Commonwealth Law Conference 2011 concludes in Hyderabad

The five-day Commonwealth Law Conference was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here in Hyderabad on February 5. Organised by the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, the conference aimed at promoting the rule of law throughout the Commonwealth by ensuring an independent and efficient legal profession and independent judiciary.

The conference held between February 5 and 9 was attended by legal luminaries, judges, and dignitaries from 53 countries. The PM, in his inaugural address, drew lines of limitations to legal mechanisms. According to him, ‘the role of courts and judges in making law an instrument of social stability and progressive change cannot be over-emphasized.’ He called upon the legal fraternity to echo ways and means that would strengthen the liberal institutions of democracy and the rule of law.

The CJI, in his thematic address, said that the judiciary was not undermining the legislature's role and emphasized the need for welfare oriented governance.

When the CJI mentioned the need for inclusive growth, the PM reminded the audience the importance of judiciary in a democracy. He said that the subtle duality must be understood in the wake of the frequent face-offs between the apex court and the government. The PM was referring to the power of judicial review.

There were discussions on issues of ethical obligations of lawyers towards the clients in respect of their fee; democratic right to protest but not at the expense of the courts and clients; laws in various countries that transgress human rights and expeditious disposal of cases. Speaking on the reforms of criminal justice system, the Chairman of Karnataka State Law Commission, Justice VS Malimath called for comprehensive reforms in criminal justice system. He added, “The justice system is at present accused-oriented and insensitive to the plight of victims.” He said that there was no participation of victims in trial, as nobody cares for them.

He stressed the need to change the focus of the system so that it would become victim-oriented. Crime has become a profitable business because the risk factor was low. A national survey shows the conviction rate at around 7%. In fact 93% of people get acquitted, resulting in criminals moving in society without any stigma. According to Malimath, the nexus between the criminals and politicians have made victims' problems more serious.

The conference however remained silent on the aspects of reforming the Constitutions in the wake of globalization. “No one wondered how come the juridical institutions of India could deliver judgments supporting the privatization spree despite provisions for Directive Principle of State Policy,” Partha S Jandyala, a senior advocate told TSI.

According to another legal expert, the conference didn’t discuss the growing corruption in the juridical echelons in recent times. “None in the conference was in a mood to discuss corruption by judicial bureaucrats and the relationship of such corruption with the advent of economic liberalization,” he said. Another issue that did not find mention was the issue of the World Bank’s scheme of globalizing legal systems.

Few days prior to the conference, Soli Sorabjee remarked in Hyderabad that India could enter the Guinness World Records for the number of laws that the country has.

There was a conspicuous silence in the conference on the subject of proliferation of laws and the fate of common people caught in the legal jungle. “The conference is a damp squib as the discourse is third rate and the real problems in jurisprudence are either not within the intellectual reach of the participating speakers or they wantonly avoided such issues for the sake of their vested interests” a senior lawyer remarked.

“Indigenous concept of Dharma, the Indian coalesce of many concepts that have no equivalent in English language, was alluded by none in the conference held in the country of long cherished moral values. In globalizing era, law has replaced morality. There is only legality and no morality and hence the abandonment of Dharma in the discourse of the conference,” another senior forensic expert said. Some lawyers took serious exception for not commemorating KG Kannabiran, a crusader of human rights, who passed away recently in Hyderabad.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry; Lord Lester of Herne Hill, a leading barrister from the United Kingdom; Sir Sidney Kentridge, a doyen of English and South African Bars; and Justice Sudershan Reddy of the Supreme Court of India, were among the keynote speakers. Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma also addressed the conference.