The highest professional distinction handed by Harvard Law School has been given to Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud.
The current Chief Justice of India has received the ‘Award for Global Leadership’, by his Alma mater in a ceremony.
The announcement was made during an online ceremony of the award in January this year itself.
This is the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Harvard Law School of its Graduate Law Programme.
The Chief Justice attended the ceremony as he was in the Harvard Law School for a fireside chat with David Wilkins, who is a professor at Harvard Law School and Faculty Director, Center on the Legal Profession.
The Chief Justice revisited his college days, with the nostalgia revived, he fondly remembered his time at Harvard as an LLM student in 1982-83 and then as an SJD candidate in 1983-1986.
The Chief Justice said that the Supreme Court has taken several initiatives during his first year of the position.
As per the official statement, he has come up with
incorporation of technology in court processes, launch of Handbook on combating gender stereotypes, etc.
The Chief Justice talked about the time he spent at Harvard as an LLM student in 1982-83 and then as an SJD candidate in 1983-1986.
He further spoke about the initiatives he took at the Supreme Court of India during his first year of tenure as CJI.
According to an official statement, these include the incorporation of technology in court processes, launch of Handbook on combating gender stereotypes, etc.
The Chief Justice of India further talked about the importance of interdisciplinary studies and said that the law does not work in a vacuum.
He also spoke about issues of medical science or technology connected to the works of law.
Talking about the legal aid clinics at Harvard, the CJI said that law students should be involved in clinical legal models, where they were actively involved in real-time cases in local areas.
Speaking on whether the legal profession could be democratised, the CJI said that the new law clerk scheme implemented during his tenure has provided equal access to all to apply for a clerkship at the Supreme Court.
He further shared his concern about the mental health of lawyers.
The CJI suggested that the law schools should come up with a mechanism to train the students in handling stress and mental health.
Chief Justice Chandrachud also interacted with the students and faculty members of various departments at the Harvard University.