India: A nation of failed justice institutions
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
09th December, 2015
International Human Rights Day is observed each year on December 10.
This year the United Nations has declared that the day will mark a
year-long campaign for the global recommitment to guaranteeing
freedoms and protecting human rights for all. To this end, the UN has
called upon member states to revisit commitments made to two important
UN documents, the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights.
India is a party to both these covenants. The rights enshrined in
these two important documents, are also guaranteed in the Indian
Constitution, a document that predates both covenants by two decades.
Unfortunately, the reality for average Indians is that their rights
guaranteed in the constitution, which the country is bound to protect
nationally and promote internationally, are far from realised.
The reason for these guarantees remaining only on paper is due to the
abysmal nature of India’s justice institutions. The Indian judiciary
for instance, plagued with corruption, lack of professionalism, and
decades long delay in the adjudication of cases, is an institution
that has rapidly lost its credibility. Even Indian jurists today
unanimously agree that the country's judiciary has failed to meet
expectations. Facing serious accusations of lacking transparency and
embroiled in corruption, the institution has hardly done anything to
reform itself.
Equally appalling is the state of Indian policing. The operative
framework of the police continues to be the repressive Irish
Constabulary model, which the British introduced to India as well as
other colonies. Impunity, corruption, the inability to undertake
modern policing, and the use of torture remain hallmarks of the Indian
police. Demoralisation within the institution runs deep, and today the
average Indian considers the Indian policeman as a criminal in
uniform. Despite all this, no government has so far openly declared
any kind of policy on addressing the country’s policing.
The country's prosecution establishment too has faced a similar fate,
with no government policy to address the institution. The department
is filled with corrupt and inefficient lawyers to the extent that even
the government does not trust the prosecutor's office any more. On
occasions that the government requires a quality prosecution, it hires
private lawyers to work as prosecutors. This option is not available
to a citizen however, since the decision to appoint a special
prosecutor is at the pleasure of the government.
The ensuing environment produced by India’s failed justice
administration establishment, is that of deep-rooted corruption in all
aspects of public life, and an overall environment of uncertainty.
Indian civil society is yet to wakeup to the fact that it too has a
role in the making of this India. Only a handful of civil society
members, including the country's unbridled media, engage seriously on
the country's justice institutions, particularly on the concept of
fair trial.
India today is challenged with demands as a regional and global
player, as a state that has the potential to shape global economy, as
well as global security. Internally however, it is a country
challenged by its botched justice institutions, which have failed this
great country's people and their dreams. Occasions like the
International Human Rights Day are an opportunity for the country's
civil society to wake up from its slumber, and start engaging with
India's justice institutions.
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) works towards the radical
rethinking and fundamental redesigning of justice institutions in
order to protect and promote human rights in Asia. Established in
1984, the Hong Kong based organisation is a Laureate of the Right
Livelihood Award, 2014.
Asian Human Rights Commission
G/F
52 Princess Margaret Road
Ho Man Tin, Kowloon
Hongkong S.A.R.
Tel: +(852) 2698-6339 Fax: +(852) 2698-6367
Web: www.humanrights.asia
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* This Press Relese was sent to e-pao.net by Asian Human Rights Commission who can be contacted at www.humanrights.asia
This Press Release was posted on December 10 2015
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