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APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES TO HIGHER JUDICIARY IN INDIA: CONTEMPORARY DEBATES

APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES TO HIGHER JUDICIARY IN INDIA: CONTEMPORARY DEBATES

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APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES TO HIGHER JUDICIARY IN INDIA: CONTEMPORARY DEBATES
Event Details
<strong>CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF LAW AND GOVERNANCE Jawaharlal Nehru University</strong> SEMINAR SERIES <strong>P. PUNEETH</strong> Associate Professor, CSLG, JNU on <strong>APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES TO HIGHER JUDICIARY IN INDIA: CONTEMPORARY DEBATES </strong> <strong>Abstract :</strong> Appointment of judges to higher judiciary is one of the intensely debated topics in India since 1960s. Debates over the topic gained more momentum in 1990s after the establishment of the collegium system by replacing the original system of appointment of judges envisaged in the Constitution. This has tilted the constitutional balance completely in favour of the judiciary. In order to restore the constitutional balance and to accord meaningful role for the executive in the matter of appointment of judges, the National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) was brought into existence in 2014. It has replaced the collegium system. This move has generated fresh round of debates on the topic in the court room, academic circles and political precincts. The creation of NJAC is completely clouded with controversies as a result of which it has not yet been made functional. This institutional deadlock has created a constitutional crisis. The talk will provide critical perspectives on these developments and debates. The talk highlights how debates and discourses on the subject focus mainly on the power of appointment and the procedure to be followed in appointing judges than on qualities and level of competence of a person to be appointed as judge. It also examines the issues relating to the constitutional validity of NJAC and explores what needs to be done to address the apprehension that NJAC affects independence of judiciary. <strong>Friday, 04 September, 2015</strong> <strong>About the Speaker:</strong> P. Puneeth is an Associate Professor of Law in the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, JNU. He has done his B.A.L., LL.B, LL.M. and Ph. D. from Bangalore University, Bangalore, Karnataka. His teaching and research areas of interests are Constitution and Administrative Law, Judicial Process, Law and Justice in a Globalizing World, and Criminal Law. His doctoral work was on the topic "Impact of Global Regulatory Regime on Indian Constitution: A Critical Study." He has participated in many national and international seminars and presented papers. He is a regular contributor for the Annual Survey of Indian Law and also published papers in journals of national and international repute. He has recently contributed for Jindal Global Law Review (2011), Delhi Law Review (2011), Bangalore Law Journal (2012) and CNLU Law Journal (2014). Before joining the Centre, he was serving the Indian Law Institute (ILI) – the premier Institute for legal research and higher education in law in the country - since 2006 as Assistant Professor of Law. He also served as a Member of the Board of Studies and the Academic Council of ILI. He worked as the Assistant Editor of the prestigious Journal of the Indian Law Institute.

A warm welcome to the modified and updated website of the Centre for East Asian Studies. The East Asian region has been at the forefront of several path-breaking changes since 1970s beginning with the redefining the development architecture with its State-led development model besides emerging as a major region in the global politics and a key hub of the sophisticated technologies. The Centre is one of the thirteen Centres of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi that provides a holistic understanding of the region.

Initially, established as a Centre for Chinese and Japanese Studies, it subsequently grew to include Korean Studies as well. At present there are eight faculty members in the Centre. Several distinguished faculty who have now retired include the late Prof. Gargi Dutt, Prof. P.A.N. Murthy, Prof. G.P. Deshpande, Dr. Nranarayan Das, Prof. R.R. Krishnan and Prof. K.V. Kesavan. Besides, Dr. Madhu Bhalla served at the Centre in Chinese Studies Programme during 1994-2006. In addition, Ms. Kamlesh Jain and Dr. M. M. Kunju served the Centre as the Documentation Officers in Chinese and Japanese Studies respectively.

The academic curriculum covers both modern and contemporary facets of East Asia as each scholar specializes in an area of his/her interest in the region. The integrated course involves two semesters of classes at the M. Phil programme and a dissertation for the M. Phil and a thesis for Ph. D programme respectively. The central objective is to impart an interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of history, foreign policy, government and politics, society and culture and political economy of the respective areas. Students can explore new and emerging themes such as East Asian regionalism, the evolving East Asian Community, the rise of China, resurgence of Japan and the prospects for reunification of the Korean peninsula. Additionally, the Centre lays great emphasis on the building of language skills. The background of scholars includes mostly from the social science disciplines; History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, International Relations and language.

Several students of the centre have been recipients of prestigious research fellowships awarded by Japan Foundation, Mombusho (Ministry of Education, Government of Japan), Saburo Okita Memorial Fellowship, Nippon Foundation, Korea Foundation, Nehru Memorial Fellowship, and Fellowship from the Chinese and Taiwanese Governments. Besides, students from Japan receive fellowship from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.