Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution process which is growing rapidly in Bangladesh. It is chosen to address disputes by way of a voluntary procedure with the aid of a neutral facilitator who helps the parties in reaching a settlement that is satisfactory to all the concerned parties involved in the dispute. It is cost-effective and less time-consuming, unlike court litigations. There is no judge and hence, no one is there to impose any decision. It is the parties who decide the outcome. One of the most important rules in mediation is that the whole process is entirely confidential and no offer, concession or admission made by any party can be used up until a settlement is reached.

However, it is still not approached widely by the mass people and as such, they continue to suffer because of the court based complex litigation process. According to Article 27 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, “All citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law”. Most of the Bangladeshi people cannot even afford to reach the doors of law and derive any benefits of their services.

Sometimes, the cost of litigation is further increased by the cost of bribes. For instance, in Bangladesh, most parties (63 percent) have no option but to bribe court officials to accelerate the disposal of their cases.Sometimes, the costs are exacerbated due to delays. As the disposal of cases is delayed, total charges paid to the lawyers increase with consecutive court appearances. According to Transparency International Global Corruption Report 2007, there are only 77 Supreme Court Judges and 750 Subordinate Court Judges to dispense justice to a population of nearly 150 million people in Bangladesh.

Therefore, we can see that only 5.5 judges in the lower judiciary serve every million people.

The lesser accessibility to formal justice affects women in Bangladesh even more because women are at a decided disadvantage in their access and control of material resources, mainly because of their lower educational attainment and lesser involvement in income-generating activities.

Considering all these limitations of the formal court system and the socioeconomic context of Bangladesh, mediation is considered a promising alternative for ensuring access to justice, especially for the poor and women. This informal method can minimize the financial burden and ensure timely justice, without creating excessive delays. If we emphasize more on women, then it can be seen that mediation allows women to access justice without violating their social values in Bangladesh since it allows women to discuss their personal family matters in the entirely confidential mediation sessions which they otherwise would opt not to discuss because of the conservative nature of our society.