Hon’ble Chief Justice of India Sh Ranjan Gogoi addressed the gathering at the 14th Conference of Chief Justices of SCO Member Countries which is being held in Sochi,Russia. The two-day conference has participation at the level of Chief Justice and Judges of Supreme Court from the member countries of SCO.
During the course of the Summit today, Hon’ble CJI addressed the inaugural forum and later in the evening spoke on the topic “Steps to strengthen the independence of the Judiciary”.
Hon’ble Chief Justice emphasized in his speech that people of every nation aspire for an independent Judicial System and independence is the very soul of a functional Judiciary. He noted that independence of judiciary as an institution is different from independence of judges, but at the same time, are mutually dependent and vital for a strong and responsive Judicial system.
Hon’ble Chief Justice invited the august audience to ponder over ways and means to strengthen the independence of judiciary from within. He said, “independence of judiciary is not a one-time pill – it is a ‘state of affairs’ that has to remain constant, in the face of continuous and recurrent waves of onslaught aimed at disturbing such ‘state’.” He emphasized upon the dire need to develop and nurture leadership in judiciary. Drawing reference to UN’s Basic Principles on the Independence of Judiciary, he noted that countries that support and invest in a strong judicial infrastructure are more likely to be nations with stable governments and administrations.
As regards to India, Hon’ble Chief Justice remarked that the executive and judiciary in India have enjoyed a healthy relationship of mutual respect. Concluding his speech, he drew attention to the fact that it is for the judiciary to rise and stand up to protect the Constitutional ethos, even during trying times.
Other respected judges of the Supreme Court who accompanied Hon’ble Chief Justice to the Conference included Justice V.N.Ramana, Justice D.Y.Chandrachud and Justice M.R.Shah.
June 18,2019
Sochi
