The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) urges for a review of criminal contempt laws in India

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) urges for a review of criminal contempt laws in India

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II- International relations; Important Organisations; Judiciary

In news

• The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has urged for a review of criminal contempt laws in India, 

• It has expressed its concerns over the Supreme Court’s decision to convict Advocate Prashant Bhushan for criminal contempt.

Key takeaways

• For the ICJ, the conviction appears to be inconsistent with international standards on freedom of expression and the role of lawyers.
• It goes against the general protection of free speech and expression in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• It is also  inconsistent with the freedom of expression law guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
• It goes against the principles enshrined under the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.

Important value additions

Contempt of Court

• Article 129 and 215 of the Indian Constitution empowers the SC and High Courts respectively to punish people for their respective contempt.
• Article 142: It empowers the SC to punish for its contempt. 
• However, what is contempt of court per se has not been defined by the Indian Constitution.
• The Contempt of Court Act, 1971, elaborately deals with the concept of contempt of court.
• The Act divides contempt into civil and criminal contempt.

Do you know?

• The SC had recently found Prashant Bhushan guilty of ‘scandalizing the court’ on a suo-motu consideration of his two tweets. It has fined him with Rs. 1.

To understand the controversy, click here.