Gwalior, Sep 26 (PTI) Supreme Court judge Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra on Saturday said judicial education extends far beyond the boundaries of a curriculum and should continue to evolve as the scope of law is vast.
Speaking on the topic ‘Expanding the Horizons of Judicial Education’, Mishra said knowledge and understanding were both essential for implementing the law.
The remarks were made at the two-day West Zone Regional Conference being organised jointly by the National Judicial Academy, Madhya Pradesh High Court and Madhya Pradesh State Judicial Academy at the auditorium of Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya here.
SC judge Justice Augustine George Masih said judicial academies continuously enrich the judiciary with knowledge, and described them as the hands that keep filling the lamp of human resources with the oil of knowledge.
The three dimensions of judicial education — knowledge, sensitivity and the learner — were expanding simultaneously, he said.
Another SC judge, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, stressed the need to continuously improve the judicial thinking of judges and expand their horizons.
Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, also a sitting judge of the apex court, said modern judicial education was not limited to proficiency in precedents but also included the ability to interpret laws quickly. He said judicial training needed to move from mechanical training towards multidisciplinary learning.
Justice Aniruddha Bose, a retired Supreme Court judge and director of the National Judicial Academy, said the academy had interacted with around 52,000 judges over the past 24 years and organised several programmes for judges from 11 countries.
Bose also suggested organising orientation sessions to train judges in specialised areas, such as DNA reports and other electronic records.
Madhya Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Alok Yashwant Kogje said skills in the legal field do not come naturally but have to be developed.
He said judicial academies play an important role in providing high standards of judicial education and that the objective of such training is to develop a far-sighted approach among judges.
Justice Kogje cited Nelson Mandela’s famous observation that education was the most powerful weapon which could be used to change the world, saying it underlined the importance of the theme of the conference.
Madhya Pradesh High Court judge and chairman of the governing council of the Madhya Pradesh State Judicial Academy, Justice Vivek Agarwal, also highlighted the importance of the conference.
The National Judicial Academy organises training, dialogue and other programmes for judges of the Supreme Court, high courts and district courts to help improve the process of justice delivery.
The conference, being held in Gwalior for the first time, is aimed at enhancing the knowledge of judges from Madhya Pradesh as well as other states in the western region, the organisers said.
Speakers at the conference also laid special emphasis on the use of information technology in the justice delivery process. PTI COR LAL NP
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