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5th International Conference of Chief Justices of the WorldWelcome Address at the Second Plenary session byHon’ble Mr Justice Kamleshwar NathFormer Judge, Allahabad High Court, IndiaI have the privilege of welcoming you all to this session of the momentous conference onthe World’s most important need. On the cover page of the programme of this conference,the appeal of 29,000 CMS students on behalf of world’s 2 billion children calls aloud:“WE WANT A UNITED AND PEACEFUL WORLD”.Ladies and gentlemen, Is there a single person in this august gathering who does not joinin this Appeal? Let him raise his hand. Everyone wants peace – peace at home, peace insociety, peace among nations, peace on Mother Earth. Without peace life is not worthliving; and yet we have conflicts all around. The world is sitting on a gun-powder kegwith more than 12,000 nuclear warheads with USA, 22,000 with Russia, 500 withFrance and so on. One wrong move followed by a retaliation may bring doom! At asmaller scale, there are world-wide acts of terrorism. India is a victim since generations,Hon’ble Mr Justice Kamleshwar Nath,Former Judge, Allahabad High Court,India addressing the Conferenceand the worst part is that it has cynical foreign support. It nations support violence, how can there be peace! My Lords andfriends, would you not like to find ways and means to stop this meaningless violence? Peace cannot be won by War; thatwould be a contradiction in terms. It can be won only by mutual understanding and a spirit of give and take. Judges are theideal persons to perform this onerous task.Concepts are coined, even dug out from the pages of scriptures, to justify conflicts – so-called ‘wars of independence’even where there is no subjugation, religious intolerance based on self-styled superiority of one doctrine over the other –the Kafir/Jehad syndrome and, worst of all, the class psychology, all give birth to a mental frame leading to conflicts whichescalate into mini-wars. All these call for redress.The idea of a World Parliament, a World Government, with powers to implement an “Enforceable International Law”, soassiduously propagated by the CMS, Lucknow, through 4 earlier International Conferences, like the current 5th one, isworth deep consideration of Judges and Jurists of the World. Hurdles thereto lurk in the minds of politicians whoseparamount consideration is self-interest, often propped up as National Interest. Indeed national interests will have to blendwith international interest. Therein lies the function of Judges: Fairness, Justice, Human Dignity and Equality must be madeto prevail not merely among individuals but also among nations. Even a fair International Law, may not be enforced in theface of the self-interest of powerful nations and their stooges. You may take the horse to water, but you cannot make itdrink. There is the rub! How to achieve the ‘sumum bonum’ is the uphill task of this conference. Sarve BhavantuSukhinah Sarve Santu niramaya, sarve bhadrani pashyantu maa kashchid dukh bhagbhavetah has been theAncient ideal of Hindu Philosophy. May everyone be happy, free from disease; may everyone see good in others, maynobody suffer from grief.To what extent this high aspiration can be achieved, I cannot say; but one outstanding fact shines out. The CMSchain of Schools, under the untiring effort of Jagdish Gandhi, his illustrious wife Bharati Gandhi and the devoted staff of theSchool have educated and trained their students, year after year, into the ideals and practices of fraternity, respect forhumanity, and character of high order which will make them and the generations to come to be worthy of our GreatMotherland – Bharat Mata. No individual, no Institution has ever endeavoured with such devotion and tenacious intensityas the CMS in bringing the World Community on to a common platform to fulfil the aspiration for a ‘UNITED ANDPEACEFUL WORLD’.Once again, on behalf of myself and CMS Family, I welcome you all to this conference with best wishes forsuccess.--77--