At World Justice Forum, Ex-SC Judge MB Lokur Raises Concerns Over India’s Low Rank At Rule Of Law Index
Former Supreme Court docket Justice Madan Lokur highlighted issues surrounding judicial independence and advocated for important judicial reforms in India throughout his participation on the World Justice Discussion board, held in Warsaw from June 24-26. Collaborating in a distinguished panel titled “Strengthening Accountability by way of Rule of Legislation Reforms within the Asia Pacific,” Justice Lokur joined worldwide authorized specialists to handle urgent challenges dealing with judiciaries throughout the area.
Justice Madan Lokur, who retired from the Supreme Court docket in December 2018, was joined on the panel by esteemed contributors, together with Nozomi Iwama, Deputy Director Common of the Japan Worldwide Cooperation Company; Jaewoo Jung, a Choose from South Korea; Karimov A. Nishanovich, Deputy Minister of Justice of Uzbekistan; and Dr. Phiset Sa-ardyen, Government Director of the Thailand Institute of Justice. The dialog was moderated by Srirak Plipat, the World Justice Undertaking’s Asia Pacific Regional Director.
In his opening remarks, Justice Lokur voiced concern relating to India’s rating at 79th amongst 142 nations within the World Justice Undertaking’s Rule of Legislation Index, underscoring that such a rating raises critical alarms concerning the state of judicial independence and rule of legislation in India. He emphasised, “Independence of the judiciary is of utmost significance. It has been acknowledged as one of many important options within the fundamental construction of our Structure.”
Addressing systemic points, Justice Lokur expressed concern over governmental interference in judicial appointments, highlighting cases the place suggestions made by the Supreme Court docket Collegium have been stalled with out enough trigger. He described such practices as deeply unlucky and detrimental to the integrity and independence of the judiciary.
“All of us want to face up for the rule of legislation, the independence of the judiciary, and the authorized fraternity,” Justice Lokur urged the worldwide viewers, stressing collective accountability to uphold these important democratic ideas.
Justice Lokur delved into important points resembling allegations of corruption inside the judiciary and growing govt interference as main components contributing to India’s declining worldwide standing. “Judicial corruption erodes public religion within the authorized system and poses a major menace to the rule of legislation,” he emphasised. He advocated for establishing unbiased and clear mechanisms to handle judicial corruption successfully.
Justice Lokur referred to a current suggestion by the Supreme Court docket for the removing of a decide, following a troubling discovery of a considerable quantity of burnt money at his residence. Justice Lokur referred to a different allegation of significant misconduct and insisted that pressing motion is required to forestall additional erosion of public belief and to protect the integrity of the judicial system.
Justice Lokur pointed to politically motivated failure to behave, illustrating selective govt inaction relating to judges perceived as ideologically aligned with these in energy. Such selective inaction undermines judicial impartiality and erodes democratic values, he argued.
“The manager in India steadily fails to behave towards judges deemed near their ideology, making a harmful precedent and severely impacting judicial independence,” Justice Lokur warned.
Moreover, Justice Lokur addressed the perennial situation of case backlog inside the Indian judicial system. Recognizing the enormity of the problem, he highlighted proactive judicial measures aimed toward lowering pendency, together with elevated use of mediation and various dispute decision mechanisms. These approaches have demonstrated potential to considerably cut back caseloads and guarantee well timed entry to justice for residents.
The panel dialogue offered a necessary platform for sharing experiences and methods to bolster rule of legislation throughout Asia Pacific nations. Contributions from worldwide counterparts enriched the dialogue, with Justice Jung of South Korea being significantly frank about instances of corruption in each the chief and judiciary in his nation. Panelists underscored that problems with judicial accountability and independence are certainly international issues requiring shared dedication and cooperation.
