High Court Chief Justice points out significance of customary laws in modern judicial setup

GUWAHATI: The Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court, Justice Sandeep Mehta, pointed out the significance of customary laws in the modern judicial setup.

He released the digital version of the six books.

The Law Research Institute, Eastern Region, Gauhati High Court, under the aegis of the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, organized a day-long dissemination workshop and seminar on the significance of documentation of customary laws here today.

Participating in the event, Justice Lanusungkum Jamir said customary laws still play an important role as a conflict resolution mechanism. Justice KR Surana pointed out the nexus between customary laws and modern laws.

Chairing the working session, Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi pointed out the relevance of customary laws. Participating in the event through video conferencing from the Department of Justice, Asutosh Srivastava provided a brief overview of their work on legal literacy and access to justice and its relevance to the documentation of customary laws.

Dr. Ranga Ranjan Das, Director of the Law Research Institute and Convener of the event, said that the workshop-cum-seminar is a part of their ongoing work on the documentation of customary laws prevailing among the different tribal groups of this region. He called it a key part of the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of the institute, which was established in 1973 as a part of celebrating the Silver Jubilee of the Gauhati High Court.

The institute has been accomplishing important tasks of research in the field of law in general and customary law in particular. The institute has documented the customary laws of 53 groups in the northeastern region, apart from tribal administration of justice and the land holding systems of different states in the region. Six books on the customary laws of the Boro, Rabha, Tiwa, Zeme Naga, Halam, and Nyishi communities were released during the Platinum Jubilee Celebration of the Gauhati High Court.

The keynote address is delivered by Dr. Uttam Bathari, Associate Professor, Department of History, Gauhati University. The event is attended by community members from the six tribal groups, such as Boro, Rabha, Tiwa, Zeme Naga from Assam, Halam from Tripura, and Nyishi from Arunachal Pradesh, members of the bench, bar, registry, judiciary, representatives from different institutions, NGOs, and the general public.

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