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India chief justice proposes constitutional court

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan proposed on Saturday the creation of a new constitutional court to review matters relating to the Indian Constitution and other federal issues. Balakrishnan also suggested the creation of a television channel that would exclusively cover the Supreme Court of India, similar to the channel that currently covers the Indian Parliament. The channel would provide the people with a better understanding of what judges do and at the same time make judges more accountable for their decisions. The proposed constitutional court would be similar to the system in South Africa, and would help ease the Supreme Court's load as more appeals are filed. The suggestions of the television channel and an increase in transparency in the court come as the Supreme Court faces criticism for judicial accountability. In November, judges of the Supreme Court voluntarily made public disclosures of their financial assets. Despite the release, Transparency International questioned the benefit of disclosure when there is no way to confirm that it is entirely accurate, given the announcement that the judges will not entertain any queries or scrutiny of assets listed. In August, the judges made the decision to go public with their assets, despite not being required to do so by Indian law.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on January 12, 2010 (boomark / email).