Role of NGOs in Developing Public Interest Litigation: An Analytical Study

NGO activities in Bangladesh started in the late 1970s. Since 1994, NGOs are playing an effective role in promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms in society by instituting PIL petitions. [...]she filed a suit against the school and claimed that Topeka's racial segregation violated the right of "equal protection under the law", as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. According to Section 6(3) of the Environment Court Act 2010, an individual cannot file any suit directly before the court for the protection of the environment without the written report of a duly-appointed inspector.44 A large number of PIL suits are instituted by NGOs every year for the conservation of the environment in Bangladesh before the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh through writ petitions under Article 102 to challenge the actions of public bodies or individuals violating environmental law. ASK seeks to protect fundamental rights of citizens and also facilitate access to justice for female workers, working children, and religious and ethnic minorities through PIL.92 That's why it has great impact for the development of PIL in the country. Since its inception, it has also filed several PIL petitions before the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh relating to human rights issues, such as the right to shelter, right to life and health, right to employment and equal opportunity of employment, right to environment, labour rights, rights of persons with disabilities, migrant workers' rights, indigenous rights, prisoners' rights, juvenile justice, industrial death, industrial accident, workplace safety and workers' rights to adequate compensation, freedom of expression and non-discrimination, arbitrary arrest and detention for ensuring the rights of the people.