PRE-FINAL2

1
DEDICATION
THIS RESEARCH MONOGRAPH IS DEDICATED TO MY FATHER:
MD ABUL KHAIR, MOTHER: SALMA BEGUM AND MY ELDER
BROTHER MD. ISMAIL HOSSAIN WHO ARE INSPIRED ME TO
SURVIVE IN THIS WORLD.

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Letter of Transmittal
Date:
To :
Professor Dr. Mohammad Badruddin
MA.LL.B. (Raj); LL.M.Ph.D (London)
Dean, Faculty of Law
Bangladesh University of Business and Technology
Subject: Submission of research paper.
Dear, Sir
It is great opportunity and pleasure for me to make a research monograph and submit the
research monograph on the topic of “The Use of Information Technologies in Civil
Litigation in South Asian Region: Challenges and Prospects.” Under The Co-Supervisor of
Farzana Akter Kanta Lecturer, Department of Law and Justice, Bangladesh University of
Business and Technology. While preparing this research, I tried seamy level best to make the
research monograph to the required standard. I hope that this research fulfill your expectation
I therefore pray and hope you would be kind enough to go through with this paper valuable
evaluation.
I am always available for any clarification of any part of this research monograph at your
convenience.
I hope you would be pleased to accept my research monograph and oblige me.
Sincerely yours
Md. Yousuf Hossain
ID. NO. 11121105062
Intake: 15, Section: 2
Program: LL.B. (Hon’s)
Bangladesh University of Business and Technology (BUBT)

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AUTHENTICATION
I Hear by declare that this research paper is the honest outcome of my own effect. I collected
the materials from various personal, organizations , websites ,books and the quotations
,summary and ideas of others for which I have made due acknowledgement. I ever grateful
Prof.Dr.Mohammad Badaruddin Dean, Department of Law and justice, Bangladesh
University of Business and Technology (BUBT), who checked the dost and it’s of this
research paper.
I, also declare neither whole nor any part of it has been or is being submitted elsewhere for
award of any degree, examination or any purpose to any university. All the information I
have used started or described have been showed and acknowledged as complete reference.
Md. Yousuf Hossain
ID. NO. 11121105062

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CERTIFICATION
It is a great pleasure for me to recommend that the research paper entitle “The Use of
Information Technologies in Civil Litigation in South Asian Region: Challenges and
Prospects.”Submitted to the Department of Law and Justice, Bangladesh University of
Business and Technology, Mirpur Dhaka Bangladesh by Md. Yousuf Hossain, ID No:
11121105062 for the degree of LL.B (Hon’s) Program has been prepared under my
supervision.
The statistics and information of the research paper has been carefully examined and checked
by me, the entire research paper is his candidate personal work. To the best of my knowledge,
neither whole nor any part of the research paper has been submitted other organization,
university or Institute of any degree of diploma.
Professor Dr. Mohammad Badruddin
MA.LL.B. (Raj); LL.M.Ph.D (London)
Dean, Faculty of Law
Bangladesh University of Business and Technology

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am indebted to almighty Allah for enabling me to come up with this work. The topic of this
Research is a high importance and of great necessity. It was a quite difficult job for me to
complete this research without the help of various individuals, Organizations websites,
newspaper, books, etc. I want to express my deepest gratitude to my teachers, seniors and
family members for their continuous mental support and boundless love.
I would like to thank specially to my Research Superintendent, Prof. Dr. Mohammad
Badaruddin, honorable Dean Department of law & Justice, Bangladesh University of
Business and Technology. Then I want to thanks to Md. Toriqul Islam my honorable
Chairman, Department of Law and Justice, Sayeda Afroza Zarin Assistant Prof. Department
of Law and Justice and Abu Hanif Lecturer, Department of law & Justice, Bangladesh
University of Business and Technology. Without support and guideline of whom it would not
have been possible for me to complete this research.
I would also to thank my Research Supervisor MS. Farzana Akter Kanta Respectable
Lecturer, Department of Law & Justice, Bangladesh University of Business and Technology,
who checked the dost and of this research paper.
With Regards and best Wishes
Md. Yousuf Hossain
ID. NO. 11121105062

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Abbreviation
SC= Supreme Court
HCD= High Court Division
AD= Appellate Division
AGP= Assistant Government Pleader
AIR= All India Report
AWN= Allahabad Weekly Notes
CPC= Civil Procedure Code
CD= Case Diary
CLJ= Calcutta Law Journals
CR Case= Complaint Registered Case
GP= Government Pleader
FB= Full Bench
PLD= Pakistan Law Decision
LL.B. = Law Legume Beccaloures’s
JEDDI= Judicial Document and Data Interchanges
ALC= Allahabad High Court
IPC= Indian Penal Code
DLR= Dhaka Law Report

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SHADOW OF THE RESEARCH
This research topic name is “The Use of Information Technologies in Civil Litigation in
South Asian Region: Challenges and Prospects.” In this paper I try to my best for focusing
all the possibility and challenges for using the information technologies in civil litigations in
South Asian region. This paper is divided into various chapters, these are describing as
follows:
In the Chapter 1 am introducing with the research topics by the introduction, objectives of
research and methodology of research.
In chapter 2 I discuss about the historical background and codification of the civil laws.
In chapter 3 I try to define some key words which are used in this research paper.
In chapter 4 I am going to discuss about the stages of civil suits which is prescribed under the
code of civil procedure, 1908. I am saying about 11 steps in civil litigation which are used in
our South Asian Region.
In chapter 5 I am going to discuss about some technologies which has been used in the South
Asian Region as an information Technology.
In chapter 6 I am going to introduced with some foreign countries where have been properly
use the information technologies. I also focus that’s methods and way of these technologies.
In chapter 7 I discuss about the present position of using the information technologies,
historical background, structures of the civil courts, and jurisdictions of civil courts etc. In
this chapter I also discuss critical analysis about the Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri-
Lanka.
In chapter 8 I discuss about the information technologies use in civil litigation proceedings.
In this chapter shall be prescribe about 5 steps in civil suits and also clearly say about in
which step which technology is appropriate.
In the chapter 9 I am going to discuss the following facts that have profound link with the
process of acquisition of digital evidence: 1) how can it be shown that the file acquired is
what was on the computer? Can a printout be sourced back to its origin? What status does a
printout receive if its origin (information) is not presented in the court due to unavailability?
What status does a printout receive if its origin (information) is not presented in the court,
though it is available? 2) What do we need to do to show that the process of acquisition is not
free from error because it is relatively easy to corrupt data stored on a hard drive? 3) How do
we preserve the file once it has been acquired and how are we able to show that any
subsequent copying or retention or acquisition process has not introduced contamination as
most digital information is easily changed, and once changed it is usually impossible to detect
that a change has taken place?
In chapter 10 I am going to discuss the following facts 1) what is computer generated
evidence? 2) Is computer derived evidence can be admissible evidence before the court?
In chapter 11 I am going to discuss about the authentication and the best evidence rule in the
light of the evidence Act, 1872.
This paper articulates the present scenario of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri- Lanka in
the use of Information Technologies in civil justice system and opened the wrapping to cause
delay. This paper also explores the core hindrances to attain speedy disposal of a civil
litigation along with some explicit recommendation to rub out the problem as well.

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
INTRODUCTION;
The Information Technology Is most powerful technology in the 21st century although in our
south Asian region we cannot apply these technologies properly in the matter of judicial
system or cases especially in the civil litigations it is hardly true. For this reason many times
we are fail to get proper remedies or though we get remedy it was too late. But that’s one of
the main reason is we have a huge lacking to uses the information technology. As the benefits
that technology can bring to large scale litigation have become apparent to the courts they
have one by one been introducing practice notes on the use of information technology in
appropriate cases both during discovery and at trial. The use of information technology pre-
trial and at trial. In most of the matters which have preceded to trial electronically this has
been with the agreement and cooperation of the parties and their representatives. It is now
clear, however, that in appropriate cases and despite opposition from one or more of the
parties involved, the courts will direct that technology be used at trial. As slow as lawyers and
law firms are, however, in adopting new technology, it is estimated that they adopt
technological advancements at least three times faster than the judiciary. This is a
disenchanting figure when one considers the enormous cost and time saving potential
inherent in technology. It is especially disenchanting considering it is the judiciary which
establishes the systemic characteristics of law practice, with the rules and procedures they
create governing lawyers in their interaction with the courts. As such, no matter to what
extent private practice adopts technology in its internal affairs, the potential cost and time
savings which technology presents can never be fully realized unless the system in which law
is practiced itself embraces technology; unless the judiciary embraces technology.
Objectives of Research:
The main purpose of this Research paper is to the use of E-Technology in civil litigations in
South Asian Region; Challenges and Prospects. Particularly the objectives of the study are to:
A. To focusing on the present figure of civil litigations pending in the South Asian
Region.
B. To discuss about the present trends of appointing Judges as well as the present
position of logistic and infrastructural support.
C. Try to criticize on the mind-set of the Judges, Lawyers and Litigant people of the
South Asian Region.
D. To find out the main causes of delay in civil litigations.
E. To reduce cost by useing of information technologies.
F. To introduce with Information Technology which can be uge in civil litigation in
South Asian Region.

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ResearchMethodology:
This Research paper mainly depends on the available information at hand in order to obtain a
clear picture of the relevant issues because it is more theoretical rather to technical or
technological. The sources of secondary data are annual statement and Registers of different
Courts, Government Gazettes, High Court Circulars, Law Journals, Law Books, Law
Publications like Dhaka Law Reports (DLR) etc, Bangladesh Bar Council Publication and
other sources. From the collected data a few recent trends are highlighted and analyzed with
numerical data. Besides these, Information was also collected from websites and some
Focus Group Discussions (FGD) with the Judges, top lawyer of the countries and legal
scholars of different institutions. Apart from these different computerized programs like
Microsoft word and Microsoft excel have been taken to analyze the data effectively.

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CHAPTER 2
HISTORICAL BACKGROUMD OF CIVIL LAWS
Overview:
Civil law, civilian law or Roman law is a legal system originating in Europe, intellectualized
within the framework of late Roman law, and whose most prevalent feature is that its
corprinciples are codified into a referable system which serves as the primary source of law.
This can be contrasted with common law systems whose intellectual framework comes from
judge-made decisional law which gives precedential authority to prior court decisions on the
principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different occasions (doctrine of
judicial precedent, or stare decises). Historically, a civil law is the group of legal ideas and
systems ultimately derived from the Code of Justinian, but heavily overlaid
by Napoleonic, Germanic, canonical, feudal, and local practices, as well as doctrinal strains
such as natural law, codification, and legal positivism.1
Conceptually, civil law proceeds from abstractions, formulates general principles, and
distinguishes substantive rules from procedural rules. It holds case law to be secondary and
subordinate to statutory law. When discussing civil law, one should keep in mind the
conceptual difference between a statute and a coda article. The marked feature of civilian
systems is that they use codes with brief text that tend to avoid factually specific
scenarios. Code articles deal in generalities and thus stand at odds with statutory schemes
which are often very long and very detailed.2
The purpose of codification is to provide all citizens with manners and written collection of
the laws which apply to them and which judges must follow. It is the most widespread system
of law in the world, in force in various forms in about 150 countries, and draws heavily from
Roman law, arguably the most intricate known legal system dating from before the modern
era
Where codes exist, the primary source of law is the law code, which is a systematic collection
of interrelated articles, arranged by subject matter in some pre-specified order and that
explain the principles of law, rights and entitlements, and how basic legal mechanisms work.
Law codes are simply laws enacted by a legislature, even if they are in general much longer
than other laws. Other major legal systems in the world include common law, Halakha, canon
law, and Islamic law.
Civilian countries can be divided into:
 those where Roman law in some form is still living law but there has been no attempt to
create a code: Andorra and San Marino
1. 1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_law_(legal_system)
2. Charles Arnold-Baker,The Companionto British History,s.v. "English Law" (London: Loncross DenholmPress, 2008),484
2

11
 those with unmodified mixed systems in which civil law is an academic source of
authority but common law is also influential: Scotland and Roman-Dutch law countries
(South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Guyana)
 those with codified mixed systems in which civil law is the background law but has its
public law heavily influenced by common law: Puerto Rico, Philippines, Quebec
and Louisiana.
 those with comprehensive codes that exceed a single civil code, such
as Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Mexico: it is this last category that is
normally regarded as typical of civil law systems, and is discussed in the rest of this
article.
The Scandinavian systems are of a hybrid character since their background law is a mix of
civil law and Scandinavian customary law and have been partially codified. Likewise, the
laws of the Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark) are hybrids which
mix Norman customary law and French civil law.
A prominent example of a civil-law code would be the Napoleonic Code (1804), named after
French emperor Napoleon. The Code comprises three components: the law of persons,
property law, and commercial law. Rather than a compendium of statutes or catalog of
caselaw, the Code sets out general principles as rules of law.3
Unlike common law systems, civil law jurisdictions deal with case law apart from
any precedence value. Civil law courts generally decide cases using caudal provisions on a
case-by-case basis, without reference to other (or even superior) judicial decisions. In actual
practice, an increasing degree of precedence is creeping into civil law jurisprudence, and is
generally seen in many nations' highest courts.] While the typical speaking supreme decision
is short, concise and devoid of explanation or justification, in Germanic Europe, the supreme
courts can and do tend to write more verbose opinions supported by legal reasoning. A line
of similar case decisions, while not precedent per se, constitute jurisprudence constante.
While civil law jurisdictions place little reliance on court decisions, they tend to generate a
phenomenal number of reported legal opinions.4 However, this tends to be uncontrolled,
since there is no statutory requirement that any case be reported or published in a law report,
except for the councils of state and constitutional courts. Except for the highest courts, all
publication of legal opinions are unofficial or commercial.
Civil law is sometimes referred to as neo-Roman law, Romano-Germanic law or Continental
law. The expression civil law is a translation of Latin jus caviler, or "citizens' law", which
was the late imperial term for its legal system, as opposed to the laws governing conquered
peoples (jus gentium); hence, the Justinian code's title Corpus Juris Civilis. Civil law
practitioners, however, traditionally refer to their system in a broad sense as jus commune,
literally "common law", meaning the general principles of law as opposed to laws peculiar to
particular areas. (The use of "common law" for the Anglo-Saxon systems may or may not be
influenced by this usage.)
3 Neubauer, David W.,and Stephen S. Meinhold. Judicial Process: Law, Courts, and Politics in the United States.Belmont: Thomson
Wadsworth, 2007, pg.28
4 Roman LawandIts Influence".Infoplease.com. Retrieved2011-08-18.

12
History:
The civil law takes as its major inspiration classical Roman law (c. AD 1–250), and in
particular Justinian law (6th century AD), and further expounding and developments in the
late Middle Ages under the influence of canon law. The Justinian Code's doctrines provided a
sophisticated model for contracts, rules of procedure, family law, wills, and a strong
monarchical constitutional system. Roman law was received differently in different countries.
In some it went into force wholesale by legislative act, i.e., it became positive law, whereas in
others it was diffused into society by increasingly influential legal experts and scholars.
Roman law continued without interruption in the Byzantine Empire until its final fall in the
15th century. However, subject as it was to multiple incursions and occupations by Western
European powers in the late medieval period, its laws became widely available in the West. It
was first received into the Holy Roman Empire partly because it was considered imperial
law, and it spread in Europe mainly because its students were the only trained lawyers. It
became the basis of Scots law, though partly rivaled by received feudal Norman law. In
England, it was taught academically at Oxford and Cambridge, but underlay only probate and
matrimonial law insofar as both were inherited from canon law, and maritime law, adapted
from lex mercatoria through the Bordeaux trade.5
Consequently, neither of the two waves of Romanism completely dominated in Europe.
Roman law was a secondary source that was applied only when local customs and laws were
found lacking on a certain subject. However, after a time, even local law came to be
interpreted and evaluated primarily on the basis of Roman law (it being a common European
legal tradition of sorts), thereby in turn influencing the main source of law. Eventually, the
works of civilian glossators and commentators led to the development of a common body of
law and writing about law, a common legal language, and a common method of teaching and
scholarship, all termed the jus commune, or law common to Europe, which consolidated
canon law and Roman law, and to some extent, feudal law.
Codification>
An important common characteristic of civil law, aside from its origins in Roman law, is the
comprehensive codification of received Roman law, i.e., its inclusion in civil codes. The
earliest codification known is the Code of Hammurabi, written in ancient Babylon during the
18th century BC. However, these, and many of the codes that followed, were mainly lists of
civil and criminal wrongs and their punishments. Codification of the type typical of modern
civilian systems did not first appear until the Justinian Code.
Germanic codes appeared over the 6th and 7th centuries to clearly delineate the law in force
for Germanic privileged classes versus their Roman subjects and regulate those laws
according to folk-right. Under feudal law, a number of private custumals were compiled, first
under the Norman empire (Très ancien coutumier, 1200–1245), then elsewhere, to record the
manorial – and later regional – customs, court decisions, and the legal principles
underpinning them. Custumals were commissioned by lords who presided as lay judges over
manorial courts in order to inform themselves about the court process. The use of custumals
from influential towns soon became commonplace over large areas.
5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_law_(legal_system)

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In keeping with this, certain monarchs consolidated their kingdoms by attempting to compile
custumals that would serve as the law of the land for their realms, as when Charles VII of
France commissioned in 1454 an official custumal of Crown law. Two prominent examples
include the Coutume de Paris (written 1510; revised 1580), which served as the basis for the
Napoleonic Code, and theSachsenspiegel (c. 1220) of the bishoprics
of Magdeburg and Halberstadt which was used in northern Germany,Poland, and the Low
Countries.
The concept of codification was further developed during the 17th and 18th centuries AD, as
an expression of both natural law and the ideas of the Enlightenment. The political ideal of
that era was expressed by the concepts of democracy, protection of property and the rule of
law. That ideal required the creation of certainty of law, through the recording of law and
through its uniformity. So, the aforementioned mix of Roman law and customary and local
law ceased to exist, and the road opened for law codification, which could contribute to the
aims of the above-mentioned political ideal.
Another reason that contributed to codification was that the notion of the nation-
state required the recording of the law that would be applicable to that state.
Certainly, there was also a reaction to law codification. The proponents of codification
regarded it as conducive to certainty, unity and systematic recording of the law; whereas its
opponents claimed that codification would result in the ossification of the law.
In the end, despite whatever resistance to codification, the codification of European private
laws moved forward. Codifications were completed by Denmark (1687), Sweden (1734),
Prussia (1794), France (1804), and Austria(1811). The French codes were imported into areas
conquered by Emperor Napoleon and later adopted with modifications in Poland (Duchy of
Warsaw/Congress Poland; Kodeks cywilny 1806/1825), Louisiana (1807), Canton of Vaud
(Switzerland; 1819), the Netherlands (1838), Italy and Romania (1865), Portugal (1867) and
Spain (1888). Germany (1900), and Switzerland (1912) adopted their own codifications.
These codifications were in turn imported into colonies at one time or another by most of
these countries. The Swiss version was adopted in Brazil (1916) and Turkey (1926).6
In the United States, U.S. states began codification with New York's "Field Code" (1850),
followed by California'sCodes (1872), and the federal Revised Statutes (1874) and the
current United States Code (1926).
Because Germany was a rising power in the late 19th century and its legal system was well
organized, when many Asian nations were developing, the German Civil Code became the
basis for the legal systems of Japanand South Korea. In China, the German Civil Code was
introduced in the later years of the Qing Dynasty and formed the basis of the law of
the Republic of China, which remains in force in Taiwan.
Some authors consider civil law to have served as the foundation for socialist law used
in communist countries, which in this view would basically be civil law with the addition of
Marxist–Leninist ideas. Even if this is so, civil law was generally the legal system in place
before the rise of socialist law, and some Eastern European countries reverted to the pre-
Socialist civil law following the fall of socialism, while others continued using their socialist
legal systems.7
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_law_(legal_system)
7. 7 Charles Arnold Baker, The Companionto British History,s.v. "Civilian"(London: Routledge,2001), 308

15
Several civil-law mechanisms seem to have been borrowed from medieval
Islamic Sharia and fiqh. For example, the Islamic hawala (hundi) underlies
the avallo of Italian law and the aval of French and Spanish law.8
Codification:
First Civil Procedure was enacted in 1859. Afterwards some codes concerning to civil
procedure have been introduced but that were not complete and uniform. In the year 1908 the
existing code has been incorporated. It is one of the oldest codes of this sub-continent as well
as one of the best synchronized and systematic mixtures of procedural and substantive
character. Each and every steps of a civil litigation is compact with the procedure described
in the code. 9 Now a days if we analyze the code critically, it may be noticed that
unquestionably the code itself and its practitioners are lingering the process to dispense
justice and to dispose litigation. On the other hand the code is not completely self-
determining in its function because it has to meet the procedure of other laws, e.g. the
Evidence Act-1872, the Limitation Act-1908; the Court fees Act- 1870, the Suit valuation
Act-1887, the Civil Courts Act-1887, the Civil Rules and orders 1935 etc. In the present
context of a civil litigation the law it is facing some haziness and shortcomings. The
procedural protractile system of a Civil litigation not only creating an over burden to the
shoulder of Judiciary but also creating sufferings to the litigant people. Thus the litigant fails
all of his/her attention as the suits are continuing from generation to generation.10
The Law Commission of India in its 14th report appropriately observed about the code as follows:
“Although the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 are basically sound, it
cannot be gainsaid that in view of the appalling backlog of cases which has unfortunately
become a normal feature of nearly all the courts of the country, the problem of delay in law
courts has assumed great importance.11
8 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_law_(legal_system)
9 Makdisi, John A. (June 1999),"The IslamicOrigins of theCommon Law"
10 Washington Probate, "Estate Planning & Probate Glossary", Washington (State) Probate, s.v. "common law", [htm], 8 Dec. 2008,
retrieved on 7 November 2009.
11 The role of legislation is to set, by taking a broad approach, the general propositions of the law, to establish principles which will be
fertile in application, and not to get down to the details. . . .” Alain Levasseur, Code Napoleon or Code Portalis?, 43 Tul. L. Rev. 762, 769
(1969).

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CHAPTER 3
DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Research Paper, the following technical terms shall have the
following meanings:
Civil Litigation: Civil litigation is a legal dispute between two or more parties that seek
money damages or specific performance rather than criminal sanctions. A lawyer who
specializes in civil litigation is known as a “litigator” or “trial lawyer.” Lawyers who
practice civil litigation represent parties in trials, hearings, arbitrations and mediations before
administrative agencies, foreign tribunals and federal, state and local courts.
Types of Civil Litigation
Civil litigation encompasses a broad range of disputes. Civil litigators
generally specialize in one or two specific practice areas. Several common
types of civil litigation include:
 Environmental Law
 Landlord/Tenant
 Products Liability
 Personal injury
 Intellectual Property
 Construction
 Medical Malpractice
 Employment & Labor
 Real Estate
 Anti-Trust
 Worker’s Compensation
 Education Law

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Information Technology: Information technology (IT) is the application
of computers and telecommunications to store, retrieve, transmit and manipulate data, often
in the context of a business or other enterprise.
The term is commonly used as a synonym for computers and computer networks, but it also
encompasses other information distribution technologies such as television and telephones.12
Several industries are associated with information technology, including
computer, software, electronics, semiconductors, internet,telecom, engineering, healthcare, e-
commerce and computer services.
Humans have been storing, retrieving, manipulating and communicating information since
the Sumerians in Mesopotamia developed writing in about 3000 BC, but the term information
technology in its modern sense first appeared in a 1958 article published in the Harvard
Business Review; authors Leavitt and Thomas L. Whistler commented that "the new
technology does not yet have a single established name. We shall call it information
technology (IT)." Their definition consists of three categories: techniques for processing, the
application of statistical and mathematical methods to decision-making, and the simulation of
higher-order thinking through computer programs.13
Based on the storage and processing technologies employed, it is possible to distinguish four
distinct phases of IT development: pre-mechanical (3000 BC – 1450 AD), mechanical (1450–
1840), electromechanical (1840–1940) and electronic (1940–present)
1. ASCII: The abbreviation for American Standard Code for Information
Interchange which is the most common format for text files in computers and on
the Internet. In an ASCII file, each alphabetic, numeric, or special character is
represented with a 7-bit or 8-bit binary number.
2. Court Documents: Those Records that are filed in Court or that are delivered to
another party pursuant to an order of the Court or a Rule or practice of the Court
(such as pleadings, discovery lists etc.), and includes witness statements, outlines
of expert evidence, chronologies, outlines of argument and other Records.
3. CSV (comma separated values): The abbreviation for comma separated values.
In computers, a file that contains the values in a table as a series of ASCII text
lines organized so that each column value is separated by a comma from the next
column's value and each row starts a new line. A CSV file collects the Data from
any table so that it can be conveyed as input to another table-oriented application
12 Daintith, John, ed. (2009),"IT",A Dictionary of Physics,OxfordUniversity Press, retrieved1 August2012
13 Chandler, Daniel; Munday, Rod, "Informationtechnology", A Dictionaryof MediaandCommunication (first ed.), OxfordUniversity
Press, retrieved1 August 2012

18
such as a relational Database application. Microsoft Excel, a leading spreadsheet
or relational Database application, can read CSV files.[3]
4. Data: Electronic information that has been translated into a form that is more
convenient to move or process (in the format of a Database for example).
5. Database: A collection of Data that is organized so that its contents can easily be
accessed managed and updated.
6. Discoverable Records: Records that are required to be disclosed to a party in
accordance with the Alberta Rules of Court and practice of the Court.
7. Electronic Material: Any email messages or computer generated files identified
in their Native Format. An example is a computer file of a Microsoft Word record
as opposed to the printed version of that record.
8. Field: A Field represents a column of Data within a Database or a spreadsheet.

19
9. GIF: The abbreviation for Graphics Interchange Format which is one of the two
most common file formats for graphical Images on the World Wide Web. The
other is the JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) which is another image
format used on the Web.14
10. Hard Copy: A Record in non-electronic form. A Hard Copy is often a paper copy
of a Record.
11. HTML: The abbreviation for Hypertext Markup Language which is a set of
“mark up” symbols or codes inserted in a file intended for display on the Internet
by a World Wide Web browser.
12. Image: A picture that has been created or copied and stored in electronic form, an
electronic photocopy. The format of the Image is given by the file extension name
suffix – for example BMP, GIF, JPEG, or TIFF.
13. Image Resolution: A description of the sharpness of an Image sharpness (that is,
the density of illuminated points) which is measured in dots per inch (dpi). The
dot pitch determines the absolute limit of the possible dots per inch. Industry
standard is 200 dpi for black and white imaging.
14. Lead/Attachment Relationships: While lead and attachment relationships are not
required in the default Fields and may not be captured in the majority of lists of
Records. Parties will need to agree on whether to record this information and how
it will be recorded for exchange.15
15. Malicious Code: Malicious code is the term used to describe any code in any part
of a software system or script that is intended to cause undesired effects, security
breaches or damage to a system. Malicious code describes a broad category of
system security terms that includes attack scripts, viruses, worms, Trojan horses,
backdoors, and malicious active content.
14 Childress, DavidHatcher(20
00), Technologyof the Gods: TheIncredible Sciences of the Ancients, Adventures UnlimitedPress, ISBN 978-0-932813-73-2
15 Lavington, Simon(1980),Early BritishComputers, Digital Press, ISBN 978-0-7190-0810-8

20
16. Native (Native Files or Native Format): A reference to a computer file in its
original electronic format. For example, if a Record is produced as an Image or in
Hard Copy format the original electronic file is referred to as the Native Format.16
17. PDF: The abbreviation for Portable Document Format which is an open file
format that captures all the elements of a printed document.
18. Potentially Discoverable Records: Records that are included in the initial
collection of information at a time when decisions are being made to determine
which of these are Discoverable Records.
19. Protocol: A special set of rules which are often described in terms of an agreed
upon, industry or international standard. For this Practice Note the default
protocol can be found on the Courts website.
20. Record: Record has the meaning set out in the Definitions in the Alberta Rules
of Court, which includes: the physical representation or record of any information,
data or other thing that is or is capable of being represented or reproduced visually
or by sound, or both.
21. Record ID: The Record ID is the method by which each Record is uniquely
identified.
22. Redaction: The process by which information or text is electronically covered or
masked in such a way that it cannot be read by other parties. Discoverable
Records that contain a combination of discoverable and non-discoverable or
privileged information may be produced with no discoverable or privileged
information redacted.
23. RTF: The abbreviation for Rich Text Format, a generic file format that allows
exchange of text files between different word processors in different operating
systems.
24. Tab Delimited: In computers, a Tab Delimited file contains the values in a table
as a series of ASCII text lines organized so that each column value is separated by
a tab character from the next columns value, and each row starts a new line.
Microsoft Excel, a leading spreadsheet or relational Database application, can read
Tab Delimited files.
16 Reynolds, George (2009), Ethics in InformationTechnology,Cengage Learning, ISBN 978-0-538-74622-9

21
25. Technology: Technology refers to any equipment or interconnected system or
subsystem of equipment that is used in the automatic acquisition, storage,
manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange,
transmission, or reception of Data or information. The term information
technology includes computers, ancillary equipment, software, firmware and
similar procedures, services (including support services), and related resources.
26. TIFF: The abbreviation for Tagged Image File Format which is a common
format for saving Image files.
27. XML: The abbreviation for Extensible Markup Language which is a flexible way
to create common information formats and share both the format and the Data on
the World Wide Web, intranets, and elsewhere.
South Asian Region: The South Asian Region shall mean and extend between only four
countries for this research paper. These are:
1. Bangladesh
2. India
3. Pakistan
4. Sri-Lanka

22
CHAPTER 4
THE STAGES OF CIVIL SUITS
The process and purpose of civil and criminal law differ. In a criminal case, the government
seeks to impose penalties upon an individual for violating the law. Those penalties can
include fines, loss of freedom or even death. The purpose of the penalties varies from
revenge, deterrence, rehabilitation or incapacitation to protect the community.17 Thanks to
television dramas and criminal trial news coverage criminal law procedure is familiar to
many. How a civil lawsuit proceeds is less well known.
A civil lawsuit differs in that it is to resolve matters between private parties. One person
believes another has harmed him, and the courts are available to resolve the problem.
In a civil lawsuit, an individual or corporation called the plaintiff brings another party,
referred to as the defendant, to court. The plaintiff asks a judge to order the defendant either
to pay money or perform a specific action. A civil suit from family law matters, a contract
dispute or a tort.
A tort is a wrongful act, not including a breach of contract or trust, that results in injury to
another’s person, property, or reputation and for which the injured party is entitled to
compensation. Intentional torts include battery, libel and slander. Negligent torts are the
result of conduct that causes unintended injury. Auto accidents, medical malpractice or
product liability are examples of negligent torts. An attorney well versed in a particular legal
area is important as each has rules unique to it, though the basic principles that follow apply
in most instances.18
17 MD. Abdul Halim, The Legal System ofBangladesh,Fifth edition, October 20102.
18 The Law of torts, Dr. Durga Das Bosu,9th August 2006

23
There is a detailed procedure laid down, for filing a civil case. If the procedure is not
followed, then the registry has a right to dismiss the suit
The Procedure is as follows:
Filing Of Suit/Plaint
Vakalatnama
Court Fees
How Proceedings Are Conducted
Written Statement
Replication By Plaintiff
Filing Of Other Documents
Framing Of Issues/List Of Witness
Final Hearing
Appeal, Reference And Review
Limitation
Filing of Suit/Plaint:
1. In layman’s language plaint is the written complaint/allegation.
2. One who files it is known as “Plaintiff” and against whom it is filed is known as
“Defendant”
3. The plaint has to be filed within the time limit prescribed in the Limitation Act, and
should be typed copy, in double line space.
4. Name of the Court, Nature of Complaint, Names and Address of parties to be suit has
to be clearly mentioned.
5. Plaint should also contain verification from plaintiff, stating that, contents of the
plaint are true and correct.
Vakalatnama:
1. A person/party filing a case, May also represents their own case personally in any
court.
2. However, due to lack of knowledge of Law and Technical Procedures, Lawyers are
engaged to report the interest of parties.
3. " Vakalatnama", is a document, by which the party filing the case authorises the
Advocate to represent on their behalf?
4. On General Terms, a Vakalatnama may contain the falling terms:
5. The client will not hold the Advocate responsible for any decision.
6. The client shall bear all the costs and/expenses incurred during the proceedings.
7. The advocate shall have right to retain the documents, unless complete fees are paid.
8. The client is free to disengage the Advocate at any stage of the Proceedings.
9. The Advocate shall have all the right to take decisions on his own in the court of Law,
during the hearing, to the best interest of client.
10. Vakalatnama is affixed on the last page of plaint/suit and is kept alongwith court
records.
11. No fees are required to be paid on it. However, nowadays, Delhi High court Rules
require, a 10 Rupees. "Advocate Welfare Stamp" to be affixed on the Vakalatnama.
12. Plaint should also have the requisite court fees attached to it. Court fees are some
nominal percentage of the value of the claim or value of the suit. The requisite amount
of Court and stamp fees is different for every suit, and is mentioned in the "Court Fees
Stamp Act."

24
Court Fees:
Different amount of court fees is paid for different type of documents.
Some of them are as follows;
1. In case of plaint/written statement == 10 RS. == if the value of the suit exceed
Rs.5,000/- up to 10,000/-
2. Plaints, in a suit for possession == Fee of one half of the amount above.
3. On a copy of a Decree or order == ( 50 paise ) == if the amount or value of Having
the force of a decree the subject matter of the suit wherein such decree or order is
made is fifty or less than fifty rupees.19
Value of Suit:
1. Value of suit exceeds Rs. 1,50,000-1,55,000 == Rs. 1700/-
Finally, a date shall be given to the plaintiff, for first hearing. On such hearing, the court will
decide whether the proceedings should continue or not. If it decides, that the case no merits,
then it will dismiss it there itself, without calling opposite party. If it decides otherwise, then
proceedings shall being.20
Proceedingsfor Conducted:
1. On the first day of hearing, if the court thinks there are merits in the case, it will issue
notice to the opposite party, to submit their arguments, and fix a date.
2. On issuance of notice to the opposite party, the plaintiff is required to do the
following:
i. File requisite amount of procedure--- fee in the court.
ii. File 2 copies of plaint for each defendant in the court, i.e. if there are 3
defendants, 6 copies has to be filed.
iii. Of, the 2 copies for each defendant, one shall be sent by Register/post/courier,
and one by Ordinary post.
iv. Such filing should be done within 7 days, from date of order/notice.
Written Statement:
1. When the notice has been issued to the defendant, he is required to appear on the date
mentioned in the notice.
2. Before such date, the defendant is required to file his "written statement", i.e. his
defense against the allegation raised by plaintiff, within 30 days from date of service
of notice, or within such time as given by court
3. The written statement should specifically deny the allegations, which defendant thinks
are false. Any allegation not specifically denied is deemed to be admitted.
19 Help line lawlegal solution worldwide
20 Help line lawlegal solution worldwide

25
4. The written statement should also contain verification from the Defendant, stating
that, the contents of written statement are true and correct.
5. The time period of 30 days, for filing a Written Statement, can be extended to 90 days
after seeking permission of the court.
ReplicationBy Plaintiff:
1. "Replication" is a reply, filed by the plaintiff, against the "written statement" of
Defendant.
2. "Replication" should also specifically deny the allegations raised by the Defendant in
written statement. Anything not denied is deemed to be accepted.
3. Replication should also contain, a " verification" from the plaintiff, stating that
contents of "Replication" are true and correct.
4. Once Replication is filed, pleadings are stated to be complete.

27
Filing of Other Documents:
1. Once, the pleadings are complete, then both the parties are given opportunity to
produce and file documents, on which they rely, and to substantiate their claims.
2. Any document not filed or produced cannot be relied upon, during final arguments.
3. Filing of Documents is not sufficient. They should be admitted and taken on record.
In brief the procedure is as follows:
i. Documents filed by one party may be admitted by opposite party.
ii. If they are denied by opposite party, then they can be admitted by the witness
produced by party whose documents are denied.
iii. Once the document has been admitted it shall form a part of the record of
court, and all the details of suit such as name of parties, title of suit etc, shall
be inscribed on the document. (O13 R49 7)
iv. Documents, which are rejected i.e. not admitted, are returned to the respective
parties.
v. It is necessary that document should be filed in "original", and a spare copy
should be given to the opposite party.21
Framing of Issues/List of Witness:
1. "ISSUES" are framed by the court, on the basis of which arguments and examination
of witness takes place.
2. Issues are framed, keeping in view the disputes in the suit, and the parties are not
allowed to go outside the purview of "Issues".
3. Issues may be of: A) Fact or B) Law
4. While passing final order, the court will deal with each issue separately, and pass
judgment on each issue.
List of Withnesses:
1. Whichever witness, the parties wish to produce, and to be examined, has to be
produced before the court.
2. Both the parties to the suit shall file a list of witness within 15 days from the date on
which issues were framed or within such other period as the court may prescribe.
3. The parties may either call the witness on it's own, or ask the court to send summons
to them.
4. In case court send summons to witness then the party calling for such witness has to
deposit money ' with the Court for their expenses, known as "Diet Money".
5. A person, who does not appear before the court, if he is required by the court to do so,
then the court may impose fine and penalty on him.
6. Finally on the date, the witness will be examined by both the parties.
i. Examination by party of it's own witness is called "Examination-in-chief"
ii. Examination by party of other party's witness is called "cross Examination".
iii. Whatever, has to be deposed in " Examination-in-chief", can also be filed by
way of an Affidavit.
21 http://www.shestokas.com/general-law/the-basic-steps-in-a-civil-lawsuit-civil-law-process/#sthash.2bxcRTIM.dpuf

28
iv. Once, the Examination and Cross- Examination of witness is over, and also
the admission and denial of documents, then the court will fix a date for final
hearing.
Final Hearing:
1. On the day fixed for final hearing, the arguments shall take place.
2. The arguments should strictly be confined to the issues framed.
3. Before the final Arguments, the parties with the permission of Court, can amend their
pleadings.
4. Whatever is not contained in the pleadings, the court may refuse to listen.
5. Finally, the court shall pass a "final Order", either on the day of hearing itself, or some
other day fixed by the court.
Certified Copy of Order:
1. Certified copy of order, mean, the final order of court, and having the seal and stamp
of court.
2. Certified copy of useful, in case of execution of the order, or in case of Appeal.
3. Certified copy can be applied by making an application to the Registry of concerned
Court, alongwith nominal fees for the order.
4. In case of "urgent requirement some additional amount has to be deposited.
5. "Urgent order" can be obtained within a week, and the normal might take 15 days.
Appeal, Reference and Review:
When an order is passed against a party to the suit, it is not that it has no further remedy.
Such party can further initiate the proceedings, by way of:
1. Appeal,
2. Reference, or
3. Review.
In brief, the technicalities and difference between these are as follows:
Appeal22
APPEAL FROM ORIGINAL DECREES
(Sec.96)- In general, an appeal lies from any decree passed by the court.
(Sec 96) In cases, where the value of suit does not exceed Rs.10, 000 An appeal can be filed
only on a question of law.
(Sec.96) When a decree has been passed against the Defendant as "Ex-Parte", i.e. without his
appearance, no appeal is allowed
(Sec.96) When an appeal is headed by two or more judges, then the
majority decision shall prevail.
In case there is no majority, then the decree of lower court
shall be confirmed.
In case, the number of judges in the court, where appeal is filed is more, than the
22 MD. Abdul Halim, TheLegal System ofBangladesh,Fifth edition, October 20102. page; 191

29
number of judges hearing the appeal, then if there is a dispute on a point of law, such
dispute can be referred to one or more judges.
PROCEDURE FOR APPEAL FROM ORIGINAL DECREES ( ORDER 41)
1. The appeal shall be filed in the form prescribed, singed by the appellant, alongwith a
true certified copy of the order.
2. The appeal shall contain the grounds of objection under distinct heads, and such
grounds shall be numbered consecutively.
3. If the appeal is against a decree for payment of money, the court may require the
appellant to deposit the disputed amount or furnish any other security.
4. A ground/objection which has not been mentioned in the appeal, cannot be taken up
for arguments, without the permission of court.
5. Similarly any point of act which was not taken up y the Appellant, in lower court,
cannot be taken up in appeal lies only against only those points which have been
decided by the court rightly or wrongly.
Limitation:23
1. For every appeal, there is a limited period, within which appeal should be filed. Such
a limitation is provided under the Limitation Act, 1963.
2. For appeal, in case of a decree passed by lower court in civil suit, the limitation is:
i. Appeal to High Court- 90 days from the date of decree or order.
ii. Appeal to any other court- 30 days from the date of Decree or order.
3. In case there are more than one plaintiffs or defendants, then any one of them can file
on appeal against all of them respectively.
4. Merely because an appeal is filed, does not mean that the order or decree of lower
court is stayed. In case of temporary stay of decree or order, it has to be specifically
asked, and stay will operate only if court grants it.
5. In case of execution of decree, the court, which passed the decree, can itself stay the
execution for time being on sufficient reasons shown.
6. The court may require the appellant to deposit some sort of security.
7. The appellate court may, on the day fixed for hearing the appellant dismiss the appeal,
or issue notice to the opposite party to appear on next day.
8. If on the first day of hearing, appellate court issues summons to the opposite party,
then:
i. It shall fix a date for next hearing, and such date shall be published in the court
house.
ii. Notice shall also be sent to the lower court, whose decree or order has been
appealed.
iii. To appellant is required to file “Process Fee “which is very nominal in
amount, and on such filing, the notice shall also be sent to opposite party.
iv. In case of appeal, the one who files the appeal is known as appellant, and
against whom it is filed, is known as "Respondent".
23 http://www.shestokas.com/general-law/the-basic-steps-in-a-civil-lawsuit-civil-law-process/#sthash.2bxcRTIM.dpuf

30
CHAPTER 5
TECHNOLOGIES CAN BE USES IN CIVIL SUIT IN SOUTH ASAIN
REGION

31
A. Technologyand the Litigation Process:24
The litigation process is an extremely expensive endeavor. At the root of the litigation
process is legal research. In the last ten years, the advent of commercial databases such as
Lexis-Nexis and Westlaw has astounded the legal world by demonstrating how technological
advancement can significantly quicken the research process. However, because Lexis and
Westlaw are commercial systems and therefore charge on a per consumption basis, it is
arguable whether they have actually made legal research cheaper. They do, however,
illustrate the potential advances technology presents. To the extent a court purchases
technology from a wholesaler of goods, rather than a retailer such as Lexis or Westlaw, as an
investment, to improve the operations of the court and the litigation process, real long term
gains in terms of cost and time savings can be achieved.
Starting with the beginning of the litigation process, filing the complaint, one of the big cost
centers is paper. As seen above, electronic filing of complaints can virtually eliminate, if not
significantly reduce, this cost.
The major costs associated with the pleading process are, again, paper, as well as the time
and labor intensive process of drafting pleadings. Drafting pleadings can involve a multitude
of tasks, including client interview, the entire discovery process, research, and the like. The
technology discussed below shows ways in which the time and costs associated with each of
these tasks can be significantly reduced through successful implementation of technology.
Assuming a case does not go to trial, discovery is probably the most expensive event of the
litigation process. This is due to the often tedious and always labor intensive nature of
discovery. Further, certain discovery techniques, such as depositions and document reviews,
often require significant travel time and costs. Further, the voluminous paper trail left in the
dust of the discovery process imposes ominous expenses in terms of labor and storage
costs.[1]
If a case does go to trial, the parties are sure to incur very significant expenses. Any effort to
reduce the costs of the trial process should be welcomed with open arms. As luck would have
it, most of the technologies discussed below will probably have their most significant
cost/time saving effect on the trial process. Evidence preparation, evidence presentation, and
record preservation are the areas in which technology's beneficial effects are most felt on the
trial process. Let us now begin seeing where we can save significant time and money.
B. Electronic Judicial Desktop25
The place to begin is with the judge's desktop. Much of the technology that will be
discussed herein will require the judge as well as the attorneys to have personal
24 October 25, 2012 , Times of India.
25 G. Burgess Allison, TechnologyUpdate,LawPractice Management,September 1995,pg. 12.

32
computers at their desks. Nowadays, most attorneys, if they don't have a laptop
themselves, will bring along an associate who does have his laptop ready to access
information pertinent to the case. Yet, it is equally crucial for judges to tap into
technology to take advantage of the tremendous economy of scale efficient use of
technology presents. For judges and attorneys alike, personal computers provide
portability to the entire discovery product, including pleading and legal research, via
CD-ROMs and laptops. Now, what kind of technologies can be implemented when
the courtroom is computer equipped for the high-tech communications that will most
significantly reduce the time and costs associated with the litigation process?
C. Videoconferencing:
Videoconferencing technology enables a court to conduct arraignments, pretrial
release interviews, mental health hearings, pretrial conferences, and other events
without requiring the parties to be at the same location. Consequently, in the criminal
context, such technology helps local government staff to cut staff time and resources
spent in transporting prisoners and reduces security risks in courthouses.
Court events, conferences, and meetings using videoconferencing are similar to those
conducted when all parties are in the same room. Everyone sits in front of a television
monitor and can see the parties at the other location. Further, videoconferences can
include more than two locations. When there are multiple sites, monitor screens are
split so each participant can see everyone else, or are switched using voice-activated
microphones, so the current speaker is shown.
While videoconferencing technology seems a natural for a handful of court
proceedings, such as mental health hearings, appellate court oral arguments, probation
interviews, pretrial conferences, and the like, surprisingly courts have rarely sought
effect uses of videoconferencing beyond arraigning prisoners.
Videoconferencing could enhance other court processes as well. For example, when
attorneys have to meet with judges, costs associated with travel and waiting time
could be eliminated if the meetings were conducted from their respective offices.
Videoconferencing can eliminate the costs associated with time and travel for staff
meetings, education, and administrative matters of the court. Further,
videoconferencing can bring witnesses into the courtroom from remote locations,
facilitating sensitive testimony from children and victims
Videoconferencing technology could also be employed by counsel. Obvious likely
uses for videoconferencing could be client interviews and consultations, depositions,
and the like. Further, in the case of depositions, the proceeding could be recorded in

33
real-time, for later use at trial or for the appellate record. This would alleviate the
need for labor intensive transcript reporters.
One striking benefit of videoconferencing technology over telephonic communication
is that the quality of videoconferencing communication is much better than
communicating over the phone. Eye contact allows each individual to see a response
and gage a reaction, to provide further information, ask a question, or try a different
method of explanation. In short, there are certain drawbacks associated with
telephonic communication that make it simply impractical in certain sensitive matters.
Such drawbacks are substantially lessened with videoconferencing, thereby allowing
videoconferencing to eliminate or lessen the impact of time, distance, and poor
reception in communication. Court staff will no doubt function more effectively and
efficiently to the extent this technology is implemented, thereby providing better
service to the public at lower cost.26
D. Telephone Conferencing:
A less advanced technology than videoconferencing, teleconferencing nonetheless
presents some of the many benefits as videoconferencing. A 1983 report conducted by
the Joint Project of the Institute for Court Management and American Bar Association
provides an assessment of telephone conferencing in pilot courts in Colorado and
New Jersey after two years of use. The uncontested result of the program is that a
high proportion of participants benefited from the new procedure.
Among the conclusions derived from the pilot program include:
1) a wide range of matters were handled by telephone conferences (e.g., in civil cases:
substantive, discovery and procedural motions and related pretrial hearings);
2) Attorneys saved both travel and waiting time;
3) Civil litigants paid lower fees when their attorneys participated in telephone
conferencing;
4) Attorneys were highly satisfied with the program and did not perceive a quality
difference in hearings;
5) Judges had greater scheduling flexibility and shorter hearings;
26 Videoconferencing, National Center for State Courts: Briefing Papers, 1995;Jessica Copen, Courts of the Future, ABA Journal, June
1991.

34
6) the workload of court staff was not increased;
7) to be effective, the procedure had to be integrated into existing court practices.
Overall, the report found that approximately 70% of the hearings conducted by phone
were pretrial motion hearings, while the remainder were pretrial conferences and
settlement conferences. The use of telephone conferencing led to immediate savings
in time and costs for attorneys. In general, time spent waiting for telephone hearings
was usually 5-10 minutes whereas the average waiting time of in-court proceedings
was 45 minutes. Average cost savings in terms of lower fees was estimated at $130
and these savings, if attorneys billed by the hour, were passed on to clients.27
Judicial attitudes toward telephone conferencing were extremely positive. Most
claimed that the procedure saved court time because cases moved faster, was easier to
schedule, and hearings were shorter. Some judges also mentioned that less time was
spent waiting for attorneys. More importantly, most said that there was no difference
in the relevancy of counsel's arguments used in telephone hearings; some even said
that there was greater relevancy, because counsel had to be more precise in order to be
effective over the phone.
Attorney attitudes about the program were similarly positive. The one disadvantage
that was noted was that attorneys disliked being unable to gage the judge's reaction
over the telephone. For the most part, however, telephone conferencing proved to
have more advantages than disadvantages. For example, it was now possible for
attorneys from far away to deal with emergency situations, such as a matter that had
to be resolved on short notice or within an allocated time period. Scheduling conflicts
were avoided and a judge's absence from court (e.g., due to illness or trips) could be
accommodated. Status conferences were conducted more often as judges could
discuss cases with counsel on short notice.
The report also described the new procedure's effect on court operations. Individual
calendars are used in New Jersey and Colorado. This means that each judge schedules
his or her own calendar. Because telephone hearings could be conducted at times and
on days not available for in-court hearings, judges had much greater flexibility in
scheduling hearings at times convenient to all parties. Some judges even conducted
matters during bench recesses. Overall, court operations were advantageously affected
as court staff could spread work throughout the day and week rather than around
concentrated times.
27 A summary of Joint Project of the Institute for CourtManagement and American Bar Association Action Commission to Reduce
CourtCosts and Delay, Evaluationof TelephoneConferencing inCivil andCriminal CourtCases (Dec 1983).

35
E. Electronic DocumentDelivery:28
Discussion of this technology may seem redundant, as it was briefly mentioned above. Yet, in
the above context, attorneys were sending information to courts. This technology can be
implemented to reduce the costs of litigating when opposing counsel are communicating with
each other during the discovery and other stages of litigation.
The largest impediment to using computers to store and retrieve information is getting the
information into the system in the first place. The procedures to input information are often
redundant and unnecessarily costly to the client. For example, federal courts require that
answers or objections to interrogatories include a verbatim recital of the original
interrogatory. This mandates re-keying text into a new document that was originally keyed in
at the opposing counsel's office once before. Attorneys can scan in important documents, but
this still involves the significant cost of entering the information. The key component of this
proposal requires that participating firms send magnetic (electronic) copies along with any
document they send or serve on a participating opposing party. These magnetic copies can be
sent along with the original document, or transmitted electronically. The largest impediment
to using computers to store and retrieve information is getting the information into the system
in the first place. The procedures to input information are often redundant and unnecessarily
costly to the client. For example, federal courts require that answers or objections to
interrogatories include a verbatim recital of the original interrogatory. This mandates re-
keying text into a new document that was originally keyed in at the opposing counsel's office
once before. Attorneys can scan in important documents, but this still involves the significant
cost of entering the information. The key component of this proposal requires that
participating firms send magnetic (electronic) copies along with any document they send or
serve on a participating opposing party. These magnetic copies can be sent along with the
original document, or transmitted electronically.
If implemented, this proposal will reduce the time to locate files, review and identify relevant
information in the litigation process. It will substantially increase the ability to index and
organize documents. It will also reduce the amount of re-keying of text in motions and other
pleading where verbatim reproduction of existing text is required.
The cost of implementing the proposal is extremely low, especially in comparison to the
economies of labor that it creates. If diskettes are used, the cost is insignificant. The only real
cost of the proposal is the extra moments necessary to save the file to the diskette, and the
extra mailing and labor. These costs are also insignificant compared to the labor, attorney
time and cost saved in reviewing these files and drafting documents that incorporate existing
text.
28 A summary of William A. Fenwick & Robert R. Sachs, CatchingUp With the Present: A Proposal For Document Delivery in the Legal Profession,
22Golden Gate U. L. Rev. 313 (1992).

36
F. Service Of ProcessByFax :29
Reviewing the capabilities of currently available fax machines, past uses of fax, and similar
methods for delivering notice relative to the requirements of due process, it is clear that
service of process by fax is on firm legal footing. As it will speed litigation by making
delivery of initial and menses process quicker, it should be adopted as an alternative method
of serving process.
1. Practicable and Reliable
Delivery of information by fax is certain because the fax is sent to a telephone number,
which the sender has the burden to ascertain, and which is relatively unique. There is
intercommunication between the fax machines during transmission, providing monitoring
of transmission quality and completion. For the user the fax machine can produce a
tangible record of when and where transmissions were sent, and whether the message was
successfully received. The fax produces an exact copy of the original document at the
distant receiver, quickly and with no damage to the original.
The protocol functions and transaction report features of a fax give the sender immediate
knowledge of the success or failure of delivery to the desired recipient. The commonly
used methods for service take time to accomplish and more time for the results to become
known to the serving party. The fax machine gives the sender the ability to send the
documents and have the copy arrive at the recipient almost simultaneously.
By using fax, the process server's often-difficult job of finding or getting access to a
particular person will be greatly reduced, along with the costs of personal service. Use of
fax will also eliminate problems with mailed service of process, such as recipients
refusing delivery of certified or registered mail. Faxed service of process could be
unannounced and consequently almost unavoidable. If the wrong person receives the
service, there could be a requirement that a cover sheet must accompany the fax, listing
the sender's telephone number for immediate response by these inaccurate recipients.
Further, the continued availability of other methods will increase the serving party's
flexibility in choosing methods for service.
2. Due Process
If a method of transmitting notice exists which is inexpensive, fast, and reasonably certain
to deliver information to the person intended to receive it, such that a "prudent business"
would use that method to inform those with whom he deals, the constitutional standard
29 DavidA. Sokasits, The Long Arm of theFax:Service of Process UsingFax Machines,16 Rutgers Comp. & Tech. L. J. 531(1990).

37
for notice and for service of process, as set forth in Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank,will
be satisfied and a plaintiff will be allowed to use that method to serve process.
Fax is widely used in the business community for numerous transactions between parties.
The rapid growth of fax use points to its reliability and acceptance by "prudent
businessmen" worldwide, and their reliance upon it.
3. Benefits
Adding the fax machine to the list of methods approved for serving initial and mesne
process in civil cases will speed the service, remove uncertainty of the process' arrival,
and eliminate the need for personal service in most cases. Allowing use of fax for serving
initial process will yield considerable savings for attorneys and clients, both in time and
in money. While doing this, fax service carefully used will preserve the adequate notice
rights of the defendant. Fax service of process will cut the costs of litigation and give
plaintiffs another way to reach evasive defendants. With respect to serving mesne
process, allowing service by fax is already on the way to widespread acceptance and will
result in widespread savings of time and expense.
4. Some States That Use Such A Procedure
New York, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Utah allow service of process or notice by the
use of telegraphic or telephone facsimile. The statutory provisions of Idaho, Montana and
Utah which allow for such a procedure all state that the process is to be reproduced after
being transmitted by telegram or telephone, and the reproduction is then to be served
personally on the defendant.
Similarly, in the author's proposed statute, based upon Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 4(l)
and the revisions to Oregon Rule of Civil Procedure 9, the plaintiff-sender is required to
send on the same day a copy of the original summons and complaint to the defendant by
ordinary mail together with copies of the affidavit of service and the transaction report.
Service will date from the date that the fax is sent.
G. Video-Text Integration:
The initial set up usually begins with real-time, a process that translates a court reporter's
stenographic notes and instantly displays the testimony on computer screens placed around
the courtroom. To integrate the video record and text record of trial proceedings, the
testimony of each witness is videotaped by a camera focused in on the witness stand.
Stenographic text of the proceedings taken down by the court reporter is translated by real-
time and fed as a data stream through a smart encoder that puts it into an integrated format so
that the testimony appears alongside, or below the video record of what takes place in the
courtroom. An internal clock in the video camera or VCR is connected and synchronized

38
with the court reporter's computer to ensure that the video record and text record of trial
proceedings match.
Video-text integration technology allows the court and counsel to search both the text and the
video together. Therefore, if you do a computer search for a word, the computer will not only
find that particular reference in the text, but it will find the coinciding portion of the video.
The advantages posed by this technology are enormous. First, jury read backs are
significantly sped up. No longer will the court reporter be fishing through miles of testimony
to locate the specific portion of text requested for read back by the jury. More significantly,
this technology allows the jury to have a "view back." The jury will again be able to
experience the witness's expression, movement, voice intonation, and general delivery of
testimony; all things that were once lost forever when the jury was able only to hear the
witness's words read back by the monotone court reporter. In essence, this technology allows
the witness's words to be placed back in context, preserving in the words all the meaning
which the words alone cannot retain when the reporter reads them back.30
Another significant advantage offered by this technology is that it allows different ways for
attorneys and the judge to take notes on the screen with coding and annotations. Attorneys
can press one key to differentially mark import testimony. They can then add unlimited notes
and mark portions of the text with their own codes without affecting the integrity of the
transcript. Attorneys can also perform searches for specific words, phrases, and other more
complicated information in one or more documents simultaneously.
Finally, this technology allows judges and attorneys to pull up prior testimony in a split-
screen window. On one side of the screen is the witnesses current testimony, which the judge
or attorney can compare to the witness's prior testimony, which appears on the other side of
the screen. Further, since the video camera films the entire trial as it takes place, testimony
from earlier in the trial, found quickly using a text search, can also be called up and retrieved.
H. SpeechRecognitionTechnologies:
Speech recognition technology replaces a computer keyboard with a microphone and
software to change the spoken word into typed characters. The PC, using its speech
recognition software, interprets information received through the microphone and presents it
to other computer applications as if it had been entered on the keyboard. As the user says a
word, the computer analyzes the sounds and compares them to a dictionary of tens of
thousands of words. When a match is made, the program passes the characters to the word
processor or other PC application (e.g., Westlaw, see below). The computer also lists a list of
other possible matches in a pop-up dialogue box on the screen, in case the word it has chosen
is not the correct word. If the word is correct, the user simply continues; if the word is not,
30Nancy L.Eaton, Video-Text Integration:The Future of Court Technology, MassachusettsLawyersWeekly, May 22, 1995, pg. S4.

39
the user selects the correct word from the box; if the word is not in the box, the user enters
spell mode and add the new word to the dictionary. The most impressive aspect of this
technology is its ability to apply artificial intelligence software to learn from its mistakes. The
incidence of incorrect word selection diminishes rapidly as the speaker continues. This
technology is ideal for court staff with physical impairments or those who lack typing skills
above 50 words per minute.
While accuracy has remained at 95 to 97 percent for discreet, or single-word recognition,
costs have declined from the tens of thousands to a few hundred dollars, and dictionaries have
grown to over 60,000 words. Meanwhile, speed has increased from about 30 words per
minute to 90 words per minute, approaching the normal speaking pace of 120 words per
minute.
1. Opportunities
Speech recognition makes staff more productive. Information can be entered into a
computer while the user is doing other tasks, such as opening mail, going through the
file, etc. For inexpert typists, speech recognition systems can minimize the need for
secretarial support in transcribing dictation and drafting documents, while allowing
the disabled to work at jobs that would be impossible to perform productively without
using a keyboard.
Speech recognition will be the long-term alternative to present labor-intensive
methods of capturing the court record and producing transcripts.
2. Voice-Compatible Westlaw
West Publishing has combined Westlaw with LawTalk, a legal dictation program. The
result is voice-compatible Westlaw, with which subscribers will be able to conduct
legal research by speaking into a microphone, eliminating the need to type commands
or search queries on a keyboard. The product complements Westlaw's Natural
Language search system.
Any number of users can work with the same system, since each user's voice pattern
can be saved as a separate computer file. Further, West developers report that
dictation speeds of 65 words per minute are attainable once the system has thoroughly
learned a user's voice.
The main benefit of the program is that it increases productivity. Voice-controlled
Westlaw also has applicability to any DOS program, so you can talk your computer
through word processing, database and spreadsheet work too. In other words,
anything you needed a keyboard for can now be done with voice commands. Thus,

40
Westlaw users can take advantage of the system's ability to conduct research, as well
as to create legal documents, all by voice commands, which is a blessing for those of
us with less than masterful typing skills.
West's main competitor, Mead Data Central, says it plans to release a voiceactivated
version of its Lexis-Nexis service in the near future.
I. Rule-BasedExpert Systems:31
While artificial intelligence applications, computers programs that perform tasks requiring
some amount of human-like intelligence, have not thus far been widely used by either
practicing attorneys or by the judiciary, modest attempts to use AI in the legal world and
extensive research in the field of AI and law strongly suggest that AI applications, in
particular rule-based expert systems, have the potential of enhancing both the efficiency and
fairness of our judicial system.
The benefits of rule-based expert systems include: (1) greatly reduced time and expense for
developing and modifying programs; (2) the ability of judges and attorneys with minimal
computer background to understand how computer programs work and contribute directly to
their development; (3) automated "explanation" ability, which allows users to ask the
computer to explain its behavior; and (4) the ability to work through "what if" scenarios
quickly and easily -- expert systems have the same power to manipulate symbolic rule
structures that spreadsheets have for numeric tables.
1. Two Case Studies: JEDA and Law Clerk
JEDA (Judicial Expert Decision Aids) is a rule-based expert system designed for
administrative law judges who decide Black Lung cases. The program identifies
the issues involved in a specific class of case, the relevant evidence, and the
findings required to be made in the case. The benefits of the program are many:
1) helps to ensure that the reasoning is consistent with the law;
2) Provides references to apposite citations;
3) Suggests possible decisions based on intermediate findings entered either by
the judge or inferred from the rules;
4) Generation of relevant text for inclusion in a final decision.
Thus, though the program does not "decide" the cases, it automates that part of the
decision-making process that requires the manipulation of complex rules thereby
31 Donald H. Burman, Artificial Intelligence and the Law: Its Place in the Courts,Fourth National Court Technology Conference, National Center for
State Courts,October 1994.

41
leaving the judge more time to resolve open ended questions involving
interpretation, ambiguity, and credibility of evidence.
Law Clerk is a rule-based document generator which built upon the
accomplishments of JEDA. Law Clerk assists administrative law judges who
decide cases involving allegation of fraud in obtaining food stamp benefits. The
system first elicits information on the prima facie elements of fraud:
Did Jones [the applicant] have unreported employment income? Supporting
evidence: The Denver Food Stamp Fraud Office alleged that Jones had unreported
employment income and had canceled pay checks to support the claim. Negating
evidence: Jones denied having unreported employment income. At all times, the
judge can ask the program to explain why it is asking particular questions:
Why am I trying to determine whether Jones applied for food stamp benefits? I'm
trying to determine whether Jones committed an intentional program violation.
This conclusion would be supported under Sec. B-4425.1.1 from the following:
Jones applied for food stamp benefits. Jones made a false or misleading statement,
or misrepresented, concealed or withheld facts.
The output of Law Clerk is a draft judicial opinion based on the consultation.
Though Law Clerk was implemented only in the context of fraud in obtaining
food stamp benefits, this rule-based expert approach can be adapted to many legal
domains. The researcher who developed Law Clerk concluded that the use of
these types of systems only made sense where there are (1) a predictable set of
issues; (2) a high volume of cases; and (3) a variable combination of issues so that
simpler types of text generation techniques are not practical.
2. Rule BasedExpert Systems Can Facilitate Early Settlement of Cases
Judges often attempt to facilitate early settlement of cases, either through the use
of pretrial conferences or various ADI models. AI systems can contribute to this
process by giving the parties a more accurate assessment of the costs and benefits
of litigation. Since AI systems allow the parties to create models that test a wide
range of assumptions, lawyers and clients are better able to assess the value of a
settlement offer
A study funded by the insurance industry in the early 1980s investigated the
application of expert systems to evaluating product liability insurance claims. A
computer scientist and a lawyer at Rand Corporation, after spending many hours
observing and talking with expert insurance adjusters and litigators, created a
sophisticated rule-based system that combined substantive elements of the product
liability domain (e.g., "how much does disfigurement increase the settlement?),

42
legal questions (e.g., contributory negligence versus strict liability), and practical
trial expertise (how badly does plaintiff need a quick settlement?) to reach a
recommended settlement value. The system was evaluated and its performance
was adjudged to be comparable to expert insurance adjusters.
3. Rule BasedExpert Systems Can Assist in Court Administration
AI technology has the potential of making court systems operate more efficiently.
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, employs neural net technology to predict the
number of jurors needed for a day's activities based on prior data on juror
utilization. With more accurate forecasts based on data about guilty pleas,
settlements, party unavailability, etc., the system saved the county $40,000
annually, and improved relations with potential jurors who often become annoyed
when they are summoned and then dismissed. The same technology could be used
to help judicial administrators schedule trials more precisely by intelligently
processing data about the type of case, jury or nonjury trial, number of witnesses,
attorneys involved, and the presiding judge. AI technology can thus help judicial
administrators lower the costs and improve the performance of their court
systems.
I. Document Assembly
Though a derivative of the rule-based expert system, document assembly
deserves separate treatment, first because it has enjoyed much more
acceptance in the legal community, and second because its focus is aimed
more toward lowering the costs of civil litigation to the consumers of legal
services: the clients of lawyers.
A young couple comes into your office and asks you to draft a will for
them. Yet, all they can afford to pay is $150 for the service. Assume you
bill $75 an hour (a very conservative assumption) and the process will take
you around four hours - talking to the couple for an hour and a half,
finding a sample will, customizing it and dictating it to your secretary, and
then an hour for the couple to execute it - that's $300. You have lost
money and spent valuable time.
Because modern legal practice is full of repetitive contracts, pleading and
other types of "forms," practicing law can often mean performing tedious,
time-consuming, and repetitive tasks. Instead of hoping they will go away,
why not make them an even smaller part of your practice, thereby
improving service to clients, keeping costs down, and generating
additional profits. How can an attorney do this? Think about the tasks at
which a computer truly excels: computers are effective at performing

43
tedious chores or eliminating time-consuming, repetitive tasks. Sound
familiar?
Document assembly is a particularized form of what is known as a rule-
based expert system. Essentially, with document assembly, the system
makes decisions based on legal rules and logic built into the computer. The
software asks the user a series of questions, and depending on the answers,
either omits other questions or continues asking until it has enough
information to enable it to make a legal decision. The software has the
ability to clarify why choices or decisions were made, and reject legally
incorrect answers. When the process is complete, draft documents are
printed out for the user's review and revision.
A lawyer who must engage in many different types of transactions is a
natural for document assembly because rather than having to re-learn an
area every time, the system will walk you through the process. It never
forgets, and acts as a checklist and saves you lots of time, thereby pleasing
your client in terms of both quality and cost of service.
These systems range from obvious practice areas to some that may
surprise you. For example, some firms have systems for commercial
leasing, bond issues, oil and gas leasing, ERISA plans, blue-sky offerings,
labor pleading, federal court pleading and corporate dissolutions. In
addition, many firms have systems for wills and trust, convincing,
foreclosure, collections, bankruptcy, domestic relations and incorporations.
In a day when clients are on a quest for greater value for each dollar they
spend on legal fees (i.e., they want to reduce their legal fees), value billing
methods such as flat fees, blended rates, fee caps, modified contingency
fees, etc., have become much more common fee arrangements. Firms that
find ways to deliver ways to delivery their legal product more efficiently
can actually profit from value billing arrangements. Document assembly
can help firms be more efficient.
Now when these couples come in, you talk to them for an hour, knock the
will out in 10 or 15 minutes, maybe do a little bit of editing on the word
processor, call them back in and execute it.
J. Trials on Videotape:
At the furthest extreme of the technological revolution in the courtroom is the court of Judge
James Mc Crystal, a state trial court judge in Sandusky, Ohio, who was among the first to
conduct paperless civil trials. The way he works this is that in many cases, all testimony and
lawyer's questions, statements, and arguments are prerecorded. Afterwards, the judge deletes
inadmissible statements or improper questions - any parts of the trial that are not to be shown
to the jury. Once edited, the videotaped "trial" was shown to the jury in a viewing room as
one continuous tape of question-and-answer.

44
CHAPTER 6
TECHNOLOGIES ARE USED IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES
A. Computer Jury:32
There is no doubt that the average juror is used to getting his or her information from the
video screen (i.e., the television, and, increasingly, the computer). Attorneys now have the
means to likewise present evidence in this manner. Using video players and large-screen
color monitors or projection screens, a lawyer can present jurors with persuasive images of
documents, photographs, cutaway views of products, animated re-creations of events, charts,
diagrams, and maps. Monitor screens can also show videotaped depositions, filmed accident
or crime sites, and virtually any other type of information that can be visualized. Recall the
nightly news clips during the O.J. Simpson trial showing witnesses looking down at a
monitor to view documents or photographs.
32 J.Michael Rediker, Courts in the 21st Century: Computer Technology Helps WinCases, Trial, October 1995, pg. 26

45
I have already covered some of the benefits which arise from using computers in preparation,
discovery, and trial: Computers can scan documents, photographs, and charts into computer-
readable memory; store databases and summaries of evidence; link deposition text to
document images for instant retrieval; and search documents for dates, names, or other search
factors. There are likewise many benefits associated with computer-assisted displays:
1) They focus jurors' attention on crucial evidence as testimony about it is given;
2) The technology minimizes awkward delays during cross-examination while the
attorney locates relevant pages or paragraphs in a document;
3) They allow the attorney to integrate images of documents, photos, videos or text of
depositions, and animations seamlessly on the same computer monitor;
4) Reduce witness evasiveness, because everyone in the courtroom can study the
same document simultaneously;
5) They allow attorneys to highlight key information, for example, by using a light
pen on the monitor. The attorney can circle or underline selected text or parts of
photographs. The marked-up page can be saved and printed, thus preserving for the
appellate record the views and markings the jury saw at trial; and
6) They allow attorneys to improve the legibility of hard-to-read documents by
zooming onto details or in displaying the handwriting in "reverse video" (white
writing on black background).
B. Alternative to Litigation:
Kiosks33
Kiosks provide an alternative method of delivering court services to the public without the
necessity of staff assistance or the use of staff resources. A court kiosk is a high-speed
personal computer, usually encased in an ATM-type electronic kiosk, which provides users
information about court procedures and legal terminology, the aim of which being to better
inform individuals about the judicial process. The technology can present information in the
user's native tongue, explain the legal consequences of various circumstances, and assist the
user in preparing documents to file with the court
1. Benefits
There are numerous benefits associated with implementation of a kiosk system by courts.
They include:
33 Computer animation has its ow n particular benefits: primarily, it enablesattorneys to breakdow n complex theories or
concepts in linear pictorial form. Inother w ords, computer animation is a marvel at rendering the complex simple.

46
1) Kiosks reduce the cost and time spent by personnel in dealing with the public.
Because so many matters can be handled outside the court and outside normal
business hours, those who must visit the courthouse are served more promptly.
2) Allowing scheduling and continuing court events, accepting pleas, and allowing
submission of proof of insurance, roof of repair and similar documentation to be
handled by kiosks reduces the burden on court calendars.
3) Routine matters can be completed without the intervention of attorneys, saving the
public additional time and money.
4) Kiosks provide higher quality service. Basic information, given quickly and
consistently, is directed to the exact needs of the user in a manner that does not
discern ethnicity, gender, or age. Because the information exacted from kiosks have
been thoroughly researched and tested, the information on the computer screen will be
correct and can be reviewed and corrected as often as necessary.
5) Kiosks allow court staff to be more productive because they spend less time on
routine, repetitive activities. Yet, because these are long-term savings, the system
must operate for a few years in order that the resources saved by the technology
exceed the initial cost of development and implementation of the kiosk system.
6) Kiosks greatly increase public access to the court. Through kiosks, court services
are available any time, day or night, at convenient locations, and in the user's native
tongue. Kiosks also increase the public's understanding of and satisfaction with the
judicial system.
Arizona's Quick Court
Arizona's system, housed in a kiosk similar to bank ATM machines and located at
three court sites, is designed to improve public access to, understanding of, and
satisfaction with the courts. The system is also expected to reduce the expenses of
litigation, the delay in court proceedings and the paper volume that court staff deals
with on a day to day basis.
Quick Court has on-screen directions written at a fourth-grade reading level, with
flashing boxes and words, as well as the explicating actor. The system has a legal
dictionary to define any terms a user might not understand, and is bilingual (English
and Spanish).
The system gives users information on uncontested divorces, landlord-tenant
problems, small claims, alternative dispute resolution, and other relatively simple
topics. The computer explains things, asks the right questions and, ultimately, prints
out a completed form ready to file with a court clerk. Court employees report that
most people use the system for uncontested divorces.

47
Initially, there was some concern that the system would take business away from
lawyers, however, since this concern initially surfaced, the realism set in that most of
the users are those who could not afford to hire an attorney even if that were the only
option. As such, the real losers with QuickCourt and other kiosk systems designed to
improve public access to the courts at a lower cost are the "self-help kits."

48
CHAPTER 7
CRITICAL SCANNING ON CIVIL LITIGATION IN SOUTH ASIAN
REGION
BangladeshPerspective=>
Presentscenario ofvarious Civil Courts in Bangladesh;
At the time of this writings i.e. December'2012 the breathtaking figure of pending civil cases
in the districts of Bangladesh are mounting gradually. Up to December'2012, the total number
of civil litigation pending in the divisional districts has given below.34
District Number of suit
pending
Number of Court
Dhaka 62,250 38
Chittagong 75,010 39
Khulna 21,118 21
Rajshahi 15,339 17
Shylhet 6,664 22
Barishal 25,760 18
Rangpur 9,228 14
34 Source-Statement up to December'2012 of Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Shylhet, Barishal & Rangpur courts

49
Besides that the cases of vested and abandoned property are presently creating
some additional overstrain to the existing Judges of the civil courts as the required
number of tribunal and its Judges have not yet been established and appointed
accordingly.
Main obstructers to dispose a civil litigation;
Delay is the mother of all obstructers. Presently the most popular axiom of the law of equity"
justice delayed justice denied" has become futile although the essential prerequisite of justice
is that it should be dispensed as quickly as possible. Almost all the stages of a civil litigation,
both the parties’ tries to take the privileges of adjournment on a fragile ground to linger the
procedure and the Judges are also allowing the ground repeatedly though necessary
amendments have been introduced in Order-XVII relating to adjournments. The amendments
are at a glance:
Order-XVII, rule-1, and sub-rule-3: Before fixing a suit for peremptory hearing, the court
shall not grant more than six adjournments at the instance of either party to the suit. It is also
provided that seeking of any adjournments beyond the above limit, shall make the party
seeking the adjournment, liable to pay adjournment cost of not less than two hundred taka
and not more than one thousand taka but more than three adjournments cannot be allowed
even with cost.35
Order-XVII, rule-1, sub-rule-4: At peremptory stage the court, for ends of justice, may
grant adjournments subject to payment of cost to the extent as provided in sub-rule (3). The
court cannot grant more than three adjournments even with cost. It is also provided that
noncompliance with order of making payment of cost by the plaintiff shall render the suit
liable to be dismissed and by the defendant shall render the suit liable to be ex parte.
Order-XVII, rule-1, sub-rule-7: A suit dismissed or disposed of ex parte under sub-rules
(3) and (4), cannot be revived unless the party for non-compliance the suit was dismissed o
disposed of ex parte makes an application in the court within thirty days from the date of
such order, together with cost of two thousand taka.36
35The Code ofCivil Procedure, 1908
36 The Code ofCivil Procedure (Amendment),Act-2006

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