The translation of judgments must not only be brought back in full force and catch up on lost time, but must also be expanded such that important judgments are translated to every language of the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.Article 348(2) of the Constitution provides for the Governor of every state to authorise the use of the official language of the state in the High Court of the respective state. The stated position of the Chief Justice recognising the need for importance to be accorded to the Indian languages in the courts may reinvigorate this demand.We may not presume from the above that English speakers, including those who speak it with great fluency, would be easily able to understand the specialised jargon which colours our legislations, judgments and government notifications. The length and complexity of documents which lay down the law and the inscrutability of legal proceedings is a problem that has been acknowledged by the CJI, ever so mildly.The CJI has also flagged procedural barriers as being obstructions in access to justice. Solutions offered by him, such as simplification of procedures and a greater involvement of alternative dispute resolution methods, should be interpreted in the context of his recognition of the litigant as the focal point of the legal system. The call is not for a reversion to the rough and ready justice of the traditional Panchayats, but for improving the systems established by law to make them more litigant friendly.The project of ‘Indianisation’ is not so much about changing the present system into one drawn from what the historians and anthropologists may recognize as Indian tradition or culture, but simply about making a broader base of Indians a part of the system.(IPA Service)Views are personalCourtesy: The Leaflet
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