New Delhi, 11 April (H.S.):

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has said that India’s ambition to become a USD 10 trillion economy cannot be fulfilled by capital or government policy alone, stressing instead that the quality of the country’s legal system will be a decisive factor in achieving that goal. Speaking in New Delhi on Saturday, he argued that to attract and sustain long‑term investment, India must overhaul its legal architecture so it becomes more predictable, specialised, and rooted in good‑faith dealings.

Legal system as an economic backbone

CJI Kant emphasised that growth at such a scale will depend on financial commitments that span years construction projects, industrial investments, and cross‑border ventures,all of which require investors to trust that contracts will be enforced fairly and disputes resolved efficiently. He warned that without a stable, transparent legal environment, even abundant capital and bold policy announcements will fall short of turning India into a high‑income economy.

Predictability in law, he said, is not a technical detail but a core economic strategy.

Predictability, specialisation and good faith

The Chief Justice underlined three pillars: predictability, specialisation, and a culture of good faith in commercial law. Predictability means that courts and regulators should interpret rules consistently so that businesses can plan without fear of sudden legal turns.

Specialisation calls for dedicated commercial courts, tribunals, and judges with expertise in complex corporate, financial, and competition law, rather than having all cases handled in a one‑size‑fits‑all system.

On good faith, CJI Kant highlighted that contracts should be enforced not only on the basis of fine print but also in a manner that discourages abuse and opportunistic behaviour. He argued that when parties know the system will reward fair conduct and penalise delaying tactics, contractual trust deepens, making the business environment more attractive to both domestic and foreign investors.

Mediation as a quiet game‑changer

In a notable observation, the CJI said mechanisms such as mediation could do more for India’s economic competitiveness than headline‑grabbing reforms. He pointed out that mediation, arbitration, and other forms of alternative dispute resolution lower the cost and time of settling commercial disputes, allowing businesses to recover capital faster and reallocate resources to growth rather than litigation. Such mechanisms, he added, also help preserve business relationships, increase enforcement of settlements, and reduce the burden on already‑overloaded courts.

Technology and legal education

CJI Kant also stressed the need to integrate technology into the legal ecosystem and to modernise legal education so that it responds to the evolving economy. He spoke of digital case management, e‑filing, and AI‑assisted tools not merely as administrative upgrades but as instruments for faster, more transparent justice delivery. At the same time, he urged law schools and judges to equip students and practitioners with skills in areas like fintech, data privacy, cross‑border trade, and intellectual property, which are becoming central to high‑value economic activity.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar