National Seminar on 'Access to Criminal & Correctional Justice For Marginalized In Indian Context' [January 13,2018]

The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) was established in 1936, as the Sir Dorabji Tata Graduate School of Social Work to meet the emerging need for trained human service professionals accorded the status of deemed university in 1964, and funded by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Since then TISS is a postgraduate Institute of national stature today.

About the School of Law, Rights & Constitutional Governance:

In pursuance of the TISS mission towards creating a people-centered society that promotes equality, social change and transformation and human rights for all, especially the marginalized and vulnerable groups, the School of Law, Rights and Constitutional Governance at TISS conducts a One Year Full time, LL.M Course in Access to Justice.

The School was set up at the Mumbai Campus in June 2012 with the main objective to advance socially relevant legal education and promote human rights education and lawyering.

One of the mandates of the school is to sensitize lawyers to work towards protecting and promoting justice for disadvantage communities in line with the tenets of Indian Constitution, thereby to work towards law reform.

About the Seminar:

This seminar has the objective to delve, deliberate and to generate awareness amongst students of varied disciplines, legal luminaries and the diaspora working on Access to Justice on two cardinal issues mainly access to justice through criminal and correctional legal mechanisms, its impact and implications on the marginalised community in terms of entitlement, legal empowerment and issues connected there with and possible resolve.

Who can apply? The School of Law, Rights and Constitutional Governance calls upon students, research scholars, legal professionals, academicians, civil society organisations, social activists and the representatives of governmental to actively participate and present their perspectives on the same.

Themes of the Seminar:

For the purpose of this seminar the themes and sub-theme are listed below are indicative of relevant research areas to give the prospective authors innovative prepositions about the ambit of discussion during the course of seminar. However, the authors may draw upon issues not limited to but touching upon the same for abstract submission and paper presentation.

Law enforcement agencies – Police and Investigating Agencies: A gateway to Access to Justice

• Issues and impediments in registration of FIR and Role of Police.


• Botched up investigations, procedural lacunae in criminal investigation and state responsibility.


• Viability of forensic and scientific evidences in criminal investigation, issues of consents versus just fair reasonable procedure.


• Policing the police – Role and functioning of Police Complaint Authority.

Access to Justice for Victims & Witnesses

• Assessing functioning of Criminal Justice System towards vulnerables – Women, backward communities, migrant workers, destitute and others.


• Formulation and workability of Witness Protection Schemes or Support Systems under Criminal Justice System.


• Victim centric criminal justice – compensation and right based perspective for victims.

 Rights of Prison Inmates

• Appropriateness of penal sanctions, terms of sentences for various offences under Criminal Law.


• Effectiveness of legal representation and legal aid to under trials and convicts under the statutory legal services authority.


• Differentiation, limitations in statutes & implication in prison inmate’s rights


• Functioning of prisons as restorative, reformative institution – Impact on prison inmates.


• Overcrowding in prisons and consequents human right and legal right abuse.

Role of Judicial Institutions: Courts, Tribunals in Access to Justice

• Delays and arbitrariness in criminal trials – Challenges and way ahead.


• Appraisal of evidences and judicial accountability


• Role of public prosecutor in facilitating trials.


• Effective legal safeguards entitlement of prison inmates.


• Independent human rights institutions – Functioning, role in monitoring, reforming criminal and correctional justice.

Submission Guidelines:

1. The maximum word limit for abstracts is 200 – 250 words.


2. The submissions should be original and unpublished.


3. Co-authorship is allowed up to five persons. It is mandatory that at least one author may be present for paper presentation. However, each co-author has to mandatorily register themselves individually on payment of mentioned registration fee.


4. The abstract may be drafted keeping in view the present legal developments, societal impact, and case study, if any.


5. It may include the title of the research paper and the theme under which the concerned topic relates to.


6. All the abstracts will be subject to blind peer review.


7. The word limit for full research paper is 2000-2500 words (excluding footnotes).


8. The paper should be submitted in only MS Word Format.


9. The abstract should be accompanied by a cover page comprising of a brief profile of the author including name, current academic qualification, designation, institution/organization, e-mail address, contact number and postal address for correspondence.


10. Abstracts & research papers may be submitted to the Convener of the seminar at seminar.atj@tiss.edu.

Important Dates

• Last date for Abstract Submission: 20^thDecember, 2017.


• Notification of selected abstracts: 25^thDecember, 2017.


• Seminar: 14^thJanuary, 2018.

Registration fee:

• Students from other Universities – ₹1200


• Faculty and professionals – ₹1700

For any queries contact: E-mail at query.atj@tiss.edu

Student Conveners:

• Mohammad Saad Khan (School Secretary) - Email: m2017atj031@tiss.edu, Mob: +919540378500


• Vartika Anand - Email: m2017atj025@tiss.edu, Mob: +919506999469


• Aniket Khadse - Mob: +919665412262

For Brochure click here

For Schedule click here