Jurisdiction becomes a tool to deliver justice, not delay it, when nations collaborate with each other for investigations and justice delivery, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday, exhorting countries to come together for tackling cross-border crimes, including those that involve cyber threats and cryptocurrency.

Inaugurating the Commonwealth Attorneys and Solicitors General Conference (CASGC) in the national capital, the PM underlined the need for multiple nations to come together to ensure justice delivery, pointing out that the theme of the conference – ‘Cross-Border Challenges in Justice Delivery’ assumes a lot of relevance in the highly connected and rapidly changing world.

“Sometimes, ensuring justice in one country requires working with other countries. When we collaborate, we can understand each other’s systems better. Greater understanding brings greater synergy. Synergy boosts better and faster justice delivery. Therefore, such platforms and conferences are important,” said Modi.

Read here: Global collaboration key to cross-border justice delivery challenges: CJI

He cited air traffic control and maritime traffic to highlight how some systems in place exemplify nations working with each other. “Similarly, we need to expand cooperation to investigation and justice delivery. Cooperation can happen even while respecting each other’s jurisdiction. When we work together, jurisdiction becomes a tool to deliver justice, not delay it,” said the PM.

Criminals have wide networks across various countries and regions, said Modi, lamenting economic crimes in one region are being used to fund activities in other regions. “The rise of cryptocurrency and cyber threats are posing new challenges. 21st-century challenges cannot be fought with a 20th-century approach. There is a need to rethink, reimagine and reform. This includes modernising legal systems that deliver justice. This includes making our systems more flexible and adaptable,” he added.

With Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justice Surya Kant (who is in line to take over as the CJI in November 2025) in attendance, the PM talked about the “ease of justice”.

Referring to evening courts and lok adalats that he said have resolved thousands of cases and ensured easy justice delivery, Modi said: “There needs to be a focus on making justice systems more citizen-centric. Ease of Justice is a pillar of justice delivery…Technology can also have a positive impact on justice systems.”

The PM laid emphasis on the role of legal education in boosting justice delivery, highlighting education is the key to bring more women into all walks of professional domains.

“The first step to do so is to make each domain inclusive at the educational level. When the number of women in law schools increases, the number of women in the legal profession will also increase. Participants in this conference can exchange ideas on how more women can be brought into legal education…The world needs young legal minds who have diverse exposure. Legal education also needs to adapt to changing times and technologies,” he further said.

The PM also talked about his government doing away with several obsolete laws from colonial times that he said had the potential to become tools of harassment of people.

“This has boosted ease of living and ease of doing business. India is also modernising laws to reflect the present realities. Now, three new legislations have replaced more than 100-year-old colonial criminal laws. Earlier, the focus was on punishment and penal aspects. Now, the focus is on ensuring justice. Therefore, citizens have a sense of assurance rather than fear,” he said.

Modi was referring to the three new legislation — Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, and Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam. These laws, which were cleared by Parliament last month but are yet to be notified, are set to replace the Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code and the Indian Evidence Act.

Concluding his address, the PM said that every challenge in justice delivery can be addressed but the journey must start with one shared value and a passion for justice. “Let us build a world where everyone has access to timely justice and none is left behind,” he said.

The conference is a conglomeration of attorney generals and solicitors from the Commonwealth nations spanning the Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Caribbean along with various international delegations.

“The conference serves as a unique platform by offering a forum for interaction among different stakeholders in the Commonwealth legal fraternity. It also includes an exclusive round table conference tailored for attorneys and solicitors aiming to develop a comprehensive roadmap to address the challenges in legal education and transnational justice delivery,” an official release stated.