Justice L Nageswara Rao attends demonstration, discussion about Israel's judicial reforms; says judges have ensured India is safe

Former Supreme Court Justice L Nageswara Rao attended a demonstration in Jerusalem on March 25 held in light of Israel's proposed judicial reforms..The former judge also addressed an emergency conference in Israel titled No Other Democracy in the World, on threats to judicial independence.In his speech at the conference on March 26, Justice Rao said that independent, efficient judges working without fear or favour have ensured that India is in a safe space when compared to Poland and Hungary, where the courts are not independent of the executive.He mentioned the powers of the Indian Supreme Court and the High Courts to review actions by the executive, and stated that the apex court, in exercise of these powers, has in the past stopped attempts to suspend fundamental rights."Review of not only executive action, but legislative action, even an amendment to the Constitution, is permissible by the courts [in India]. And attempts that were made earlier to suspend fundamental rights have been stopped by the Supreme Court in the exercise of judicial review. There is an imperative need that you have independent judges who are efficient and work without fear or favor, and that is what has been happening in India. We're in a safe space in comparison to what happened in Poland and Hungary," he stated..As the Knesset (Israeli parliament) prepares for a final vote next week that will politicize Israel’s Judicial Selection Committee, Israel Democracy Institute convened the conference with former justices, justice ministers and legal experts from around the world..The conference was attended by several notable individuals, including Prof Andreas L Paulus, a former Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court in Germany, solicitor advocate Alan Shatter, who served as the former Minister for Justice, Equality and Defense in Ireland, and Justice Rao.Also present were Prof Irwin Cotler, a former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada; Prof Tomasz Tadeusz Koncewicz, the Director of the Department of European and Comparative Law at the University of Gdańsk in Poland; and Prof Gábor Halmai from the European University Institute's Robert Schuman Centre of Advanced Studies in Hungary..During the conference, Prof Yaniv Roznai, Co-Director of the Rubinstein Center for Constitutional Challenges (RCCC), spoke about the mass mobilization in Israel. He referred to the people as the guardians of democracy, but also emphasized the role of the judiciary as a guardian. In that context, he asked Justice Rao to elaborate on the striking down of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) and the procedure of appointment of judges in India..Justice Rao provided a comprehensive explanation of the historical background of the system of appointment of judges to constitutional courts in India, the attempt by the government to change the appointment process in 2015, and the current mechanism for making appointments.He also emphasized on the importance of maintaining independence of the judiciary, which is crucial for upholding the rule of law and ensuring checks and balances."The Indian Constitution has a provision, Article 50, which says that the State shall endeavour to ensure that the judiciary is different or separate from the executive. So that balance being maintained is very important for checks and balances," he said.