BRICS Chief Justices' Forum: CJI highlights enhancing bilateral ties
The Supreme Court of India hosted the BRICS Chief Justices' Forum in New Delhi as a three-day summit, bringing together Chief Justices and senior judicial leaders from BRICS member states and partner countries.
The Chief Justice of India held bilateral meetings on the opening day with heads of judicial delegations from ten countries, including Russia, China, Egypt, Indonesia, the UAE, Belarus, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Iran and Uzbekistan.
The Chief Justice highlighted the judiciary's role in building coordinated bilateral cooperation and enhancing bilateral ties among member states, and proposed a common platform for arbitration and mediation to resolve commercial disputes.
Discussions covered exchange of best legal practices, technology and AI integration in judicial processes, mutual recognition of judicial awards, professional exchange programmes, and strengthening people-to-people ties through faster judicial processes.
BRICS as an Institutional Grouping and India's Role
BRICS originated as an investment-classification acronym ("BRIC") coined by economist Jim O'Neill in 2001 to describe major emerging economies; the grouping became a formal diplomatic forum with the first BRIC summit held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009. South Africa joined in 2010, making it "BRICS." The bloc expanded significantly in January 2024, admitting Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE as full members (Saudi Arabia was invited but has not formally joined as a full member), followed by further partner-country engagement in subsequent years including Indonesia.
Key Details
- BRIC term coined: 2001 (Jim O'Neill, Goldman Sachs); first summit: 2009, Yekaterinburg
- South Africa added: 2010
- 2024 expansion: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE became full members; Saudi Arabia remains an invitee
- BRICS operates without a founding treaty or permanent secretariat, functioning through annual rotating chairmanships and summit declarations, distinguishing it from treaty-based bodies like the WTO or UN
- The Chief Justices' Forum is a sectoral BRICS mechanism (alongside finance ministers' and central bank governors' tracks, and the New Development Bank), reflecting BRICS's expansion beyond economics into institutional/legal cooperation
Hosting the Chief Justices' Forum situates India's judiciary within the broader BRICS institutional architecture, extending the grouping's cooperation agenda from trade and finance into cross-border legal and judicial cooperation — a sector where India has traditionally engaged bilaterally rather than through blocs.
Judicial Diplomacy and Cross-Border Commercial Dispute Resolution
Judicial diplomacy refers to engagement between national judiciaries, including judicial exchanges, mutual legal assistance and cooperation on procedural harmonisation, distinct from executive-branch diplomacy carried out by the Ministry of External Affairs. The proposal for a common arbitration and mediation platform for commercial disputes speaks to India's push to be recognised as a hub for international commercial arbitration.
Key Details
- India's key domestic legal framework for arbitration: Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (amended in 2015, 2019 and 2021), aligned with the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration
- The Mediation Act, 2023 formalised institutional mediation in India, including provisions for international mediation and enforcement of mediated settlement agreements
- Mutual recognition of foreign judgments in India currently operates under Sections 13 and 44A of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, which allow direct execution of decrees only from "reciprocating territories" notified by the central government — a patchwork system that a common BRICS platform could seek to streamline
- India is not a party to the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements (2005), a gap frequently cited by legal scholars as limiting India's role in cross-border judgment enforcement
The CJI's proposal for a shared arbitration/mediation platform directly targets the gap created by India's reciprocating-territory system and its non-membership of key Hague instruments, aiming to make commercial dispute resolution among BRICS members faster and more predictable.
Composition and Appointment of the Chief Justice of India
The Chief Justice of India is appointed by the President under Article 124(2) of the Constitution, by convention based on seniority among sitting Supreme Court judges, and is the ex officio head of the Supreme Court and the Indian judiciary. The CJI referenced in this Forum was appointed with effect from 24 November 2025, becoming the 53rd Chief Justice of India, with a tenure running until early February 2027.
Key Details
- Constitutional basis for appointment: Article 124(2) (Supreme Court judges, including CJI, appointed by the President after consultation as required)
- Retirement age for Supreme Court judges (including CJI): 65 years, under Article 124(2)
- The CJI also heads the Supreme Court Collegium (a judicially evolved, not constitutionally codified, mechanism from the Second and Third Judges Cases, 1993 and 1998) for further judicial appointments
- International representation of India's judiciary at forums like this is a soft-power extension of the judiciary's domestic constitutional role, without altering its Article 124/141 functions within India
The Forum illustrates how the constitutionally domestic office of the CJI increasingly performs an external, diplomatic function, hosting and engaging counterparts from BRICS and partner states, even though the CJI's constitutional mandate under Articles 124-147 is confined to India's judicial system.
- BRICS Chief Justices' Forum 2026: hosted by the Supreme Court of India in New Delhi, held as a three-day event (from 4 to 6 September 2026)
- Bilateral meetings held by the CJI on the opening day: with judicial heads of 10 countries (Russia, China, Egypt, Indonesia, UAE, Belarus, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Iran, Uzbekistan)
- BRICS founding summit: 2009 (Yekaterinburg); South Africa joined 2010; Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE became full members January 2024
- Current CJI: 53rd Chief Justice of India, in office from 24 November 2025, tenure until early February 2027
- Key legal instruments referenced: Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996; Mediation Act, 2023; CPC 1908, Sections 13 and 44A (foreign judgment enforcement)
- India is not a signatory to the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements, 2005