The Missing Rules: How Standards Shape the Effectiveness of ADR in Bangladesh

Abstract

This dissertation examines how the lack of clear procedural guidelines and uniform standards in Bangladesh’s ADR system undermines its credibility. Since ADR was introduced in 2000 and expanded to civil, family, commercial, labour and financial disputes, the absence of national rules on mediator qualifications, training and oversight has produced uneven quality and weak public confidence. Using doctrinal methods, the thesis analyses key civil, commercial, labour and legal aid laws to identify gaps in accreditation, safeguards and ethics, and compares them with Australia’s National Mediator Accreditation System, US schemes and India’s court‑annexed ADR centres, where strong training standards, oversight and quality control are linked to much higher settlement rates than Bangladesh’s 2.22 per cent ADR use in 2014. It finds that, although the 2025 Legal Aid Services (Amendment) Ordinance expands mediation and creates special mediator panels, it remains incomplete without a unified accreditation and accountability framework, so the study proposes an independent national accreditation authority, drawing on UNCITRAL, FIDIC and ICC models to set competencies, supervise conduct, handle complaints and support ODR so ADR can deliver reliable, accessible justice for ordinary Bangladeshis.