7 special tribunals soon for human trafficking cases

For the first time, the government is going to set up special human trafficking tribunals in seven divisional cities to speed up the trial procedure and ensure justice within the shortest possible time. Seven such tribunals would be set up in seven division cities—Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Rangpur, and Barisal, sources in the law ministry said. Apart from setting up the human trafficking tribunals, the government is also going to set up five more special anti-terrorism tribunals in five division cities—Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Rangpur and Barisal—for quick disposal of militancy and terrorism cases. Law ministry sources said the public administration ministry and the finance ministry have already approved the proposal of the law ministry regarding the creation of relevant posts, including those of judges, for the formation of the special tribunals.

Talking to this correspondent, law secretary Md Golam Sarwar said that the five new special anti-terrorism tribunals would start working from this week as the ministry concerned has already posted judges to those tribunals. “The new special human trafficking tribunals will start functioning by March. After completion of formalities, the appointed judges will start functioning within that time,” he added. In response to a query, Sarwar said that the trials of human trafficking cases are being prolonged as the Tribunal of Women and Child Abuse is overburdened by a large number of cases. But the introduction of the new tribunals will ease the pressure, he added.

Once these tribunals start functioning, more than 4,000 human trafficking cases and around 900 anti-terrorism cases would be on track for quick settlement, sources said.

According to Supreme Court statistics, 4,601 human trafficking cases remained pending till June 30 last year. Of them, 197 cases had been pending for more than five years, while the trial proceedings of nine cases were pending due to stay orders of the higher court.

Ministry sources said the posts proposed in the law ministry for the formation of the new seven tribunals are seven district and sessions judge’s posts, seven typist-cum-computer operators, seven bench assistants, seven drivers, and seven posts of MLSS.

These tribunals are being constituted in accordance with Article 21 of the ‘Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act, 2002’. Section 21 (1) of the Act states that for the purpose of a speedy trial of offenses under this act, the government may constitute a human trafficking crime tribunal in any district under the rank of sessions judge or additional sessions judge.

Article 24 (1) of the Act states that the tribunal shall complete a trial within 180 business days of any crime committed under the act. Article 24 (2) states that failure to complete a trial within that time-frame, despite the provisions of Subsection (1), will not cancel the trial, but the tribunal must submit a report giving the reason for not being able to complete the trial during that period within 10 business days. The act calls for the death penalty, life imprisonment, and a minimum of seven years’ imprisonment for human trafficking along with a fine of Tk. 5 lakh.

The government enacted the Human Trafficking (Deterrence and Suppression) Act in 2012. The act was passed to prevent trafficking and punish the criminals. The rules of the Act were also formulated later in 2017.

Currently, Bangladesh reports just 10–15 convictions a year in human trafficking cases compared to 50–80 convictions a year in neighbouring Nepal, according to the UNODC 2016 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons.

Around 900 cases are now pending before the anti-terrorism tribunals for disposal, sources said.

A total of 908 militancy cases had been lodged under the Anti-Terrorism Act across the country between 1999 and September 2017. Till June 30, 2019, a total of 853 cases were pending before the tribunals for disposal. Of them, 117 cases were pending for more than five years, while the trial proceedings of 64 cases remained pending due to stay orders of the higher court.

7 special tribunals soon for human trafficking cases

For the first time, the government is going to set up special human trafficking tribunals in seven divisional cities to speed up the trial procedure and ensure justice within the shortest possible time. Seven such tribunals would be set up in seven division citiesDhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Rangpur, and Barisal, sources in the law ministry said. Apart from setting up the human trafficking tribunals, the government is also going to set up five more special anti-terrorism tribunals in five division citiesRajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Rangpur and Barisalfor quick disposal of militancy and terrorism cases. Law ministry sources said the public administration ministry and the finance ministry have already approved the proposal of the law ministry regarding the creation of relevant posts, including those of judges, for the formation of the special tribunals. Talking to this correspondent, law secretary Md Golam Sarwar said that the five new special anti-terrorism tribunals would start working from this week as the ministry concerned has already posted judges to those tribunals. The new special human trafficking tribunals will start functioning by March. After completion of formalities, the appointed judges will start functioning within that time, he added. In response to a query, Sarwar said that the trials of human trafficking cases are being prolonged as the Tribunal of Women and Child Abuse is overburdened by a large number of cases. But the introduction of the new tribunals will ease the pressure, he added. Once these tribunals start functioning, more than 4,000 human trafficking cases and around 900 anti-terrorism cases would be on track for quick settlement, sources said. According to Supreme Court statistics, 4,601 human trafficking cases remained pending till June 30 last year. Of them, 197 cases had been pending for more than five years, while the trial proceedings of nine cases were pending due to stay orders of the higher court. Ministry sources said the posts proposed in the law ministry for the formation of the new seven tribunals are seven district and sessions judges posts, seven typist-cum-computer operators, seven bench assistants, seven drivers, and seven posts of MLSS. These tribunals are being constituted in accordance with Article 21 of the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act, 2002. Section 21 (1) of the Act states that for the purpose of a speedy trial of offenses under this act, the government may constitute a human trafficking crime tribunal in any district under the rank of sessions judge or additional sessions judge. Article 24 (1) of the Act states that the tribunal shall complete a trial within 180 business days of any crime committed under the act. Article 24 (2) states that failure to complete a trial within that time-frame, despite the provisions of Subsection (1), will not cancel the trial, but the tribunal must submit a report giving the reason for not being able to complete the trial during that period within 10 business days. The act calls for the death penalty, life imprisonment, and a minimum of seven years imprisonment for human trafficking along with a fine of Tk. 5 lakh. The government enacted the Human Trafficking (Deterrence and Suppression) Act in 2012. The act was passed to prevent trafficking and punish the criminals. The rules of the Act were also formulated later in 2017. Currently, Bangladesh reports just 1015 convictions a year in human trafficking cases compared to 5080 convictions a year in neighbouring Nepal, according to the UNODC 2016 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons. Around 900 cases are now pending before the anti-terrorism tribunals for disposal, sources said. A total of 908 militancy cases had been lodged under the Anti-Terrorism Act across the country between 1999 and September 2017. Till June 30, 2019, a total of 853 cases were pending before the tribunals for disposal. Of them, 117 cases were pending for more than five years, while the trial proceedings of 64 cases remained pending due to stay orders of the higher court.