Shri Pranab Mukherjee, His Excellency the President of India was slated to inaugurate the seminar, but he could not make it due to unavoidable circumstances. His address, however, was delivered through and read out to the august gathering by the Chief Justice of India.
Law is the very foundation of a democratic society and legal education is of great significance in furthering the idea of a civilized nation-state rooted in the Rule of Law, the President of India observed.“The skill sets that the legal profession and the lawyers require in today’s time are very different from those earlier. Our future lawyers must now be equipped with the necessary knowledge and skill to think and act globally”, he noted. The concept of global legal education goes beyond international legal themes, Shri Mukherjee stressed, while asking law schools to focus on research.
Extending a warm welcome to the legal luminaries in Odisha, Shri Naveen Patnaik said that impact of globalization has necessitated changes in the existing laws. Globalization has posed challenges as well as created opportunities in the legal education in India, he added. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Justice Dipak Misra stated that such academic events are very beneficial for the law makers. As the world is becoming a ‘global village’, there is a need for a global legal education system, he said.
Shri Pravin H. Parekh, President, Confederation of Indian Bar delivered the opening address, while Prof. N. L. Mitra, Chancellor, KIIT University made the closing remarks. Shri S. P. Mishra, Advocate General, Odisha and Shri Rabindra Shrivastava, Vice President, Confederation of Indian Bar were also present on the occasion. The inaugural session was followed by plenary session chaired by senior Supreme Court of India Judge, Hon’ble Mr. Justice A. R. Dave.
Hon’ble Shri Justice T.S. Thakur, the seniormost judge of the Supreme Court of India will preside over the valedictory session on August 9 in the presence of Hon’ble Shri Justice D. H. Waghela, Chief Justice, High Court of Orissa and Mr. D. V. Sadananda Gowda, Hon’ble Union Minister of Law & Justice, who will deliver the valedictory address.
More than 1100 advocate-delegates from all parts of the country, including 700 from Odisha, are participating in this mega law meet. An important objective of the Seminar is to provide a unique opportunity to the students of law as well as new entrants to the profession of direct interaction with national and international level legal luminaries, including judges of the Supreme Court of India and High Courts.