Leading academics, legal experts, policy makers, politicians, eminent lawyers, and members of the judiciary, will take part in the fifth edition of Difficult Dialogues at the International Centre Goa, Dona Paula, from February 14. This year the topic of discussion will be the ‘State of Law’ in the country.
In the backdrop of the ongoing countrywide debate on Citizenship Amendment Act, the discussion could throw light on the legality and constitutional validity of the measures, which has been challenged in the Supreme Court.
The objective would be to bridge the gap between policy formulation and on-ground implementation. At the end of the summit strategic recommendations would be tabled so that actionable white papers can be created for the benefit of all.
The discussion became all the more relevant since framing of law and time-bound dispensation of justice are crucial for a diverse and developing country like India where more than a billion-strong population is widely distributed in terms of geography, economic classes, religion, education, gender, cultural and social backgrounds., etc.
The organizers have put together the panels of Difficult Dialogues keeping in mind issues and bottle-necks that need to be addressed in order to improve the state of law as it stands in the country today,
This year the Knowledge Partners for Difficult Dialogues include the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford, (CSLS, Oxford), Bar Association of India (BAI), O P Jindal Global University, Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University (CSLG, JNU), the Goa University (GU), and the International Centre Goa (ICG).
The conference would be inaugurated on February 14 evening by the Governor of Goa Satya Pal Malik. This would be followed by a special session on ‘Democracy and the Rule of Law’.
Over the next couple of days there would be several panel discussions, workshops, talks and student debates that are bound to spark off new thoughts and ideas and keep the attending guests engaged.
Some of the issues that would be covered in the panel discussions include ‘Discrimination Law and Minorities’, ‘Gender, Legal Profession and the Courts’, ‘Reforms in the Administration of Justice’, ‘Free Speech, Censorship and Media’, and ‘Accountability vs Independence of the Judiciary’, and the panels would address each of these areas and come up with specific action points and policy recommendations which would be documented. In addition to these there would be panel discussions on laws related to women and children, efficacy of environmental laws and laws on the right to privacy.
Key speakers and panellists who would be presenting their viewpoints at Difficult Dialogues 2020 include Dr Pinky Anand, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India and politician, Prof. C. Raj Kumar, Vice Chancellor, O.P. Jindal Global University, Prof Linda Mulcahy, Director of the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Oxford University, Arif Mohammad Khan, eminent politician and Governor of Kerala, Dr. Sridhar Acharyulu, former Central Information Commissioner, Geeta Luthra, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India, Vrinda Grover, Advocate, High Court of Delhi, researcher and human rights activist, Sudhir Mishra, Advocate, Supreme Court and eminent environment lawyer, Justice Sujata Manohar, Retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India, former member of the National Human Rights Commission, Shyam Divan, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India working primarily on civil litigation across sectors, Judge Tom Mueller, USA, Former Circuit Court Judge and Senior Counsel, Alperin Law, Dr Paul Flather, University of Oxford, UK and Secretary-General of the Europaeum, Ben Tucker, Founding Partner at Minerva Search UK, Ghazala Jamil, Assistant Professor at the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, JNU, New Delhi with a focus on social development, and Farah Naqvi, Indian writer, consultant and activist working on gender rights and minority rights.
An interesting highlight would be an engaging talk Above the Law where investigative documentarian from Italy, Massimilano Mazzotta, and investigative reporter on the ‘fourth mafia’ Maria Luisa Mastrogiovanni will be speaking. Mazzota’s documentary film on the polluting oil industry, featuring a refinery in southern Sardinia, will also be screened.