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India Law Journal’s Vikrant Pachnanda discusses with. Soli Sorabjee, Senior Advocate & former Attorney General of India various regulatory legal issues that are currently being debated. |
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Ques: The Cabinet in August 2013 had approved the bill, which entails replacing the collegium system with a Judicial Appointments Commission wherein it will have a say in appointment of judges of the Supreme Court and the 24 high courts. What is your opinion on this?
Ans: The collegiums system designed to prevent appointment of “sarkari” judges or executive minded judges has not worked satisfactorily. The question is what you will put in its place. I am in favour of the Judicial Appointments Commission in principle but it depends on the composition of the Commission. The drawback of the collegiums system is that there is no involvement of the executive in decision-making. Thus in my opinion, the Union Law Minister must be a member. But it is essential that tilt in favour of the judiciary. This is because the collegium knows the work and performance of judges slated for elevation. Also, the collegium is aware of the ability and performance of members of the bar to be appointed to the judiciary. As far as appointment of eminent persons is concerned as stated in the bill, they can be appointed as members after consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Prime Minister.I don’t find it inherently objectionable.
Ques: Does the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010 according to you, undermine judicial independence?
Ans: Judicial misbehavior as a ground for removal as per the bill (check) should be determined by a body/council which is exclusively judicial in nature. There should be no inclusion of politicians or any eminent persons in the body. Judicial accountability is important but no less is judicial independence. I am not in favour of the provision of suspension of a judge short of removal for judicial misbehavior. This is because the litigators will not be confident of appearing before a judge who had been suspended earlier.
Ques: Do you feel that it is time for India to liberalize its legal sector and open its doors to foreign law firms?
Ans: Yes, in my opinion, it is time. However this should be subject to the rules formulated by the Bar Council of India relating to discipline. I think opposition mainly stems from the fear of competition. Foreign law firms can under the supervision and control of the Bar Council of India, provide good service to litigants.
Ques: When the first National Law School in Bangalore started in 1988, the aim was to ensure that the young law graduates join and raise the standards of the bar. However, liberalization in 1991 also lead to opportunities for lawyers to engage in transactional work, resulting in fewer law graduates actually joining the bar. What is your take on this and what according to you could attract young lawyers to join the bar and pursue a legal career in litigation instead of corporate law?
Ans: It is sad that because of economic conditions, good lawyers opt for good and lucrative appointments/jobs in the private sector. The main problem is that quite a few law graduates cannot afford the waiting period at the bar. In my opinion, there should be some sort of legal aid granted in the beginning to young law graduates in order to lure them to join the bar. This is because this may alleviate the poor economic conditions that may come in their way of joining the bar.
Ques: In pursuance of the University Grants Commission Guidelines dated 18th January 2013, a one-year LLM program was introduced with most law schools introducing the same from the Academic Session 2013-14. What is your view on this vis-ŕ-vis the two-year LLM program that existed prior to the introduction of the aforesaid guidelines?
Ans: The reduction of the time period to one year from two years if it does not affect the course content is not objectionable. Law graduates would go abroad mainly for the brand value depending on the university where there were selected to pursue their LLM. The real answer is to have competent teachers who could not only teach students but inspire them to what should be the aim of a person to practice law which is a service oriented profession. In my view, ethics and the societal role of a lawyer should be highlighted.
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