17TH ASIAN LAW INSTITUTE
Virtual Conference on “Law & Justice in Asia”
hosted by
National Law University, Delhi
(7-9 November 2020)
The ASLI conference annually provides a platform for legal academics and scholars from ASLI member institutions, as well as from Asia and beyond, to present their research and examine contemporary legal issues of interest to Asian jurisdictions. Hosted by ASLI’s 16 founding member schools/institutions on a rotational basis, the Conference host hundreds of presented papers, which are also subsequently published; thereby facilitating interactions, academic exchanges, collaborations, and research partnerships amongst law schools in Asia.
DAY 1: SATURDAY, 7 NOVEMBER 2020- Inaugural Session
The Inaugural of the virtual three-day event was held on Saturday, 7th November 2020, the Day 1 of the conference. It opened with a welcome address from Professor Srikrishna Deva Rao (Vice Chancellor of National Law University Delhi) and Associate Professor Kelry Loi (Co-Director, ASLI), National University of Singapore. The keynote address was delivered by the Honorable Justice N. V. Ramana, Judge, Supreme Court of India and Visitor of National Law University Delhi. The Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court and Chancellor of National Law University Delhi, Honorable Justice D N Patel graced the Conference as a Special Guest.
Justice Ramana elaborated on the concept of justice as elucidated in the Indian constitution and its pivotal role in state functioning. He also highlighted as to how most of the Asian countries have been facing similar challenges, and the varied experiences in solving these problems can be profitably shared between everyone. He said “Many of our nations share a colonial past, and have similar tales regarding the imposition of unjust colonial law on our people. However, we must also remember that, a foreign legal system was imposed upon us, along with a set of foreign values and norms. This imposition dwindled the rich heritage, and subdued local customs which had ensured social stability. Traditional values and ideals relating to social and community well-being, which were inherent in our way of life, were foregone. However, justice always requires a tailormade approach and cannot be one-size-fit-all. “
He further added “The comparative study of law prevailing in different Asian countries constitute another way of engaging with law from the standpoint of justice”. He wished for the conference to break barriers, build new friendships and exchange potential solutions saying that “the seeds of new thoughts and ideas will be sown during this conference.”
Professor Srikrishna Deva Rao, Vice Chancellor, NLU Delhi in his welcome address stated that, “The Asian nations, with their shared historical experiences and similar development trajectories, today face a fundamentally different governance landscape than the other nations in the West. The hope from this Conference is that these distinct experiences and trajectories also enable the members of ASLI to propose Asian legal solutions to these unique Asian challenges”.
More than 150 participants attended the inaugural. An Open Forum on the first day of the Conference was also kept to provide an opportunity for the Directors of ASLI to update members on latest developments and invite ASLI members and conference attendees to ask questions and share their opinions.
(Inaugural Ceremony Participants)
DAY ONE-THREE: SATURDAY-MONDAY, 7-9 NOVEMBER 2020- Paper Presentations
Over the span of three days, seven parallel sessions were held across four-five panels each, thereby hosting a total of 128 speakers and 30 chairpersons moderating the sessions. The conference entailed an exchange of ideas and possible solutions that covered issues classified under almost 25 heads. Panels included Children & Law, Criminal Law, Corporate Law & Governance, Information Technology Law, Competition Law, Constitutional & Administrative Law, Corporate Law & Governance, International Law, Environmental Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Human Rights, International Law, Intellectual Property Rights, International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution, Constitutional & Administrative Law, Family Law, Law & Society, Intellectual Property Rights, Women & Law, International Investment Law, Women & Law, Law & Economic Development, Legal Education, Banking & Finance Law, Human Rights, Legal Pluralism, Law & Society, International Business Law, Migration, and Private Law.
DAY THREE: MONDAY, 9 NOVEMBER 2020: Closing Ceremony
As per the past practice, the closing ceremony included a presentation on the 18th ASLI Conference- 2021, by Professor Bintan R. Saragih, Dean, Faculty of Law, Universitas Pelita Harapan.
Closing Remarks on the Conference were delivered by Professor Srikrishna Deva Rao (Vice Chancellor, National Law University Delhi). He spoke on Law, Justice and Legal Empowerment in Asia: Few ideas for Practising law for People. Speaking on the Conference’s importance, he said, “The theme of the conference compels us to interrogate the varied notions of justice from a critical and justice-oriented analysis and engagement…The purpose of this conference was, as we saw over the last few days, to find inspiration from a comparative study of the plurality of values and principles that inform the way Asian nations have sought to deal with Asian problems”.
Further, dividing the analysis of justice into two perspectives, “Firstly…‘Justice from a critical perspective, particularly ‘decolonising law and Justice and to understand it from Asian perspective’. Secondly…justice-oriented perspective that is expanding the ameliorative function of justice and legal empowerment, which is an essential function of justice.” Quoting Yash Ghai, he said “any claim that binds us into binaries (of Eastern v Western, rights v duties, traditional v modern) must be approached with caution”. Further expounding it with, “A simplistic understanding of Asian values as promoting the community over the individual, or favouring economic growth over civil rights – is both essentialising of what ‘Asian’ is and has been across time, and is conducive to legitimizing an authoritative state.”
Expanding on the ameliorative function of justice, the Vice-Chancellor said, “one cannot lose sight of the fact that bad or unjust laws comprehensively nullify the strides made in any or every sphere…we as part of the legal fraternity, are also conscious of the subtle and more elusive ways in which law may, in certain cases, result in unjust outcomes”.
“Access to justice and legal empowerment aspect of justice attempts to bring law closer to people and communities”, are the ways and means to make injustice lesser and bring justice closer to the masses. He mentioned that a paradigm shift in thought and action is required to bridge the justice gap, which cannot be made up with simply more judicial people. Also, an urgent reformation of existing laws, policies, and practices needed to deliver justice timely and accessibly protecting rights of victims and vulnerable citizens–“by developing Asian legal empowerment strategies and supplementing robust dispute resolution mechanisms.”
Associate Professor Kelry Loi, Co-Director of Asian Law Institute, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore, delivered closing remarks on ASLI’s behalf. He congratulated all the participants on their paper presentations over the span of the three days of the Conference. He highly praised NLU Delhi in successfully hosting the ASLI Conference 2020 entirely through digital means, and having a remarkable gathering of 30 chairpersons residing over the parallel presentations, with 108 paper presentations over the span of 2.5 days. He emphasized on this Conference having Asian perspectives from Asians and others, and especially from an insider’s and a within perspective. He spoke on the overwhelmingly high number of abstracts received amounting to 482 and it being exceptionally hard to choose final ones for the Conference; which finally resulted in 108. He concluded exclaiming in delight how not just the quality of papers was good, but especially the delivery and presentation of the arguments being of high standards; both getting better each year.
Further, Associate Professor Kelry Loi along with the ASLI Secretariat Jaya and Alex, wished that everyone had a fruitful experience, an opportunity to share ideas and to build friendships.
NLU Delhi congratulates all the participants on their diligent and rigorous hard work with their well-researched and presented papers. We express our heartfelt gratitude to ASLI, to the Directors of ASLI, to the ASLI Secretariat, and to NUS for this opportunity and for their consistent support in holding the entire event online.
We also express our profound gratitude to the Hon’ble Mr. Justice N. V. Ramana, Judge, Supreme Court of India and Visitor, National Law University Delhi and Hon’ble Mr. Justice D. N. Patel, Chief Justice, Delhi High Court and Chancellor, National Law University Delhi for their support, guidance, and for gracing us with their presence at the Inaugural session. We also thank the NLU Delhi faculty, staff, and students for making the ASLI Conference 2020 a grand success, despite obvious and unprecedented challenges.