2019 – Posted in: Daily News – Tags: Commonwealth, Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal, CSAT, K.S.Radhakrishnan, tribunal

COMMONWEALTH SECRETARIAT ARBITRAL TRIBUNAL

For: Preliminary & Mains
Topics coverd: CSAT – members, functions, The commonwealth – its Secretariat

Former SC Judge K.S.Radhakrishnan Appointed Member Of Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal, London.

He will render his services as a member of the Tribunal for a period of four years from 1st of June, 2019 to 31st of May, 2023.

Radhakrishnan began his legal career by enrolling as an advocate in 1983 in Kerala.
He served as the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court and Jammu and Kashmir High Court before serving as a Judge of the Supreme Court for five years from November 2009 to May 2014.

Important cases dealt

As a Supreme Court judge, Radhakrishnan dealt with some famous cases such as:

SEBI v Sahara case
2014 Jallikattu ruling
He is a part of the two-judge Bench in the NALSA v Union of India case
Recognising Transgender as a third gender and giving them the same Constitutional rights as others.

For his landmark Jallikattu ruling, he was awarded with the ‘Man of the Year’ award by the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 53 independent and equal sovereign states.
The Commonwealth is home to 2.4 billion people and includes both advanced economies and developing countries. Thirty-one of our members are small states, many of which are island nations.
Principles and shared values are inscribed in the Commonwealth Charter.
Member countries are supported by a network of more than 80 intergovernmental, civil society, cultural and professional organisations.
The last country to join the Commonwealth was Rwanda in 2009.

The Commonwealth Secretariat, established in 1965, supports Commonwealth member countries to achieve development, democracy and peace.
The Secretariat is a voice for small and vulnerable states.
It help to strengthen governance, build inclusive institutions and promote justice and human rights.
Priority areas of work are agreed at Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings, which occur every two years. The next summit is in Rwanda in 2020.

The Commonwealth Secretariat’s structure is split into three areas:

The CSAT was established to meet the requirements of the Agreed Memorandum on the Commonwealth Secretariat (1964) which was revised by governments in 2005.
CSAT is London based tribunal constituted for resolving disputes involving Commonwealth international or intergovernmental organizations which agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the CSAT.
It has a total of eight members, comprising President and 7 members.
The members to this tribunal are selected by Commonwealth Governments on a regionally representative basis from among persons of high moral character who must hold or have held high judicial office in a Commonwealth country or who are jurist consults with at least ten years experience.
The members are appointed on a four year term which may be renewed only once.
To consider a case before it, the Tribunal is normally composed of a panel of three including the President and two other members selected by the President.
It hears applications brought by staff of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Commonwealth Secretariat or any person who is in contract with the Commonwealth Secretariat.
The Tribunal entertains only such cases in which organisations agree to surrender to its jurisdiction.

Commonwealth Day, 2019 – A Connected Commonwealth (11 March 2019)

Source: livelaw

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