Introduction

Education is a continuous process and training is a part of it. training enhances professional competence as well as productivity. judiciary is no exception to it. In the case of High Court of Judicature at Bombay vs. Shashikant S. Patil, (2000) 1 SCC 416. Hon’ble Mr Justice. K.T. Thomas, Judge Supreme Court of India while speaking for the bench observed that “Judicial service is not merely an employment, and the Judges are not merely employees. They exercise sovereign judicial power. They are holders of public offices of great trust and responsibility”.

Thus, in order to secure constitutional vision of justice and to uphold public trust, judiciary must be fair, competent, independent, performing and accountable. Judiciary is constitutionally responsible for dispensation of justice by properly interpreting and applying the law of the land to all matters in dispute between parties which are brought before the courts. In order to achieve the goals, judicial education and training are highly essential.

Thus, meaningful and effective judicial training can bring about, by improvement in quality of justice, a social order geared to meet the challenges of paradigm shifts in values, attitudes and outlooks; and that off public criticism, and to arrest the eminent danger of collapse of the environment, necessary and viable for peaceful, prosperous and respectable living.  

Background

The 77th Report of the Law Commission of India emphasized the need for training of the officers of the District Judiciary. It was recommended that there should be a training course of about three to six months for recruits to the District Judicial office. The recruits should, by such training, be acquainted with procedural requirements for dealing with different stages of cases, including the writing of judgments and interlocutory orders and dealing with administrative matters. To enable judicial officers to meet the various kinds of situations that they would face in court, there should be a course of training for all judicial officers before they start functioning. Again, in its 117th Report the Law Commission of India recommended that a Central Academy should be set up at a suitable place in the country for providing intensive training to new entrants to the Indian Judicial Service. This issue was also dealt with at the Joint Conference of Chief Justices, Chief Ministers and Law Ministers in 1985 and again, in the Chief Justices’ Conference in 1988. In the first All-India Judges’ Association case, (AIR 1992 SC165) the issue of in-service training came up for discussion before the Supreme Court. 

The Court directed that an All-India Institute of In-Service Training for higher officers of the judiciary, including the District Judges, and a State Level institute for training of the other members of the subordinate judiciary within each of the States and Union Territories should be set up. In another case of All-India Judges’ Association vs union of India (2002)4SCC247 the Supreme Court laid emphasis on in-depth training of judicial officers, and this paved the way for establishment of state judicial academy.

History

Considering the necessity of Judicial Education and training to be imparted to Judicial Officers of the State of Odisha and in view of the directions of the Apex Court in all India Judges Association case (referred above)  , the decision to open a Judicial Academy was resolved by High Court of Orissa on 30.03.2001. The decision was implemented by the State Government by establishing a permanent Judicial Academy for Odisha at the old building of the Board of Revenue, Cuttack. On 02.04.2003, the state created a post of Director to commence the function of the Academy for enhancing judicial learning and training, and a platform for Judicial Officers for attending excellence in dispensation of Justice. Accordingly, the Odisha Judicial Academy was inaugurated on 20th December 2003 by Hon’ble Dr Justice Arijit B Pasayat, Judge Supreme Court of India, in presence of Hon’ble Shri Justice Sujit Barman Roy, Chief Justice of Odisha, and Dr N.R Madhava Manon, Director, National Judicial Academy, with the objective of imparting training to the newly recruited judicial officers as well as for in-service judges and others. The first Director being appointed resumed the duty on 20.12.2003. The first batch of fresh recruits to district judiciary started their induction training at Odisha Judicial Academy on 15.11.2004. In the year 2012, The Academy got shifted to the old chief justice bungalow. In the year 2013, Odisha Judicial Academy got its permanent campus at CDA Sector 1 Cuttack and started functioning w.e.f 10.08.2013. The main objective of the Academy is to impart necessary training to newly recruited and in service judicial officers of the state to make them not only better judges but better personation. The Odisha Judicial Academy has been a fore runner in continuous judicial education and training programme. With the continuous guidance of the Hon’ble Patron-in-chief and Hon’ble Judicial Academy and training committee, the Academy has been able to provide new dimensions to the training of judicial officers which earlier were unexplored. Now all judicial officers joining the Judicial Service undergo a planned and systematic induction training programme, which is oriented to their wholesome development as judicial officers and in service judicial officers receive well planned early career, mid-career and advanced career training to polish their skills and to keep them updated regarding the latest developments in the field of law and court craft.