BACKGROUND     

In a democratic polity, the role of judiciary is indispensable.  The Rule of Law requires an efficient, strong and enlightened judiciary. The effectiveness of any judicial system mainly depends upon the competency and efficiency of the men who operate the same.

 

In India the Constitution has entrusted the judiciary with the task of ensuring realization of the rights guaranteed to citizens and also to ensure that other organs of the State i.e. Executive and Legislature should perform and discharge their duties within the parameters of their conferred powers. The judicial system even if it moves in right direction, may not be able to deliver justice to affected citizens efficiently if the judicial officers do not have the requisite operational skill or they are not trained to deliver substantial justice to the litigants.

 

Judicial objectivity and public confidence in the judiciary are pre-conditions for effective functioning of the justice delivery system.  There is a growing need for the judiciary to provide and demonstrate social accountability by providing speedy justice within minimum time.  The justice delivery system may not perform its duties effectively unless knowledge and skills of the judicial officers are continuously upgraded by appropriate education and training. Continuous judicial education and training in a systematic and organized manner, therefore, are effective tools to increase the efficiency and efficacy of the judicial system and to upgrade the requisite skills, knowledge and attitude of the judicial officers who operate the judicial system.

 

In it’s one hundred and seventeenth report, the Law Commission of India emphasized the need for continuous judicial education and formulated it’s basic aim in the following words:

 

The basic aim of training briefly spelt out is to equip the trainees not only with tools to execute their work, but to endow them with vision as to what is expected of the system which they serve.  What is meant by Justice?  What is decision making process?  What are the goals of the Constitution?  What is the direction in which law must move?  What does the dictum justice according to law imply?

In the All India Judges’ Association Case, AIR 1992 SC 165 and in the order on the Review Petition, AIR 1993 SC 2493, the Supreme Court declared the urgent need to organize judicial education on a systematic basis through National and State Judicial Academies. Then, the Supreme Court in the more recent case that is, All India Judges Association V Union of India,  (2002) 4 SCC 247 laid emphasis in depth training for Judicial Officers.   

It was in this background that Delhi Judicial Academy came into existence on 22nd February, 2002, as a result of vision of Hon’ble Mr. Justice S.B. Sinha, Judge Supreme Court of India,  the then Chief Justice, High Court of Delhi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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