A video clipping often circulated in the social media, speaks about the importance of time for various occasions. In cases of disputes it is the courts which determine what is a reasonable time in a given case, taking into consideration the particular facts and circumstances of the case.
In many of the laws, the legislature predetermines what is a reasonable time by laying down time limits very specifically. There is also a general law of the land which lays down reasonable time for fulfillment of or awakening of a legal obligation, the Limitation Act 1963. Even in this legislation such time limits ranges from six months to 30 years depending upon the occasion.
Goa became part of India in 1961 and thus the courts and the government in Goa are bound by the Constitutional requirements with the transition of the governance of the State from the Portuguese to the Government of India. The Government of Goa had the obligation to ensure that all official transactions of the higher judiciary in the State are in English. It was therefore mandatory that the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867, is available in its authenticated English translation as per Article 348 of the Constitution. It was the responsibility of those judicial officers who represented the State, as its law officers from time to time to guide the government of the State to fulfill, its legal obligation. But what happened in Goa is now a common knowledge and subject to public scrutiny. It is a fact, so admitted by the Government of Goa before the floor of its legislature that despite these 50 odd years, absolutely no effort has been made at any point of time to provide an authentic translated English version of the Portuguese civil code of 1867 by the government of Goa. The Government has of course magnanimously admitted that such a long and continued lapse has created injustice and suffering to the people of Goa. Thus having admitted its fault openly and in public, (in the Goa Assembly) the government’s continued justification for its inaction on the presumed premises of lack of expertise is a paradox.
True, that barring those lawyers and judges, who have interpreted in their own way the Portuguese Civil Code in various cases where they represented the litigants, in the interest of their own clients, finding expertise is rather difficult. Despite this the Government’s inaction for such a long period can be summed up as a case of mere mind over matters or is it because of the subtle but pervasive influence of those powerful vested interests, who time and again have interpreted the Code in the way they wanted for their own interest and feels that any action by the Government to fulfill its Constitutional obligation would run counter to their personal interests and the interests of their clients, whom they have represented over these long years. A revised and correct translation and interpretation at this point of time will expose not only their ignorance of law and language but also their, crafty designs in influencing the judges by methods other than what law, justice and fairness would permit.
One would wonder have such forces, now gone beyond and ensured that even the judiciary has excused themselves in determining what would be a reasonable time to provide such translation, but rather let the government by itself determine what is a reasonable time? It is rarely in the history of judicial decision making that the power and the discretion to decide what is reasonable time is surrendered by the judiciary to the defaulting party themselves. Strange are the ways that, now a day’s what judges considers as fair and just.
Yes, when there is an elected government people tend to trust the government, but what happens when governments after governments, goes on such long slumber despite their admission of their failure and the consequent suffering of the people?
There is a great quandary in Goa as to now who will bell the cat? When the guardians of the Constitution refuse to guard the Constitution, what happens to the State and where will the people Go to redress their genuine concern to seek justice?
Reasonable time is generally understood as that amount of time which is fairly necessary, conveniently, to do whatever is required to be done, as soon as circumstances permit. When most of the so-called experts are not available to the government by reason of their bias and vested interest of protecting their client’s interests, the government needs to look elsewhere for viable alternatives. It is certainly not enough to say that some part of the Civil Code has been converted into legislation or that some translations are available in the market or that some translations have been referred to by judges even of the Supreme Court as that will not fulfill the Constitutional requirement.
The most authentic and comprehensive English translation of the Portuguese Civil Code 1867, is the one brought out by The Institute of Juridical Cooperation, Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon in 2008. The Institute has ensured that a copy of the same is provided complementary to every legislature in Goa, to some of the courts and lawyers, Judges and the law colleges in Goa etc. The government of Goa has to merely publish the same as the authentic, English translation in the official Gazette under the authority of the Governor, to complete the requirements of Article 348 of the Constitution of India. It is to be further noted that though the copies of this publication are freely and easily made available, no jurist or lawyer in Goa has as yet disputed the translation. All that the government of Goa could now do is to appoint a committee, not of lawyers, but of retired judges/academicians in Goa who are well versed in Portuguese as well as English to, scrutinise this translation, and recommend their publication in the official gazette as per Article 348 of the Constitution of India, those parts of the translated provisions which they think are inappropriate could be subject to further scrutiny and translations, so that the justice delivery system in Goa does not come to a standstill, as it might happen in the immediate future, if judges correctly and rightly interpret the purpose and import of Article 348 of the Constitution of India. If justice delayed is justice denied, what happens when judges connive with such delay, where do the common people go to ensure that the predominance of Constitution of India prevails?
(The writer is a Professor of Law & former Dean, faculty of Law, Goa University)
