New Delhi, Aug 8 (ANI): Vice President Hamid Ansari on Saturday said that the contributions of the common law tradition, the Constitution, and the judiciary to consolidating the Rule of Law in India have been more than negated by unfair and lax enforcement, discriminatory application of laws and filtered access to the justice system.

Delivering inaugural address at the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Bar Association of India here, Ansari said: “This strikes at the root of democracy and erodes respect for law among citizens who are at the receiving end of non-enforcement of their rights and discriminatory application of the laws, and without the clout to secure either of them.”

He said that the Association has a larger objective beyond the furtherance of professional interests.

“It aims at promoting “public and national welfare in many directions”, and upholding “the Constitution of India, representative, free and democratic form of government established by it and the promotion of the Rule of Law”,” said.

The Vice President further said that it is felt that the Rule of Law is still not sufficiently protected in our society and polity and that challenges to it continue to undermine our democracy.

“Democracy and the Rule of Law are inextricably connected to each other; a decline in one would inevitably impact the other adversely,” he said adding that “Furthermore, and in terms of contemporary imperatives, the efficacy of Rule of Law impacts on economic growth and development as well as on good governance and protection of human rights.”

He said, the Bar has an important role to play in upholding the Rule of Law and the Constitution of India, in the administration of justice which is a fundamental function of the State, in promoting social justice, safeguarding liberty and protecting fundamental and human rights.

But the legal profession too is facing some of the challenges that confront the Rule of Law, he added.

For proper governance, he said,” The challenge is to expand its sphere and frequency. This can only be done by individual and collective commitment to Rule of Law, by building up opinion supportive of it, by intellectual and financial integrity, and by exposing and deploring departures from both.” (ANI)