Dear students, faculty and staff members,

I extend my heartfelt congratulations to you all and our fellow citizens on our independence day of 2009.

I would like to address you with my thoughts on the needs for legal reforms which need to be addressed by the new UPA government led by Congress party.

Before I articulate my views on the tasks ahead for the new Law Minister at centre, I am reminded of my own anecdote on the matter of importance of sound legal policy for the country’s development. Back in 2004, while reading Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam’s ‘Vision 2020’, I shared my impressions with him and underlined the need of sound legal infrastructure to achieve and maintain the status of Developed India 2020. Dr Kalam, in his usual prompt way, invited me to share the views on the matter in 2004. In fact he inspired to analyze prospects and challenges in various emerging areas of law and India’s policy and practical approach towards them. This inspiration resulted into my second volume of ‘India and International Law’.

While closely reading the manifesto of leading national political parties and the various debates in print and electronic media, I was struck to see how little attention is given to the reforms in our legal and judiciary system. Not least to say any political leader talked in detail about his or her views on the matter. We all are aware how significant and crucial it is for our nation and for our aam aadmi (common man) to have legal infrastructure which meets his or her requirements in consonance with his or her aspirations to become a truly integrated citizen in our national life.

The print and electronic media, once again, is full with their predictions about important portfolios, how belittle the legal and judicial fraternity may feel to see that the law ministry is mentioned nowhere whatsoever. Not that I wish to advocate that the law ministry is the most sought-after or visible ministry, but looking at the challenges, the country faces, ‘in the next half decade’ as our learned Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is saying, I believe that it is important to take of stock of requirements of new laws and legal policies needed. As the Indian National Congress is the leading party in the UPA coalition, it will have the most significant role in the policy making, hence, it is mot propitious to review the Congress manifesto and analyze the promises made therein and the corresponding legal regime that must entail.

Security to Aam Aadmi

The UPA’s task to guarantee maximum possible security to each and every citizen is a daunting task. apart from the inherent contradiction of its promise of maximum possible security versus zero tolerance towards terrorism. It must make sure what it means by zero tolerance towards terrorism. Because as we all know lack of precise and clear meaning of the term is full of pitfalls. Hence in issues like terrorism, we cannot afford to leave important terms like zero tolerance without proper definition. The citizen and the judiciary, alike, whenever dealing with the performance of the government on clarifying, interpreting or pronouncing judgment in the letter case must feel and also perceive whether the Government has indeed lived up to the expectation of zero tolerance towards terrorism or not. My precursory reading of our existing legislation on the matter leaves me with an impression that zero tolerance is just used for public consumption, hence my suggestion for the Government to have this defined in rule-books.

Lines drawn between political executive and police administration

Reforms in police is one of the most notable promises of the Government which must find a formulation in form of appropriate legal instrument, so that the elements and the structure of the reforms can be clearly seen, implemented and monitored. Wonderful as it may sound to draw the clear line of powers and responsibilities between the political execution and policy administration. it is with anxiety to be seen whether such an attempt will be truly made in letter and spirit. Not only such legal instrument will institutionalize the accountability of our police forces, but it will go a long way in the good governance delivery system. Mind you this would be an enormous of uphill task, not least to say I remain sheer skeptical whether any government will be able to formulate such a legal instrument.

Social spectrum – Right to Food and social security

Right to Food law, I see, as one of the most important promises of the Government to ensure that our millions of poor masses, especially, go unhungry. Enactment of Right to Food law, unlike some other laws, has enormous implications, not only for our agricultural development, social development but also for our foreign policy. The Government will be required to ensure that all state, national and international aspirations and implications are properly integrated in the promised law. Now that our judiciary is earnestly and proactively reading defined and emerging human rights into law, it will be only happy to see that Right to Food becomes a reality before 2014.

A comprehensive social security coverage, as promised in the Manifesto, to single woman-headed household, disabled, elderly, orphan, homeless, bounded workers, members of premature tribal group, and members of designated most backward Dalit Community, to me looks utopia. However, there are distinct and existing possibilities to review our existing legal framework and see how with necessary modifications, a good beginning can be made.

Laws for education – enhanced standards and education for all

The Government’s emphasis on enhancing quality education is laudable and I must congratulate the visionary educationalist, who has drafted the elements of providing a scholarship or an educational loan without collaterals for all students who are admitted to in any recognized collage/university, as this practice is pretty feasible in leading Europe, US and Canada. I believe that without much of politically divisive debates, a necessary legal instrument can be erected. Another most laudable element is the training of teachers, here the draft legislation being prepared by Gujarat to establish a dedicated university for the training of teachers can be suitably adopted and emulated in various states. The Government’s desire to provide coaching fees for all entrance exams for at least one lakh SC/ST students every year is to be formulated in form of policy to give it a meaningful place and honour its commitment to uplift the standards of education amongst our SC/ST students.

Against the backdrop of the financial crunch which is likely to continue for few years, the government’s optimistic measures of providing bank credits at law rate of interest to every marginal farmer in the country will be an uphill task. The government’s sincerity will be measured if proper regulations are placed at both central and state level. I personally consider that in the given scenario and the UPA’s promise to revive the economy in first 100 days, this particular measure should be regularized as soon as possible. The Government needs to make significant amendment on our current existing legal framework for the west land development and afforestation. The Land Acquisition Act of 1984, and the National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, do need priority attention, before its effectiveness in bringing desired results, is lost. In the wake of the dithering structure and funding of our cooperative sectors in the wake of globalization and liberalization, the government will do a great justice by enacting or amending appropriate laws and making it a constitutional provision

Laws of equality         

Equal Opportunity Commission, the similarity of which is found in some of the western countries, if created and if it finds support of all political parties, can truly contribute to bring quality in social economy and educational status of our entire citizenry. I am little unsure whether the Women Reservation Bill, which has not been enacted in the last Lok Sabha, will find a day of light in the 15^th Lok Sabha. However with the highest number of woman being elected ever in the history of the Indian Parliament in the 15^th Lok Sabha, our women representative regardless of their political divisions, should strive to ensure that the bill is passed and indeed the 16^th Lok Sabha is elected on the bases of 1/3 reservation for women.

Now that India has become a party to the UN Convention on Disability, it needs to enact a range of secondary measures to ensure equality in opportunities and full participation of disables in the mainstream life. The National Human Right Commission Act of 1993 needs to be amended if the government would truly like to empower the Commission to monitor the investigation and trials of communal and cast violence. A legal bill is required at both state and national level to bring the school curricula of various communal and sectarian organization under a regulatory perview.

To improve the economic enhancement of our small entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprise (SMEs), collateral free credit, as promised, also needs to be read into our new fiscal laws. Similarly giving access to finance, technology and marketing to SMEs cannot be, but needs to be frameworked in form of proper laws. Our Mines and Minerals Act has been amended last in 1999 and to attract private investment like in oil exploration field, this needs to be amended too. Now that the government commands good majority it shall not have problem in introducing Goods and Service Tax (GST) on a moderate basis from 1^st April 2010. However, unlike VAT, GST will face strong resistance from the states, as goods and service tax is sizably falling in the domain of state jurisdiction. The government’s plank to reserve a proportion of seats in Panchayats and Nagar Palikas for men and women below the age of 35 years in addition to existing reservation policies is likely to see no headways.

Corporate ethics

In the wake of corporate scandals in western economies and India, too, the government will do a great justice to our corporate sectors by placing regulations to ensure good corporate governance, ethical business practices and accountability to all stakeholders.

The national plan of action on climate change has been unveiled but lots need to be done in preparing the legal and regulatory framework on federal and state level. The centre needs to take a lead in devising the framework which would take care of the varied level of development of our different states, without compromising their aspiration to become economic engines like other well developed states of India. The Government in the previous years has been promising in energy security for our country, but where is a comprehensive energy security legislation. The ad hoc plans of action as we have seen, cannot and will not, bring energy security to the country. Although it is not strictly speaking legal matter, a lack of reference in the Congress manifesto on the permanent membership of India to the UN Security Council leads me to think whether the government has already given up its battle.

In closing, the new law minister, indeed, has a big menu list prepared by the manifesto. The five year given to him/her to deliver the goodies is far too short. While arguing for the need to enact or amend laws, I am also cautioned that hurry should not substitute the quality and comprehensiveness and need input and consultation with all stakeholders (including academicians and legal scholars).

I would also like to make some announcements:

1. Inauguration of first intensive training course on Mediation in collaboration with the AMLEAD and I invite you to share the news with fellow practitioners and law graduates.

2. We will also start a new centre run by the GNLU students to help poor masses to cater to their legal needs.

3. I am equally happy to announce that our foreign law programme is taking good shape and we will be able to exchange faculty and students from this academic year already.

I thank you all for gathering here to pay our high respect to our country on the Independence Day and wish you all the best.

Bimal N. Patel

Director (Vice-Chancellor)