Memo to Moily

Legal reform must be the centrepiece of the new governments agenda

Veerappa Moily,newly sworn in as Union minister for law and justice,is evidently a man of many words. Hes the author of fifteen reports of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission ARC,tomes on revenue and tax reform,a five-volume epic poem,and a two-part Musings on India. But now he will be held to his first utterances in his capacity as law minister,to undertake reform that was so consistently ignored by his predecessor,H.R. Bharadwaj. He has promised to address the 30 million-plus case backlog and tackle the biggest litigant of them all,the government. He has also spoken of bolstering the police system to reduce the

burden on the courts,and talked of the need for the rule of law to reach the poorest of litigants.

But legal reform requires more than promise. Tackling delays in the judicial system the problem number one requires a combination of initiatives,from pumping in more resources into the court system to reducing procedural hurdles such as inordinate adjournments. Then there is the National Judicial Accountability Bill,still pending in Parliament,which would restore the judiciarys reputation for probity. Creating an independent prosecution service in place of the ill-paid partisans who currently man the Union posts is another pressing need. The law minister would also do well to focus on digitising legal texts,from gazette notifications to executive orders. Transparency in itself often oils the joints of reform. Of such ideas,there is no short supply. From the law commissions,the Mallimath committee,the National Judicial Academy,to Moilys own ARC,many architects have provided blueprints for legal reform. What is lacking is not an architect but a builder,and the energetic Moily must strive to be just that man.

As chief minister of Karnataka,Moily got a lot of credit for reforming the states higher education system. His ideas on police reform were implemented post-haste after the Mumbai attack of November 2008,and his recommendations

on revenue reform have made a difference at the Centre and state levels. But given the task ahead,and given that the new UPA government has shown the most decisive personnel changes in the HRD and law ministries,it is on his record now that his reputation will ultimately rest.