Saturday, April 16 2005 12:20 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: There cannot be a fair process of law unless it is accompanied by an effective rule of law structure and is made subject to its discipline, according to former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee.

Sorabjee was speaking on "Rule of Law in a Free Society" during a talk organised by Nehru Centre recently.

Sorabjee said multinational and trans-national companies have become dominant actors, both politically and economically, in the age of globalisation.

"They wield wide powers and posses immense resources," Sorabjee said adding the strength and influence of multinationals is compounded by concentration of production in many economic sectors.

He said that the rule of law meant different things to different people in the context of globalisation. "Some view it as a harbinger to security but it must be realised that it is a mistake to conceptualise rule of law in globalisation in economic terms," Sorabjee said adding, "Rule of law is fundamentally socio-cultural and political."

Sorabjee, however, lamented that developing nations ignored the need for discipline and of rule of law.