SPEECH
BY SHRI K.R. NARAYANAN, PRESIDENT OF INDIA, WHILE INAUGURATING THE 43RD
CONGRESS OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LAWYERS
NEW DELHI, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1999
The Hon'ble Chief Justice of India, Mr. Justice A.S. Anand, The President
of the UIA Mr. Steven A. Hammond,
The
President of the Congress Mr. K.K. Venugopal,
Distinguished
Hon'ble Judges of the Supreme Court of India and the High Court of Delhi
and other High Courts,
Their
Excellencies the Ambassadors,
Distinguished
guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It
gives me great pleasure to be present at the inaugural session of the
43rd Congress of the International Association of Lawyers, (the Union
Internationale des Avocats) at New Delhi. I am told that this is the first
time that this prestigious Annual Congress is being held in Asia. I am
happy that the UIA has chosen the capital of India to host its first Annual
Congress in the Asian Continent.
It
is appropriate that New Delhi has been chosen as the venue of this Conference
because India, besides being the largest democracy in the world, represents
some of the major legal systems of the world - Hindu, Mohammadan and Western,
underlying which are customary laws and traditions that, in turn are the
outcome of the acumen of ages and the experience of centuries. One authority,
George Gadbois, has pointed out that "there must have been some special
predilection among Indians underlying this extra-ordinary receptiveness.
The eager and unfaltering embrace of Western Law simply did not take place
in South East Asia or in Japan".
The reason for this receptiveness
was the spirit and traditions of democracy that prevailed at the grass
roots of Indian society. The supremacy of the rule of law was emphasized
in the ancient Indian texts like the Upanishads, the Mahabharata, and
in treatise of Kautilya according to which the King was to maintain the
law for the good of the people and the well-being of society, and was
himself subject to the law or dharma. It is on the foundation of these
ancient ideas and customary practices and, under the impact of the more
recent British system of law, that India has built up its present impressive
structure of independent judiciary and the rule of law. Behind this innovative
and active judicial system is the vast pool of legal talents in India,
the second largest community of lawyers after the United States of America.
It is therefore appropriate that you have assembled in New Delhi for the
43rd Congress of UIA.
To-day
the world is becoming effectively a one world and is assuming the characteristics
of a global village. Conceptually this development is in line with the
ancient Indian thought and philosophy which considered humanity to be
a single family. The modern concept of globalisation is, therefore, not
strange for India. We do not, however, believe that globalisation has
superseded the idea of the identity of the individual, or the family or
the nation. These are basic entities and institutions evolved over the
centuries by mankind and they retain their unique identity and functions
in the world society. It was I think Rousseau who once observed that to
proclaim that one loved mankind is often an excuse for not loving anyone
in particular. In the same way the present globalisation should not mean
that one should not preserve one's loyalty to the family or the nation
or promote one's own welfare or individual self-fulfilment.
An ideal global
order, in fact, pre-supposes healthy individualities and national and
cultural identities and loyalties. Mahatma Gandhi once stated, much ahead
of his time, "My service of India includes the service of humanity.
Isolated independence is not the goal of world States. It is voluntary
inter-dependence. The better mind of the world desires to-day not absolutely
independent States, but a federation of friendly inter-dependent States".
This was a bold and far-seeing statement by the leader of a national struggle
for independence. It is this approach that guides us even to-day. Globalisation
does not mean for us the supersession of national sovereignty or social
and cultural identities. We do not accept 'the end of history' and 'the
end of geography' theories, nor do we agree with 'the clash of civilizations'
philosophy and politics. The Indian concept is one of reconciling and
harmonising individual and social interests as well as cultural and national
identities within a larger pluralistic order. In such a pluralistic global
society there would be a tremendous enlargement of the concerns affecting
world society as a whole, and the legal community would have a positive
and creative role to play in it.
Already the law has been leaping national
and geographical boundaries into outer space and the planets as well as
the wide oceans, the environment and the expanding realms of technology.
However, the purpose of the law, be it in relation to space and the oceans
or new technological horizons, is to regulate organized human behaviour
and the plans and ambitions of States in relation to these new realms.
Therefore, fundamentally speaking, we are dealing with the concerns of
the human being for justice, freedom, liberty and their limits, be it
in the national, regional,global or planetary context.
In
the ultimate analysis, the efficacy of law has to be judged by its capacity
to provide and preserve justice for the individual as an individual, as
a member of a group or of a nation or a global community. The preamble
to the Indian Constitution sets out in an exquisitely balanced form and
in language that is almost poetical, the main elements of the modern conception
of justice when it declares its solemn resolve to secure to all its citizens:
" Justice social, economic and political; liberty of thought, expression,
belief, faith and worship; equality of status and opportunity, and to
promote among them all fraternity, assuring the dignity of the individual
and the unity of the Nation." I do not think that any of the elements
of justice as stated above has been superseded by the current philosophy
of globalisation.
The Main Theme programme on the very first day of this
Conference relates to the role and responsibility of lawyers and their
professional associations in regard to the transgressions of those elements
of justice which we to-day call human justifys. It is a matter of pride
for us in India, that our legal profession and judiciary over the last
two decades, have reached out to sections of society who lack the opportunities
to realize their justifys and liberties. The entire Access to Justice
movement in India has been, to a large extent, powered by the path-breaking
public interest litigation where we have reached out to citizens who have
been denied access to justice.
While
dealing with the question of human justifys we have to take into account
some of the specific and basic conditions in different parts of the world
particularly in developing countries. That the UIA is aware of this need
is evidenced by the fact that at its Philadelphia Congress was introduced
for the first time, a Developing Countries Forum for discussions on topics
of special interest to the developing countries. Economic and social justifys
have been elevated to-day to the level of civil and political justifys,
viz. "life, liberty and security of the person" as described
in the American Declaration of justifys.
President Roosevelt had characterized
the economic and social justifys guaranteed in the New Deal as the Second
Bill of justifys. More recently the Vienna Declaration of 1993 affirmed
that in order to safeguard human justifys "there must be a concerted
effort to ensure recognition of economic, social and cultural justifys
at the national, regional and international levels". The internat
ional community of lawyers can advocate and popularize this new dimension
of the law. While acknowledging the centrality of civil and political
justifys, Johan Galtung in his book "Human justifys in Another Key"
propagates the concept of "a rainbow of justifys" comprising
liberal human justifys in the classical sense, socio-economic justifys,
environmental justifys, etc.
In an imaginary conversation between the
Blue, Red, Green and Coloured representing classical liberalism, social
democracy, the environment movement, and the small cultural groups, respectively,
he makes the Coloured advance the argument:- "We are all human beings.
We are all inspired by the values of our civilizations. But we all see
human justifys in terms of our cultures, not for that reason neglecting
Western contributions. .... All I say is that the political agenda in
general, and the human justifys agenda in particular, is not exhausted
because the West has no more ideas. There could be other ideas elsewhere
...." Some may proclaim that the world has come "to the end
of history". But for mankind there is no end of history. I hope this
learned assembly of international lawyers would ponder over the question
that while there is a core group of human justifys and laws that are common
to all and valid at every stage of economic and cultural development,
there is also the concept of "a rainbow of justifys", which
touch the elementary concerns of vast millions in the developing countries
of the world.
I
may end by quoting what George Bernard Shaw wrote: "The law is equal
before all of us; but we are not equal before the law. Virtually there
is one law for the rich and another for the poor, one law for the cunning
and another for the simple, one law for the forceful and another for the
feeble, one law for the ignorant and another for the learned, one law
for the brave and another for the timid, and within family limits, one
law for the parent and no law at all for the child." The problem
before civilized mankind and the challenge to the legal and political
community is how to provide laws that are just and equitable in a world
of injustices and inequalities.
Whether it is the possession of wealth
and the good things of life, or the fruits of science and technology which
can bring benefit to mankind or destroy it, or the blessings of human
development like health care and education or of affording even elementary
justice under the law, it is in an unequal world that we live. "Law
isa dark room", says a Tamil writer and leader of the social reform
movement in one of his plays, "The lawyer's argument is a lamp in
it. Alas, it is beyond the reach of the poor." I hope this august
Congress will ponder over this simple sentiment along with the high and
mighty issues it will be discussing.
Thank you
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