From the archives of India Today (2014) | Judicial reforms: clear the backlog of cases

(NOTE: This article was originally published in the May 26, 2014 issue of India Today)

The executive branch must address the acute shortage of judges to complete pending cases, modernize courtrooms and establish a judicial nomination commission.

WHAT TO DO NOW

─ Establishing a group of experts to:
>Judges’ salaries should be re-examined with a pro-tem increase in mind.
> Find a way for the Union budget to address the increased burden on countries in this regard.
> Establish a task force to investigate the causes of judicial nomination shortages and take steps to ensure all positions are filled within the next 100 days. Wherever there is a dispute over the interpretation of the rules that has held up such appointments, the rules should be amended immediately.

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─ Creation of a joint commission composed of parliamentarians and several distinguished lawyers to develop a draft law on the judicial nomination commission within 60 days. This committee must submit the draft to the judicial nomination committee. It should also examine the current tension between the current government and the constitutional courts and, if necessary, present a report suggesting any course-correction measures that could prevent such situations in the future.

─ Establishing a commission to transform the Code of Criminal Procedure to ensure:
>The current system of judging by shaming has been abolished. Criminal proceedings must be kept completely confidential until charges are brought to court.
> Bail – not jail – the principle expressed by the Supreme Court (except in cases of violent crimes such as murder, terrorism, etc.) has become the norm again.

TO BE DONE IN 100 DAYS

â— Creation of a superior judicial nomination commission, which will be empowered to appoint judges and consider complaints against judges. It should be a strong commission whose members enjoy public trust.

─ Establishing a task force to implement the Commercial Courts Act.

â— Amend the Legal Services Act to require each government department to appoint retired district/high court judges as judges to adjudicate civil disputes. The decision given by the judge should be binding on the government, but not on the citizen.

Establishment of a committee to enact a Legal Aid Act which will be adequately funded, partly by fees obtainable in the Commercial Court and partly by a review of the paltry court fee charged in Indian courts. This law would be structured in such a way that unpaid litigants receive good legal aid and young lawyers receive a decent salary and litigation experience.

─ Establishing a judicial reform committee whose task will be to ensure that:
> All reports of the appointed committees were received in due time, analyzed and submitted to the Houses of Parliament.
> All steps that the executive government may take to implement these reform measures are duly taken in a timely manner, and
> Where necessary, the Government takes steps to obtain Parliament’s legislative sanction to implement these measures.

REVIEW IN ONE YEAR

─ Appointment of an external expert to reassess the justice mechanism. Tasks would include the following:
> Assess the revised number of judges needed to ensure court efficiency and the resources needed to address shortages.
> Suggest ways and means to modernize infrastructure and thus improve the efficiency of courts.

â— Computerize land and other government records.

Computerization of all courts.

─ Review all regulatory mechanisms and tribunals established under various laws. An external expert should be appointed to:
> Explore steps to increase the efficiency of tribunals, including improving their infrastructure.
> Propose a method for identifying and appointing staff with the necessary domain knowledge so that tribunals can truly function as an expert regulator.

COMPLETED IN THREE YEARS

â— “Spring cleaning” of old, ongoing cases that have not yet been completed by:
> Referral of civil matters, at the discretion of the party that received the interim order or failed to secure the interim order, to mediation or arbitration.
> Changing criminal law – most crimes should be allowed to be compounded if the court considers it is in the interests of justice.

─ Appoint a task force to examine the reports of the Committee on Legal Affairs with a view to introducing amendments to the regulations and to propose measures for their implementation.

â— Implement a continuing professional development program under which judges and lawyers are required to attend sessions that will expand their knowledge, including familiarizing them with changes in commercial law in other countries.

─ Appoint a liability ombudsman to whom any aggrieved citizen subjected to arbitrary assessment by tax authorities can submit a complaint. If the complaints are found to have merit, appropriate action will be taken against the erring officials.

â— Introduce a law under which allegations of defamation by electronic media may, at the citizen’s discretion, be heard by a panel consisting of a judge and media representatives. Let the media be judged by a jury of peers. If defamation is found, the panel should have statutory powers to award damages as well as injunctions.

“The author is a senior lawyer of the Supreme Court

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