Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has underscored the centrality of an efficient and predictable justice-delivery system to the economic and institutional ambitions of the BRICS grouping, describing justice as the “load-bearing wall” upon which sustainable growth ultimately depends.
Addressing the inaugural session of the BRICS+ Chief Justices’ Forum at the Supreme Court on Friday, CJI Surya Kant welcomed Chief Justices, Presidents of Supreme Courts and senior judicial representatives from BRICS member and partner countries.
He said the forum should not be viewed merely as an assembly of different judicial jurisdictions, but as a platform for the exchange of judicial thought and institutional experience, united by a common commitment to ensuring that enduring principles of justice remain responsive to contemporary challenges.
Invoking India’s intellectual heritage, Justice Surya Kant traced the underlying philosophy of the forum to the tradition of ancient Nalanda University.
Recalling Nalanda’s position as a prominent centre of learning more than a millennium ago, the CJI noted that scholars from diverse regions, including Tang China, Korea, Tibet, Persia and maritime kingdoms of Southeast Asia, travelled there in pursuit of knowledge.
He referred to the Dharmaganj library complex, traditionally associated with an extensive repository of manuscripts, to illustrate Nalanda’s role as a meeting point of different intellectual traditions.
The significance of Nalanda, according to the CJI, lay in its willingness to accommodate competing ideas rather than insist upon prior agreement on a common philosophical or legal framework.
He suggested that this tradition of constructive disagreement and deliberation provides an apt historical parallel for the BRICS judicial dialogue.
“That is the truest precedent for what BRICS Forum now seeks to do,” he said.
Turning to the broader objectives of BRICS cooperation, CJI Surya Kant identified economic development, technological advancement, dispute resolution and sustainable energy as key areas shaping the grouping’s future.
However, he cautioned against treating these as isolated or parallel drivers of growth.
According to him, each of these areas ultimately rests upon the availability of timely, credible and predictable justice.
Drawing an analogy from architecture, the CJI described the justice system as a building’s load-bearing wall—an element that may not be prominently displayed, yet remains indispensable to the stability of the entire structure.
“No architect ever photographs it for the brochure, and yet no building stands without it,” he remarked.Judicial Delays Can Impose Hidden Economic Costs
Justice Surya Kant further highlighted the economic consequences of uncertainty in the enforcement of legal and contractual rights.
He explained that where an international investor remains uncertain about the time, consistency or fairness with which a commercial dispute may be adjudicated, that uncertainty inevitably finds its way into contractual arrangements.
Investors may seek higher risk premiums, additional security, restrictive exit provisions and other protective mechanisms to insulate themselves from potential judicial uncertainty.
Such measures, the CJI observed, effectively constitute an indirect cost of doing business—one that may not be imposed by statute but is nevertheless ultimately borne by commercial participants.
Conversely, courts capable of delivering decisions expeditiously and consistently, while articulating their reasoning in a manner that inspires confidence across jurisdictions, can substantially reduce such transaction costs.
The CJI outlined four principal areas that will form the focus of deliberations during the forum.
The first is mediation as a strategic mechanism for international commercial disputes. Rather than viewing mediation merely as an alternative or subordinate mechanism to litigation, the deliberations will examine its potential to deliver commercially viable settlements with greater speed, confidentiality and preservation of business relationships.
The second concerns the cross-border enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. Justice Surya Kant noted that despite the aspiration towards uniform international standards governing arbitration, differences in domestic legal systems and judicial practice continue to create challenges in the enforcement of awards across national boundaries.
The third session will focus on Artificial Intelligence and digital innovation in the administration of justice. The discussions are expected to encompass AI-assisted case listing and triage, predictive analytics and other technology-enabled judicial tools, while examining appropriate safeguards to ensure that technological assistance does not undermine the primacy of human judicial judgment.
The fourth theme is judicial leadership in ecological governance.
The session will consider the role of courts as jurisdictions accelerate their transition towards renewable sources of energy, including solar and wind power. Such transitions can give rise to difficult legal questions where renewable-energy projects come into conflict with the protection of forests, wildlife, water bodies and other ecological resources.
The CJI’s address emphasised that differences among the participating legal systems need not constitute an impediment to judicial cooperation.
Instead, those differences can provide an opportunity for courts to exchange institutional experience, identify common challenges and develop approaches suited to an increasingly interconnected global environment.
Justice Surya Kant described the BRICS+ judicial forum as a contemporary institutional endeavour drawing upon older traditions of intellectual engagement and dialogue.
Calling upon the participating judicial leaders to approach their deliberations with candour and humility, he urged them to use the forum to strengthen mutual understanding and build enduring institutional bridges.
Concluding his address, the CJI extended a warm welcome to the visiting judicial dignitaries and said:
“Welcome, my friends, to India, and to this noble endeavour. Jai Hind.”
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