UniversePG l www.universepg.com 49 Digitalization of Bangladesh Judiciary and Access to Justice Mohammad Ikbal Hasan 1 * and Fahmida Johura Rupa 2 1&2 Department of Law, University of Information Technology and Sciences (UITS), Dhaka, Bangladesh. *Correspondence: ikbalhbd@gmail.com (Mohammad Ikbal Hasan, Assistant Professor, Department of Law, UITS, Dhaka, Bangladesh). ABSTRACT The vision of ‘Digital Bangladesh’ as articulated by the present government of Bangladesh is inseparably related to establishing delivery of justice to the citizens through maximum use of technology. Judiciary, being the one of three main organs of the government, is the key governance and rule of law institution. Independence of Judiciary is ensured in the Constitution of Bangladesh to ensure access to justice for all. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are today considered to be an indispensable tool for both case management and efficient delivery of judicial services. Much like other developing and transitional countries, the judicial system in Bangladesh faces the same constraints and bottlenecks. More than 3 million pending cases have created a high backlog in the judiciary. Consequently, the cases take an inordinately long time to reach their logical end and litigation costs keep on mounting. The vulnerable and marginalized sections of society suffer the most. Perhaps the biggest challenge for the judiciary in the country is to reduce the delay in the court process and remove the backlog of cases. The pragmatic step to E-judiciary is inevitable to integrate the existing efforts and to digitalize the judiciary of Bangladesh aiming at reducing citizens ’ time, cost, and hassle to access judicial services and to make the system more efficient and transparent. E-judiciary, a whole tech-based judicial system, may bring a radical change in the field of the administration of justice. This paper identifies the nexus between access to justice and digitalization, analyzes the current pattern of administration of justice and upholds the loopholes of the traditional justice delivery system and core necessity of E-judiciary. Finally, it concludes with challenges and a way out for a digitalized judiciary to accelerate access to justice for mass people. Keywords: Administration of Justice, Digitalization, Backlog, Judiciary, E-court, Records, and Court process. INTRODUCTION: Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is considered one of the key elements to improve justice administration. The direct correlation between rule of law, social and the economic deve- lopment and access to justice has further encouraged greater use of ICT in justice systems in developing countries. It can also contribute in delivery of justice in timely fashion. The e-justice system means an important step towards achieving excellence in providing court related services for the masses, espe- cially vulnerable groups in Bangladesh. The present government of Bangladesh has promised through its election manifesto to make the country digitalized and with the end of making a ‘Digital Bangladesh’, it is going ahead with the mission termed as “ Vision 2021”. The formal justice system in Bangladesh remains relatively inaccessible for the vast majority of people. A large case backlog is slowly overwhelming the court administration and undermining access to justice. It is Asian Journal of Social Sciences and Legal Studies, 3(3), 49-58, 2021 Publisher homepage: www.universepg.com, ISSN: 2707-4668 (Online) & 2707-465X (Print) https://doi.org/10.34104/ajssls.021.049058 Asian Journal of Social Sciences and Legal Studies Journal homepage: www.universepg.com/journal/ajssls