Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

Context- D Y Chandrachud, the Chief Justice of India, has urged member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to work together in the judicial system to make it more approachable to common people.

Key Highlights-

• Other than Pakistan, representatives of all other SCO member states, two observer states — Islamic Republic of Iran and Republic of Belarus — the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) and SCO Secretariat were present at the two-day event. 
• On the first day of the conference, there was a Joint Interaction Session in which participants talked about the problems they faced and the steps they took during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• On the second day of the event, participants talked about “smart courts” and the future of the judiciary.
• The conference allowed all member and observer states to reflect on the challenges that are common to their jurisdictions, and the meeting highlighted several challenges that the SCO member states face in their judicial systems.
• The Indian CJI emphasized that these issues must be addressed through collaboration, sharing of experiences, and the accumulation of knowledge.
• While recognizing a number of common objectives for the judiciary’s future, the member states collectively assigned Uzbekistan the rotating presidency of the 2024 Chief Justices’ meeting.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

• The SCO is an ongoing international organization of intergovernmental governments.
• It is a political, military, and economic group from Eurasia that wants to keep the peace, security, and stability in the region.
• In 2001, it was created. In 2002, the SCO Charter was signed, and it came into effect in 2003.
• Genesis:
  • Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan were all members of the Shanghai Five before the SCO was established in 2001.
  • The four former Soviet republics held a series of border demarcation and demilitarization talks with China in 1996 to ensure border stability. These talks led to the formation of the Shanghai Five.
  • The Shanghai Five was renamed the SCO in 2001 when Uzbekistan joined the organization.
  • In 2017, India and Pakistan joined.
  • The full membership of Iran in the SCO was announced on September 17, 2021.
• Objectives:
  • strengthening neighborliness and trust among member states.
  • fostering productive collaboration in the fields of politics, economics and trade, technology and research, and culture.
  • enhancing connections in areas like education, energy, transportation, tourism, environmental protection, and so on.
  • Maintain and guarantee the region’s peace, safety, and stability.
  • creation of a new international political and economic system that is democratic, equitable, and rational.
• Membership:
  • Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan
• Structure:
  • The supreme body of the SCO is the Heads of State Council. This body decides how the SCO works inside, how it interacts with other states and international organizations, and looks at international issues.
  • The Heads of Government Council approves the budget and makes decisions regarding issues pertaining to SCO’s economic spheres of interaction.
  • The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs looks at issues that affect everyday activities.
  • To combat terrorism, separatism, and extremism, the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) was founded. 
• SCO Secretariat – Situated in Beijing to give educational, scientific and hierarchical help.
• Language of instruction:
  • Russian and Chinese are the SCO Secretariat’s official working languages.

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