DHAKA, April 27, 2020 (BSS) -The government provided free legal aid to
over five lakh people in the last 10 years through the National Legal Aid
Services Organisation (NLASO).
The Awami League government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formulated
Legal Aid Services Act, 2000 to provide legal assistance to the people who
are financially insolvent, penniless or unable to get justice because of
various socio-economic reasons and formed NLASO.
“But the issue remained neglected from 2001 to 2008. After Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina formed government for the second time in 2009, implementation
of that act gained momentum. A total of 5, 07,040 people were been given
legal aid free of cost since 2009,” Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs
Minister Anisul Huq told BSS.
The minister said the organization managed to realize Taka 35.36 crore as
compensation for the poor and helpless people during the period.
“The NLASO, through its 64 district legal aid offices, provided legal aid
to 3, 84, 823 people, served 20,092 people though Supreme Court Legal Aid
Office, 83,918 people were given free legal aid though toll-free national
helpline ‘16430’ and 18,207 people were given legal assistance through labor
legal assistance cells in Dhaka and Chattogram,” Anisul added.
The NLASO has disposed a total of 1, 26, 492 cases since 2009.
Following direction of the law minister, NLASO has kept its toll free
helpline ‘16430’ running for 24 hours to provide any kind of free legal
advice and information to people sitting back in their homes amid this
ongoing COVID-19 situation.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the National Legal Aid Day on April 28,
2016, launched the service and it became more and more popular with the
passing of time.
Apart from giving service through toll-free national helpline from 2016,
the government in 2018 launched ‘BD Legal Aid App’ and justice seekers can
download the app on their smart phone from Google Play Store and avail the
service.
Legal aid activities are going on in the country’s Supreme Court from 2015
through the Supreme Court Legal Aid Office (SCLAO).
SCLAO is also providing the following services – legal advice, filing and
dealing cases, expert opinion on the merit of the cases and bearing the
actual cost of cases.
The NLASO is a statutory body working under the Ministry of Law, Justice
and Parliamentary Affairs to adopt policies and principles for making legal
services available under the Legal Aid Services Act, 2000.
Any poor person is entitled to get free legal aid services. Besides, any
individual receiving old-age allowance, distressed mother holding a VGD card,
women and children victims of trafficking and acid throwing, insolvent widow,
abandoned or distressed woman, disabled person and poor detainee can avail of
the free legal services.