Justice Bhandari was felicitated for his outstanding work as a judge and his efforts to engage with international law on a global scale, at a seminar organised by Sonipat-based O P Jindal Global University (JGU) earlier this week, a statement released by the University said.
Quoting Justice Bhandari, the statement said he expressed serious concern over the fact that not a single university from India figures in the list of top 200 universities and law schools in the world even after 67 years of Independence.
"We need model institutions of excellence such as the JGU which has achieved extraordinary heights in a relatively short span of time of 5 years," he was quoted as saying.
He also encouraged young students to never compromise on the fair and free perusal of the law and to pursue the study of law to promote social change and social engineering.
Also Read
Justice Bhandari underlined the importance of high quality legal education and how the private and public sector will have to work jointly to promote excellence in higher education, the statement said.
Speaking at the function, Vice Chancellor of JGU, Professor C Raj Kumar observed that legal and higher education need to receive high priority in the country in the evolving landscape of globalisation.
"The next generation of lawyers and judges need to engage in the study of international law and global governance through interdisciplinary approaches that only research oriented universities could offer to the students," he said.
Speaking on the occasion, secretary general of the Asian African Legal Consultative Organisation, Rahmat Mohammed, expressed concern over lack of representation of Asian and African lawyers in the United Nations and other international dispute settlement mechanisms.
The seminar and the felicitation was attended by faculty and students of JGU, bureaucrats, diplomats, members of the civil society, lawyers and judges.