India and Bangladesh have recognized their constitutions as living documents, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said in Dhaka on Saturday.
Both the countries are keeping their constitutional and judicial systems safe, so that stability is maintained in the country. He said the democratic system works only when Parliament, the Supreme Court and the Election Commission come forward from a situation of “ambiguity and uncertainty”, and only then does people’s faith in the Constitution increase.
Chandrachud was addressing the closing ceremony of a two-day legal conference in Dhaka. He said that Constitutions by their nature are blueprints and not comprehensive solutions designed for all contingencies.
Constitutions are not like the Income Tax Act (where people come forward to pay it), CJI DY Chandrachud said in ‘South Asian Constitutional Courts in the Twenty-First Century: Lessons from Bangladesh and India’ in Dhaka.
It is our responsibility to take the Constitution, which is the source of our authority, into the lives of the people. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also participated in this legal conference.
“The legitimacy of the institutions of governance, including the courts, depends primarily on the functioning of the institutions within the limits delineated by the Constitution,” Chandrachud said in his address.
He said, “People’s faith in the Constitution is really strengthened only when the institutions of governance, be it Parliament, the Central Investigation Agency, the Election Commission or the Supreme Court, rise to the occasion. Institutions should come forward and provide confidence in those situations when there is an environment of ambiguity and uncertainty.”
The court’s order becomes effective only when “we meaningfully safeguard the principles that the Constitution promises us – liberty, equality, non-discrimination and due process.” The conference was presided over by Chief Justice of Bangladesh Obaidul Hasan. Bangladesh Law Minister Anisul Haq and others attended the conference.
In his address, Chandrachud also said that the court systems in both India and Bangladesh should make greater use of technology to “reach out to the citizens”.
We must ensure that we, as judges and courts, learn to communicate with and reach out to our citizens.” CJI said that we need to pay attention to the needs of our society. Bring marginalized groups into the mainstream and ensure their social development and progress.
The CJI also said, both India and Bangladesh share a tradition of constitutional and judicial systems largely aimed at ensuring stability and both countries recognize their Constitutions as “living documents”.
The CJI said that our shared tradition aims to ensure stability, but stability should never be confused with stagnation when it is already desired. Indian and Bangladeshi court systems should promote the practice of arbitration to resolve disputes.