Call for Papers: Conference on Emerging Issues of Law and Justice

India has experienced major changes in its economic, social and political life during last two decades. Record economic growth has been accompanied by rapid urbanisation, rise in informal forms of employment, emerging crisis in agriculture, concerns over the sustainability of the environment and rise in unconventional crimes. There has been an increase in inequality raising concerns over the human rights of large sections of the population. The demand of the citizens to obtain information, transparency and accountability from the state institutions, the rising aspirations of the people who ask for equitable outcomes of development are visible in several parts of India today. The ability of the state to deliver equity and justice is at the core of these developments.

There is need for the legal and judicial systems to respond to these challenges. The legal system through its laws, courts and other institutions is often seen as the ‘last resort’ and expectations from these institutions are exceedingly high. There has been broad participation in debates across the country over the direction of law and policy reform. The credibility of the legal system is challenged over whether the rule of law applies equally to all citizens, big or small. All these developments indicate that the legal and judicial process is under scrutiny as never before. This conference aims to discuss these challenges across four main themes indicated below and generate useful insights for further study and possible reform.

Conference Themes

There are four broad themes at the conference, listed below. Although the conference is not exactly IP-related, we find that Theme 2 on Technology, Sustainable Development and the Law is wide-ranging enough for those interested in IP to discuss emerging issues and “generate useful insights for further study and possible reform”.

Theme 1: Criminal Justice System, Human Rights and Rule of Law

• Narco-Analysis and rights of accused
• Extraordinary laws and human rights
• Prison Reform
• Hate speech and communal violence
• Trans-national crimes

Theme 2: Technology, Sustainable Development and the Law

• New technologies and privacy
• Global warming
• Natural resources and rights of communities
• Policies, technology and court administration

Theme 3: Towards Social Inclusion

• Equal Opportunity Commission Bill
• Changing contours of reservation policies
• Caste atrocities and the State
• Linguistic rights under the Constitution

Theme 4: Legal Education in a Global Context

• Legal Education in an increasingly unequal world
• Regulatory role of lawyers and judges in legal education
• Legal education and access to justice

Submission Guidelines

Papers are invited on four broad themes from academics, lawyers, law researchers and other interested persons. Completed papers (4000 words) are to be submitted to the Conference Secretariat not later than Monday, February 1, 2010 both electronically to [email protected] and with a hard copy addressed to: Dr. Kamala Sankaran Conference Coordinator, CLC Conference 2010, Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi. Or to Prof. S.C. Raina, Prof.-In-Charge, Campus Law Centre, email add: [email protected] . Those whose papers are selected will be notified by February 22, 2010.

Conference participants will be provided boarding & lodging from March 25-27th, 2010. The Campus Law Centre will not be in a position to reimburse local or outstation travel costs to participants due to limited funds. It is requested that respective institutions be requested to reimburse the same.