CJI Surya Kant highlighted concerns over unequal international scrutiny faced by Global East and Global South nations. Speaking at the St Petersburg International Legal Forum, he said developing countries continue addressing colonial legacies, institutional challenges and poverty while facing pressures not equally applied to wealthier nations.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant has said that developing nations, particularly those belonging to the Global East and Global South, often face disproportionate international scrutiny despite continuing to deal with the long-term consequences of colonial rule, institutional challenges and socio-economic inequalities.
Speaking at the 14th St Petersburg International Legal Forum in Russia, CJI Kant highlighted concerns regarding fairness in the international legal system and said that powerful and economically advanced countries are not always subjected to the same level of scrutiny despite having their own shortcomings in compliance with international obligations.
The theme of his address was “Equal Justice, Equal Law: Access as the Measure of International Law’s Humanity.”
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During his address, the CJI observed that many nations in the Global East and South are still engaged in strengthening institutions, overcoming historical disadvantages created by colonialism and addressing poverty and inequality.
He pointed out that these challenges were far more complex than what the original framers of international legal instruments may have anticipated.
He said,
“Numerous nations within the Global East and South are still in the process of constructing their institutions, addressing the repercussions of colonialism, and tackling poverty on a scale that the original drafters of international covenants could not have envisioned. These countries frequently endure scrutiny and pressure that are not proportionally applied to wealthier and more influential States, whose own compliance records are not necessarily irreproachable,”
The CJI stated that while international human rights agreements and declarations represent important commitments, their practical implementation has often lacked uniformity.
According to him, global legal systems cannot achieve legitimacy merely through institutions and written declarations unless they are supported by fairness and equal treatment.
He emphasised,
“Equal justice and equal law are not ceremonial phrases. They are the conditions under which a legal order may credibly call itself law at all,”
CJI Kant stressed that equality cannot exist only as a constitutional promise or a legal principle unless people are able to access justice in reality. He explained that access to law must go beyond procedural requirements and should ensure that individuals receive meaningful protection of their rights.
He said,
“My answer, which I draw from my experience presiding over the world’s largest and most complex judicial systems, is that the first step to equality is providing equal access to the law,”
According to him, legal systems must focus on removing barriers that prevent individuals from seeking remedies, whether those barriers are geographical, economic, social or linguistic.
Reflecting on India’s constitutional framework, CJI Kant said that the Indian Constitution guarantees equality before law, dignity of life and equal justice. However, he noted that the real challenge lies in transforming these constitutional guarantees into practical realities for citizens across diverse backgrounds.
He explained that Indian courts have gradually expanded access to justice by adopting a more inclusive approach. This has included relaxing traditional rules relating to standing, strengthening legal aid mechanisms, accepting letters as public interest litigation petitions and ensuring that procedural requirements do not defeat substantive justice.
He said,
“We have learned that the most significant obstacle to equality is not the lack of legal or statutory support, but rather it is manifested on account of geographical, social, and economic disparities. Consequently, the Indian Constitutional Courts have interpreted and provided a broad and expansive interpretation of constitutional guarantees in order to eliminate all such barriers,”
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The CJI highlighted that constitutional courts must remain sensitive to the realities faced by ordinary citizens and must ensure that justice is not limited to those who have resources or influence.
During his speech, CJI Kant also traced the idea of equality before law to ancient legal traditions. He said that the principle was not a modern concept alone and referred to Kautilya’s Arthashastra, an ancient Indian text dealing with governance, administration and statecraft.
According to him, the Arthashastra recognised that even rulers were bound by law and could not act above legal principles. He added that similar ideas developed in several other civilisations and legal traditions.
He added,
“And Arthashastra did not stand alone. The Roman lex regia, the Islamic tradition of shari’a as a constraint upon the sovereign, the Ubuntu philosophy of communal obligation in African jurisprudence each arrived, by its own path and in its own tongue, at the very same foundational compact of Equality,”
The CJI explained that different societies, despite their distinct histories and cultures, arrived at the common understanding that authority must operate within legal limits.
CJI Kant further underlined that equality before law cannot be treated as a benefit granted by those in power. He said that it is a basic requirement for any system to be recognised as a genuine legal order.
“It should therefore be well understood that equality before the law was not a privilege to be dispensed by the powerful to those they deemed deserving. It has always been the grammar of legality itself. Without it, what we call law is merely the organised will of the stronger party.”
The CJI cautioned that without equal application of law, legal systems risk becoming tools of power rather than instruments of justice.
While discussing the international legal framework, CJI Kant observed that the credibility of global law should not be measured merely through treaties, conventions or international organisations. Instead, the real test lies in whether every country and every individual has access to effective legal remedies. He said that the international community must examine whether legal principles are applied consistently across nations, irrespective of economic strength or geopolitical influence.
He remarked,
“The fact that the question must still be posed is, in my opinion, an indictment in itself,”
The CJI’s address placed emphasis on making international law more inclusive, balanced and responsive, particularly for countries that continue to deal with historical disadvantages while participating in the global legal order.
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