Judicial Appointments In India And The U.S And UK: Independence, Transparency, And Accountability
- IJLLR Journal
- Jan 31
- 2 min read
Veeresh A, LLM (Constitutional and Administrative Law), School of Law Christ (Deemed to be) University, Bengaluru
ABSTRACT
In this paper, the critical analysis is whether or not collegium system is a valid procedure of giving these two traits of independence and democratic transparency and accountability in appointing judges in the higher judiciary in India. The history of the collegium system is preceded by four historic Supreme Court cases that comprise the Use of the First Judges Case, 1981, which declared that executive primacy, and the Second Judges Case, 1993, which transfers the appointment powers to the judiciary by requesting a binding recommendation of the Chief Justice of India, and the Third Judges Case, 1998, which extended the collegium composition, and the Fourth Judges Case, 2015, which invalidated the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) once This paper will draw a comparative analysis of the judicial appointment process in India and the United States with regard to the deficiency of transparency in the process, as well as the deficiency of rational disclosures in India. These weaknesses have contributed to institutional legitimacy and popular confidence of judicial system. The paper also discusses the proposed reforms which are aimed at enhancing transparency and consultation with the stakeholders without interfering with the judicial independence. The need to organize the information sharing, the publication of the appointment rationales, and the increased contact with the civil society and the legal academia is pointed out. The paper argues that there is indeed a need to have reforms, which are graded rather than a complete revolution of the collegium system to put it in the same tune with the constitutional norm and the democratic aspirations. The paper ends by concluding that an independent and publicly accountable judiciary is significant in the process of maintaining democratic legitimacy. Through implementing certain reforms in enhancing the collegium system, it will be possible to ensure that the appointment of judges is not just a guarantee of institutional honesty, but is also a sign of open and participatory type of government.
Keywords: Collegium system, Article 124, Independence of judiciary, Transparency, Accountability.
