While visiting the UK Supreme Court, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud was graciously offered the seat of the court’s president by Lord Reed to deliver his lecture. This lecture, titled “Commercial Arbitration: Shared Understandings and Developments in the UK and India,” was held in the courtroom of the UK Constitutional Court’s President.
New Delhi: During his visit to the UK Supreme Court, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud was offered the seat of the court’s president by Lord Reed to deliver his lecture. The address, titled “Commercial Arbitration: Shared Understandings and Developments in the UK and India,” took place in the courtroom of the UK Constitutional Court’s President.
In his lecture, Chief Justice Chandrachud commended the Indian judiciary for handling an immense caseload, illustrating the public’s trust with figures:
“The courts in India are overburdened despite the High Courts disposing of 2.15 million cases and the District Courts disposing of 44.70 million cases in 2023. These figures show the trust that the people of India have in their judiciary. Our judiciary functions on the mantra that no case is small or big.”
Chief Justice Chandrachud also discussed the increasing relevance of alternative dispute resolution methods like arbitration and mediation, acknowledging their growing acceptance as viable solutions outside the traditional court system.
He underscored that these methods align with the values of a liberal democracy, as outlined in the Indian Constitution, allowing for individualized legal resolutions that do not contravene established laws.
“Every aggrieved person who approaches the doors of the judiciary has the right to a just remedy.”
“In attending to these grievances, the courts in India perform their plain constitutional duty. The width of our jurisdiction was designed to ensure the widest access to justice. But surely every case need not find a remedy before a court, with emerging forms of dispute resolution such as arbitration and mediation gaining acceptance.”
“The values of a liberal democracy enshrined in the Indian Constitution allow people to seek individualized solutions to their legal problems outside the judicial setup if the solutions do not violate established law.”
“Arbitration is one such alternative method of dispute resolution. Arbitration is no longer an ‘alternative’. It is in fact the preferred method of seeking commercial justice.”
Highlighting the evolution of arbitration, he remarked on its transition from an alternative to the preferred method for resolving commercial disputes. This reflects a significant shift in the legal landscape, recognizing arbitration’s effectiveness in dispensing commercial justice.
“I am not sure that many of us judges today have that ‘pleasant privilege’ of sending both sides happy. But this prose gives us the idea of arbitration – which is the resolution of disputes between parties by a neutral decision-maker outside domestic court systems.”
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His visit also included a speech at the Oxford Union Society earlier in the week, where he spoke on the role of adjudicators in society and the impact of technology on enhancing transparency within the judiciary.
