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TIMELY AND EXPEDITIOUS JUSTICE TO ALL

RIGHT OF EVERY INDIAN

LET JUSTICE BE

DONE,THOUGH

THE WORLD

PERISH- FERDINAND I

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What is Advancing Justice?

Fundamental commitment to provide timely justice.

Involves a top to bottom “systems review”.

Includes a critical evaluation of existing time standards.

Includes an assessment of how judges manage their caseloads.

Other aspects of the Advancing Justice effort include: Judicial education and

training Data and technology

Data entry drives internal court functions.

Court data drives local, state, and federal funding decisions.

Performance Measure Reports are a "public record” of a writing containing information relating to the conduct or administration of the publics’ business.

Role of clerks in Advancing

Justice

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What is CASEFLOW

management?

Increasing the trial judge's control over the case to prevent unnecessary delay:-2009 Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System

Emphasis is on the management that is ,the active oversight of the case progress by the court

“Fair and expeditious dispute resolution processes , accessible to all , are the foundation of justice in a free society. Unnecessary delay undermines public trust in the rule of law ,erodes confidence in the court system , and draws into question the efficacy of courts as an institution of government” A National Agenda for Prompt and affordable justice in the 21st century

CASEFLOW management is also a

NATIONAL PRIORITY

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According to the constitution of India the judiciary system says that, Justice to be freely

and speedily administered. Courts of justice shall be open to every person, and a speedy

remedy afforded for every injury of person, property or character, and right and justice

shall be administered without sale, denial, delay, or prejudice.

Why Now?

• Unlike budget years of the past, current economic conditions do not allow

us to “Human Resource” our way out of the problem.

• Trial Judges are being required to more aggressively employ proven

caseflow management techniques to meet the ever increasing workload.

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In India, a lack of judges has generally been cited as the main reason for court congestion and delays. Indeed, the number of judges per capita has been low compared to other countries. For instance, data on 30 selected countries from the World Bank Justice Sector at a Glance database indicate that in 2000 the average number of judges per 100,000 inhabitants was 6.38. The corresponding number for India is about 2.7 judges. This perception about inadequate judges in India in turn has been attributed to an insufficient resource allocation to the judiciary by the legislature. Yet the legislature has constantly enacted new laws and that has added to the burden. Moreover, at times, well-motivated statutes can have unintended consequences on the courts’ ability to administer just ice, especially on the criminal side. Therefore one needs to asses the problem from the demand side as well, although the proposed solutions are intended from the supply side.

JUDGES AVAILABLE

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RISING CRIMINAL CASES IN INDIA

PENDING COURT CASES IN INDIA

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Rules to be followed for Civil Procedures

Rule 1(a). Scope of rules….These rules shall be liberally construed to secure the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding.

Rule 2. (a) Purpose and construction. These rules are intended to provide for the just determination of every criminal proceeding. They shall be construed to secure simplicity in procedure, fairness in administration and elimination of unjustifiable expense and delay.

for Criminal procedures

District Court civil filings have increased by 30% since 2006,

which can largely be attributed to the economic decline.

Domestic Relations cases have risen by 10% since 2006.

Increase in number of litigants appearing pro se.

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Let’s Look at Some More interesting statistics… Pending litigations 3.13crore -3054 judges reqd. : BAR and BENCH NEWS NETWORK

Courts performing traditional court functions well.

Courts helping to solve social problems (e.g. problem-solving courts).

Effective, competent use of technology.

Regular reporting of court performance data.

Consistency in implementation and measurement of court performance.

Transparency and accountability.

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Access to court information.

Timely resolution.

Procedural fairness.

According to Tom Tyler, leading expert on procedural fairness, people expect:

Neutrality.

Respect.

The chance to be heard.

A trustworthy judge.

What’s In It For Trial Judges?

Elections/Retention.

Public records requests of performance reports.

More time to spend on tasks that only judges can perform.

Less stressful work environment.

Preserve decisional autonomy.

Ward off unwarranted attacks.

Ability to assess individual performance and progress.

It is the right thing to do.

What’s In It For Court Clerks?

Additional training.

More efficiency in case processing.

Uniformity in procedures.

Improved working relationships between trial judges and deputy clerks.

More satisfying work environment.

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HOW TO BECOME A JUDGE?

HIGH COURT JUDGE • Held Judicial Office(10 yrs. at least) • Advocate of HIGH COURT for considerable time. SUPREME COURT JUDGE • Judge of HIGH COURT (5 yrs.) • Must be in opinion of president.

BACKDROP This often is a long drawn process taking at least a period of 20 yrs. Which means less judges produced by country per year resulting in increase in number of cases having less number of judges to solve

POSSIBLE REMEDIES • CENTRALISED INSTITUTIONS CAN BE SET UP TO TRAIN TRAINEES REDUCING THE

TENTURE IN BECOMING A FULL FLEDGED JUDGE. • FAST TRACK COURTS SHOULD WORK HONESTLY AND EFFICIENTLY TO CLOSE CASES

SUCCESSFULLY. • THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR SHOULD BE GIVEN A SPECIFIC DEADLINE TO BE

FOLLOWED STRICTLY TO INVESTIGATE AND GATHER EVIDENCE TO ENSURE SPEEDY AND HONEST CLOSURE OF CASES.

• THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR OVERSEEING THE CASES CAN BE MADE THE ASSISTANT JUDGE IN FAMILY COURTS .

• IN ADDITION EXPERIENCED/MERITORIUS ADVOCATESCAN ALSO BE MADE ASSISTANT JUDGES

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ISSUES JUDICIAL STANDARDARDS &

ACCOUNTABILITY

PROBLEMS

Appointment Does not propose to change collegium system

of appointing judges

Difficult to get good judges under this secretive

system

Removal Along with present system , proposes a new

complaint procedure

Impeachment still remains very cumbersome

and difficult

Minor Measures In a first, it provides for withdrawal of

judicial work and issuance of warning

It could shatter people’s faith in judges

Post-retirement The bill does propose any ways to stop the

problem

Many retirement-eve judgments are influenced

by a desire to get post retirement jobs.

The favoring kith and kin of a

fellow judge

The bill does not address it specially As the law commission pointed out, it is a real

problem. The Supreme Court talked of a ”rot”

in the Allahabad HC . Lawyers from Madhya

Pradesh wrote to CJI about it.

Declaration of Assets Judges to declare assets No mechanism to verify it.

IN SUMMARY

Efficiency and fairness are not mutually exclusive.

Effective case flow management is not about speed just for the sake of speed. It is about removing

unnecessary delay while protecting the rights of individual litigants.

Effective case-flow management promotes justice on both the individual and systemic level by

helping to ensure every litigant receives procedural due process.

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APPENDIX

• truststudy.com/majestrate/ • Wikipedia • 10th class cbse civics textbook. • doj.gov.in/?q=node/add/supreme-court-mc • www.judicialreform.in/forums/stats.php • Articles.tmesofindia.indiatimes.com • www.dnaindia.com •www.neoncarrot.co.uk/h_aboutindia_crime_stats.html