Global South CJIs, ministers sign pact on access to justice
The event was organised by NALSA, together with the International Legal Foundation, UN Development Programme and UNICEF
Chief justices, judges, and law ministers of nearly 70 Global South nations released a set of three documents, including the ‘New Delhi Principles on the Role of Judiciary in Ensuring Equal Access to Justice for All in the Global South’ at a first-ever regional conference organised by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) in association with other agencies, a two-day event that culminated in the Capital on Tuesday.
NALSA executive chairman and Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said, “The conference has culminated into three very impactful outcome documents including the ‘New Delhi Principles on the Role of Judiciary in Ensuring Equal Access to Justice for All in the Global South’ signed by the chief justices and judges of 16 countries. It has set the tone for a holistic growth and strengthening of legal aid systems across the Global South and has paved the way of South-South co-operation on this matter.”
People aware of the development said harnessing technology has been a key area of consensus with separate statements defining the role of the judiciary, executive and legislature focused on key areas of strengthening legal aid, affordability, and legal awareness.
“Most participants agreed that legal aid should begin before a person is arrested and not at the stage of trial or incarceration, as is commonly understood,” one of the people cited above said. They further stated that there was consensus among participating countries for wider publicity of legal aid schemes to the community at large.
“The principles have been carefully crafted based on shared experiences and common challenges facing countries of Global South. It will come up for review in the next regional conference to be held early next year,” another person added.
President Droupadi Murmu, who spoke at the closing ceremony of the event said, “Technology holds great promise in making access to legal aid more democratic. It has reduced distances and made justice dispensation easier in many cases.”
Stating that equality is a necessary condition for justice, she said, “There is a need to launch an awareness campaign among people not only to make them conscious of their rights, but also to help them get legal assistance, if such a need arises. She further stated that such awareness campaign should focus on rural areas and among socially disadvantaged groups to “dispel the impression that justice is the advantage of the stronger”.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, who headed the round table session of chief justices and judges, in his speech said that the ‘New Delhi Principles on Role of Judiciary’ laid emphasis on legal representation, legal aid, affordability, legal education and awareness. Emphasising the role of technology in strengthening judicial processes, he said, “We dealt with the importance of technology in fostering access which is equal between citizens.”
Justice Kaul, at the end of the conference, said, “An illustrious beginning has been made and a lot remains to be done for translating the conference outcomes into concrete actions by all stakeholders.” Stating technology to be the defining aspect in the coming few decades that will innovate access to justice, justice Kaul said, “If people cannot go to courts, it is the duty of courts to go to people.”
NALSA member secretary Santosh Snehi Mann said, “The 12 principles outlined in the document, to be soon released on NALSA website, reaffirm the commitment of the judiciary in promoting equality and ensuring that no one is denied justice due to their social, economic, or other circumstances.”
The New Delhi Principles take into account the differences and commonalities across jurisdictions, including the nature of codification of the right to legal aid; the institutionalization and funding of legal aid institutions; and the provision of legal aid services, she added
The event was organised by NALSA, together with the International Legal Foundation, UN Development Programme and UNICEF. This is the first time such a regional conference is being held among Global South nations. Other than India, the 16 chief justices and judges who took part belonged to Bangladesh, Botswana, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Nepal, Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, South Sudan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Ghana.