Public Trust Crucial For Courts To Have Legitimacy & Authority : CJI DY Chandrachud

In a public lecture delivered in Bhutan, Chief Justice of India Dr.DY Chandrachud explained how public trust is crucial for the Courts. Since the judges are not elected by the people and do not operate as per the popular mandate, public trust is essential for them to have credibility and legitimacy, CJI said. It is from the public trust that the Courts derive their moral authority.

Delivering the Jigme Singye Wangchuck Lecture Series at the JSW School of Law, Bhutan, CJI said : "Institutional trust in the constitutional and other courts of the country is the very basis of a thriving constitutional order. Public trust is central to the credibility of the judicial branch which is otherwise insulated from public opinion in its operations."

Since the Courts are dealing with the problems of the daily life of citizens, their trust is crucial.

"Public trust is crucial if our Courts aspire to be viewed as effective dispute resolving, and deliberative bodies. Public trust is not only about the Court's legitimacy, that it is the Court's moral right to command obedience or allegiance. It is about the broader function of the Courts as public-oriented institutions. Institutional design, structures, must therefore, be geared towards responsiveness, transparency and accessibility. Sunlight is not only the best disinfectant; it also begets public trust. It helps us keep our house in order, it serves as an internal check on the functioning of the Courts across the country. It ensures that our institutions are better-managed and use their resources effectively. Measures such as live-streaming have helped foster internal efficiency, accountability and institutional stability," he said.

Justice must not only be done but also be seen to be done

Perception of fairness is also important, the CJI stressed. "The perceived fairness of our decisions as well as the ease of obtaining them are important. Justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done. Outcomes are rarer than process-stuck people in the courts. Thus, not only the constitutional outcomes but the constitutional journeys matter. Open courts, accessible courts are a crucial part of the mission. Technology and simpler processes will be key to these journeys," CJI said.

In this context, CJI elaborated upon the technological reforms undertaken to make the Indian courts more accessible to the people. Measures like virtual hearing, live-streaming, e-filing, online case information systems, use of AI-based tools to translate judgments into regional languages, e-SCR project for easy access to Supreme Court judgments etc., made the court processes more easier to comprehend for the common people. Language of the law and courts, distance between the litigant and the courts and familiarity with Court processes are important determinants of accessibility of Courts to the people.

"Institutional trust is determined by the experience of individuals. Language of the law and courts, distance between the litigant and the courts and familiarity with Court processes are important determinants of accessibility of Courts to the people. Linguistic differences, physical inaccessibility, and complex procedures often exercise an alienating influence on the people and erode public trust. Notionally, the litigant is at the centre of the litigation, but actually, more often than not, the litigants are forced to rely exclusively on the assistance of their counsel to make sense of what goes on in our Courts. Physical access to even the Courts of first instance, is an expensive affair on account of distance and poor connectivity by public transport. Those who can, sometimes expend or even exhaust significant monetary resources while still at the courts of first instance," CJI said.

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