Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud today, Saturday, September 14, said that he prefers to appoint more young lawyers as arbitrators to dispel the myth that only good retired judges make good arbitrators, as stated in a report by LiveLaw.
He was delivering a speech at the Supreme Court of India's 75th anniversary celebration, which coincided with the 125th anniversary of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), at the "Conference on International Arbitration and the Rule of Law".
The CJI revealed that at least 23 of the 45 arbitrators chosen by a court he presided over in the previous several months were lawyers.
Chandrachud said he shifted focus towards India's growing pool of skilled arbitration lawyers.
"My initial instinct was to appoint a retired judge because that is what we have done, a habit rooted in familiarity. But I now find myself pausing to tap from India's burgeoning pool of talented arbitration lawyers with the expertise, knowledge and skill to excel as arbitrators and there is so much work for everyone, especially young women lawyers who are completely displacing gender imbalance in the world of arbitration," he said, as stated in a report by LiveLaw.
The Chief Justice made an argument challenging the stereotype that only retired judges make good arbitrators. Instead, he said, it may be the other way around: good arbitrators can make good judges.
"We need to dispel the myth that only retired judges make good arbitrators, which of course they do, but to further experiment with the proposition that good arbitrators make good judges. As arbitration gains traction as preferred means of dispute resolution, it needs judges with specialised expertise. Members of the bar with extensive experience in arbitration have been appointed as judges in the High Courts. Advocates significantly experienced in international arbitration are being designated seniors by the Supreme Court of India," he said, stated the LiveLaw report.
At the event, former judge Justice Indu Malhotra, Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjiv Khanna, and the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Kapil Sibal, were also present and gave remarks.
