Dhaka: The National Legal Aid Services Organization (NLASO) has provided legal support to 1,110,036 justice seekers in 403,201 cases, funded by the government, from 2009 to September this year. The organization, which operates under the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, has been instrumental in offering legal aid to impoverished individuals across Bangladesh since its inception.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, NLASO has settled 203,032 cases over the last 15 years and has extended legal assistance to 121,630 prisoners during this period. The organization has also dispensed 442,696 pieces of legal advice to justice seekers and recovered nearly 217.70 crore Taka in compensation through the resolution of legal aid-related matters, subsequently distributing the funds to the victims.
The report highlights that of the total beneficiaries, 28,016 received legal services from the Supreme Court Legal Aid Office, while 874,661 accessed services from 64 district legal aid offices. Additiona
lly, 28,853 individuals were aided by the Employees Legal Aid Office in Dhaka and Chattogram, and 178,506 through the toll-free hotline call centre. Before the national helpline was introduced, 17,328 people had already received legal services from the organization. Furthermore, NLASO has successfully resolved 129,038 cases using Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods.
Chief Justice Dr. Syed Refaat Ahmed has directed the NLASO to appoint lawyers for defendants in lower courts in instances where they do not have legal representation.