Introduction
Attending an IALL (International Association of Law Libraries) course is always an adventure. Each year the course is offered in a new jurisdiction, giving the delegates the opportunity to learn about the legal system of the country, visit several law libraries and take in local sights.
The course this year took place at the start of December. For many years courses were held in September, but the later date in 2007 was determined by location. Meeting in December meant that we would avoid the monsoon season, so nearly 100 delegates from many corners of the world travelled to the subcontinent, to Mumbai, the vibrant commercial centre of India, to participate in what would be our first ever course in India.
It was also the first visit to India for many delegates, including me. Taking advice, I read several novels set in modern day India, including two real eye-openers – A Fine Balance, by Rohan Mistry, and Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts. But nothing can really prepare you for the reality, and I am pleased to report that the reality for me was full of fascination, interest, colour and excitement.
The program for the course was organised by the very capable Local Planning Committee headed by Uma Narayan, with Jules Winterton, President of IALL, acting as Board Liaison. The five days were well balanced and offered stimulation for all the senses.
The course
We were fortunate to have as our speakers a selection of eminent Indian jurists and lawyers. The full programme is available online at http://www.iall.org/iall2007/Programme_draft_2007_10_09.pdf, and many of the papers will eventually be published in the International Journal of Legal Information.
The first day provided us with an overview of the Indian Legal System, explaining the role of the courts, which has the Supreme Court at its apex, deciding constitutional matters, acting as final court of appeal in certain matters, and exercising original jurisdiction in disputes between States, or States and the Union of India. Each of the 28 States has its own High Court, which is the final court of appeal within the state; below it there are the District Courts, acting as the appellate court in the District, and then there are Senior or Junior Civil Judges at lower levels, and Magistrates administering the criminal jurisdiction.
India has a common law legal system, but the thrust of the talks was that independence of the judiciary is a key feature of the Constitution of 1949, and the courts guard this jealously. Senior judges are appointed by the judges, not the Executive. Another point of interest was that there has been no jury system since 1973.
Fundamental rights are enshrined in the Constitution, with Article 14 ensuring equal protection of people by the Courts; Article 21 (seen as the ‘heart and soul of the Constitution’ by one speaker), – the right to life and liberty; Article 22 – protection from illegal detention; Article 23 – no exploitation and forced labour; Article 25 – freedom of religion to minority cultures. Article 19, limited to Indian nationals, relates to freedom of speech, of movement, and peaceful assembly.
There are also Directive Principles of State Policy under Article 4, which are not enforceable by the Courts, but are fundamental in the governance of the country, to achieve social justice.
In essence, Parliament is subject to the Supreme Court, and all authorities have to act in accordance with the Supreme Court.
There was an interesting paper on the education of lawyers in India, and the need for the training to cover a broader range of subjects, become more skills oriented and designed for the needs of practice, with a need for clinical education based in ‘the real world’ beyond academia. The legal profession is still restricted in size and in the ability to advertise.
One development which I thought worthwhile was the introduction of a Certificate in Law Librarianship, being offered by the S.N.D.T. Women's University in Mumbai, as an online course. We were treated to an impassioned talk about Women's rights in India, and the public campaigns of the Indian Women's Movement to educate the judiciary and challenge the ‘sexual Puritanism’ experienced in the Indian courts. There was also an excellent paper about the development of human rights under Article 21 of the Constitution, and the judiciary's role in upholding and enforcing these rights wherever possible. There were also several discussions about the sad growth in the number of dowry deaths – graphically underlined when one such death, of a graduate with an MBA, was featured in the news during our visit.
We also heard about Indlii, the one year old effort to provide free online access to the law of all jurisdictions in India, the work of the Court libraries in India, Indian legal literature, and an inspiring address about constitutional and administrative law, which drew together many strands of earlier discussions. The final day was devoted to specific areas of the law: intellectual property, global environmental law, an Indian perspective on international trade law, and legal issues in outsourcing.
Our speakers included a retired judge of the Supreme Court, Hon'ble Mr Justice B.N. Srikrishna; two judges of the Bombay High Court, Hon'ble Dr Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Hon'ble Dr Justice S. Radhakrishnan; the Vice Chancellor of the S.N.D.T. Women's University, Dr Chandra Krishnamurthy; Senior Counsel and advocates and experts and several other notable speakers including the librarian of the Supreme Court.
The standard of the talks was very high, and the structure of the programme well balanced, so that we were able to digest much new information without feeling overwhelmed.
Cultural programme
An essential feature of an IALL course is an introduction to the local culture. In a nation as diverse and vast as India this is a difficult goal to achieve, but it was done extremely well at the opening reception, where a local group of dancers performed a range of regional dances from different parts of India. They were skilful and colourful, and provided an entertaining way to appreciate regional variations. It was a great introduction to the rest of the cultural programme, which included a heritage walk around old Bombay, a guided bus tour of the city and a visit to the following local libraries: the Public Library of Bombay, the Asiatic Library, the Sassoon library, the University Law Library, and the Oriental Institute Library.
It was very sobering for many of us to see the lack of resources that the libraries face, from lack of online catalogues to lack of any online access to databases through to old book stock housed in crowded conditions and suffering from long term exposure to the hot and humid climate. The public library was crowded with eager users, and the university, Asiatic, David Sassoon and Oriental libraries were all heavily used. It would be a herculean task to take on the modernisation of these libraries, but the University library was gradually barcoding every book and adding it to an online catalogue, so the librarians, when provided with support, are able to accomplish much. The sad truth is that in some instances more funds are devoted to redecorating the facilities than to preservation and computerisation of the bookstock, because of local government priorities.
Our final day saw us take a one hour boat ride out to Elphanta Island, the site of 1200 year old Hindu temples with amazing carvings of the god Shiva in all his incarnations. We were fortunate to have very informative guides on our tours, and we learned a great deal about the story of the Hindu gods and the 5000 year old beliefs of the creation of the world, and the way the gods have shaped it.
Social programme
The Opening Reception was followed by an open air buffet in the grounds of the NCPA, a lovely setting on a balmy Indian evening to catch up with colleagues and meet new delegates from many different countries. There were two further group dinners, one at a marvellous restaurant called the Khyber, traditionally decorated in a faux North Western frontier/Moghul Indian style, with excellent traditional Indian style food, and the second at the very chic Tandulka's, owned by the cricketing legend, serving a modern day interpretation of Indian cuisine.
I was very fortunate to be a recipient of a BIALL bursary for this conference, and am grateful to have had the opportunity to visit Mumbai and to learn about the Indian legal system. We have many students from India on our BCL course every year, and as a result of the IALL course I will be better able to ensure our resources, and our assistance to them, will now have a sounder foundation.
