IANS | 28 Mar, 2024
Member of Parliament and senior Supreme Court advocate Abhishek Manu
Singhvi has said the building of a nation is fundamentally dependent on
the foundation of good governance that is controlled by the rule of
law.
In his inaugural address at the G20 Conclave on 'Role of
Lawyers and the Legal Profession in the Economic Development of G20
countries', Abhsihek Manu Singhvi, who was the Guest of Honour, said,
"Initiatives like G20 are based on certain essential creeds. These
include clear collective action, universal outlook, global citizenry,
transnational cooperation, synergy and collaboration ultimately all
encompassed in that beautiful phrase Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam."
"There
is an opportunity, especially for young lawyers, to actually
participate and to actively shape global regulations by engaging with
policymakers, industrial leaders and civil society," he said.
He
said, "The legal community has been at the forefront of the Indian
national movement, India's independence movement. We all know the legal
connection from Mahatma Gandhi to Ambedkar to Nehru, Sardar Patel and
others. What is less known is the contribution of legally trained
persons in the G20 countries as well from Lincoln to Mandela!
"The
contributions of these persons extended far beyond the courtroom. They
shaped their respective nations for future generations and it is no
exaggeration to say that legal profession is at the heart of
industrialization and of economic growth.
"But all of them involve
the principle of rule of law to see that contracts are enforced, to see
that a level playing field exists for everyone, to see that disputes
are either minimised or managed well, and that people and businesses are
correctly advised about navigating these legal intricacies and
jurisdictions."
Dr Singhvi also warned that with globalisation, there were many new challenges too.
"The
flipside is that crime and criminals do not respect either sovereignty
or borders. Take cybercrime or cyberterrorism, for example. No one G20
country can deal with it alone. Lawyers must be at the forefront of
designing the remediation and the preventive mechanisms. Collaboration,
cooperation and coordination will be needed, even within the more
limited confines of G20, because none of this can be handled by any
entity alone.
"Young lawyers must do work in areas of
harmonisation of new regulations and this applies not only to artificial
intelligence, but to related subjects like data privacy, data security,
mitigating bias in artificial intelligence systems. G20 lawyers here
also should equip themselves to act as neutral third parties facilitate
efficient regulations, and most importantly, create a paradigm or a
mechanism for resolving conflicts.
In his welcome address, Dr. C.
Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor, O.P. Jindal Global University
& Dean, Jindal Global Law School said, "The theme of the
conclave is the role of lawyers and the legal profession in the economic
development of G20 countries. The question of the role of lawyers, the
legal profession, is one of the less studied aspects in the larger
context of G20 and the economic development of G20 countries.
Prof
David Wilkins believed in the vision of India, as well as its own
unique positioning in the world. His research work focused on India
which led to an extraordinary book the on Indian legal profession was
published by Cambridge University Press. This conclave was his
brainchild which has been organised in less than a month and we are
honoured that Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a distinguished lawyer, a
public intellectual, a senior advocate, the Supreme Court of India, a
distinguished member of parliament is giving the inaugural address."
Introducing
the Theme of the Conclave Prof. David B. Wilkins Lester Kissel
Professor of Law & Vice Dean, Harvard Law School, "The events of
the last few years are really a symptom of even bigger changes that
have transformed our world. First and foremost, the globalisation of the
economy and the increasing movement of global activity from the global
north and west to the south and east, and including our friends in China
and India, and also the complexity of that interaction that's also led
to a kind of explosion, law regulation and risk that all organisations
face.
"Since the COVID crisis new laws and programmes, redesigned
institutions and online courts, stimulus measures, contact tracing,
reform of traditional corporate policies challenged by the pandemic
around employment, online work supply chains, data privacy and security,
corporate governance itself and that we have to not just think about
shareholders, but balance the interests of shareholders with other
stakeholders is an important development. These new laws are challenging
traditional ideas and what it means to be a lawyer and what lawyers
should be doing."
The Special Address was given by the American
Bar Association (ABA) India Committee Chair Pratibha Jain and also the
ABA India Committee Head of Strategy and Group General Counsel,
Everston, "Investment firms are at the core of economic growth of any
country other than capital markets. The alternative investment industry
has been pivotal to the economic growth of G20 countries.
"Contribution
of alternative investment such as private equity, hedge funds, real
estate funds is critical for growth of start-ups and provision of
innovation capital in these countries. For any firm to operate or to set
up new businesses in a new jurisdiction, they have to navigate not only
the local laws but the cross-border laws and the laws of the country
from where they're investing from.
"A well-functioning legal
system attracts investments and contributes to long economic, long term
economic growth. A strong legal profession is integral to creating an
innovative economy, policy, advocacy and legislative reform."
Dr.
Mohan Kumar Dean and Director, Jindal Global Centre for G20 Studies gave
his reflections and said, "Never ignore geopolitics! There is a
discordance between those who are committed to international law and
those who want to actually build a rules-based international order.
"G20
has always talked about the liability of legal persons for corruption,
and they want to introduce high principles in this regard. Brazil has
taken it upon itself to come up with G20 high level principles for legal
persons and their responsibility against corruption."