On 22.02.2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the book “Judicial Reforms: Recent Global Trends” published by EBC in association with IIFL and presented the first copy to President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
In his address, the Prime Minister said that efficient Governance can lessen the burden of the judiciary. The President Shri Pranab Mukherjee said that adequate court rooms, infrastructure, to utilise modern facility and adequate number of judges are important for judicial reform. He also added our judicial system established decades ago require major changes. Reform is a continuous process. It cannot be stop and go. Every system develops clogs. There is need for constant change. Justice Dalveer Bhandari has done useful work to ignite the thinking process of the nation on the subject of judicial reforms. It is high time for everyone to not just think but also act on judicial reforms.
The event was presided over by the Chief Justice of India, Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, the Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley, Law and Justice Minister, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, along with others dignitaries, .
The book is compilation of essays written by eminent persons on Judicial Reforms. These were delivered at a conference on Judicial Reforms, which was inaugurated by the President of India. They have been compiled and edited under the stewardship of Justice Dalveer Bhandari, Judge of the International Court of Justice and the President of the Indian International Law Foundation (IIFL).
Topics discussed include The Evolution of our Profession Globally, Access to Justice: Preventing Court Delays, Judicial Education, Achieving Accountability in Judicial Appointments Through Creation of a National Judicial Commission: A Democratic Aspiration, Can Judicial Reforms be a Panacea, Engagement of Domestic Courts in International Law, The Changing Hong Kong Legal Scene, Trends in Civil Justice Reform: A Canadian Perspective and Judicial Reforms and Society.
The book contains thought provoking insights by:
- Dr. Justice Dalveer Bhandari, Judge, International Court of Justice
- Justice P. Sathasivam, Judge, Supreme Court of India
- Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, Judge, Delhi High Court
- Mr T.R. Andhyarujina, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
- Mr Geraint Hughes, Partner, Clifford Chance, Singapore
- Mr Arvind P. Datar, Senior Advocate
- Dr. Arun Mohan, Senior Advocate
- Prof. (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Vice Chancellor, O.P Jindal Global University
- Justice A.P. Shah, Former Chief Justice, Delhi High Court
- Prof. Ranbir Singh, Vice Chancellor, National Law University, Delhi
- Mr Sanjay Singh, Secretary, Minister of External Affairs, Government of India
- Mr Arun Nigam, Managing Partner, Arun Nigam & Partners, Sidley Austin, Hong Kong
- Prof. Poonam Puri, Associate Dean, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
- Mr C.S. Lodha, Advocate
- Mr Bishwajit Bhattacharyya, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
- Mr Raju Ramachandran, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
Justice S.A. Bobde, Judge, Supreme Court of India, Justice Vikramjit Sen, former Judge, Supreme Court of India and Mr Fali Nariman, Senior Advocate are the Vice-Presidents of IIFL.
The book can be purchased from here.
The full video of the event at Rashtrapati Bhavan can be viewed here: