, case study and non-participant
observation will be used for the purpose.

Both quantitative and qualitative data will be collected through survey with a structured,
mixed (both open and close ended) Interview Schedule. In face to face personal interview,
answers of the respondent will be written down in Interview Schedule. In this study, original
data will be collected for the purpose of describing a population too large to observe directly.
So, survey method will be used here. It will help to get more reliable data and well organized
information on particular problem. Two interview schedules will be developed, one for
service seekers and another for service providers. Pilot survey will be conducted to pretest the
interview schedule. After completion of the pre-test interview schedule will be edited and
finalized.
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Multiple case studies for in-depth data will be collected by interview following a case study
schedule from the respondents and petitioners of village court. It will help to get more
reliable data and information. In this study, case study will be used with the view to
preserving the wholeness of the social object being studied. The case study method will be
provided a wide range and depth of experience about village court.

Content analysis will help to find out effectiveness of village court in ensuring justice for the
poor. Relevant circulars/ reports, meeting minutes, newspaper publication, online publication
of village court activating project will be collected throughout the research. These documents
will be used to understand the justice scenario at local level.

In this research non-participant observation will be applied. For this purpose researcher will
observe the activities of the chairman and member of Union Parishad and related petitioners
and respondents.

5.5 Area of the Study

5.5.1. Area of the study

In order to conduct the study Kamalganj upazilla under Moulvibazar district has selected to
collect primary data. Kamalgonj is situated between 24.08 to 24.29 north latitude and 11.45
to 91.57 south longitudes. Kamalganj Upazila (Maulvibazar district) with an area of 485.26
sq km. About 23% area of the upazila is hilly. Total forest 82.02 sq km. River Dhalai is
passing through this upazila and fall down into the Manu; Chaiyakhali Beel (7.6 hectares) is
notable, (Banglapedia, 2006). Its population are 2,55,895 among them 1,30,500 are men and
1,25,395 are women. Population growth rate is 1.82 and literacy rate is 40.67%, (male-45.33
& female-35.87). The upazila consists of one municipality, & 9 union parishads, 111 mouzas
and 276 villages. In 10th of January 1922, the then British government under gazette
notification no GJ176, constituted Kamalganj police station / thana and in 1984 it was
upgraded to Upazila as a reform of administrative decentralization by the then government of
President Ershad. Three union parishad of Kamalganj Upazilla namely Shamsher Nagar,
Kamalganj Sadar and Adampur will be selected purposively.

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5.5.2. Reason of Choosing this Area as My Study Area

Selecting a specific area is very important for conducting research program properly. This
area has been selected considering some reasonable advantage. This area is very close to me
for collecting information and data and has easier transportation system. Besides, this area is
well known to me. That is why, this study area, logically, have been selected for completing
the research successfully. This area is nears to my residence. Besides, I am also fluent in local
Sylheti dialact which will help me more in rapport building and efficient data collection.

5.6 Sources of data Collection

Sources of Data Collection
In this study data will be collected from both primary and secondary sources.

5.6.1 Primary and empirical sources

Primary sources are the main source to establish the correlation between the variables under
study. In the study, primary data will be collected through interview schedule, case study and
non-participant observation.

5.6.2 Secondary and literature Sources

Secondary sources are appropriate as the basic source of evidence for a study. Secondary
sources of data will be used to enrich this study. Considering the fact, secondary data will be
collected from different books, e-books, journals, articles, reports of different organization,

17 | P a g e

research works, and daily newspapers. Some information will also be collected through
internet browsing. Government and other websites will be also used to conduct the study.
Secondary data will be collected through content analysis.

5.7 Population
All the petitioners and respondents of village court of Kamalgonj upazilla, chairman of
village court and members of village court will be regarded as the population of the research.

5.8 Sampling
Sampling is choosing a representative part of the population. There are nine unions of
Kamalgonj Upazilla which are numbered from 1 to 9. Three (03) union parishad among nine
will be selected by purposive sampling. Chairman, member, secretary of Union Parishad,
petitioners and respondents will be selected purposively. In this study, the following 100
respondents will be selected.

Category of Respondents

Number of respondents

Chairman of village courts

03

Members of village courts

11

Secretary of village court

03

Petitioners of village courts

40

Respondents of village courts

40

Total sample size

100

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5.9 Data Processing & Analysis

In this study data will be processed through qualitative as well as quantitative method.
5.9.1 Quantitative Analysis
First of all, in terms of quantitative analysis the collected raw data will be coded, tabulated,
classified and then analyzed. Here, descriptive statistics will be used to describe the
characteristics of the sample by using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences)
program. Data analysis will be included univariate and bivariate analysis. Data will be
processed and analyzed in accordance with the objectives of the study. Hypothesis will be
tested by using significance level-P value through chi-square test. Correlation will be used to
measure the relationship between dependent and independent variable.

5.9.2 Cyclical Process of Qualitative Analysis

In terms of qualitative analysis, responses of open ended questions and case studies will be
discussed and explained using cyclical process of qualitative analysis.

a. Describing: The study will describe research problems, objectives, expected outputs,
relevant literature, operations the definitions, variables and theoretical framework.
b. Classifying: The study will classify the data on the basis of certain predetermined
variables or attributes. Here the information related to each variable will be grouped
into classes to find some meaning out of it.
c. Connecting: The study will connect different variables with each other on the basis
of cause-effect relationship.

19 | P a g e

5.10

Values and Ethical Consideration

The value judgment in social research is not only legitimate and desirable but also
indispensable. This research will value free dogma where researcher will attempt to free the
result of analysis from personal judgment with a belief that these biases may vitiate the
research result.Values and ethical issues will be maintained properly in this research. The
paper will maintain objectivity in analysis of data as much as possible.

a. Value laden: The study will be value laden for the greater interest of the village court
of Bangladesh.
b. Confidentiality: The study will maintain full confidentiality. In case studies
pseudonyms will be used.

c. Informed Consent: Respondents will be partiality informed about the research

problem.
d. Honesty: Honesty will be maintained in reporting and analyzing data.

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6. Proposed Time Frame

To complete the research work approximately 14 months will be needed. Time distribution
has

21 | P a g e

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