Cuttack, Jan. 30: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today stressed on the need for qualitative improvement in justice delivery by enhancing the quality of adjudication. He said the onus of quality of adjudication lay not just on the judges, but on all the stakeholders.

“In the matter of delivery of justice, the adjudicatory process is always the means,” the chief minster said speaking at the valedictory session of the three-day East Zone Regional Judicial Conference on “Enhancing quality of adjudication” here at the high court.

“The adjudicating process, be it traditional or any other alternative, must have to be directed towards dispensation of justice. Thus, enhancement of quality of adjudication ultimately aims at enhancing the quality of justice delivery,” he added.

Acknowledging that the increase in number of cases and their disposal was standing on the way of quality adjudication, Naveen said both the legislature and the judiciary were trying their best to sort out the problem. Mechanisms were being evolved to ensure timely and inexpensive justice to the litigants. “But in our anxiety, for quick justice, the quality or efficiency in adjudication and justice delivery should never be sacrificed,” the chief minister said.

“When we talk about enhancing the quality of adjudication, the focus should be not only on the judges, whom ordinarily all litigants consider as the person responsible. All stakeholders must be involved in the process and must come together to address the issue. The judges, lawyers, staff and others who take part in the process, must contribute in required proportion,” he said.

Naveen further said that the opening of the National Law University (NLU) in Cuttack is a step in the direction of providing good quality human resources for the judicial system. He said his government is taking all possible steps to see that the NLU attracts the best of students and teachers to make it into one of the best legal institutes of the country.

Chief justice of Orissa High Court and patron-in-chief of Orissa Judicial Academy V. Gopala Gowda called upon the judicial officers to keep themselves updated on the different changes in law. “Legal education for the judicial officers should be a continuous process,” Gowda said.

Among others who spoke on the occasion included Justice Dalveer Bhandari of Supreme Court and Orissa Judicial Academy’s D.P. Choudhury. More than 100 judicial officers participated in the conference.