Bangladesh’s justice system is facing a crisis that is rarely discussed. A fair and effective system should protect the rights of citizens and stand up for them when no one else will. Yet, for many workers, justice remains slow, inaccessible, and often out of reach. As a union activist, I speak from experience. I have been fighting legal battles for anti-union practices for fourteen years. I am not alone. Many others face similar struggles, often without resources, support, or recourse. When workers protest their rights, they are met with water cannons and intimidation. Meanwhile, the courts move at a glacial pace, allowing powerful companies to manipulate the system in their favour.
Why do cases take so long? Why are those in power seemingly unafraid to break the law with impunity? Even if my thirteen-year pending case gets solved after many more years, the delay has already diminished its impact. To truly improve the system, we must confront the root causes of inefficiency, corruption, and abuse of power. Wealthy companies have the resources to influence outcomes while ordinary citizens are left waiting for justice.
The inefficiency of public services extends beyond the courts. Take the example of renewing a passport. The official website provides instructions that are often vague or incomplete. Citizens arrive expecting to follow the listed requirements, only to be told they must provide additional documents that were not clearly stated online. Many have to return multiple times, losing hours or even a full day each time. Progress is often possible only if bribes are paid. This system benefits no one except those exploiting the inconvenience for profit. In contrast, other countries handle the same process efficiently and transparently, often completing it within a single day.
The justice system operates under the same flawed logic. Thousands of cases of languish unresolved for years, and the backlog continues to grow. Accepting more cases without addressing the delays is like leaving dirt under a carpet until it overflows. Meanwhile, influential companies exploit these delays, using their resources to bend the system in their favour.
How Can the System Be Fixed?
Efficiency must be prioritised. The system requires competent staff, adequate resources, proper incentives, and a monitored workflow. Processes should be streamlined, and employees empowered to resolve cases quickly and fairly.
Disputes should be addressed at the company level wherever possible. Settling issues before they reach the courts reduces backlog, saves money, and prevents protracted legal battles. Companies often find that timely resolution costs far less than years of litigation.
In countries like Norway, companies such as Telenor resolve most labour disputes long before they ever reach the courtroom. In contrast, their subsidiary in Bangladesh, Grameenphone, exploits loopholes and delays in the system, dragging cases on for years to exhaust those seeking justice.
Measurable targets and deadlines should be established. Systems like India’s “Lok Adalat” provide a model for high-volume, rapid dispute resolution. Bangladesh could adopt similar mechanisms, setting quotas for cases resolved per day and offering incentives to meet them.
Corruption must be eliminated. Bribery erodes trust in the system and allows those with influence to gain unfair advantages. Officials must act with integrity, and citizens and companies must demand accountability. Transparency, public reporting, and strict enforcement of anti-corruption laws are essential.
The consequences of inaction affect everyone. Even if you currently have a stable job, a slow and corrupt system undermines the country’s progress. When companies illegally terminate employees while reporting record profits, it harms local livelihoods, reduces domestic purchasing power, and the MNCs send money abroad. When there are no consequences for exploitation, such practices continue unchecked. Standing against corruption is not just a moral duty. It is an economic necessity.
Although I have lost 13 years of my life and suffered greatly because of Grameenphone, I am not going to stop fighting. I started fighting it to set an example, and I am not going to stop now because it is not just about my case, it is more than that, because doing the wrong thing has become the right thing as we let it happen. We cannot be silent. We must start questioning everything one by one and solve it. It will take some time, but we should do this for our country. It begins with a change of our mindset. And to make the change, you must start asking questions, and my question is.
Is our justice system failing because of ignorance, corruption or both?
