The impression that “judges appoint judges in India” is unsuitable and must be corrected, Chief Justice of India NV Ramana stated on Monday.
“I don’t think a selection process can be more democratic than this,” he added, referring to the collegium strategy of appointing judges.
The CJI was talking on the 2nd Comparative Constitutional Law Conversation Series webinar on the subject “Comparative Approaches of Supreme Courts of World’s Largest Democracies”, together with former US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. The dialogue was hosted by the Society for Democratic Rights, New Delhi, and the Georgetown University Law Centre, Washington.
On judicial appointmentsCJI Ramana stated that though the federal government is a key stakeholder, when the collegium reiterates its choice to nominate a candidate, the federal government has no alternative however to adjust to it.
On the American strategy of appointing judges, Justice Breyer stated he had no issues with the political strategy of appointments however added that “it is in the political interest of those involved to appoint a qualified person”.
Justice Breyer, who retired in January from the US Supreme Court which doesn’t have a compulsory retirement for judges, stated {that a} longer tenure is most popular because it takes time for judges to get used to the establishment.
Both Breyer and CJI Ramana known as for larger inclusivity on the bench.
To a query on how totally different it’s to interpret the prolonged Indian Constitution when in comparison with the moderately concise American Constitution, CJI Ramana stated, “Both the Constitutions say ‘We the People’, which is how it is interpreted.”
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
