INDIAN PRESIDENT PRATIBHA DEVISINGH PATIL SAYS THAT THE LEGAL SYSTEM SHOULD BE MADE MORE TRANSPARENT. (TAPE NO: DV-09/17909)

NATURAL WITH ENGLISH SPEECH

DURATION: 1.15

SOURCE: ANI

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Indian President calls for transparent legal system.

Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil inaugurates a conference of women lawyers in southern Kochi, says legal system should be more transparent.

SHOWS:

KOCHI, KERALA, INDIA (DECEMBER 28, 2009) (ANI-ACCESS ALL)

1. PRATIBHA DEVISINGH PATIL, INDIAN PRESIDENT LIGHTING UP THE LAMP TO INAUGURATE A CONFERENCE OF WOMEN LAWYERS

2. CONFERENCE OF WOMEN LAWYERS IN PROGRESS

3. A BOOK BEING PRESENTED TO PATIL

4. AUDIENCE

5. (SOUNDBITE) (English), PRATIBHA DEVISINGH PATIL, INDIAN PRESIDENT, SAYING:”Legal system should address the cultural aspects so that justice within the mechanisms can be easily understood by the people at large. The system can be made more transparent, effective and people oriented.”

6. THE AUDIENCE

7. DIGNITRIES ON THE STAGE

8. AUDIENCE

STORY: Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil called for a transparent judicial system after inaugurating a conference of women lawyers in southern Kochi on Monday (December 28).

The two-day national conference of the All India Federation of Women Lawyers (AIFWL) was organized by the Kerala Federation of women Lawyers (KFWL).

The Chief Justice of India Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Governor of southern Kerala state R.S. Gavai were among many dignitaries who attended the conference.

Pratibha Devisingh Patil, while told reporters that the system could be made more transparent, effective and people oriented.

“Legal system should address the cultural aspects so that justice within the mechanisms can be easily understood by the people at large. The system can be made more transparent, effective and people oriented,” said Patil.

Judicial red tape and a shortage of judges in India mean even death row convicts have to wait for decades for appeals to be heard in a country where the judiciary is burdened a backlog of millions of cases.

India has drafted a new bill to check corruption and increase accountability in the judiciary known as the Judges Standard and Accountability Bill, it will be introduced in the parliament soon.