Judicial Attitudes to Gender Justice in India: The Contribution of Judicial Training
Warwick School of Law Research Paper Series
ICFAI Journal of Employment Law, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 49-66, October 2003
21 Pages Posted: 5 Jan 2010
Date Written: 2001
Abstract
Law related strategies have played an important part in the campaigns of women’s organisations to achieve greater equality and social justice within their societies. These campaigns have focussed on the role of the nation state to improve the rights of women across a wide range of areas such as reproduction, property ownership, prevention of violence and employment protection. These campaigns have increasingly been informed by the international women’s rights discourse. Many women’s organisations use the processes associated with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women to put pressure on their governments (Connors, 1996; Charlesworth and Chinkin, 2000: ch 7). One method, which has proven significant, has been the submission by non-governmental organisations (ngos) of alternative reports on CEDAW. For instance, the Indian ngos published the report which they submitted in January 2000 to shadow the Indian government’s submission to the UN committee (National Alliance of Women, 2000). Some of the campaigns have led to law reforms (see for instance Vishaka vs. State of Rajasthan 1997 SCC 384). However the implementation of reforms through the administration of justice systems have often proven highly problematic. The judiciary is seen at best as indifferent or, at worst, hostile to developing a legal culture based on gender justice (Sakshi, 1996).
Reformers in a number of common law jurisdictions have seen training judges in gender issues as one way of tackling this problem. However such training presents considerable challenges for both educators and recipients and raises a range of questions. Some of these relate to judicial independence and others concern the effectiveness of such activities in bringing about recognisable improvements in gender justice. I will draw on the debates relating to judicial training in the US, Canada, Australia, and England as well as the specific experiences of gender initiatives in common law countries in order to set our project in India into a wider context.
Keywords: India, Judges, Training, Judiciary, Gender, CEDAW, Judicial Education, Accountability, Equality, Project
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