Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Friday (September 4, 2026) highlighted the importance of the role of the judiciary in constructing coordinated bilateral cooperation and enhancing bilateral ties during the BRICS Chief Justices' Forum.

Speaking at the summit, he also proposed the building of a common platform for arbitration and mediation to tackle commercial disputes.

The Supreme Court on Friday (September 4, 2026) held the BRICS Chief Justices' Forum here which was attended by chief justices, presidents of supreme courts and senior judicial leaders from BRICS member states and partner countries.

As part of the Forum, CJI Kant held a series of bilateral meetings with heads of judicial delegations on the opening day.

The CJI met judicial leaders from Russia, China, Egypt, Indonesia, the UAE, Belarus, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Iran and Uzbekistan on the opening day of the three-day summit.

The bilateral discussions took place around the issues of MoUs for judicial cooperation to strengthen relations between countries, the importance of mediation and arbitration in resolving business and corporate disputes and creating a healthy environment for commercial activities between nations.

The discussions were also held on the requirement of efficient commercial courts to enhance trust of foreign investors, possibilities of mutual recognition of judicial awards and decrees and use of state institutions like the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, for professional exchange programmes.

Besides highlighting the importance of the role of the judiciary in constructing coordinated bilateral cooperation and enhancing bilateral ties, the CJI also proposed the building of a common platform for arbitration and mediation to tackle commercial disputes.

CJI Kant held discussions with the judicial delegations on the exchange of best legal practices from different countries, the need for bilateral conferences on laws on contemporary issues, technology advancement integration for increasing the efficiency of the judiciary, especially through AI integration, and enhancing people-to-people ties through expeditious judicial processes.

The bilateral meetings were an opportunity for direct interaction and exchange of views on matters of mutual judicial interest and will further strengthen engagement among the participating judiciaries, a statement issued by the Supreme Court said.

Among the judicial leaders who met the CJI are Igor Krasnov, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation; Zhang Jun, Chief Justice of China and President of the Supreme People's Court; Boulos Gahmy Iskander Boulos, Chief Justice of Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court; and Sunarto, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Indonesia, the statement said.

The other leaders who met the CJI include Mohammed Hamad Al Badi Al Dhaheri, President of the UAE Federal Supreme Court; Andrei Shved, Chairman of the Supreme Court of Belarus; Aslambek Mergaliyev, Chairman of the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan; Mahube Betty Molemela, President of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa; Ayatollah Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Eje'I, Chief Justice of Iran; and Malikakhon Kalandarova, Deputy Chairperson of Uzbekistan's Supreme Court.

The CJI also met all the delegates from the member states and partner countries and held several other bilateral meetings with the representatives of the member and partner countries.

Judicial leaders representing Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa and UAE, along with partner countries including Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda and Uzbekistan are attending this three-day meet.

On the second day, heads of delegations from BRICS member states and partner countries will address the forum and share their perspectives on issues of common interest to judicial institutions.