Next phase of eCourts project seeks to aid ease of doing business by tackling judicial pendency: Justice DY Chandrachud

Justice DY Chandrachud on Monday revealed that the focus of the third phase of the eCourts project would be to increase ease of doing business by addressing pendency before the courts..Speaking at the Law Society of England and Wales on the subject of Human Rights In Regulatory Regimes: The Evolution Of Judicial Review, the apex court judge, who is also Chairman of the Supreme Court eCommittee, said,"Our committee aims to digitize the Indian judiciary in order to render justice accessible and effective. The third phase of our project seeks to aid the “ease-of-doing business” by tackling judicial pendency and enabling convenience in accessing the judiciary.".While discussing India’s shift from a socialist-inspired welfare state to a market-driven economy, he stressed on the importance of re-assessing our long-standing constitutional commitments.“In embracing these changes, the constitutional order must alert itself to the social and economic deprivation that could be caused be a purely unregulated approach to the law and life,” he said..He also said that the lion’s share of his work as a judge of the Supreme Court was dealing with vexed issues of commercial law, which were not unrelated to interpreting the Constitution."...my task as a judge is not always laid out as a balancing exercise of competing rights and duties. In the Indian federal structure, the Supreme Court assumes the role of a constitutional court. But it also acts as the final appellate court over every conceivable legal dispute. The lion’s share of my work is dealing with vexed issues of commercial law. These issues are not just contractual disputes between private parties, but conflicts between regulatory agencies and defendants which have wide-ranging implications on the economy. These disputes are not divorced from interpreting the Constitution, but are rather emblematic of it.".The judge pointed out that even the Constituent Assembly recognized that economic policy should be a product of democratic politics of the time, and could not be cast in stone for posterity. Therefore, he explained that the Indian Constitution did not adopt a particular economic policy, but restricted itself to identifying certain ideals that were enumerated as Directive Principles of State Policy..Justice Chandrachud opined that while having conversations about social welfare, an oft-forgotten conversation was on the economic philosophy of a nation.“There is an undeniable link between the freedom and liberty that is enjoyed by every individual and the broader economic philosophy of a state.”.Speaking of commercial issues, he also acknowledged that it was not just regulatory litigation which was impacted by the change in a State’s economic philosophy. He said that there was always a connection between the economic structures in a state, and their manifestation on rights and liberties of citizens.“My experiences with adjudication have led me to believe that a sustained interrogation of the seemingly “private” spheres of law provides impetus to a more robust conception of rights and liberties in all spheres.”On finding a balance between private economic interests and regulation, he said,"As a judge, I witness the tensions between private entrepreneurship and the state’s regulatory powers on a daily basis. In crafting my judicial opinions, I am conscious of how these seemingly benign interpretational issues determine economic coordination and investment patterns.".The judge, thus said that, as a post-colonial democracy the Indian constitution represented a certain aspiration for society, while leaving its nuts-and-bolts to be fashioned by future generations.