Country is set to observe National Legal Services Day today aimed at raising mass awareness about providing judicial assistance to all.
President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday issued separate messages wishing success of all programmes on the occasion.
In his message, President Abdul Hamid urged all to work from their respective positions to establish an equity and justice-based society being inspired with the spirit of the Liberation War aimed at establishing fundamental rights and rule of law, ensuring political, economic and social rights.
The President appreciated for making legal aid law to help the poor and helpless people terming the government’s initiatives as epoch-making one in the history of judiciary.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her message, hoped that alongside the government, bar councils and bar associations, international organizations, private agencies, civil society and media sector will play more pro-active roles in increasing outreach of the legal aid for public welfare.
“The judiciary has been enjoying full freedom. Every citizen of the country gets equal shelter of law,” she mentioned.
The premier said access to fair justice is a constitutional right of every citizen and none can be deprived of justice because of his or her faith, race, gender and social disparity or poverty.
“We have earned our independence through historic struggle for national emancipation responding to the call of the Greatest Bangalee of All time, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,” she said.
The main objective of the struggle was to build an exploitation free democratic society, ensure basic human rights, political, economic and social equality and freedom and justice for all, Sheikh Hasina added.
“Access to justice was closed owing to killing, persecution and torture by the post-75 military and BNP-Jamaat governments. The countrymen were deprived of the legal aid and rights,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh Awami League upheld the rule of law following the footprints of the Father of the Nation whenever assumed the office.
The rule of law has been established discarding the culture of impunity, she said and added: “We have enacted the ‘Legal Aid Service Act 2000’ so that one is deprived of justice because of insolvency, social discrimination or financial constraint.”
The Prime Minister said district, upazila and union legal aid committees were formed under the Legal Aid Service Act and they have been rendering legal aid services to helpless, poor and destitute people free of cost.
