Against the backdrop of over three crore cases pending in courts across India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today urged the lawyers and the judiciary to work together to provide speedy justice to the people.

He also said that the Government is aware of its responsibilities in working with the judiciary and other stakeholders to build a “strong and effective” justice delivery system.

“It is of critical importance that the Bench and the bar work together in ensuring the rule of law in our country and in furthering our Constitutional objectives.

“Unless this happens, we cannot succeed substantially in providing speedy and affordable justice to millions of our countrymen, especially those who belong to the poor and weaker sections of our society,” he said.

The Prime Minister was addressing the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Bar Council of India here in the presence of Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir and Law Minister Ashwani Kumar.

Singh said several challenges have to be overcome and many bottlenecks have to be removed before the objective is achieved.

“An obvious area of concern is the large number of cases pending in courts especially in trial courts. I would urge the whole of the legal fraternity to pool their knowledge, wisdom and experience to find ways and means to tackle this problem,” he said.

Indian, global economy

Referring to the expanding Indian economy and its integration with the global economy, Singh urged the legal fraternity to brace itself to face new challenges in the form of cases with international dimensions.

“Our legal luminaries require a comprehensive understanding of the complexities of an interdependent and global economy. The emergence of a multilateral legal and judicial architecture, having a bearing on the domestic laws of the country and vice versa, necessitates an in-depth understanding of the principles of public and private international laws,” he said.

He said with globalisation, there are new types of cases that lawyers have to deal with in the area of conflict resolution.

“I would urge all members of the Bar to equip themselves with the expertise necessary to handle all these new types of cases in emerging areas,” the Prime Minister said.

Singh also urged members of the legal fraternity to keep in view the larger objective of advancement of public morality, truth and justice in their wider connotation and said they should become active participants and facilitators in the implementation of schemes intended to empower the marginalised people.

Legal education

On the issue of legal education, Singh said it has assumed considerable significance especially in the current context of globalisation.

“The need for trained law personnel in the field of academics, litigation, corporate practice, government and civil society has increased significantly over the past years.

This demand is expected to rise even more rapidly in the years to come. I am happy that the Bar Council is actively working to promote the highest standards in legal education, comparable to the best in the world,” he said.

The Prime Minister also assured the members of the BCI that the Government will work for the welfare of the legal fraternity.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW