পারিবারিক বিরোধ নিষ্পত্তিতে আইনগত দুর্বলতা

Abstract

In Bangladesh, family courts were established by the Family Courts Ordinance (FCO), 1985 to assist the smooth and effective disposal of cases relating to family matters. Establishment of the Family Courts, a long demand of the people, in Bangladesh was a landmark step. At present, the Family Court of Bangladesh is governed by a limited number of Family Laws. The jurisdiction of the family courts is limited according to the FCO. The FCO is not flawless, and the flaws gave rise to some confusions and uncertainties. Limited application of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 in the Family Courts creates obstacles for access to justice. There are many loopholes and shortcomings in the FCO and other family laws which impede smooth functioning of the family courts. The FCO does not explicitly empower Courts to grant injunctions to prevent domestic violence. The FCO includes provision for forming and establishing separate family courts to deal exclusively with family disputes. Nonetheless, surprisingly no separate family court has been established yet, rather the court of Assistant Judge has been working as the Family Court Judge but the court of Assistant judge is already overburdened with other civil suits. The present FCO does not include any provision relating to counseling support service which is extremely necessary for providing assistance to the parties in resolving family disputes. Therefore bringing reforms in FCO is urgently required at the present moment. This article examines the loopholes in the FCO and other family laws of Bangladesh and suggests reforms for addressing the weaknesses of these laws.