“Rule of Law is no foreign concept in India and has its origin in Kautilya’s Arthashastra.” Dr. Shashikala Gurpur 

NP NEWS NETWORK

PUNE

“Meaningfulness of life is the factor that determines the quality of life.” She further stated that Rule of Law is no foreign concept in India and has its origin in Kautilya’s Arthashastra. Dr. Gurpur ended by quoting today’s judgment of the Supreme Court which decriminalized adultery, “Husband cannot consider wife as his property.” According to her, in light of Rule of Law, there could be no better judgment in furtherance of the same. Said Dr. Shashikala Gurpur, Fulbright Scholar, Director of Symbiosis Law School and former National law Commission Member

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Dr Gurpur traced the journey of the conference which was set in motion in April and stated that she realized the emergence of Rule of Law in Context as the most crucial fact in inaugural Ceremony of the 7^th International Annual Research Conference on Rule of Law in Context: Indian and Global Perspectives (SYMROLIC) on Thursday was held at  Symbiosis Law School, Pune.

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The ceremony commenced with the auspicious lighting of the lamp by the dignitaries present on the dais including Dr. K P Mohanan (PhD, MIT), Co-Founder, ThinQ, Attorney Rebecca Todd, General Counsel in Antioch University, USA, Dr. Rajani Gupte, Vice-Chancellor, SIU, Dr. Shashikala Gurpur, Fulbright Scholar, Director and Dr. Bindu Ronald, Deputy Director, Symbiosis Law School, Pune.

Dr. Gurpur then proceeded to felicitate the dignitaries on the dais. Lexet, the bi-annual college newsletter and a compilation of research abstracts were released by the dignitaries.

Dr. Mohanan, Co-Founder, ThinQ, Chief Guest, commenced his speech by mentioning his interest in the way law functions among the human species as well as how it ought to function. He explained the concepts of foundational research and trans-disciplinary research. He encouraged the use of foundational research on natural law and rule of law.

He elucidated that trans-disciplinary research means inquiry which has no boundaries whatsoever. He explained natural law by stating “Natural laws are natural in the sense that they are rooted in some universal ethics. It carries with it the elements of non-arbitrariness and transparency.” In a system characterized by Rule of Law, nobody is exempt from the law of the land. However, application of law can be subjective and can have multiple interpretations which may lead to arbitrariness and ambiguity. While concluding he mentioned about the importance of students adopting a transdisciplinary approach to Rule of Law.

Attorney Rebecca Todd, General Counsel in Antioch University, USA, the Guest of Honour commenced her speech by stating,“Rule of Law is a notoriously broad concept and difficult to define. In most cases lawyers only recognize it when they see it first-hand.” However, she mentioned that a clear distinction can be made between the rule of law and the rule of force. Rule of Law means living under a rule of a transparent, flexible and structured system.

Dr. Rajani Gupte, Vice-Chancellor, SIU stated that there is a lot of interface between law and other disciplines. She remarked, “These inter-disciplinary clusters facilitate boundaries of knowledge to be crossed and at these intersections new levels and grounds of knowledge are formed”. She further commented on the Rule of Law as encapsulated in the Arthashastra and elucidated that economics and law go hand in hand. She also explained that growth and development are different concepts and the latter facilitates fast access to medical aid, legal aid and other indicators not captured by the GDP. On a concluding note, she said that Rule of Law becomes important in terms of the safety of the country and how it operates in that context.

The inaugural session ended with a vote of thanks delivered by Dr. Bindu Ronald, Deputy Director, Symbiosis Law School, Pune.

Post-inauguration, there will be a Plenary Session on Law & Life Interface – Innovation, Science, Technology, Human Behaviour, Global Policy & Governance wherein Prof. (Dr.) Shashikala Gurpur Fulbright Scholar, Director, Symbiosis Law School Pune, Dean-Faculty of Law, SIU, Prof. Rebecca Todd, University Counsel, Antioch University, United States, Prof. (Dr.) Sandeep Gopalan, Pro-Chancellor Academic Innovation, Deakin University, Australia, Dr. Sairam Bhat, Professor of Law, National Law School of India University, Bangalore, and Dr. Urvashi Rathod, Director, Symbiosis Centre for Research and Innovation (SCRI), SIU will be the resource persons for the session.