Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan appointed as Chairman of 21st Law Commission of India
The Union Government has appointed former Supreme Court (SC) judge Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan (66) as Chairman of the 21st Law Commission of India (LCI).
Currently he is Chairman of the Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal. He was judge of the SC from May 2009 to July 2014. He also had served as Chief Justice of Orissa high court from July 2008 to May 2009.
Apart from him, Union Government has appointed former judge of the Gujarat high court Justice Ravi R Tripathi as member of 21st LCI.
Background
- Earlier in September 2015, Union Government had constituted 21st LCI for period of 3 years with effect from 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2018.
- Composition: (i) Chairperson (full-time), (ii) Four Members (full-time). It will include a Member-Secretary. (iii) 3 Secretaries: Department of Legal Affairs, Legislative Department and Legislative Department as ex offcio Members. (iv) Up to 5 part-time Members.
- Recommendations: 21st LCI will give its major recommendations on a review of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the criminal justice system and the bail law in order to ensure uniformity in the procedure of granting the relief.
About Law Commission of India (LCI)
- The LCI is a non-statutory and non-constitutional body constituted by the Union Government from time to time.
- The first commission was constituted in 1955 and since then various commissions were re-constituted every three years.
- It is usually headed by a retired Supreme Court judge or former Chief Justice of a high court.
- So far, various Law Commissions have submitted 262 reports to make important contribution towards codification and progressive development of laws of the country.
The 20th LCI was headed by Justice A P Shah, Former Chief Justice (CJ) of Delhi High Court and its tenure ended on 31 August, 2015.
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Month: Current Affairs - March, 2016