Goverment making sincere attempts to draft laws in simple manner — Modi

NEW DELHI — Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said his government is making sincere attempts to draft laws in a simple manner and in Indian languages to the maximum extent, asserting that the language in which laws are written and court proceedings conducted play a key role in ensuring justice.

“The common man should consider the law as his own,” he said.

Inaugurating the International Lawyers’ Conference here, Modi also said that with India working hard to achieve the goal of becoming a developed country by 2047, it requires the base of a strong and impartial justice system. Impartial justice has a big role in the growing faith of the world in India, he added.

The prime minister also flagged concerns about cyber terrorism and money laundering besides the use of artificial intelligence for destructive purposes. He said these dangers do not recognise borders and jurisdiction and called for collaborative efforts among legal frameworks of different countries to deal with them.

He cited the example of cooperation between air traffic control systems of all countries to ensure air travel and said preparing a global framework to deal with these dangers is not about one government or country.

“Every legal mind or institution is highly vigilant about its jurisdiction. However, there are many forces against which we are fighting that do not care about borders or jurisdictions. When danger is global, then the manner to deal with it should also be global.”

Whether it is cyber terrorism, money laundering, artificial intelligence, or its misuse, there are many issues where cooperation requires a global framework. It is not merely a matter for any one government or administration, Modi observed.

Commenting on the legal system, Modi said the language used to write laws and in the judicial process play a big role in ensuring justice.

“We in the Indian government are thinking that law should be produced in two ways. One draft will be in the language you are used to,” he told the audience drawn from the legal fraternity. “The second draft will be in a language which the country’s common man can understand. He should consider the law as his own.”

Modi said there had been a practice of drafting laws in a complex manner.

One of the aspects of justice delivery on which there is very little discussion is the language and the simplicity of law, the prime minister noted.

He said the government is trying to make laws simple and understandable to the common man but the system has been ingrained in the same framework and he was trying to pull it out of that.

Also read: Prime Minister Modi to inaugurate International Lawyers’ Conference 2023