Bar, bench and academics are equal contributors to development of law: Judges at launch of book on law of damages and valuation

The first edition of Damages, Expert Evidence and Valuation in Commercial Disputes in India, edited by Senior Advocate Gaurav Pachnanda and Khaitan & Co Singapore Partner Kartikey Mahajan, was launched on Sunday at an event held in the Delhi High Court Auditorium..The publication aims to address the gaps in the jurisprudence related to the law of damages and valuation in India.It is a collection of 32 chapters written by over 70 authors from across various jurisdictions on various subjects and controversies relating to damages, expert evidence and valuation in commercial disputes..The book was officially launched by Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and KV Viswanathan of the Supreme Court of India, as well as Justice Manmohan, Acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, and Justice Vibhu Bakhru of the Delhi High Court..In his opening remarks, Pachnanda spoke about how the idea for the book was conceived by him and Mahajan as a result of a gap felt in Indian literature in restating general principles of damages in the context of the most complex commercial contracts prevalent in disputes today. Primarily, the book was a way to critically analyze certain principles governing the award of damages that were developing in other common law jurisdictions—for example in liquidated damages—and explore either applying or distinguishing these principles under Indian law, he said..Justice Bakhru delivered a speech tracing the evolution of common law from “an era of unity” to an “era of divergence”. He spoke about how India has now left its own foot-print on common law with notable divergence in jurisprudence from its counterparts in England and Singapore..Justice Manmohan remarked on how the relationship between judges and academics has evolved through history, from a time when these roles operated in separate worlds to now, where the development of law is a collaborative effort between the two. He gave examples of how judges of the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court (including himself) have authored chapters in this book, to show that the once-held distinction between the bar, the bench and the academics has come to be eliminated in the effort to improve the law..Justice Viswanathan welcomed the contribution to the law of damages in India. Quoting Lord Goff, he said “The process of collaboration between academics and judges is like a pilgrimage. And conversations between pilgrims can certainly be quite interesting.” Speaking of how the Indian law of damages may have borrowed from legal principles in England which have long been jettisoned by England itself, he welcomed the role of books like this in allowing the cross-pollination of ideas among jurisdictions, allowing Indian judges to adapt and apply the law in the field of damages..Justice Kaul noted that if one digs beneath the surface, the principles of damages appear to be a lot more complex than what seems “peacefully worded in two sections of the Indian Contract Act”. He remarked how, because of the pro-arbitration approach adopted by Indian courts lately, much of commercial law is being developed in awards, which cannot be reported like judgments. In that context, he said that books like these and works of academic are of immense help. On valuation and expert evidence, he said, “For many years, we have forced experts to become familiar with legalease and grasp legal principles…The evolving business environment requires that now lawyers return the favour—they must now have a thorough understanding of financial analysis that was so far in the domain of experts.” Mahajan delivered the vote of thanks to the many authors from India, Singapore, UK and other jurisdictions who contributed to this book..The book launch event saw in attendance several distinguished luminaries from the legal field, from across the world including India, the United Kingdom and Singapore. Various judges of the Supreme Court of India and the High Courts of India were also present to grace this event. Some of these dignitaries included Justice Sanjay Karol (Judge, Supreme Court of India), Justice Hemant Gupta (Former Judge, Supreme Court of India), Justice Pratibha Singh (Judge, Delhi High Court), Justice Naveen Chawla (Judge, Delhi High Court), Justice Sanjeev Narula (Judge, Delhi High Court), Justice Permod Kohli (Former Chief Justice, Sikkim High Court), Justice V.K. Gupta (Former Chief Justice, Jharkhand High Court), Justice Gita Mittal (Former Chief Justice, Jammu and Kashmir High Court), Justice Murlidhar (Former Chief Justice, Orissa High Court). Many Senior Advocates, including Maninder Singh, Huzefa Ahmadi, Sidharth Luthra, Gourab Banerji, Amit Sibal, Basava Prabhu Patil, Paras Kuhad, Guru Krishna Kumar and Nakul Dewan also attended the event. Partners and associates of leading law firms, and noted legal practitioners from several jurisdictions were also in attendance..The book is now available for purchase on Amazon here.