annual report April 2003 – March 2004 BANGLADESH LEGAL AID and SERVICES TRUST (BLAST) evsjv‡`k wjM¨vj GBW GÛ mvwf©‡mm Uªv÷ (e−v÷) Gi cÖKvkbv OCCASIONAL PAPER 1-7 evsjv‡`k RvZxq gvbevwaKvi Kwgkb: Av‡e`b cÖPvicÎ 1 Avgv‡`i Z_¨ Rvbvi AwaKvi cÖPvicÎ 2 AvBb cÖYq‡b RbM‡Yi AskMÖnY Tabassum Dana Hospital Waste management in Dhaka An Exploration in Search of Policy: Guidelines and Rules we‡q I ZvjvK †iwR‡÷ªkbt cÖ‡qvRbxq Z_¨ BLAST Annual Report 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, January 00-March 01 e−v÷ ey‡jwUb Shahnaz Huda Registration of Marriage and Divorce: A Study on Law and Practice Dhaka, 1999; Soft Cover, pp.vii+90; Price 40 taka Naim Ahmed Public Interest Litigation: Constitutional Issues and Remedies Dhaka, 1999; Hard Cover, pp. ix+190; Price 150 taka kvnbvR û`v we‡q I ZvjvK †iwR‡÷ªkb AvBbt mvwe©K ch©v‡jvPbv XvKv 1999; mdU Kfvi, c„ôv iv+56, g~j¨ 50 UvKv evsjv‡`‡ki Rb¨ †jevi †KvWt †cÖ¶vcU I cÖ‡qvRb XvKv 1999; mdU Kfvi, c„ôv ii+96, g~j¨ 50 UvKv Shahdeen Mailk (Ed) LACUNAE IN LABOUR LAWS Towards Timely Disposal of Labour Cases Dhaka, 1999; Soft Cover, pp vii+97; Price 70 taka AvjZvd cvi‡fR KvivRxeb Kvive¨e¯’v Kvivwe‡`ªvnt AbymÜvb I ch©v‡jvPbv XvKv 2000; nvW© Kfvi, c„ôv xvii+190, g~j¨ 120 UvKv Dr. Borhan Uddin Khan & Quazi Mahfujul Haque Supan Encyclopedic Compendium of the Laws of Bangladesh Dhaka, 2002; Hard Cover, pp lxx+1952 (in four volumes); Price 1600 taka G‡mv AvBb Rvwb XvKv 2003; AvU© Kfvi, c„ôv v+124, g~j¨ 200 UvKv| evsjv‡`k wjM¨vj GBW GÛ mvwf©‡mm Uªv÷ 141/1, †m¸bevwMPv, XvKv-1000 ‡dvbt 9349126, 8317185, d¨v·t 9347107 B‡gBjt [email protected] I‡qet www.blast.org.bd 1 Annual Report 2003-2004 Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) 141/1, Segunbagicha, Dhaka – 1000 Tel: +88-02-8317185, 9349126 Fax: 880-2-9347107 Email: [email protected] Web: www.blast.org.bd © Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust Published by: Fazlul Huq Executive Director Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) Printed at: Mohanagar Printers Ltd. 81/1, Nayapaltan Dhaka – 1000 Dhaka 2004 2 ANNUAL REPORT (April 2003 – March 2004) Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) 141/1, Segunbagicha, Dhaka – 1000 Tel: +88-02-8317185, 9349126 Fax: 880-2-9347107 Email: [email protected] Web: www.blast.org.bd 3 Annual Report 2003-2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Note from the Executive Director 01 Summary of the Report 03 Introduction 07 Objectives 09 Blast Activities 13 i) Legal Aid 13 ii) Awareness campaign and establishment of 27 effective network iii) Advocacy 30 Overview of other Legal Assistance 43 Provided by Blast Capacity Building 45 i) Recruitment 45 ii) Human Resource development 45 Concluding Note 48 Consolidated Balance Sheet as at 31 50 March, 2004 Annexure 51 1. Status of Complaints and Results 51 Including Mediation 4 2. Blast’s Contribution towards Reduction of 52 Poverty Through Mediation 3. Category, Status and Results of the Cases 53 handle by BLAST in the District and Sub- Ordinate Courts During the Year: 4. Category, Status and Results of the Cases 53 handle by BLAST in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh During the Year: 5. Nature of Cases and Their Proportion of 54 Total Cases Dealt With During the Year. 6. Number of Complaints Received and 54 Cases Filed During Fy 2003-2004 (Disaggregated By Gender) 7. Media of Complaints Received During 55 the Reporting Period 8. Personnel of BLAST 55 List of Management Committee of BLAST 58 BLAST Directory 67 5 Annual Report 2003-2004 9 All citizens are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection of the law (Article 27, Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh) 9 ...Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.... Human rights should be protected by law (Preamble to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights) 9 The existence of widespread extreme poverty inhibits the full and effective enjoyment of human rights. (Article 14, Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action) The Vision BLAST envisions a society based on the rule of law in which every individual particularly the poor and the disadvantaged women and children have access to justice and their Human rights are respected and protected. The Mission BLAST’s mission is to make the legal system accessible to the poor and the disadvantaged. 6 NOTE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Safety and security constitute a critical component of human society, a cornerstone of the social contract. Freedom from fear and freedom from want have been declared as the highest aspiration of the common people. In every society, therefore, the question of safety and security of the individual as well as the collective are matters of the highest concern. There is, however, a qualitative difference in the vulnerability and insecurity of the economically disadvantaged and the socially marginalized vis-à-vis the well to do. They are more susceptible to crime and violation of rights, and furthermore, lack access to law enforcement authorities and the formal justice system. In the case of poor women, the situation is perhaps most extreme. They enjoy very little personal safety and face constant risk of harassment and violence inside their homes and outside in the community and workplaces. The justice system in our society, particularly the formal system, has a de facto bias towards the needs and interests of the privileged classes. Among the no-privileged population, the legitimacy of the formal justice system has eroded further in recent years due to increasing reports of corruption and politicization among the law enforcement agencies. Moreover, the system tends to present many logistical and practical barriers to justice, such as excessive delay, high cost, lack of competent manpower etc. The justice system is also characterized by very low institutional capacity. The informal dispute resolution process (salish) is relatively more accessible to the poorest members of the community and is also relatively less expensive. It is however, largely characterized by lack of fairness and accountability, the predominant bias favoring men and the elite. Similar to the formal justice system, poverty and powerlessness tend to determine the nature and extent of access in the informal system. Also, the norms and values of the pre- dominantly patriarchal society heavily influence the outcomes of traditional dispute resolution processes. Legal provisions, such as the National Legal Aid Act 2000, do enable the state to provide the poor with greater access to the formal justice system. So far however, state led initiatives have been largely unsuccessful. It is in this context of limited accessibility of the justice system and the failure of the state to remedy such situation, that 7 Annual Report 2003-2004 BLAST’s critical role of needs to be recognized as a provider of legal services and as an advocate for increased access to justice for poor women and men in Bangladesh. Established in 1993, BLAST has now evolved into a nationwide network of offices engaged in litigation, mediation, research and policy and legislative advocacy. Partly due to its positive performances over the years and partly due to its link with local level Bar Associations, BLAST has managed to win acceptance and legitimacy in the legal community throughout Bangladesh in a relatively short period of time. It is now recognized as the leading non-governmental legal aid organization in the country. The legal aid service that BLAST provides has two dimensions: individual and structural. In the first, individuals are given legal support in the forms of advice and assistance to deal with common problems (family issues property related, disputes, physical assaults etc.). Structural legal aid refers to the use of legal aid /services which seek solution to macro level policy problems or practices (of the public authorities) that tend to result in collective or individual injustice. It goes to the credit of BLAST’s public interest litigation (PIL) activities and sustained legal advocacy work, that the relevant authorities have made changes to or proposed certain legislations affecting various public policies concerning human and legal rights, good economic and political governance and environmental issues. Examples include reforms in: a) law regarding ‘safe custody’ of vulnerable women and children and b) policies related to consumer protection. This report aims to provide an overview of BLAST’s operations and an account of its activities during the reporting period of 2003- 2004. Mr. Fazlul Huq Executive Director 8 SUMMARY OF THE REPORT The Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) provides free legal services to the poor and marginalized sections of the society, primarily through facilitating access to judicial remedies. Its mission is founded on Article 27 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, which guarantees equal protection of the law to all citizens and invests centrality to the principle of the rule of law. BLAST draws inspiration from the UDHR, the central plank of codified human rights and other international human rights instruments. BLAST defines its activities in the light of Article 14 of the VDPA (1993), which identifies widespread extreme poverty as inhibiting the full and effective enjoyment of human rights. The poor, and in particular womenfolk and those relegated to some form of social exclusion are inherently more vulnerable to abuse and violations of their rights, tend to be more susceptible to crime, violence and damage to personal property, and lack effective access to law and legal redress.