Over 100 Academics Seek Immediate Suspension of Criminal Law Reforms Committee

Over a hundred academics from across the world have urged the Committee for Reforms in Criminal Laws to "immediately suspend" their working. In an open letter addressed to the Committee, the academics have pointed out a lot of shortcomings in the composition and the procedure adopted by the Committee to recommend criminal reforms in India. Flawed procedure The academics have elaborately iterated the procedure adopted by the First Law Commission of India in investigating and reporting on the Reform of Judicial Administration: first, before considering remedial measures, the factual position to be dealt with had to be ascertained; second, detailed information on the problems had to be collected from all possible sources; third, after collecting all the information, a comprehensive questionnaire had to be addressed to all bodies and persons likely to assist with their knowledge and experience; and, finally, the recommendations were to be decided only after all the replies to the question had been examined. In complete contrast to this mechanism, the letter points out, the present Criminal Law Reforms Committee has not undertaken any data collection or research and has made no effort to consult a wide section of people or to elicit critical opinion. Lawyers/Activists Seek Reconstitution Of Central Committee For Reforms In Criminal Laws In Accordance With Principles Of 'Participatory Democracy' "The Committee's procedures are a stark contrast to the first Law Commission's approach. The present Committee entirely bypasses the first and second of the four stages followed by the First Law Commission, skipping directly to the third, i.e., the questionnaire-stage. As a result, the questionnaires are not backed by thorough empirical assessment and are crowded with issues that are not widely regarded by academics and practitioners as being in pressing need of reform," they wrote. No public engagement The letter discloses that the first Law Commission had distributed more than 6000 copies of the questionnaires amongst individuals and organizations including High Courts, state governments, bar associations, the Chamber of Commerce, lawyers and judicial officers. Further, it visited 14 High Courts, co-opted two members for each of the states visited, and examined 473 witnesses in person. However public engagement under the present Committee, is "limited to web-administered questionnaires". NLU-D Alumni Urge Chairperson Of Criminal Law Reforms Committee To Halt Its Proceedings; Indulge Into Wider Public Consultation Highlighting the problem areas in this form of public engagement, the letter states, "The Committee's methods appear engineered to exclude all but the most privileged from participating. The Committee is functioning entirely in English and participation in the Committee's processes is only possible through its website. A vast majority of the country's population does not speak or read English; current levels of internet penetration are low and dependent on material and other privileges." Lack of adequate representation from underprivileged social groups and communities The letter states that the Reforms Committee has failed to include representation from those communities that have endured the most of the failing criminal justice system. Former SC/HC Judges, Lawyers Seek Reconstitution Of Central Committee For Reforms In Criminal Law To Include Academic Representation, Trial Court Lawyers, Women, Dalits, Etc. It asserts that law reform must create conditions for genuine public deliberation in which oppressed communities have a significant say from the very inception, i.e., from the constitution of the Committee/Commission that is to identify, frame and investigate the relevant issues. "Such bodies must consciously solicit and incorporate the life experiences of oppressed caste, gender, and religious groups, as well as disabled, rural and working-class communities (among others) in their deliberations. This is a crucial way of ensuring that law reform processes are not held hostage to the concerns of the elite. The lack of adequate representation on the Committee for India's several marginalised groups is a particularly striking omission, given that many of the areas of proposed reform will have a direct impact on these groups; for example, the proposed legal recognition of honour killings, marital rape, gender-neutral sexual offences and lynching," the letter reads. 'Lacks Diversity': Former SC/HC Judges, Lawyers Express Concern On Composition And Working Of Central Committee For Reforms In Criminal Law Inadequate time for Consultation The letter points out that four law commissions completed the process of suggesting reforms in 14 chapters of the 1908 CrPC, in ten years. Whereas, the present Committee has taken up task to suggest reforms in all three codes, namely the Indian ...

Over 100 Academics Seek Immediate Suspension of Criminal Law Reforms Committee

LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK

Tags