Report by Suchimita Sahoo; Cuttack: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik stresses on need to restore an ethical outlook in our justice delivery system. He said this at the National Seminar on “Judiciary, Ethics and Justice Delivery in India” at National Law University campus, Cuttack, Odisha on Saturday.
Text of his speech: I am delighted to be in your midst today at this seminal topic. Let me start with the expectations of the 21st century in regard to the justice delivery system and the role of ethics. The 21st century is a century of hope. A revolution in the information and the communications technology has made the world much smaller and easier to reach. As you know the branches of governance have come under public scrutiny. The Right to Information Act, the Right to Public Services Act, Citizen’s Charter, Human Rights Commissions, social media, etc. have made the delivery systems more responsible and accountable.
Justice to an aggrieved person carries within it an element of ethics. Ethics governs every aspect of life. Natural justice, the fountain of jurisprudence, is based on ethics. Mahatma Gandhi said that there is no gap between truthfulness and law. Moral life has a double focus. One focus is the inner life of the individual and the other, in the necessities of an individual’s social life. From the perspective of society, the highest moral ideal is justice. From the perspective of the individual the highest ideal is altruism. The individual must strive to realize his life by losing himself in something greater than himself. These two moral perspectives are mutually exclusive and are not easily harmonized. The role of justice is to strike a balance between the two.
There is a need to restore an ethical outlook in our justice delivery system. The greatest strength of the judiciary is the faith of the people in it. Faith, confidence and acceptability has to be earned. And that can only be done by developing an inner strength of morality and ethics.
The most famous lawyer of our country was of course Mahatma Gandhi. He was diffident about his abilities as a lawyer. He was advised in London to meet a Mr. Fredrick Pincut to seek his guidance about the law. Mr. Pincut asked Mahatma Gandhi whether he had read Indian history? Mahatma Gandhi remained silent. Mr. Pincut told him to get a good grounding in the history of India. He told him that common industry and common honesty makes a good lawyer. We have examples from history that outstanding lawyers while pursuing the profession of law, never compromised on ethics.
Today a lot of emphasis is given on ‘mediation’ as an alternative to the dispute resolution. This is considered cheap and timely. It serves the cause of ethics as well. It also helps to avoid excessive adjournments and long arguments by counsels. In pursuing mediation the cause of justice is served without getting embroiled in the technicality of law. It is said that to invest in ethical justice delivery system is an investment in happiness.
I thank you for inviting me to this august seminar and I am sure that your deliberations will go a long way in making our justice delivery system more caring, humane and ethically correct. I wish this national seminar all success.
Among others the seminar was attended by Justice Dipak Mishra, Judge, Supreme Court of India; Prof. Mool Chand Sharma, Vice Chancellor, Central University, Hariyana, Pft. Faizan Mustafa, VC, National Law University, Odisha, Dr. Manzoor Alam, Chairman, Institute of Objective Studies, New Delhi. The Seminar was presided over by Chief Justice of Odisha, High Court, Justice V. Gopala Gowda.