Union law minister M Veerappa Moily said the Centre was contemplating a scheme to introduce scholarships for young lawyers.
Speaking after receiving felicitations accorded by the Mangalore Bar Association here on Tuesday, he said once the scheme was introduced, young lawyers would get remunerations from the Centre along with what they were already receiving from the state government. It takes at least five years for young lawyers to establish themselves in their profession. Extending financial support was necessary to attract and retain talented youth in this field, he said.
Referring to the legal reforms in the country, he said the next five years would be the period of judicial reforms. Besides ensuring necessary infrastructure to different courts, the vacant posts at the high courts would be filled on priority basis, he said adding that the condition was not good at the high courts as many posts of judges have been vacant for several years. As many as 225 posts of high court judges were vacant and they would be filled within two years, he said.
The Union law ministry is working out a scheme, Grama Nyayalaya, under which courts would be set up at the village level. The Union law industry has asked state governments to provide 50% grants for such courts and the process of establishing Grama Nyayalaya would begin once the state government's consent was received. As many as 850 Grama Nyayalayas would be established in the first phase, he said.
Responding to the pleas by the Mangalore Bar Association on the delay in completion of the new court complex building, he said he would discuss the matter with the chief minister and Karnataka High Court Chief Justice and assured grants from the Finance Commission.
