Besides the conventional corruption and political interferences in the Judicial systems of Democracies around the world that have been identified as ‘outside’ factors which are disturbing the Judicial System, ‘Eulogy’ and ‘Servitude’ are the other twin extra-legal factors that are plaguing the judicial system with in, around the world that is hindering the delivery of true Justice based on great principles of ‘Rule of Law’ and ‘Equality before law’ or Justice based on ‘facts and evidences’. The persons who are practicing and adopting these two ‘techniques’ disproportionately are being elevated as great legal practitioners and the real Justice i.e. Justice ‘as it is’ or Justice based on facts is being distorted for the sake of persons who follow these twin techniques before a Judge and that is resulting in causing injustice to the ‘otherside’ who are not following these two techniques.
“Familiarity or Acquiantence with the Judge”, the “face value”, are also the allied factors of those twin techiniques of ‘eulogy’ and ‘servitude’ and all these things have intruded into the Judicial system and playing great role in suppressing the honesty in delivering the Judgements based on facts and merits and those highest principles of Rule of Law. The credibility and legitimacy of the greatly respected system is getting eroded with the intrustion of such extra-legal practices into the system and the people who are practicing the law since long time and the adjudicators of law are considering any one who is against following such extra-legal techniques as ‘defiant’ or ‘disobedient’ to the existing system.
Speaking from the practical side, on many occasions, if a legal practitionar who do not utter too many times the words like “My Lord”, “Your Lordship” or “His Lordship” or “Your Honor”, while presenting a case before a Judge is being considered as an ‘odd’ or ‘defiant’ or ‘callous’ or a ‘disobedient’ to the established system and his case gets effected just for not pampering with these wordings, let what facts or law may speak. This could be observed substantially, if any one sits in the open court halls for some period in some underdeveloped democracies around the world. And it is observed in some cases that some Judges are deliberately expecting such kind of “Euology and Servitude” from the Legal Practitioners and Parties to the dispute, subjecting themselves to ordinary absurd human passions or with the feeling of highness for having sit in the position of a Judge to decide the fate of the people stood in the cage. It could be substantiated if every person who is within the system makes a self-assessment for his own on such extra-legal practices.
In fact Judges must be respected for their venerable judicial positions, but not with too much praise and pampering to get the judgements influenced beyond the scope of law. But, if you go on praising the Judge, both inside and outside the court hall, you may get the ‘case-status’ in your favour most of the times, as human mind is susceptible to various influences as the Judges are also human beings like any others. Going personally to a Judge’s home and pampering their family members, especially their children doing service at their home would certainly influene the Judgements/orders in a particular case. Finally that result in hindering the delivery of justice based on merits or facts of the case.
Some more good examples we can cite are, the acquiantences that occur between the Judicial Officers and other non-judicial bigwigs in the society while participating in the Seminars or public meetings and their later recommendations or requests when a particular case of their interest comes before the Bench, would also influence the Judgements/orders in a way contrary to the principles of Justice based on facts or merits of the case. If we make honest self-assessments of our real-life practices we can not deny these. From a common man’s perspective and practice it could be substantiated that if any one our case is coming before the bench of a particular Judge, we make all efforts through our known and unknown sources, whether any accessibility could be established with the Judge to get the situation turn in our favour and in that efforts we ask every one do you know that Judge? Do you know this Judge? In response to such queries, if he is our friend, we reply ‘yes I know the brother of the Judge’ or I know the Judge’s wife’s sister’s husband, through him we try? Miraculously if we get an opportunity we adopt all extra-legal methods to please the Judge through known sources. But, finally it depends on the Judge’s honesty how s/he reacts to such dealings or situations. Adoption of such techniques on practical side could be observed when a legal practitioner convinces his client to get their cases postponed from time to time when a Judge favourable him (Legal Practioner) comes to that Bench in a routine transfer of benches from time to time, to obtain a favourable Order/Judgement, despite what law or facts speaks in that case. Is this not sufficient to vouch for the authenticity of the arugument that extra-legal techniques are being followed to influence the judicial systems? We all know this, but the only thing is that we have to confess it openly.
I do not say the entire Judicial systems are effected by such extra-legal influences or other techniques, but such kind of techniques or influences are growing at disproportionate levels day by day, and if such kind of miserable situations continues to dominate the judicial systems of human societies in the days to come, then there is no need to make new enactments and new codes or to follow even the present legislations but to seek the Justice based on instantaneous discretion of the Judges based on the material placed before him and also by using the extra-legal factors upon him, because what laws speak can not be executed practically at ground levels under such circumstances. Then Justice gets only to the persons who are well versed in executing with such techniques, and common legal practitioners who do not follow such techniques remain unrecognized for higher positions in the society or common man who can not find ways to adopt such extra-legal techniques would be subdued by the law, inspite of his innocence. Extra-legal techniques can be followed only if real injustice happens to a person in the hands of law-executors, which can be remedied by the Law-adjudicators. But, using such techniques disproportionately every time would vitiate the entire system, which we are widely observing now a days. By dchaitanya