New Delhi, Sept. 23: The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi inaugurated the ‘International Lawyers’ Conference 2023’ at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi today. The conference aims to serve as a platform for meaningful dialogue and discussion on various legal topics of national and international importance, foster exchange of ideas and experiences, and strengthen international cooperation and understanding of legal issues. 

Addressing the gathering, the Indian Prime Minister expressed delight in getting the opportunity to interact with the greats of the global legal fraternity. Highlighting the presence of the Lord Chancellor of England, Mr Alex Chalk and the delegates of the Bar Association of England, representatives from Commonwealth and African countries, and the people from across the country, the Prime Minister said that the International Lawyers’ Conference 2023 has become a symbol of the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’. The Prime Minister welcomed the foreign dignitaries to India and also thanked the Bar Association of India for taking the lead in organizing this program.

According to the Indian Media, The Prime Minister Modi emphasized the role of the legal fraternity in the development of any country. “For years, the judiciary and the bar have been the guardians of India's judicial system”, he said. Prime Minister Modi also highlighted the role of legal professionals in the freedom struggle. He gave examples of Mahatma Gandhi, Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Babu Rajendra Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Lokmanya Tilak and Veer Savarkar. “Experience of the legal profession has worked to strengthen the foundation of independent India and today’s impartial judicial system has also helped in bolstering the confidence of the world in India”, he added. 

The Prime Minister underlined that the International Lawyers Conference is taking place at a time when the nation has been a witness to several historic decisions and recalled the passage of Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha which entitles a 33 percent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha. “Nari Shakti Vandan Act will give new direction and energy to women-led development in India”, the Prime Minister remarked. He also mentioned that the world got a glimpse of India’s democracy, demography and diplomacy at the recently concluded G20 Summit in New Delhi. On this day, a month ago, the Prime Minister recalled that India became the first nation in the world to successfully land Chandrayaan 3 on the south pole of the moon. Highlighting these achievements, the Prime Minister emphasized that the India of today which is brimming with self-confidence is working to realize the goal of a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047. He also expressed the need for strong, independent and unbiased foundations for the legal system in India to achieve the goal of a developed nation. The Prime Minister expressed confidence that the International Lawyers’ Conference 2023 will turn out to be extremely successful and each country will get an opportunity to learn from the best practices of other nations.

Prime Minister Modi elaborated on the deep connectedness of today’s world. He said there are many forces in the world today that do not care about the borders and jurisdiction. “When dangers are global, ways to deal with them should also be global”, he said. He touched upon cyber terrorism, money laundering, and possibilities of misuse of artificial intelligence and said that preparing a global framework on such issues goes beyond just government matters but calls for connectedness among the legal framework of different countries. 

Speaking on Alternate Dispute Resolution, the Prime Minister said that with the increasing complexity of commercial transactions, ADR has gained currency all over the world. He said that in order to systematize the informal tradition of dispute resolution in India, the Government of India has enacted a mediation Act. Similarly, Lok Adalats are also playing a big role and Lok Adalats have solved about 7 lakh cases in the last 6 years. 

Highlighting an important aspect of justice delivery that is not talked about, the Prime Minister mentioned the simplicity of language and law. The Prime Minister gave insights about the Government’s approach and informed about the ongoing discussion regarding presenting any law in two languages - one to which the legal system is accustomed and another for common citizens. “Citizens should feel that the law belongs to them”, Shri Modi emphasized as he underlined that the Government is making an effort to draft new laws in simple language and gave the example of the Data Protection Law. The Prime Minister congratulated the Supreme Court of India for making arrangements to get its judgments translated into 4 local languages Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati and Oriya and hailed the monumental change in the judicial system of India.

In conclusion, the Prime Minister emphasized the need to find ways of streamlining the legal processes through technology, reforms and new judicial processes. He said that technological advancement has opened new avenues for the judicial system and called for the leveraging of technological reforms by the legal profession. 

Chief  Justice of India, Dr. D. Y. Chandrachud, Union Minister of Law and Justice, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Attorney General of India, Shri R. Venkataramani, Solicitor General of India, Shri Tushar Mehta, Chairman, Bar Council of India, Shri Manan Kumar Mishra and Lord Chancellor, UK, Mr Alex Chalk were present on the occasion among others. 

Background 

International Lawyer's Conference 2023 is being organized by the Bar Council of India on the theme ‘Emerging Challenges in Justice Delivery System’ on 23rd - 24th September, 2023. The conference aims to serve as a platform for meaningful dialogue and discussion on various legal topics of national and international importance, foster exchange of ideas and experiences, and strengthen international cooperation and understanding of legal issues. The conference, which is being organized for the first time in the country, will discuss topics such as emerging legal trends, challenges in cross-border litigation, legal technology, environmental law etc.

The programme witnessed the participation of distinguished judges, legal professionals, and leaders of the global legal fraternity.