Supreme Court To Host 18th Meeting Of Chief Justices Of SCO Member States From March 10 to 12

The Supreme Court of India will host the 18th meeting of the Chief Justices of the Member States of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) from March 10 to March 12, 2023 with a view to develop judicial cooperation among Member States.

Chief Justices / Chairpersons of the Supreme Courts of SCO Member States have been invited to attend the meeting.  The Indian participation in the meeting will include Chief Justice of India, Dr Dhananjay Y Chandrachud, Supreme Court judges Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice K M Joseph among others.

The meeting is likely to witness discussions on topics such as "smart Courts and the future of the judiciary", "facilitating access to justice", "institutional challenges facing judiciary: delays, infrastructure, representation, and transparency".

The meeting will involve a Joint interaction with the Chief Justices/ Chairpersons / Judges from the Member / Observer States and representatives from SCO Secretariat and SCO RATS and will conclude with the signing of a joint statement.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was created in 2001on the basis of "Shanghai five" formed after the signing by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia and Tajikistan. The main goal of SCO is to strengthen mutual trust, friendship and good neighbourliness, encouraging effective cooperation in several areas among the member states. SCO members include China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia constitute the SCO observers while Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal are the SCO dialogue partners:

The first Meeting was held on 22 September 2006 in Shanghai (People’s Republic of China). The seventeenth meeting of the Presidents of the Supreme Courts of the Member states of the SCO was held in Dushanbe. India assumed rotational presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization for a year in September 2022 through the Samarkand declaration last year.