The Hindu : Business : Specialised business courts mooted

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Sunday, Apr 11, 2004

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Business

Specialised business courts mooted

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI, APRIL 10. Justice S. Rajendra Babu, Judge of the Supreme Court, today suggested the idea of setting up specialised business courts for speedy disposal of commercial and economic disputes to facilitate faster economic growth.

"I only want to provoke a line of thinking by advancing the idea of specialised business courts in the larger context of delineating the role of legal system in economic growth," Justice Babu said while inaugurating a national conference on `Reinventing Indian legal system for achieving double digit economic growth', organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Justice Babu said the economic growth of any country would greatly revolve around a strong, healthy and effective judicial system. But the delays in our judicial system remained a big hurdle in achieving double-digit economic growth in the country. He said specialised courts for adjudicating bankruptcies, labour dispute, tax cases or other commercial matters were high on the list of priorities for creating institutional infrastructure for a market economy. He said these courts had gained favour in the U.S. in the past 50 years and also in Europe.

The Judge noted that these courts usually followed streamlined rules of procedures to speed up hearings, increase accessibility, make filing of cases easier, shorten appeals and reduce the litigation cost. Such subject-matter specialisation could also improve the quality of decisions.

He was of the view that well functioning judicial system would foster economic growth. By securing property and contract rights, reducing policy instability and curbing administrative expropriation, impartial, timely and predictable judiciaries stimulate investment, efficiency and technological progress.

In his keynote address, the Rajya Sabha MP and President of the Bar Association of India, Fali S. Nariman, said sometimes speedy justice could result in injustice. He noted that though a Fast Track Court in Gujarat delivered the judgment in the Best Bakery case in two months, it resulted in injustice. However, the Supreme Court intervened in time and restored the confidence of the public in judiciary. He said it was erroneous to think that by increasing the number of judges in the court, quicker disposal of cases could take place.

The others who spoke at the meeting included, Lalit Bhasin, corporate lawyer, Pradip Khaitan, Chairman, Corporate Laws and Legal Affairs committee of the FICCI.

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