A very good morning to all of you. At the very outset, I want to thank Professor Dr. Jagdish John, Professor and Director of UGC HRDC of Gujarat University and his entire team for keeping this teaching learning system on even during this pandemic that is COVID-19. I must also thank to Dr. Bhavesh H. Bharat for giving me this opportunity to participate in this program. and to share my thoughts before you. The academic activities of the UGC HRDC Gujarat University, it is very much well known to the entire academicians in our country.
Even I had the fortune to participate in the refreshers course organized by the UGC HRDC. Goose Dutt University, where I was taught not by the experts from our country only, but there are few research person, few researcher from different countries. So obviously, before entering into the discussion, I must congratulate Professor Dr. Jagdish John and his entire team.
for these initiatives and to make us ready for the academic exercise. Today I am here to deliver, not as a lecture, rather I am here to discuss a particular topic which I think is very much contemporary in nature. That is Global justice in the absence of a global constitution, prospects and possibilities. You know, today is 18th August, it is almost 1pm and when I am recording this particular session, something is going on in our neighboring country which is very serious one.
Let us have a look at what is happening in our neighboring country, that is, Afghanistan. It is a video clip for 1 minute 47 seconds. After watching this, I will come back to my lecture.
I I think this is not a very new thing to all of you because this particular video, including many others, it has become quite viral one, you know, more specifically in the era of social media. Now, without going into any political controversy or the political discussion, as a student of law, how can I describe it? If I look into the video clip, what I saw now, that 100 of people, they are running just behind an aeroplane or along with the aeroplane in order to board in so that they can leave their own country.
just to save their own life. Even a person or for a layman, this particular situation can be easily described as a circumstance or a situation of injustice. Now all of us we know very well that any threat to justice anywhere in the world is a threat to justice everywhere in the world or injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere now from that particular viewpoint one question can be asked that do we have any responsibility towards them? If so, the next question will come, who will bear the burden or who will take the initiatives? Now...
If we look into the concept that is the globalization or the globalized world, I think it is no secret that the world is gradually moving towards a global community. Rather, it has already acquired the characteristics of a global village. Yes, the different nations or the territorial borders are there. In spite of this, the easy and the frequent movements of goods and services, including the human beings, make the entire world as a single unit. And that process has been sometimes described as a globalization.
Now, as a student of law, we are very much concerned about the justice. The law students or the lawyers, they are just like the physician. For example, you know, a physician is not very much concerned about the body rather he is very much concerned about the disease which exists in the body itself and the physician or the medical practitioner he has to cure the disease from the body he has to treat the patient he has to give the patient relief from the disease itself now as a lawyer as a law student or as a academician dealing with the subject law, we are very much concerned about the concept of justice.
Because the primary goal or the primary object of law is to ensure justice. Now, if I look into this particular... aspect that what is law?
There are many theories, there are many definitions, even somehow it is also written that what is law it is yet to be decided. It simply means that law is an evolving subject. What is law today, it may not remain a law tomorrow.
It is changing. As Sir Professor He Maine, he said that law develops just like language and law is not static. Whatever may be the nature, characteristics or the definition of law, there is no doubt, rather there is an agreement or consensus among all the scholars that law is there to ensure justice. Now, whenever we talk about justice, actually there is some sort of mental imagination that we refer that of justice from a nation perspective or from a societal perspective.
Because obviously, you know, law is not a pure science. Law is a normative science. That means law can't have any universal application. Because the socio-economic need, the political circumstances of each society and each country is very much different from one another. Whatever it may be, the requirement of justice, obviously, you know, with some contents, it is quite universal.
I think there is no one who is not seeking justice or who is not very much careful about justice. Therefore, every law or each legal system, it has the primary objectives or the primary goal to ensure justice. But what we... saw during the last few decades, more specifically this so-called the globalization process.
We saw that though the nation state system still exists, the entire world is fabricated. with some sort of common rules or regulations. When I talk about the globalization, actually I talk about so many things.
It is not only the economic globalization. Even there is some sort of cultural globalization. There is some sort of uniformity. Now, what would be the concept of justice in a globalized world? Because if someone asks me that what is the justice, then obviously I can refer the preamble of the Indian Constitution and I can say that the concept of justice, it has been defined in the preamble of the Constitution, which is socio-economic and political justice.
And the Constitution as a document, as a gruner, as the basic law of the land is there in order to ensure justice. and that justice is socio-economic and political justice. That means the social justice, political justice and economic justice.
And there are a number of provisions in the constitution which are incorporated in order to fulfill this particular objective, that is to ensure socio-economic and political justice. Now, what is globalization? What would be the concept of justice in a globalized world? Let us try to understand that particular aspect. Now here I want to again take help, you know, another video clips for one minute few seconds.
It was on 12 February 2017, Dr. Shashi Tharoor, he was delivering a lecture at Harvard University. on the topic titled India and the post globalization world. And there Dr. Shashi Tharoor defined the term globalization in a very different manner, which is very easy to understand and it is something beyond the So, the so-called academic definition, rather it is an illustration or illustrative definition of the terminology globalization. Let us listen to him for this particular definition. When I say globalization is everywhere, I mean, it really has infected our everyday lives to the point where our most commonplace headlines seem to reek of globalization.
What do I mean? Take, for example, the headlines just a little over a decade ago about the tragic death of Princess Diana. What's that got to do with globalization, you may ask?
Well, think of it this way. An English princess with a Welsh title leaves a French hotel with an Egyptian companion. who are supplanted at Pakistani.
She gets into a German car with a Dutch engine that is driven by a Belgian chauffeur full of Scottish whiskey. They're then chased by Italian paparazzi on Japanese scooters and mobikes into a Swiss-built tunnel where they crash. A rescue is briefly attempted by an American doctor using Brazilian medicines, and the whole story is told to you in Boston by the Indian MP from Tiruvannamalai.
That's globalization. Now, you can listen to this particular lecture. The lecture is near about one hour.
It is available on the YouTube. You can get the idea of globalization and the consequences or its impacts. upon many countries including India. Now, if you understood what he said, that globalization is a process which involves more than one state or more than one citizen or more than one individual, particularly from one country.
So if we take this simple meaning of globalization, let's move ahead that what globalization and how it can be explained. Globalization is about the interconnectedness of people and business across the world that eventually leads to a global culture. global cultural, political and economic integration. It is the ability to move and communicate easily with others all over the world in order to conduct business internationally. Obviously, there is no need to explain this particular point because we are experiencing.
Now we are very much interconnected. interconnected not only for the business purpose, not only for the movement of the individual. Even something happens in one particular country, it may affect the entire world.
And the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the finest examples in our recent times. What the globalization resulted? or what the globalization has resulted.
Globalization, it speed up of movements and exchange of human beings, goods, services, capital, technologies, and the cultural practices all over the planet. Yes, culturally we are also changed more specifically with the development of information and communication technology. Now we are very much influenced by the culture of a different country. Our food habit is also being changed.
Now our child, they also demand pizza, which is nothing but a food. are preferably available or preferably taken by the people of the Western countries. Now, globalization, it also results to the integration of the world. That means there is no market barrier.
I'm not saying or there is no literature on that. which is saying that there is no border. But what we have to understand that though the territorial borders are very much in existence, but one sort of integration has taken place in the world and the market is breaking open. Okay, now in India, in any market, even sitting at home, I can easily get a pen manufactured in Japan and marketed by another company, for example, company of China, and I can easily take the benefit of that particular product, that is the pen. So, it is not only the product, it is...
Also in relation to technology, the knowledge, culture, even movements of people. If we talk about the technology, you know, the Covishield vaccine, as it is being manufactured by Serum Institute, the technology is not of our own. Rather, this technology, it has been transferred to us. So far the knowledge is concerned, yes, you know, many, obviously this 21st century it is known as the knowledge economy and the strength of a country is measured on the basis of the knowledge it possess or it has. So in the knowledge economy, knowledge is also being transferred and ultimately these are the effects of globalization now globalization when we talk about the globalization from the legal perspectives actually yes there are number of benefits okay but it also poses some challenges which as a law students we must address by adopting appropriate and proper policy and the legal frameworks.
Globalization is not changing, not only changing the socio-economic and politico-cultural system, but also the law, the decision-making process, the enforcement strategies and the interrelations between the multiple normative system and the subsystem. Here I can give one example that take the subject, I think all of you know that intellectual property rights, this subject has gained a momentum importance after 1995, that is after the TRIPS agreement, that is the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement. Now, what is the objective of the TRIPS agreement? TRIPS intends to provide a minimum standard of protection in respect of each and every kind of intellectual property rights. And this has been done under the organization known as WTO, that is World Trade Organization.
So this... When India signed the treaty or when India became a signatory to that particular treaty, it becomes our obligation or we are obliged to fulfill the terms and conditions as prescribed by the TRIPS agreement. And subsequent to that, you could find that the intellectual property legislation in India has undergone a radical change, be it the patent law or the Trademark Act.
or the Plant Variety Protection Law or the Biological Diversity Act that is in relation to the access and regulation of the biological resources. Even if we look into the 2002 and 2005 amendment of the Indian Patents Act, you will find that there is a substantive changes because of this globalization process. Because the globalization it always demands for a uniform market. and where some sort of uniform protection will be available. The basic objectives, it has been framed that is the national treatment.
That is the way you protect the intellectual property of your own nationals. You must protect the intellectual property of different nationals in a similar way or a similar fashion. So the globalization has impacted upon our own lawmaking system. Generally, the law-making system or the law-making process, it is a sovereign act. The law-making power, it has been given to the parliament or to the state legislature by virtue of the constitution.
And by virtue of the constitution, the legislature is the sovereign authority to make the law. But sometimes what happens from the different scholarly writings or detailed analysis it has been seen that sometimes we have compromised to some extent and in order to fulfill the obligations which has been created at the international level. The next effect if we look into from the perspective of globalization that it promotes and increases the interactions between different regions and populations around the globe.
Obviously, many people from India, they are working in USA or in some Arabian country. And similarly, some people from the foreign nationals, they are also working here. So that movement, it is the result of globalization.
it also creates a consolidated world economy. We have our own economy, that is the Indian economy. But Indian economy is very much dependent upon the economy of other countries or the world economy. For example, sometimes we may read in newspapers that there is a crash in the share market in some other country, in USA or China.
share market of India is also affected due to that changes which are taking place in different countries of the world. Now globalization in a very general term, it is a process. Some people always try to discuss the globalization process.
from the economic perspective or the economic globalization. They treat it as an economic concept. But globalization is something more than that. That is, it is not merely an economic concept, rather it is a process and this process impacted many things.
For example, it has been criticized. for number of times that it is only few rich people of the world they are controlling the substantive portion of the natural resources or the property or the material resources and the majority of the people they are suffering that means there is no equal distribution the rich people they are becoming rich and the poor people they are becoming poorer It simply means that it emphasized the impact or the effects of the capital markets. And these capital markets, more specifically the domination by the MNCs, multinational companies or the transnational companies, is very much prominent in the globalized world.
For example, Monsanto, Novartis. Microsoft. Now these are the foreign companies. And these companies, they are doing business in our country as it has been facilitated by the globalization process itself.
But somehow they are dominating our own enterprises. Sometimes they are creating pressure on our lawmaking process itself. For example, there is a claim by the Microsoft that the software is to be protected through Google.
the law of patent not by the copyright whereas our copyright law it says a different way. Similarly Monsanto they filed case claiming the biotechnological innovation as an patentable innovation whereas the Indian legislature enacted a sui generis legislation which is not patent one. But there is a pressure and this capital market they are influencing the law making process not only in our country.
When we say that it affects, it affects can be seen in many other countries including India. So far the societal perspective is concerned, the society now you know actually According to MacIver, the blood relationship constitutes a family. The larger shape of the family is the society and the fullest form of the society is the state.
Obviously, the society, whenever we talk about the society, we always talk about the human society. But if we look into the society from the globalization perspectives or this 21st century perspectives actually we the individuals we are nothing more than quote unquote an individual consumer all the human beings they have been reduced to a consumer nothing more than that it simply means the society is been transferred into a market society. And this market society, it is very much influenced by the political power based on the financial power. And sometimes it also results to the social exclusion. Whenever the discussion of globalization and justice takes place, It is always the financial globalization which occupy the pivotal position in the entire discussion.
That how the capital of one country is being invested in another country and how this capital or this financial force impacting or affecting the policy, the socio-economic policy. including the political objectives of another country, that is also to be taken into consideration. So, this was the brief discussion about the concept of globalization and the effects of globalization.
Now, I am coming to the concept because I have to relate this globalization with the concept of justice. Now, what is justice? Obviously, we should not take the risk to discuss the concept of justice entirely or as a whole during this particular session, because the discussion of justice, it is a never ending process, just like the law.
The concept of justice as it was developed by John Rawls, it has undergone a radical change through the writings of Amartya Sen or subsequently by Maine Usman. If you talk or if you ask the question about the justice to a middle-class family member in India, the answer you will get will be totally different. from the answer against the same question if you ask it to a middle class family member of USA. So the concept of justice it varies. The concept of justice it is it depends upon the societal characteristics, the societal development.
It depends upon the socio-economic and political activity and the political development, it depends upon so many parameters. Whatever it may be, justice in a very simple sense, we can define it justice as peace, justice simply means doing no harm, justice means equality, justice as a reward. or justice as a welfare that is the social justice justice as rightness that means the religious or the mystical concept of justice which incorporates the concept of morality that is the right and wrong justice as individual agency or the utilitarianist justice which is quite supplementary to the private ethics etc.
In a contemporary philosophy, John Rawls'concept of justice, that is justice as fairness, is very much influential in present day arguments because it gives you the substantial idea of justice in the present context. Now, I am using some picture because the pictorial representation or the pictorial understanding gives us some sense or some idea which may be very difficult to express in words. In the first picture on your left hand, you can see that this picture shows inequality. that is unequal access to opportunities here two person okay they are at two different place and one person is getting the fruits of the tree another person he is not because they are very much unequal and it is the result of the unequal access to the opportunities on the right hand now if we give some tools or if we provide some sort of assistance.
Now you can see that, you know, yes, both of them, they can collect the fruits from the tree. And that is why the term equality under the Indian constitution also, it has been interpreted that equality does not mean the mathematical equality. Rather equality means giving special preference to the weaker section of the society.
That means the person who is not in a position to access the opportunity, it is the duty of the state to provide some tools or some assistance so that they can also take the benefit of the development of the state. Now, let us try to understand the concept of equity and justice. If you look into the picture and compare it, that initial, the second picture, the tools which were provided, these were not perfect ones to have access to the fruits from the particular tree.
The tools were provided, but the tools were not customized ones. It did not serve any purpose to that particular person. That is why the inequality exists. If you want to ensure the equity, then you must provide the customized tools that identify and address the inequality.
Here if you look into the picture on your left hand. The ladder in one case it is a bigger in comparison to the other one. That means the problem has been identified and a customized tool has been provided to that particular person so that he can take the benefit of that particular development or that particular resources. Now, what is justice? Justice, it means fixing the system to offer equal access to both tools and opportunities.
If you look at the earlier three pictures, in all the three pictures, the tree was bent towards a particular direction, which results to some sort of inability for the person to have access to the fruits from the tree. Now here, in case of justice, what am I doing? I am not only providing the tools, the customized tools, rather I am trying to fix the problem of inequality or I am trying to offer the equal access by fixing the tree in a straight manner so that both the person they can have the equal access.
So it can be described. as a justice and obviously taking help from John Rawls that this is the fairness. If we compare all the four pictures together then obviously it will be quite easy to understand that the fourth one is the fairer one which gives access to the fruits or access to the development and not only the access rather it also gives an opportunity so that they can get the benefit out of the resources. Keeping in mind that particular concept of justice, now let us look at some challenges.
global challenges from a global justice perspective. If we take the example in India itself, obviously all the people, that is about 135 crore of population, these people are not equal. They are not equal socially, politically and economically.
Some people they have more resources which they don't require and some people they are dying, they are suffering, they are living a life which is not a dignified life because of not having resources. Let me tell in a very simple way that people are dying because they are not getting two squares meal in a day. Now this is a national perspective of justice. Yes, we can discuss it.
And from the constitutional viewpoint, we can say that the state is responsible to ensure justice. Now, if we take ourselves, if we take out ourselves from the territory of India and if we think the world as a whole, I am not asking any one of you to ignore the territorial boundaries. The reason is very simple that though we are living in the era of globalization, but the concept of the statehood or the nationhood is still persisting and it cannot be negated. Rather, you know, last few years we have witnessed a different kind of rise of nationalism throughout the world. Anyway, from the global justice perspective, these are the certain data which are available.
in the website www.globalissues.org that at least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day. According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty. 805 million people worldwide do not have enough food to eat. 1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water.
Climate change and the sustainable development and health issues are persisting everywhere in the world. Many people are dying only because of environmental pollution. Many people they don't have access to health. that is the health facilities. Even during this Covid-19 there were some news reports where it has been stated that many people died because they were not supplied oxygen when they needed it.
Economic sovereignty relocated the international economic institutions. This is also a challenge. Sometimes in order to fulfill the international obligation as imposed by the international institutions like International Monetary Fund, International Labour Organisations or WTO, maybe somehow we compromised or rather It has been argued that we ignore our own socio-economic capacity, our own socio-economic development.
As I mentioned few minutes back, that law can't have universal application. The labor code which is suitable in USA, the same labor code... is not applicable in India.
Maybe the European country may run their industry without any child labour. We also want the same. We don't want to see our children working in the hazardous factories or the industries for which they are not competent or when they are It is not prudent one to send them to work. But look at the socio-economic condition in our country that in the rural villages, in many family, a child of 13 years or 14 years age who is working in a bricks field or in a sawmill or in a glass factory may be the only earning member of the family.
So if the international rules prohibit this child labour and if we blindly follow that, then we are not only putting the life and the survival of the child is in danger, rather we are making the life of the family members who are depending upon his or her income also miserable. The dominance of international finance capital and the global IP protection, I have already mentioned that from national legal regime to global legal regime, we are moving towards that. Our many laws in our legal system, many laws, many statutes are framed by the legislature. on the basis of the guidelines or on the basis of the minimum requirements as prescribed by the different international bodies or the different international institutions. So when we are following or when we are fulfilling these obligations arising out of these international treaties or the international obligations, sometimes it goes against our own interest.
In the era of globalization, there is a continuous fight for resources. Yes, the resources are not equally distributed throughout the world. For example, the biological resources in the third world countries, though technologically maybe they are not so much developed, but so far the availability of the biological resources are concerned, we are very much rich.
For example, India is a mega biodiversity country. But so far the biotechnology is concerned through which the commodification of the biological resources can be made. Maybe, you know, we don't have that much of technology. Now since the developed country they have the technology and they know how to make the biological resources which are treated culturally and socially by the Indian.
people as a sacred one or the property of the human kind, they started claiming ownership over the property by using the modern technology. And ultimately, it comes within the purview of the different property related legislation, including the intellectual property framework. The role of transnational corporations and the other companies. There are some issues that the different corporations they are coming or they are carrying out their business in different developing countries and they are exhausting the natural resources of that particular country.
Now in Kautilya's Arthashastra there is a popular saying that Arthaiva Pradhana, that is money is the main thing and in the era of globalization perhaps this slogan is being followed by the multinational companies or the transnational companies then quite literally because you know a politically elected government or the state is under some sort of obligation to do welfare of the people. They are politically obliged. But a businessman, a multinational company or the transnational company or a big corporate house, they have no such obligation, obviously.
By way of positive law, for example, the corporate social responsibility, we are trying to making them responsible towards the society. But it is... not just like the state and more specifically if we look at our constitution then the India you know it's a welfare country you know we have a constitution and the documents you know which envisioned the policy of the government which is quite Welfare in nature, and welfare in nature it simply means the state has to take care of its citizen from cradle to grave.
It is just like the old tradition that is the king or queen they were known as Rajmata or Rajmata. Just like the parents, parents have to take care of their child or the children. Similarly, the king or queen, though the king or queen system is no more there, but still, it is the state. State is the big parent of all of us and the state has to take care. But what about the business entity or the multinational corporations who are carrying out the business throughout the world by taking the advantage of barrier-free trade environment?
Now, if we look into this particular issue altogether, then obviously I'm quite sure that all of you will agree on a particular point that yes, these are the issues of global justice. Actually, yes, I'm not saying that we have already resolved all the justice-related problems in our own country. I'm not saying like that.
We have our own justice related problem at the national level, but at the international level. Also, there are some justice related problems. Now you may ask one question that why should we bother about that? The answer is very simple that what is happening in Afghanistan? Obviously today we are not directly impacted by that.
But if you... read the newspaper, if you go through the news analysis and if you read the different writings, you will find that the rise of a particular group in our neighboring country in that manner, where a politically settled and politically established government has been thrown away. It is a danger not only for that country, but it is also a threat, it is also a danger for all other countries. At the same time, when globalization facilitates the movement of people, the movement of trade, the movement of goods and services, obviously anything which happened in any corner of the world. we may easily suffer due to that mishap.
Here I can give you one example that when this, you know, at the very beginning of the COVID pandemic, you know, we are very much dependent upon China because China was only the manufacturing country of the medical PPE kit. the masks etc etc. When the coronavirus spread over there and under compulsion the government took the decision of the lockdown, the international trade, business and the movement all had been stopped. then we suffered a lot. We suffered a lot.
Even during this COVID-19, that is the second wave, the shortage of oxygen, we suffered a lot. Or for example, if we take the example of terrorism, If one particular country gives shelter to the terrorist, if one particular country gives them the training and if one particular country gives them the necessary or provides them the necessary finance, do you think that it is the problem of any particular country? Obviously not, because for the terrorist activities there is no specific targeted group. They can attack, they can carry out their terrorist activities irrespective of any criteria. And it is a threat for every country.
Though this particular terrorism activities, it is now confined in a particular territory. But it is a threat for the entire country, the entire world as a whole. Because now we are no more a citizen of a particular district or a particular state or particular country.
Rather our movement, our activities, it is throughout the world. That is why this global justice obviously we have to think about our own problem that is the justice related problem at the national level but the global justice must also be ensured and there are some sort of theoretical justification for that. I am coming to that point a little later.
So if we look into The entire scenario of this global justice There are five main issues. Number one, that we must have some sort of solidarity. We must provide some aid. We must see that we must have some sort of foresight.
We must have the capacity to anticipate what may happen. As I said that we must anticipate what may happen. due to the latest development which is going on in Afghanistan.
At the same time, we must take responsibility and we must forgive the wrong committed by the others at the international level too. And we must also have some sort of empathy, some sort of remembrance or some sort of prevention that comes within the broader purview of the bearing witnesses. So, broadly speaking, there are three legitimate claims from the global justice perspective if we want to make this world a better place of living.
That is redistribution, redistribution. Number two, recognition. Number three, representation.
Redistribution, that is the difference between haps and haps not. It is to be minimized. We must recognize the people whose voice is low, who have not been heard till this point of time. We have to recognize them.
And not only recognition, we must give them an opportunity so that they can represent. so that they can raise their issue at the proper forum, that means before the decision-making authority. Now, I'm coming to the theoretical justification, that when we discuss or when we talk about the global justice and the global constitution, Obviously, the question can be asked that what is the necessity? Now there are number of theoretical justification, there are number of theoretical perspective, but out of many, we can take two theory for our present discussion.
One is the nationalist idea of global justice and the second one, the cosmopolitan idea of global justice. Now, what is the nationalist idea? What is nationalism?
Actually, a nationalist is a person who identifies himself as a citizen of a nation. He belongs. And according to him, globalization is the phenomenon by which various sovereign nations interacted and coordinated with each other.
for the purpose of trade, commerce, business, tourism, communication, transport, etc. And according to him, the global justice, you know, it is somehow connected more with the nation rather than the individual identity. And according to him, to the nationalist approach in achieving and implementing the measures relating to global justice that means if you ask this question to a nationalist that why to achieve why to implement the measures relating to global justice he may answer or she may answer that it depends upon the state Because the states are the key players in the entire process of globalization. And if you ask the next question that what is your profit out of the process of globalization?
You will simply say that I am the secondary beneficiary of the entire process. I have nothing to do with the globalization. Rather, it is the activity of the nation state.
It is their mutual activities and they do it for number of different reasons. and being an individual I am the secondary beneficiary. So I have nothing to do directly. Actually nationalist person or the nationalist individuals, he is very much concerned about his identity with a particular nation.
He is not very much concerned about what is happening towards other nationals. Okay. It is a... Narrow concept in one sense, because when we talk about the justice, as I already mentioned, that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, then being an individual, if I am concerned about my own nationals, if I am concerned about my own citizens, obviously there are a number of reasons for that. There are also a number of reasons to be concerned about the people.
about the nationals of another country. And that particular approach you can find in the cosmopolitan idea. Actually, one cosmopolitan or a person who claimed himself to be a cosmopolitan, he always sees himself or herself.
as an individual identity beyond any territorial attribution. That means I am the entity of the cosmos. This boundary, this border, the nation-state, these are the artificial creation. This has been done for political reason. This was purely a political game.
This is a very broader perspective. Generally, in many literature, since I am from Bengal, I am a Bengali, in Bengali literature there are a number of writings including Robinson Artigore, where it has been he discussed and he mentioned that I am the citizen of one country and I have the duty and responsibility to my fellow citizen, it is a very narrow concept. Rather you are the human beings and like all other human beings of the world, you are a part of the society, of the entire society and entire world.
So you should not bind yourself or you should not always think that you belong to a particular nation. Actually a cosmopolitan he never see himself or herself belonging to any particular nation rather he always see himself or herself as an entity of the entire cosmos. And according to a cosmopolitan that globalization it not only integrate the sectors of trade tourism, transportation, but of individuals, their culture, their taste, their preference, and their lifestyle. And for a cosmopolitan, all these are the factors that contribute to the making of the globalized world. A nationalist, according to him, it is only the state which is being affected.
or which are being affected but according to cosmopolitan known it affects my culture my food habit my dressing okay my language all these things that is why i am being affected so i am the person i am the person who is the primary beneficiary or primary sufferer of the entire process. When we look into the process of globalization from this cosmopolitan perspective, the cosmopolitan considers that the individuals are the major players in the goal of reaching true global justice and not just mere recipients of outcomes. international negotiations.
Yes the individual plays very vital role. There are number of individuals, number of individuals who have contributed. for maintaining the global peace and security. Even this voice, you know, we are living in the era of social media. Sometimes one poem recited by a particular person from one particular nation, it may be easily adopted, may be copied or it can be an instrument for the fight of their democratic rights.
in other countries. So it influences. We are very much influenced.
Even, you know, for example, in our childhood, none of us, we are bothered, you know, I'm at least I was not bothered even during my students life about the election of USA. But nowadays, you know, for the last election, USA election, you know, the Indian people, they're very much curious. whether it will be the Donald Trump or John Biden.
That means somehow they feel that the development or coming into power of a particular person as a president, it may impact. Yes, it impacts. For example, if there is a new government, the government will come with a new visa policy and obviously it will.
impact, my opportunity to go there and settle down. That is why the people, according to the cosmopolitan idea of global justice, that we, the individual entity, we are the primary beneficiary or the primary sufferer of that particular system. And according to their perspective, Global justice for the citizen and not for the nations themselves. Because it is the citizen who assumes the primary identity and the importance. The state comes later.
It is the individuals. To them, fairness for the citizen of this nation is the most important. is believed to be the ultimate goal of global justice.
I want to repeat this particular line once again. That is to them, fairness for the citizen of this nation is believed to be the ultimate goal of global justice. That means they simply said that we must follow some sort of fair procedure.
Okay. each and every individual citizen so that we can achieve global justice throughout the world. After having discussion of this theoretical justification of global justice, now let me narrate or let me point out some reality which are happening in and around us or in and around our society. If we look the entire globalizing process or the way we are passing through, I think there is no reason.
to disagree that today the societies are very much linked and the societies are no longer allowed or the state they are no longer allowed to run their affairs as per the domestic norms. For example, if something happens, some torture happened to any individual, even to any individual, since I'm resisting myself from entering into any political discourse, but to any individuals, we always refer some sort of international norms. Maybe From the domestic perspective, this is fine, this is okay. But the same thing or the same idea of justice, that is the domestic idea of justice, it is no longer valid. The idea of global state, it is quite important.
Yes, there is nothing called... a global state as per the strict requirement of political science, that is, there is no definite territory of a global state in its technical sense, but the entire globe or the entire population throughout the world, they assumes itself as a society, and they are behaving towards some sort of unified norms or the unified behavior. And this is very much visible or we can easily see it, experience it from the various aspects of the trade, service, tourism, which are somehow governed by the international legal system in order to facilitate the coordination and to bring into order. Obviously, the notion of globalization, it is factifying and the international legal system and the government bodies have been constituted are also witnessing the importance of their roles.
Even today, we are asking the question that what is the role of UNO? What is the role of USA? What is the role of the Security Council? etc. etc. That means, you know, though something is happening in other country, I am not the sufferer, but I am trying to identify or I am trying to analyze the role of the institutional organizations or the institutional bodies in order to protect the life, liberty, or some sort of basic values of the human beings of another country.
So obviously it is beyond the domestic justice and that can be better termed as global justice. So far the institutional involvement in international institutional involvement is concerned. That has been manifested during COVID-19 quite prominently.
For example during COVID-19 you know We saw that how the industry across the nations coordinating and collaborating to rescue the world from its catastrophic effects of the human health and safety. With the World Health Organization, one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations, stepping up to its role. Some sort of collaborative research work is going on.
So far the manufacturing of vaccine is concerned. The vaccine has been developed in one country, technology has been transferred in another country, manufacturing process is taking place in different countries. In India we have the vaccine, Covaxin that is manufactured by the Bharat Biotech. The Serum Institute, they are manufacturing the Covishield, it has been developed by the Oxford Astrazeneca. So this is some sort of dependency and it is a situation.
When the involvement of the different nations, the different people, the different manufacturing unit belonging to different countries, they must work together in order to resolve the problem which are being faced by the human society as a whole. So from that particular discussion till now, we can say that the idea of global justice is nothing but an idea which helps us in moving ahead for a just world. Here I want to take help of the writings of John Rawls as well as Amartya Sen. The idea of justice as it was propounded by John Rawls may be was the concept of perfect equality. And number of years it required to understood that it is very difficult to achieve so called perfect equality. According to some scholars, having perfect equality it is an utopian concept.
Amartya Sen came with an idea that If we can't go for the perfect equality, then obviously we can try and we can make it happen. That is minimization of inequality. Now, the global justice, obviously the global justice, it is a very broad idea.
Sometimes it may appear or it may sound. that it is impossible. But the discussion of global justice is being taking place or it is being deliberated upon just in order to make the world a just world. Now how can we make that?
As I already mentioned, that the territorial state it will coexist with the emerging global state. When we are talking about the global village or the globalization, we are not saying that this territorial state will go away or it will vanish. What we are trying to say that the territorial state it will coexist with the idea of global state. And What would be the basic objectives of the idea of global justice in that global state? There are many, but out of this, we can look into the following features that we must mediate between transnational capital.
national capital hurt by globalization and the subaltern classes. Actually, it has been said and it has been the entire process of globalization, it has been criticized that globalization prescribes some sort of uniformity, it prescribes uniform rules and the discussion is that one size doesn't fit all. Obviously, the benefits of globalization is not equal for each and every state.
It depends upon so many factors, including the socio-economic and infrastructural development. Therefore, if we really want to reap the benefit of this quote-unquote globalization, we have to make adequate policy so that the transnational capital can impact less upon our national capital. At the same time, we must also mediate in the matrix of strategic interest, the need to maintain rule of law and the demands of electoral democracy.
We are not ignoring, we are not negating the idea of the nation state or the territorial state. But what are we saying? That everywhere in the world, whatever may be the state, whatever may be the societal condition, we must maintain rule of law.
Obviously rule of law means it is the law which rules not the man. And the demands for the electoral democracy that is public or the common people, they must be given an opportunity in formation of the government. Because government is not the ruler.
Government is there to govern. And there is a difference between government and the ruler. Ruling and governing are the two different things. In a global state, actually the idea of global justice, it exists in a non-territorial global state. By saying global state, we are not saying that it is a territorial global state.
Rather, we are saying it is a non-territorial global state. Borderless economy. Yes? The economic activities obviously went beyond the border and that will continue.
In the global justice system, from the global state viewpoint, we must ensure, we must regulate that. We are not saying that it must be prohibited. Rather, we are very much dependent upon this borderless economic activity.
And at the national level or the domestic justice concept, as we discussed, that the welfare state, the global justice concept, from the global justice viewpoint, we must also focus on the global welfare state. That is, globally, we must ensure welfare for all the people, irrespective of their nationality or the territorial existence. Now, we are discussing so many things, we have discussed so many things, but let us try to understand that what is the global justice problem or when a problem, when is the problem becomes the global problem or acquires the characteristics of global problem. In a very simple sense, I have already given the example of COVID-19.
I have also referred the recent incidents of Afghanistan. We can say that when the problem either affects the agent's residence in more than one state or the problem is unresolvable without their cooperation. For example, climate change. Climate change is a global problem because it is not for a single country which can resolve the issue.
Any country, whichever it may be, it may be India, it may be USA, it may be China, whoever is responsible. But so far the resolution process is concerned, it cannot be done by a single country. So climate change, global warming, This is a global justice problem because the people will suffer and this problem is to be resolved with the cooperation of all the states. When one problem affects not only a particular region or more than one regional area, then we can say that it is a global problem. For example, the recent activities in Afghanistan, it is going to be a problem in this particular region, more specifically the countries security is concerned.
Obviously, this is a separate topic to discuss, which can be taken up for discussion in a separate session. Obviously, there are some sort of security concerns. Terrorism.
Terrorism, it is a worldwide problem. It is not only that India is the only victim of terrorism. Many countries, they are facing the problem. Now, in a global state, what are the laws? which will operate.
For instance, at present, we can see that international economic law is operating, international human rights law is also operating, and there is some standard which are known as the global standard. For example, so far the food quality is concerned, the labour rights during the COVID-19 phase one regarding the migrant worker, there are lots of controversies as to that we are violating the labour code, the Indian labour code, these are violating the global standards of labour laws, the internationalisation of property rights. Initially something, you know, the proprietary rights, it has some sort of territorial application.
Something may be treated as a property in one country, but the same may not be treated as a property in another country. But there is some sort of internationalization process. That means everywhere in the world, those are being treated as a property.
For example, the biological resources, as I already mentioned. Now the discussion is going on that the seabed minerals, who will have the right over that? Whether the seabed minerals, those can be treated as a property, deep sea mining. So there are some sort of international treaties or the international conventions and those are determining. And in a global state, obviously all these will work or will operate.
Now, when we say global justice, actually we are not talking about the domestic justice. That doesn't mean that the global justice is not, sorry, domestic justice is not important. Domestic justice is obviously important, but we want to be a little bit broader. We want to travel beyond our territorial limit. and we want to see the world as a whole.
That is why we are saying it is global, not domestic justice. I repeat, our claim is global, not domestic justice. And when we say that global, not domestic justice, what does it mean?
It means the world must under a law. Obviously, in our country at the domestic level, we are the rule of law governing country. We are following the principles of rule of law.
It is the constitutional provisions of the principles which we are following. Maybe there are some controversies, there are some allegations that the principles are not being followed. The government is not following for that allegation or for all these things. There is a judiciary and the judiciary, they will decide the issue. So all these things are there.
But the thing is that the world must be under law and the law must govern the world. And while governing, we must ensure the distributive justice at the global level. As I already said that the people are not equal.
There are lots of differences. Some people they have more, some people they have less. Obviously, we can't go for the mathematical equality.
But at least we can go or we can ensure for the distributive justice, which we are following at the... domestic level. At the global justice perspective, the developed country, they must share the burden. For example, at the domestic level, the people who are economically belongs to higher category, that is who are rich, they pay the tax and out of that money collected by the government, by way of tax, the government carried out different type of developmental activities, focusing primarily to the poor people in order to ensure economic and social justice.
Even under Article 39, it is provided that the government must ensure that the resources of the country should not concentrate into a single person. It must be used for the greater number of people for greater good. What does it mean? that we are always talking about the distributive justice, that is taking from someone, giving it to someone.
In global justice perspective, the countries or the state which are economically developed, technologically developed, they must share the burden, they must take the responsibility to some extent so that the other country, the people of other country, they can get the benefit and they can make their life dignified and meaningful. We must also consider the civilizing mission. Actually, the global justice concept, it talks about the other of otherness.
You know, the people of other country, they are not other. Those are also the human being just like us. Their sufferings is also our sufferings. There is a concept of luck egalitarianism. A person can be held responsible for the act which has been done by himself.
Remember? A person should not be held responsible or a person should not suffer for a reason for which he is not responsible at all. For example, a person who took birth in Syria or a person who took birth in Afghanistan or a person who took birth in Kashmir.
Are they in any way responsible for that? Obviously not. A person who took birth in a rich family and a person who took birth in a poor family, actually it was not decided by him or her.
And that is why... Because he took birth in a poor family, because he took birth in Afghanistan, his life or her life will be miserable one. He or she can't live a dignified life. This is not permissible. That is why this fellow feelings, that is a civilized mission, that is the other of otherness, it must be adhered.
We must also think that all human sufferings, wherever it may be, in any corner of the world, is equally serious. Equally serious and equal initiatives must be taken. Equal initiatives must be taken. The initiatives which we usually take at the national level to remove that human sufferings, the equal initiatives must be taken at the international, at the global level or at the global state level because from the global justice perspective we treat all human sufferings equally serious. Obviously we must recognize the individual will.
which ultimately constitutes the general will and in the general will the sectional interest must be given due consideration and if we can give due consideration to that sectoral interest if we accommodate it in a particular way then obviously they will find their place in global political space. Sometimes a question has been asked that when we talk about global justice, what do we need? Do we need a world state?
Do we need a world constitution? And this is the most important part of today's session that is in my discussion. that how can you ensure at the domestic level we have a constitution and in the constitution there is a demarcated area that is the socio-economic and political justice but first of all you don't have any so-called territorial world state or the global state and secondly there is no constitution which we can say or identify as a global constitution or the world constitution then how to ensure justice? What would be the criteria? What would be the contents of justice?
Now, obviously, we can go for numerous theoretical discussion on that, but considering the time, you know, we can look into the following things. First of all, There is no need to have a territorial world state. Actually, instead of having the territorial world state, from global justice perspective, the world state constitutes the global authority. That means it is a state's interaction at the high level.
And there must be some sort of cooperation while dealing with the problems having global reach. And when they deal, that means one state deals with another state, they must practice the best norms. Then obviously it will substitute the idea of the territorial world state.
Now what is world constitution? Whenever we say that constitution, you know, always we imagine. it is that it is a binding document according to which the government, that is the legislature, executive and the judiciary has to work. But what would be the world constitution?
Is there any world constitution? Is there any constitution which can be described as a global one to ensure global justice? The answer is no, there is no such document.
or there is no such written instrument which can be identified as a global constitution. At the same time, it is also true that all the nation states of this global community, all they are sovereign in their own rights and they are very much entitled to take any initiatives including framing law or making law. by exercising their sovereign power or the sovereign authority. However, if we look into the legal system, even in any country including India, we will find that our legal system is very much influenced by the international law regime.
Most of the nations throughout the world, they voluntarily bound themselves under various international law declarations or the covenants or the international treaties, etc. For example, there are international criminal law, international trade law and international maritime law. And many of the states, they voluntarily participated in that. Now, all of these predefined legal regimes, they have a very clear and well-defined legal objectives with adequate mechanism that must be complied with by all concerned nations who have subscribed to their membership. If it can be done, for example.
whoever participated in the UDHR, they must fulfill the obligations arising or sprang out of that. Then obviously it can serve the purpose of the constitution. Or when you talk about the government or the governmental bodies or the organ of the government, look at the ICC, look at the United Nations. look at the WTO, they have a very structural framework with legal regime and they have the mechanism even to enforce the law and that need to be complied with. So the argument that since there is no constitution, global constitution, there is nothing called global justice or it is very difficult to ensure global justice without having global constitution.
This argument does not find a sound basis. In the absence, and that is why we can say that in the absence of global constitution, global justice cannot be attained. It is this automatic theoretical conclusion is not valid.
The cosmopolitan ideology, that is, I am the entity or I am an individual of the entire cosmos, this can serve as a theoretical basis. And this jurisprudential root is the bedrock of the human rights protection. That is to say that there exists. an interrelationship between the protection of human rights and attainment of global justice. Even if we look or if we consider the entire aspect of globalization from the economic perspective, in the resolution of the United Nations Human Rights Council, it was specifically resolved that if there is any conflict between the commercial interest or the right to business and human rights, then the human rights should prevail.
Therefore, to address the concern of the absence of global constitution, for the time being we can rely upon the international human rights documents because in the international human rights documents the rights which have already declared as a human rights these are globally acceptable no one can deny no one can say that the rights which are enumerated in the universal declaration of human rights these are not important for me or i don't want to enjoy this particular right. So in absence of global constitution in its technical sense, that is documents, specific documents, UDHR can give some sort of relief to the advocates of global justice. particularly you know the global justice and human rights these are so much interconnected that udhr as a document can take the place of the global constitution until a true global constitution can emerge. Though from the different writings it is very difficult to imagine that there will be some document which can be termed as a global constitution, but no one can deny the importance or the desirability of having a document for global constitution.
And that is why in absence of this global constitution, this UDHR can be taken into consideration. And it has been already accepted by the different scholars and academicians throughout the world that UDHR is a benchmark development of this century towards the attainment of global justice. And in absence of any specific document technically called global constitution, UDHR can be an effective mechanism or it can be an effective tool to ensure global justice. And UDHR, it can be perceived as a document advocating human rights for all of humankind across the globe and can be attributed to the status of global human rights constitution. Yes, we don't have the global constitution, but the functioning, the philosophy, the provisions, the intentions which are there in the UDHR, it is nothing less than a constitution and it can easily work as a constitution in absence of so-called technical global constitution, it can easily work as a global human rights constitution.
And if we look into the preamble of the UDHR, this is quite interesting. You will see that this declaration, it has not been addressed to any particular state or any organ of the state or any particular authority of the state. I'm just reading out.
that now therefore the General Assembly proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education. to promote respect for these rights, freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of member states themselves and among the people of territories under their jurisdiction."So this declaration, it has not been addressed to any particular state. to any particular organ of the state. Rather it has been addressed to the peoples of the member states themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction. And it also addressed to every citizen and every organ of the society. That means this particular idea of global justice, it is very much embedded. in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights documents. After discussing so many things, let me sum up the entire discussion with the following remarks. Number one, that In the domestic spheres, the idea of justice and human rights, obviously they are working under a definite legal framework. The problem lies at the international community that there is no such definite guiding document in the form of global constitution. Now in this juncture, In absence of any global constitution, it is dearly felt as within the definite legal framework that ensures the minimum standards of life for all the people of the planet. I repeat, for all the people of the planet Earth that is enforceable against the nation themselves, the idea of global justice would be much more attainable. Obviously, it will be better if we have a document, structured documents, having appropriate mechanism, more specifically the enforcement mechanism so that we can protect the rights of each and every people throughout the world. Again, we must have some responsibility towards the people of other countries. living in a good condition. That means it is okay and it will continue. If the other people are suffering, it is as I mentioned earlier also that it is equally serious. So obviously that mechanism, it must be taken into consideration. And the UDHR, UDHR 1948 that can be taken as a global justice document. In the current scenario, again, let me admit that when the world is so much divided for different reasons, maybe political reasons, economic reasons, social diversity, etc. It seems that the global constitution will not be a reality in the near future. But a global constitution, if we could have made it, it would serve as a benchmark for the legal system. But there is no near possibility. We must continue that discussion. of global justice and we must also continue the discussion to have a documents called global justice for the next few decades our global constitution shall definitely envision the attainment of global justice but that not only imply that without it we can't ensure Yes, global justice even now under these circumstances, it can be ensured if we even rely upon the international human rights document. Because ultimate aim of the law is to ensure justice, wherever it is, whatever may be the country, whatever may be the perspective, it is the people whose Sufferings must be eradicated irrespective of its caste, religion, sex, place of birth, color, etc. So UDHR has already the necessary ingredients as a placeholder of the legal document. So let it apply. Let it apply. Let it treat it as a global constitution. Let it follow. the principles enshrined in UDHR and let us fulfill the objectives which are mentioned in the particular document. Ultimately that is the global movement for global justice. It requires some sort of global movement for global justice and that global justice can be ensured through a global law of welfare. Let me conclude the discussion with the observation as made by John Rawls, a theory of justice, that justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of system of thought. A theory, however elegant, and economical must be rejected or revised if it is untrue. Likewise, laws and institutions, no matter how efficient and well arranged, must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust. So, the ultimate thing or the ultimate Conclusion is that we must move towards just from unjust. We must move towards the good, better and the best from the ugly and the ill one. If we consider and if we agree upon, I think which none of you will deny that the task of the law is to ensure justice. The task of a lawyer is to facilitate justice. The task of the lawyer is to interpret the law before the court so that the court can apply the law considering the existing circumstances and situations which will give some sort of fairness to the person or to the individuals who is suffering. Then obviously it will ensure. justice. At the global level, maybe many people, we are obviously, it is not maybe, rather I am quite sure, I am confident enough that many of us, we are living in a good condition without any problem as such. At the same time, if you can remember the problem of global justice, which I have cited at the beginning of the class. that how many people are dying for not having proper food, how many people are dying for not having proper drinking water, how many people are living a very poor life, their sufferings must also be taken into consideration. It is not the issue of the self-survival. It is not the issue of domestic service alone, domestic justice alone. It is this domestic justice, it must be translated into the concept of global justice. When we are enjoying all the benefit of globalization, when we are claiming that we are living in a global village, then we must also promote the idea of global justice, which is much, much wider than the concept of domestic justice. itself. With this, I want to conclude my deliberation. Obviously, it is a new normal situation. We don't have the opportunity to interact. We don't have the opportunity to know the opinion of you people. Obviously, I hope that the situation will be better at some point of time. Maybe one day we will be able to meet physically. then we will listen to one another, we will learn from one another. With this, I want to again thank Professor Dr. Jagdish John, Professor and Director of UGC HRDC of Gujarat University, and Dr. Bhavesh H. Bharat for giving me this opportunity. And I also... Thanks to all the participants in this particular program for your patient hearing. If my deliberation helps you to think the idea of justice in a new way, that is from a broader perspective, I think it will be a successful one. With this, I'm concluding. Wish you all the best and thank you very much for your patient hearing. Goodbye. Namaskar.