Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) successfully completed Advanced Mediation Training for Legal Professionals, under the ‘Development of Mediation and Civil Litigation Practices for Enhancement of Access to Justice Project’ (A2J Project) in collaboration with the Law and Justice Division (LJD) of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, and the Judicial Administration Training Institute (JATI) on at JATI. The training program included a range of practical and theoretical learning sessions designed to enhance the skills of legal professionals such as judges, legal aid officers and lawyers who are actively involved in the mediation process, according to press release.
In April 2024, JICA, in collaboration with LJD, launched the A2J Project to promote effective access to justice in Bangladesh. As part of the initiative, the project successfully organized a foundational Mediation Training course for Legal Professionals in November 2024 at JATI, said in press release.
The project recently conducted the Advanced Mediation Training for Legal Professionals to further develop the capacity of legal professionals—judges, legal aid officers, and lawyers—who play a critical role in enhancing the mediation process and promoting a mediation system within civil society in Bangladesh. This advanced course was designed to deepen participants’ expertise and strengthen their ability to apply more advanced and practical mediation techniques.
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World-renowned mediation expert Professor MIYATAKE Masako from Japan conducted the training as the primary lecturer. Building upon the content covered in the training attended by participants in November, the session provided participants with further knowledge and techniques essential for mediators and an in-depth understanding of the mediation process through lectures and mock mediation exercises. A total of 50 participants, including judges, district legal aid officers and lawyers from the project’s pilot districts (Narsingdi and Cumilla), and officials from related judicial institutions, attended the program.
Upon successful completion of the training program, Professor MIYATAKE presented certificates to the participants. Sheikh Abu Taher, Secretary, Law and Justice Division, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, and ICHIGUCHI Tomohide, Chief Representative, JICA Bangladesh Office, attended the closing and certificate-awarding ceremony.
In his closing remarks, ICHIGUCHI Tomohide, Chief Representative, JICA Bangladesh Office, expressed gratitude to all involved in the project. He reaffirmed JICA’s strong partnership with Bangladesh and the organization’s role in addressing the judicial backlog since 2016 while emphasizing the significance of the training for judges, legal aid officers, and lawyers in mediation. Regarding the productive discussions on mediation challenges, he expressed hope that participants would share their knowledge to improve access to justice. He also recognized judicial reform as a key issue and reiterated JICA’s commitment to supporting Bangladesh’s efforts.
Law and Justice Division Secretary Sheikh Abu Taher underscored the importance of law enforcement in ensuring good governance and addressing injustice in his closing points. He acknowledged Bangladesh’s persistent case backlog despite judicial improvements and noted concerns over limited resources for mediation. He emphasized the value of advanced mediation training in strengthening mediation practices and concluded by thanking JICA and its partners for their continued support.
A2J Project expects that the participants will apply the knowledge, skills, and techniques acquired during this training in their role as judges, legal aid officers and lawyers in their respective professional areas and thereby contribute to the promotion of the mediation system in Bangladesh and, ultimately, to the expansion of access to justice For everyone. Furthermore, it is hoped that after this training, the participants will share their skills and knowledge with other legal professionals. The project will continue to advance activities to improve the mediation system and establish the foundation of access to justice in Bangladesh.
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