About AVCB III
The Activating Village Courts in Bangladesh (AVCB) Phase III Project is a trilateral initiative of the Government of Bangladesh, UNDP, and the European Union (EU). The project aims for a national-scale expansion to strengthen and sustain the Village Court (VC) system across the country. It currently covers 4,455 Union Parishads (UPs) including 3,048 UPs under activation and 1,407 UPs under maintenance- across 61 districts, excluding the Chittagong Hill Tracts. This large-scale nation-wide initiative demonstrates the Government of Bangladesh’s strong commitment to enhancing access to justice for rural citizens, especially women, minorities, and marginalized communities. The project is directly aligned with SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and the 8th Five-Year Plan of the Government of Bangladesh, emphasizing inclusive justice and institutional sustainability. The project has been designed within a comprehensive exit and sustainability framework, which is fully integrated across the project timeline. This approach ensures that national institutions and stakeholders are adequately prepared to assume full responsibility for the delivery of Village Courts services to rural people beyond project support.
Objectives
The overarching objective of the AVCB III project is to contribute to improve the access to justice for disadvantaged and marginalized groups in Bangladesh.
- To make local authorities more responsive to local justice needs and offer appropriate legal services in the form of well-functioning village courts
- To empower local people, especially women, the poor and vulnerable groups to seek remedies for injustices and to resolve their disputes at the local level in an expeditious, transparent and affordable manner.
Key Achievements
- Amendment of Village Courts Act, 2006
- Pecuniary jurisdiction increased to BDT 300,000
- Inclusion of the provision of maintenance issue for wives in the Schedule of the Village Courts Act, 2006
- Digitalized monitoring system to monitor Village Courts performance
- According to Court User Survey (CUS), 2024, resolution took place within 18 days
