Around 2 Dozen US Judges To Travel To India For Dialogue, Consultations

About two dozen US State judges, including over half a dozen Indian Americans, will travel to India early next month for dialogue and consultations with their Indian counterparts, it was announced here on Tuesday.

This is perhaps the first time a large contingent of US state judges will visit India to hold talks with the Indian legal fraternity and is indicative of the growing judicial ties between the two countries.

The delegation of 23 US state court judges, including seven Indian American judges, among others will be calling on Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, the chief justice and judges of Delhi High Court as well as the chief justice and judges of the Bombay High Court.

"We are coming to India for a dialogue and exchange of views on our judicial systems," Justice Sanjay T Tailor, leader of the delegation of US state court judges, said in a statement on the visit in early February.

Mr Tailor, who has been a state court judge in the United States for 20 years, has a special interest in the justice system of India.

Mr Tailor participated as a delegate of the American Bar Association delegation in a legal exchange visit to India in December 2009 and, since then, he along with other eminent members of the American Bar Association have attended three legal conferences sponsored by the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) and the India Committee of the American Bar Association Section of International Law.

"I am confident that the judges in our delegation would relish the opportunity to have an exchange of views with the Honorable Chief Justice and judges of the Supreme Court of India, Honorable Chief Justice and judges of the Delhi High Court, as well as, Honorable Chief Justice and judges of the Bombay High Court, besides interaction with the bar leaders of India," Mr Tailor said in a media release.

The visit of the delegation of American judges is being felicitated by the Society of Indian Law Firms, the Indo American Chamber of Commerce and some other professional institutions. This will provide the US delegation a forum for interface with the Indian judiciary and legal fraternities, it said.

"This is the first initiative of its nature to promote and strengthen fraternal relations not only between the legal profession of the two countries but also between the judiciary," said Lalit Bhasin, the President of Society of Indian Law Firms, and national president of the Indo American Chamber of Commerce.

He said both countries need to address the legal challenges that are unfolding with the strengthening of the multidimensional economic partnership.

According to Mr Bhasin, both countries are actively engaged in a dialogue on data protection, cyber security, fast-tracking commercial disputes, and avoidance of double taxation.