They were speaking at a seminar on the ADR organised by Bangladesh Law Association (BLA) at the CIRDAP auditorium in the city.

The ADR will provide an opportunity to resolve disputes more efficiently, effectively and amicably in a short time by finding ingenious methods best suited to the parties, said the Chief Guest of the seminar, Chief Justice KM Hasan.

"Litigants and lawyers complain of excessively adversarial, lengthy, costly, prejudiced, unsatisfying trials, other proceedings and unenforceable judgements," he added.

If designed properly the newly paved ADR will be less adversarial, cheap and informal, he noted.

The special guest of the seminar Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Moudud Ahmed said prompt delivery of judgement in the speedy trial tribunals was possible due to strict monitoring of the cases.

A new court administration and management system will be introduced to track cases for speedy trial, he said.

There are about one million pending cases at different courts of the country with more cases coming on and the current structure is not suitable for speedy disposal of the cases, said Barrister Rokanuddin Mahmud, president of Supreme Court Bar Association.

Barrister Mahmud said the country is short of resources and there are a few judges and the only way out is the ADR.

Mahfuz Anam, Editor of The Daily Star, special guest for the programme, said a law infrastructure is as important as the citizens' right to live.

Without a proper legal system, democratic process of a country is at jeopardy, he said adding that Bangladesh should formulate laws to cater the need of the time.

He underscored the role of the media to create awareness among people about the ADR.

Dr M Zahir said the ADR is a proven prompt judgement system in other countries. He underscored the need for efficient court administration and proper management for prompt disposal of cases.

Among others Aminur Rashid Khan Mamun, president of BLA, and Zakir Hossain also spoke at the programme.

Judges and lawyers of the Supreme Court and law professionals attended the seminar.