Panaji, Jun 9 (PTI) Even though the country is celebrating 75 years of Independence, we still have lawyers who cite judgements of US and UK courts, Supreme Court judge Justice B R Gavai said on Thursday.
He also said there is no need to obsess over foreign faculty members when we have enough talented law teachers in the country.
Justice Gavai was speaking at a function organised by the Bar Council of India Trust to inaugurate a transit campus of the India International University of Legal Education and Research (IIULER) in Goa.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Supreme Court Justices Surya Kant, M M Sundresh, judge of the Bombay High Court Justice Mahesh Sonak besides chairman of the Bar Council of India Manan Kumar Mishra were present on the dais.
Justice Gavai in his speech suggested that the IIULER give up its search for foreign faculty members and a foreign vice chancellor as there is enough talent in the country.
“I would endorse this view that we must have a law school which will compete with international law schools, but I have some disagreement with the fetish for foreign faculties,” he said.
“Is there a dearth of talent in India? We had Dr Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Motilal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, who were all from law faculty. They gave up their lucrative practices and contributed to the nation,” he said.
While we must have an international law university which can compete with global universities, he did not think that we must also have foreign faculty and foreign vice chancellor, Justice Gavai said.
“The Bar Council of India should have a look at it,” he said.
India is celebrating 75 years of Independence and has completed 72 years of the Constitution, “still we have lawyers citing judgements of All England Report and US report,” he noted.
The law has substantially developed in the country in the last 72 years, and “I think there are sufficient number of Indian judgments and there is no necessity to refer to foreign judgements,” the Supreme Court judge said.
Law is not static, it has to change with the changing needs of society, therefore there is a provision in the Constitution that though the Constitution’s basic structure cannot be changed, amendment is possible, he said. PTI RPS KRK KRK
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