Rising trend of defaulted loans must be curbed: Law Minister

Law Minister Anisul Huq has emphasised on speedy settlement of defaulted loan cases to continue the development of the country.

Referring to defaulted loans as an enemy of development, the law minister said that the government wants to reduce the amount of such loans to maintain the continuity of development achieved under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

"The loan default cases are having an adverse effect on the country's economy. In the current global situation, to keep the country's economy moving, we must clear the clutter and curb the increase in defaulted loans through quick resolving of these cases," he said at the inauguration of the 147th refresher course organised for the Joint District and Sessions Judges and equivalents at the Judicial Administration Training Institute in Dhaka Saturday (10 August). 

He said the government has amended the Financial Debt Courts Act, 2003 to settle cases out of court through Alternative Dispute Resolution. 

"It is a sad fact that the ADR system is not being successfully implemented due to the unwillingness of the litigants," he added. 

The minister commented that to dispose of loan default cases expeditiously ADR system should be followed more effectively and unreasonable delay of the defendant at the hearing stage should be prevented.

Highlighting the statistics of case clutters, Anisul Huq said that more than half of the civil cases filed in the country's courts are related to land. 

"Land disputes are also at the root of many criminal cases. Millions of litigants have to protest in court every day to get justice in these cases. This not only wastes their time and money but also wastes valuable work-hours," said the minister.