In every judicial case, the judgment is conceived by the lawyers and it is delivered by the judges, said Justice RM lodha of the Supreme Court here on Wednesday, urging young lawyers of the State to equip adequately for this onerous task in undergoing training at the lawyers’ Academy.
Speaking after inaugurating the State-level lawyers’ Academy Charitable Trust here, Justice lodha said law is evolving and to keep pace with the change in law, continuous learning for lawyers is a must. He also called upon the members of the trust to ensure that not only the young lawyers but senior lawyers of the State should also get some training at the lawyers’ Academy so that accountability, transparency, order and respect for the judiciary are maintained.
Stating that the lawyers are accountable for the administration of justice, Justice lodha disapproved of the frequent boycotts of courts by lawyers. He also disapproved of the practice of not attending the courts on the day after making references or attending the condolence meetings upon the death of a fellow lawyer.
Speaking on the occasion, another senior judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Ananga Kumar Patnaik suggested amendments in the Advocates’ Act to ensure that when a lawyer is recognised as a Senior Advocate, his attendances in academic institutions as a learner or teacher are encouraging.
Offering himself to join as a teacher at the lawyers’ Academy after his retirement in six months, Justice Patnaik said the academy should be equipped with techniques to hone the talents of law graduates to become good law practitioners. “law education and law practice are two different things, and both are to be learnt in two different institutions,” he observed.
Former Chief Justice of Odisha High Court and sitting judge of Supreme Court V Gopal Gowda said the Bar and the Bench should compliment and supplement each other for a better justice delivery system. “Unless the lawyers assist the Bench, it is not possible to determine the proposition of law for effective implementation,” he said, suggesting that such lawyers’ Academies should be set up across the country.
The launching of the lawyers’ Academy here also coincided with the inauguration of the Rajiv Gandhi Advocates’ Training Programme undertaken by the National law University here. The function was also addressed, among others, by Odisha High Court Chief Justice AK Goel, Advocate General Ashok Mohanty, Senior Advocates BB Ratho, BB Ray and BM Patnaik and Vice-Chancellor of National law University Odisha Prof V Nagraj.