I, on my behalf and on behalf of City Montessori School have great pleasure in very warmly welcoming the jurists, the judges, the academicians and the distinguished gathering to the valedictory session of the 1st International Conference on World Peace and Article 51 of the Constitution of India at Lucknow.

It is great honour for us to have Mr. Justice Punyadasa Edussuriya, Judge, Supreme Court of Sri Lanka for having kindly consented to preside this valedictory session. We are also grateful to Dr. Justice Nasim Hasan Shah, Ex-Chief Justice of Pakistan for having kindly consented to be the

Chief guest for this valedictory session. Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ashok A. Desai, Chief Justice, High Court of Uttaranchal is also of great importance to us for being the Chairman of the Preparatory Committee and being on the dais during this session. I, on my behalf, and on behalf of the CMS. express to them our deep appreciation for their presence.

Today morning, we had the pleasure of listening to the inaugural address given by Hon'ble Mr. Justice K.T. Thomas, Judge, Supreme Court of India, the Presidential address by Hon'ble Mr. Justice U.C. Banerjee and the key-note address by Mr. K.K. Venugopal, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India.

Article 51 of the Constitution of India contemplates that the State shall endeavour to foster respect for International law and treaty obligations in the dealings of organized people with one another. There is no provision in the Constitution of India corresponding to Article VI para 2 of the Constitution of the United States of America. Therefore, the position in India is that despite that fact Article 51 (c) exists in the Constitution of India, the International laws and the treaties do not become automatically the part of municipal law. They need ratification of both the Houses of Parliament, namely, Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Further, the position is that in an event of a conflict between the rule of International Law and the Municipal Law the Municipal Law will prevail. Therefore, the courts in India are under an obligation to apply the Municipal Law wherever it is in conflict with the International Law or the treaties.

Mr. Troy Davis giving a speech at Stockholm observed about the World Parliament and stated as follows:

"Ideally, democracy institutionalizes a way for the powerless to express themselves politically. Democracy was invented to provide a greater political "bandwidth", to provide a voice to those previously voiceless. The present global political system, which is based on diplomatic negotiations, is the equivalent of narrowband. Democracy is broadband.

In an increasingly inter-dependent world, we need to replace diplomatic decision-making by democratic decision-making. Broadband is even more important at the global level because global institutions are further away from the people.

Assuming we want to implement a world democracy, what does this mean ? A minimum condition of democracy is free elections as H.E. the Chief Justice of Mauritius reminded us. So we need free elections at the global level. At minimum, we need a World Parliament.

A global democracy would also make it easier to implement a Global Marshall Plan, which would be the first realization of a new global social contract. A Global Marshall Plan would be the best investment for world peace and poverty eradication since the first Marshall Plan set the foundation for a peaceful and prosperous Europe. It would pay itself off rapidly by a real global peace dividend. We could possibly create 15-20 trillion dollars of additional wealth by 2020 if we start now.

The excuses about the unfeasibility of global elections are just that : excuses. The critique that a world democracy would not work because there is too much diversity in the world is mistaken. And the objection that a world Parliament could not work because of differences between peoples is unfounded. We have today a dozen quasi-World Parliaments in existence, except that they are not elected. They are the general assemblies of the U.N. of the specialized agencies, of the International Financial Institutions of the WTO. Why if nations surrender their sovereignty to an unselected WTO, would they be less willing to do so to an elected assembly? It does not make sense "

It is great honour for the organizers that the aforesaid dignitaries participated in the inaugural as well as plenary sessions, namely, "Cordial and Just International Relations and Tranquility" and "Reciprocity to International Obligation and Mutual Settlement of Disputes."

It is indeed a matter of pride for the City Montessori School for achieving the results, which it has achieved today during the deliberations. Mr. Jagdish Gandhi through his hardwork and determination has brought excellent results and has set an example for all of us to excel and bring forth better things in future.

I hope that all the dignitaries and guests would have enjoyed their stay in this beautiful city of Lucknow.

In conclusion, I once again on my behalf and on behalf of City Montessori School, extend you a very warm welcome.

Thank you all for being here.

Thank you.

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