Thread by @barandbench

Supreme Court Judge, Justice Sanjiv Khanna is scheduled to deliver an address in a discussion held by the Bar Council of Punjab & Haryana on the theme "Perseverance is not a long race, it is many short races one after the other: Lessons for a young lawyer"

The online discussion will also see a special address by QC Geoffrey Robertson, who is also an author and the founder of Doughty Street Chambers, UK

Justice Khanna begins his address by acknowledging the benefits of technology due to which the webinar is made possible as well as an acknowledgment of the fact that a small virus has led to a situation where technology has to be resorted to.

#COVID19

Justice Khanna says that without lawyers, the rule of law would not be possible.

"The line of the theme is attributed to Walter Eliott, Scottish politician, it can mean many things"

Justice Khanna: A journey of a lawyer is a long and arduous one where they are faced with many challenges.

Justice Khanna: Oratory skill is an important attribute for a lawyer, oratory is an art to be cultivated and worked upon for advocacy. I cannot overstate the importance of practice.

Justice Khanna: Nani Palkhivala coined the term Churchill's art of persuading. For anything to be persuasive, it must be assertive.

Justice Khanna: There is a natural expectation that a lawyer will have a thorough knowledge of the law besides knowing the facts well. When a lawyer addresses a Bench they should have the clarity and simplicity of a teacher

Justice Khanna: One must acknowledge that there is a gap between what is taught and what happens in actual practice. It is important for young lawyers to conduct self study when they start practising.

Justice Khanna: I would recommend all the lawyers to go through the instructions of the Civil Court and be thorough with the procedures that are applicable in both the Civil Court and Criminal Court.

Justice Khanna: If you are lost on any front, don't be hesitant to approach a Senior for help, this will help you in enriching your knowledge from their experience also.

Justice Khanna: We often undermine what the litigants seek from lawyers - time, clear understanding, and legal resources and this is what young lawyers can provide to their clients.

Justice Khanna: It is in areas of new arenas where young lawyers can develop their expertise and areas like securitization, artificial intelligence, etc are opening up more avenues for young lawyers.

Justice Khanna: Judges also often give a leeway to young lawyers as compared to senior ones but even then young lawyers, even when seeking adjournment must be thorough with the facts of the case.

Justice Khanna: Self-improvement and character-building exercises are very important for young lawyers. As was observed by Late Mr. Ashok Desai "if you over celebrate your victories, you will have to over mourn your losses."

Justice Khanna concludes his address

QC Geoffrey Robertson begins his address.

Robertson begins by talking about the requirement in England for lawyers to render services even to the most hardened criminals; and are bound by confidentiality, except in some cases

Robertson says "Thanks to the Harvey Weinstein case and the #MeToo movement, there is a rule now in England that lawyers can no longer get people to sign non-disclosure agreements."

Robertson: This is an example of how our profession can and must change with the change and evolution in human rights and civil rights, like the way the #MeToo movement did and probably the #BlackLivesMatter movement may bring too.

Robertson advises the young lawyers to not give up

"If you persevere, you will succeed"

Robertson speaks about the death row and his experience in fighting these cases.

"As lawyers, we cannot abolish death row"

Robertson: In 1973 we made the first attempt at stopping death row by arguing that prolonged death row amounts to mental torture, must be commuted. It was 20 years later in 1994 we were successful in stopping death row in Jamaica before a Privy Council court... so persevere"

Robertson: My mom used to say try and try till you succeed, I say if you don't succeed in the first instance, try before Court of appeal and then the Supreme Court

Robertson points out that India has not yet signed the ICCPR or even the OPCAT, says it is important sometimes to subject your own system to the scrutiny of international norms

Speaking about courage among lawyers, Robertson says, courage is often to stand up to an irritable Judges but in many countries, it is important to stand up for rights of the people

"In many countries, lawyers have to stand up to the government who act oppressively"

Robertson: China is the worst example in this. Even in India, lawyers sometimes who stand up for the rights of the people in #JammuAndKashmir may need courage because action appears to be taken against lawyers for speaking up for the rights of the people

Robertson expresses surprise at the fact that the colonial law of Sedition is used so rampantly by the Indian agencies against so many people. Robertson cites examples of people critical of the Modi regime being charged of sedition.

Robertson says that Sedition virtually stands repealed in England and recalls that the last sedition case he was involved in was one against author Salman Rushdie.

Robertson concludes his address by stressing the need for young lawyers to persevere.

Concluding Remarks:

Justice Khanna: We are inducting a large number of lawyers in the system and the Bar Councils have to work hard in polishing the skills.

Robertson: I endorse that, by virtue of our profession, lawyers must learn fast.

Important for lawyers to do self-study during their practice: Justice Sanjiv Khanna advises young lawyers

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