Indian Courts Came To Be Re-imagined As Democratic Spaces, Not As Imposing Empires : CJI DY Chandrachud At J20 Summit In Brazil

Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud remarked at the J20 summit in Brazil that the perception of courts in India has evolved from being seen as authoritative 'empires' to becoming inclusive democratic spaces for dialogue."Our courts have come to be reimagined not as imposing 'empires', but as democratic spaces of discourse. COVID-19 pushed the frontiers of our court systems- which were compelled to change overnight. Courts became more than just opaque physical spaces," CJI said.CJI also stated that judges can't be never seen as princes or sovereigns who are beyond accountability but are service providers to people."As judges, we are neither princes nor sovereigns who are above the explainability requirement ourselves. We are service providers, and enablers of rights-affirming societies." 'J20' is a summit of Heads of Supreme Courts and Constitutional Courts of all the G20 members. The J20 summit is being organised by the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court in light of Brazil's presidency of G20 2024. The event happening at Rio includes key dignitaries and heads of various Supreme Courts of G20 members. As per the official list, these include participation from the African Union, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, European Union, France, Germany, India, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, UK, Portugal and Spain. In his address, he outlined various technological adaptations undertaken by the Supreme Court which were necessitated by the COVID pandemic. He noted that the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated changes in court systems, transforming them from traditional, physically enclosed spaces into more accessible and transparent institutions.Virtual hearings democratised access to Supreme Court : CJICJI spoke at length about the e-Courts project, the introduction of virtual hearings, online streaming of courts proceedings."Virtual hearings have democratised access to the Supreme Court. It has opened the space for people who could not appear before the Court without great difficulty. Persons with physical impairments, pregnant women, persons in their advanced years can now choose to opt to access the courtroom virtually. Over 750,000 cases have been heard over video conferencing. The proceedings of important constitutional cases in the Supreme Court are live-streamed on its YouTube channel - bringing constitutional deliberations to the homes and hearts of all citizens," he explained.He underscored that the Supreme Court of India today is almost entirely paperless, with digitised and optical character recognition (OCR)- enabled paper-books. Attempts are being made to reduce the need for litigants' physical presence in court for adjudication of their disputes.Highlighting India's judicial system, the CJI mentioned that the Indian Supreme Court's Case Management System is built on Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), making it the largest such system globally. He explained that FOSS not only reduces costs significantly but also enhances transparency, bridging communication gaps.The CJI further elaborated on how the system allows litigants to track their cases daily, receiving automated emails with case details, hearing dates, judgments, and orders. Additionally, offline e-kiosks assist litigants in navigating the system and accessing case status information.He also spoke about SUVAS (Supreme Court Vidhik Anuvaad Software)- a machine learning, AI-enabled tool to translate judgments to 16 regional languages. Over 36,000 cases have thus far been translated. Easy access to the judgments of the Supreme Court is provided for through Digital SCR (Supreme Court Records), where over 30,000 old judgements are available for free.CJI Chandrachud also raised concerns about emerging technologies, including AI profiling, algorithmic bias, misinformation, and the opacity of AI models, stressing the need for ongoing dialogue and efforts to address these complex issues."Digital divide, representational asymmetry between parties to the same dispute, and low-connectivity locations are some of the other bottlenecks that we must tackle. When we speak of judicial efficiency, we must look beyond the efficiency of the judge and think of a holistic judicial process. Efficiency lies not only in outcomes but in these processes- which must ensure free and fair hearing."Full Text of the CJI's address can be read below :Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It gives me great pleasure to address this august gathering on the auspices of the J20 Summit in the vibrant city of Rio. Just a few days ago, a saying on the walls of the Museum of Tomorrow caught my eye - allow me to quote - “As society, as living beings, as humans, our common challenge will be to devise new paths, routes and ways to navigate between what we are today and what we may become. Curiosity, spirit and imagination: that's what we need to set out to the seas”. I believe this is an appropriate encapsulation of what we are here for- to deal...

Indian Courts Came To Be Re-imagined As Democratic Spaces, Not As Imposing Empires : CJI DY Chandrachud At J20 Summit In Brazil

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