Access to Justice

ivanildafigueiredo — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:35:14 +0000

We now have a new website: http://acessoajusticaibsa.blogspot.com

There you can find information about the research project, events related to the subject, our online magazine and much more! Please visit and contribute with thoughts and articles you might have on access to justice!

ivanildafigueiredo — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:28:36 +0000

We’re working on a new website, that will have more information on the research.

If you wish to know more about our work and when will the website be ready, please contact us at: accesstojusticeIBSA@gmail.com

We’re upgrading

ivanildafigueiredo — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:05:31 +0000

We are leaving for now, but we will soon be back with a better and more comprehensive website. But don’t stop checking out our page, we are still interested in stories you might have to tell us and suggestions.

Neglected population abstains from voting

ivanildafigueiredo — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:51:43 +0000

Certain tribes refused to vote for the CPI-M because of their history of neglect towards the community. In 2004, five Sabars died of starvation in the region of Amlasole. Furthermore, the Sabars were promised by the district administration Health Cards that would reimburse their medical bills. However, most of them were denied reimbursement.

Eventhough the population pays water taxes, only 10% of their land is irrigated. In spite of all these issues, the CPI-M’s peasant organization hasn’t done anything to resolve the situation. Moreover, the CPI-M leaders have mobilized a group of people to intimidate the population through state-sponsored terrorism.

CWC decides on revitalizing the party

ivanildafigueiredo — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 23:00:21 +0000

After several electoral defeats, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) decided that revitalizing the party was an urgent matter. The congress president, Sonia Gandhi, believes changes should be made at the grassroots. The meeting also dealt with other issues, such as the rising prices of essential commodities and fuel. The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, assured in the meeting that his government was doing all it could to prevent those high prices from affecting the population.

The trafficking of women in India leads government to rethink the judicial process

ivanildafigueiredo — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:56:13 +0000

The Chief of Justice of India, K.G. Balakrishna, expressed grave concern with the increasing number of women being trafficked in the country. He addressed the judiciary, asking it to deal more sternly with those who violate the rights of women. Another point stressed was the need for a separate high court in each state in the northeast.

H.R. Bhardwaj promised he would try increasing the number of women judges in the northeastern areas. Low level income women are the ones who suffer the most with human traffic. Therefore, these measures should be directed towards poorest areas.

The Indian president, Patil, also tried reaching out to the judges in order to speed up the process.

The importance of debating justice to women

ivanildafigueiredo — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 21:53:54 +0000

On the 10^th and 11^th of December of 2006, the partners for law and development in India conducted a conference on women and access to justice. The group saw the inaccessibility to the judicial system, especially by poor women, and the barriers that they have to overcome in order to reach justice as the major issues to be debated.

The conference had debates involving different themes, such as women organizations, women police, rape, domestic violence, dowry, and many others. On the last day, the organizers emphasized institutional innovations that allowed women to participate and have access to justice by understanding their specific needs. As examples the debaters mentioned the separate women police station and family courts.

Women who are taking part

ivanildafigueiredo — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:14:56 +0000

Tejaswini Seeramesh Gowda, Krishna Tirath, Kiran Maheswari and P. Satheedevi were the last four women to join the parliamentary committee on the women’s reservation Bill. At the time it was referred to the standing committee on law and justice there were no women members in it. The controversial Bill, that intends to provide 33% of seats in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies to women, was hanging for 12 years. Now, they have been given three months to submit a report on the Bill.

Hopes of changes in the Indian judicial system

ivanildafigueiredo — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:00:48 +0000

In 2007, the president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was called to enact a law which would establish a time frame for deciding a criminal case. At the opening of a national seminar, he stated that these measures were essential in order to improve the speed of the case resolution in the country. The president also added that people should be mobilized to change the system.

According to Kalam, the changes should occur in every level. Technology was also brought up as an important factor in modernizing the Indian judicial system. Furthermore, the review of the criminal law and the augmentation of the judge-population ratio were mentioned as important matters as well.

More on the Access to Justice Conference

ivanildafigueiredo — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:04:06 +0000

The Access to Justice Conference held in India was opened by the chief justice of India, K. G. Balakrishnan. The organizers were aiming to discuss ways of improving the judicial system in the country. India is said to have 30 million cases pending in court due to the long time processes take to be solved. Another issue is the cost of going to court. The conference also intended to discuss ways of achieving justice at a reasonable price.