Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], August 1 (ANI): Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma and Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant on Saturday inaugurated the three-day Commonwealth Peace Mediation and Rule of Law Conference in Jaipur.

Speaking at the conference, CJI Surya Kant highlighted the close relationship between peace, mediation and the rule of law and said that peace should not be viewed as separate from the legal system.

'We meet here under a theme that sounds almost like a paradox. Peace, mediation and the rule of law. For centuries, we were trained to think of these two ideas as belonging to different worlds. The rule of law, we are taught, lives in the courtroom, in precedent, in the solemn authority of a judgement. Peace, on the other hand, was thought to live somewhere softer, in conversation, compromise, in the art of two people finding a way back to each other. This conference exists to correct that old, tired assumption. Peace is not the absence of law. Peace is one of law's finest achievements,' Justice Surya Kant said.

Earlier, on July 24, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant highlighted the importance of arbitration and mediation in preserving trust in global commerce, saying the two mechanisms ensure that commercial disputes do not become barriers to international trade.

Addressing the inaugural session of the International Conference commemorating the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) in New Delhi, the CJI highlighted the enduring relevance of alternative dispute resolution in an increasingly interconnected global economy.

'The world has changed beyond recognition since ancient times. Yet the fundamental challenge remains unchanged: how do we preserve trust when disagreements arise? Arbitration and mediation represent two of the most enduring answers that the international legal order has fashioned to this question. Together, they ensure that commercial disputes become mere interruptions to trade rather than obstacles to it,' Justice Surya Kant said. (ANI)