In this episode, we speak with Justice Madan Lokur – an Indian jurist and a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, who also currently sits on the bench of the Supreme Court of Fiji. A champion of issues concerning social justice, judicial reforms, and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, Justice Lokur's bench was popularly referred to as the “Social Justice Bench” during his tenure at the Supreme Court of India.

Social justice stretches across many different issues including managing racial and religious harmony, gender equality, and economic divide. Justice Lokur will share his insights on navigating the complex cultural and social landscape of India from his experience on the bench.

Having inherited its colonial heritage and endured decades of turmoil due to civil war, Sri Lanka experienced, most recently, its worst economic crisis. The ever-evolving environment presents courts with a fresh set of legal challenges. How does the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka deal with the multi-faceted challenges presented before it? Judges often find themselves straddled between multiple spheres of private and commercial law which requires them to engage in considerable amount of innovation not only when interpreting the law but also adapting the laws to contemporary situations.

In this episode, we engage with Justice Yasantha Kodagoda from the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka to understand how judges perceive their roles in upholding equality and fundamental rights guarantees found in the Sri Lankan Constitution, and the wider role in aiding society move towards social and economic goals. Justice Kodagoda will shed light on judicial philosophy behind these judgments.

How does a court navigate social justice issues where political, economic, and social divisions run deep? A country with over 44 million people, Colombia has had to grapple with civil wars, political violence, poverty, and internal displacement. Along with the promulgation of a new Constitution in 1991, the Constitutional Court was established, and it has since taken a leading role in checking against abuses of power and protecting the rights of individuals and minorities.

Following Columbia’s Constitutional Court pronouncements in a number of landmark decisions on abortion, social security and same-sex marriage, complex moral, legal and political questions have been brought to light. Courts grapple to uphold constitutional guarantees amidst its rich cultural diversity, embedded patriarchal structures, and a history of conflict and transformation. Colombia finds itself at the crossroads of building the rule of law mitigating social divisions and managing majority sentiment.

In this episode, we set out to understand dilemma judges face, principled and pragmatic considerations they take into account, what tools and strategies they use to tackle the issues at stake and how they respond to divided opinions within and outside the court. Justice Alejandro Linares joins us on this episode of Chai Chats to shed light on the intricate landscape of Columbia’s jurisprudence.

How do courts make justice accessible where complex socio-economic and political inequalities are complex and pervasive? We sit down with Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of The Philippines to understand the role of courts in advancing social cohesion, gender equality, and local autonomy in a divided society.

Tun Datuk Seri Panglima Richard Malanjum reflects on his 27-years career on the bench and as the Ninth Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Malaysia. A Kadazandusun from Sabah, he was the first chief justice to be appointed from indigenous community in East Malaysia. In this episode, Tun Malanjum shares rich insights on the realities of “judging”, indigenous rights, and several key constitutional issues that have significantly shaped the legal, political, and social evolution of contemporary Malaysia.

We talk to Justice Ayesha Malik, whose appointment as the first female Justice of the Supreme Court, represented a significant step forward for gender equality in Pakistan.