The institutional landscape of local
dispute resolution in Bangladesh is rich: it includes the
traditional process of shalish, longstanding and impressive
civil society efforts to improve on shalish, and a somewhat
less-explored provision for gram adalat or village courts.
Based on a nationally representative survey, qualitative
evidence from focus groups, and a telephone survey of 40
Union Parishad chairpersons (a little less than 1 percent of
the total Union Parishads), it provides both an empirical
mapping of local conflict and justice and pointers to
possible policy reforms. It suggests a number of
opportunities for strengthening local justice and argues
that the village courts may pose a useful bridge between
Bangladesh's informal and formal justice institutions.