Challenges in ensuring access to justice not confined by borders: Justice S K Kaul

New Delhi: The challenges in ensuring access to justice are not confined by borders in an interconnected world and the Global South can leverage collective wisdom, share best practices and explore innovative solutions that transcend geographical boundaries by coming together, Supreme Court judge Justice S K Kaul said on Monday.

Addressing the inaugural session of a two-day regional conference hosted by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) on access to legal aid, Justice Kaul also said that in the pursuit of justice, the importance of legal aid cannot be overstated as it is the cornerstone that upholds the principles of fairness, equality and the rule of law.

"In a world which is increasingly interconnected, the challenges we face in ensuring access to justice are not confined by borders. By coming together we can leverage collective wisdom, share best practices and explore innovative solutions that transcend geographical boundaries. I am a firm believer that we must evolve our functions and outlooks to understand our people and better represent them," Justice Kaul said.

Justice Kaul, who is also the executive chairman of the NALSA, said while everyone should have access to a good lawyer our attention is multifaceted to enable dispute resolution and effective governance mechanisms at all levels.

"We come from different backgrounds and cultural norms but we have a common objective to ensure ease of access to legal aid. We aim to build consensus on how legal aid is a beacon of hope for the marginalised centred on the needs of people," he said.

Professionals from diverse fields of expertise and social backgrounds will engage in corroborative discussions at the conference.

The conference brings together chief justices of 70 countries of the Global South and it is a rare opportunity to catalyse the exchange of the most effective practices and an insight garnered from years of experience, he said.

The key areas for deliberations at the Conference include developing effective examples of people-centric justice systems, measuring the quality of legal aid services, strategies for reducing pre-trial detention, early access to legal aid in criminal cases, legal aid in civil cases, sustainable funding mechanisms, child-friendly legal aid, etc.