New Delhi, Feb 4 Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, who was on an official visit to France recently, held a series of bilateral meetings in Paris with senior judicial functionaries to strengthen judicial cooperation and promote exchanges between the two countries.
The CJI was accompanied by India's Ambassador to France and Monaco, Sanjeev Singla. He met with French Constitutional Council president Richard Ferrand and discussed judicial training and the use of technology. Both sides emphasised sharing best practices to enhance justice delivery in their respective jurisdictions.
The CJI-led delegation also met Didier Tabuteau, vice president of the Council of State, where the two sides exchanged views on their respective judicial systems, court structures and approaches to case adjudication.
During the visit, the CJI delivered the keynote address at the Indo-French General Counsel and Business Conference, organised by the Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in association with the Paris Bar Association, highlighting the significance of the Indo–France Year of Innovation 2026 and the growing role of Alternative Dispute Resolution in India.
"We have witnessed a remarkable acceleration in our bilateral trade, which has more than doubled over the last decade, surging from USD 6.4 billion in 2009-10 to an impressive USD 15.11 billion in the last fiscal year," he said at the conference.
On "Cross-Border Dispute Resolution: Courts, Arbitration and India-France Year of Innovation 2026," Justice Kant said, "The relationship between France and India is not a creation of convenience; it is a bond forged over centuries. Today, standing on the shoulders of this history, we face a world transformed by uncertainty."
"The forces of disruption and geopolitical tension threaten to destabilise the very framework of international cooperation. In such a world, the France-India partnership is not a luxury; it is a lifeline," he added.
During the visit, the Supreme Court delegation also met with the president of the Commercial Chamber of the Cour de Cassation, Vincent Vigneau, to discuss developments in arbitration and mediation, and resolved to deepen engagement between the legal communities of the two countries.
Before concluding the visit, the CJI had interacted with members of the Association of South Asian Lawyers France and underlined their role in fostering links between different legal systems.
