Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed on Thursday said speedy disposal of financial and business disputes can encourage the investors. “It takes huge time to dispose of disputes in the existing judicial system. If the disputes are disposed of in arbitration or by mediators outside the court, it can help save both time and money,” he told the closing session of Accreditation Course on Mediation at a city hotel. UK-based Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) and Bangladesh International Arbitration Centre (BIAC) jointly organised the programme. Barrister Shafique said the dispute resolution through the arbitration system will play an effective role in maintaining social relations and law and order. Hence, the government introduced Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) system in the country to dispose of disputes in the financial, business and trade sectors, he said, adding businessmen and investors will be benefited with the introduction of the ADR system. The minister hoped that speedy disposal of financial and business disputes will encourage the investors and also create an investment-friendly environment in the country. The nature of disputes is being changed with the passage of time, said Barrister Shafique, adding that the backlog of cases is on the rise due to the protracted process of the existing judicial system. He said the government is sincere about providing institutional shape to ADR system for disposal of disputes through the alternative system alongside the existing judicial process. In this regard, the minister said, the government has amended the Code of the Civil Procedure with a provision to apply ADR system mandatory. He said the government has also taken a training programme to build competent mediators to make the ADR system successful. Barrister Shafique said a process to amend the CrPC is underway to introduce the ADR system to deal with minor criminal disputes. He urged all concerned, including lawyers, to help make the ADR system effective. –UNB
