251. The Ideals of Democracy

Justice BV Nagarathna made a key note address during an event on a curated volume of essays, Constitutional Ideals: Development and Realisation Through Court-led Justice in May 2023. This episode of BIC Talks is an extract from this key note address.

Justice Nagarathna reflects on certain basic ideals secured in the Constitution and indicates their value in present times, while stressing seven essential ideals necessary for a thriving democracy: elections, parliamentary proceedings, public debates, a strong opposition, autonomous institutions, free speech within reasonable bounds, and government functioning within the bounds of the law.

She discusses various key constitutional ideals, including federalism, inter-institutional balance, separation of powers, and the independence of institutions, especially the judiciary. Emphasising the importance of citizen-centric ideals like justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity, she points out that there is still room for courts to recognize more rights.

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