National Commission to review the working of the Constitution

National Commission to review the working of the Constitution also known as Justice Venkatachaliah Commission was set by NDA Government of India led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee on 22 February 2000 for suggesting possible amendments to the Constitution of India.

Terms of reference

The terms of reference given to the Commission stated that the Commission shall examine, in the light of the experience of the past 50 years, as to how best the Constitution can respond to the changing needs of efficient, smooth and effective system of governance and socio-economic development of modern India within the framework of Parliamentary democracy, and to recommend changes,if any, that are required in the provisions of the Constitution without interfering with its basic structure or features.[1]

The Commission

It was headed by Retired Chief Justice of India Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah.[1][2]

Report

The Commission submitted its report on 31 March 2002.[3] The two-volume report was received by law and justice minister Arun Jaitley. The report is in two volumes with volume II comprising three books.

Volume I

  1. Introduction
  2. Basic Approach and Perspective
  3. Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties
  4. Electoral Processes and Political Parties
  5. Parliament and State Legislatures
  6. Executive and Public Administration
  7. The Judiciary
  8. Union-State Relations
  9. Decentralization and Devolution
  10. Pace of Socio-Economic Change
  11. Summary of Recommendations

[4]

Volume II

Book 1

  1. Gazette Notifications
  2. Advisory Panels
  3. Consultation Papers
    1. Enlargement of Fundamental Rights
    2. Pace of Socio-Economic Change under the Constitution
    3. Literacy in the context of the Constitution of India
    4. Social Security and Employment
    5. Effectuation of Fundamental Duties of Citizens
    6. Review of the Working of Political Parties specially in relation to Elections and Reform Options
    7. Review of Election Law, Processes and Reform Options
    8. Immunity of Legislators: What do the words ‘in respect of anything said or any vote given by him’ in article 105(2) signify?
    9. Efficacy of Public Audit System in India: C&AG
    10. Probity in Governance
    11. Liability of State in Tort
    12. Superior Judiciary
    13. All India Judicial Service

[5]

Book 2

  1. Consultation Papers (Contd.)
    1. Financial Autonomy of the Indian Judiciary
    2. Constitutional Mechanism for the settlement of Inter-State Disputes
    3. Treaty-making power under our Constitution
    4. The Institution of Governor under the Constitution
    5. Article 356 of the Constitution
    6. Review of the Working of the Constitutional Provisions for Decentralisation (Panchayats)
    7. Decentralization and Municipalities
    8. Empowering and Strengthening local self-government in Cantonments
    9. Empowerment and Strengthening of Panchayat Raj Institutions/ Autonomous District Councils/Traditional tribal governing institutions in North East India

[6]

Book 3

  1. Background Papers
    1. Working of Parliament and Need for Reforms
    2. Some ideas in Governance
    3. Concurrent Power of Legislation under List III of the Indian Constitution
    4. Fiscal and Monetary Policies
    5. Barriers to Inter-State Trade & Commerce – The Case of Road Transport
    6. Article 262 and Inter-State Disputes relating to Water
    7. Pace of Socio-Economic Change and Development under the Constitution
  2. List of Organisations/Individuals who sent representations to the Commission
  3. List of Organisations/individuals who responded to the Consultation Papers/Questionnaires issued by the Commission
  4. List of Organisations/Delegations/individuals who interacted with the Commission
  5. List of Seminars sponsored by the Commission
  6. Minutes of meetings of the Commission
  7. Report of the Drafting and Editorial Committee

[7]

Implementation

The recommendations have not been accepted by consecutive governments.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 Ncrwc - Final Report
  2. ↑ Judicial reforms cannot ignore public perceptions - The New Indian Express
  3. ↑ http://lawmin.nic.in/ncrwc/ncrwcreport.htm
  4. ↑ http://lawmin.nic.in/ncrwc/finalreport/volume1.htm
  5. ↑ http://lawmin.nic.in/ncrwc/finalreport/volume2book1.htm
  6. ↑ http://lawmin.nic.in/ncrwc/finalreport/volume2book2.htm
  7. ↑ http://lawmin.nic.in/ncrwc/finalreport/volume2book3.htm
  8. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/governors-and-guidelines/article7058384.ece
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, January 18, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.