Christ University Law Journal

Book Review

2025-05-30T05:27:33+00:00

Editorial

2025-06-24T06:36:35+00:00

Nigeria’s Criminal Justice System: Legal Gaps, Human Rights Concerns, and Comparative Lessons for Reform

2025-05-06T05:51:57+00:00

Nigeria’s criminal justice system lacks adequate mental health provisions, leading to human rights violations and worsening psychiatric conditions among offenders. This study examines Nigeria’s compliance with international standards, particularly the Mandela Rules, using a descriptive research design. Based on the 2018 prison Audit Report, it examines mental health services, jail regulations, and legal protections. Structured oversight with respect to South Africa, the United States, and Canada has been highlighted through a comparative analysis. South Africa guarantees judicial oversight, whereas Canada’s NCRMD structure ensures rehabilitation. States in the US differ in how they balance treatment and incarceration. Nigeria, in contrast to South Africa and Canada, lacks formal evaluations and reintegration programs and instead depends on administrative discretion. This paper argues for a human rights-based strategy, including legislative safeguards, frequent psychiatric examinations, and rehabilitation programs. The protection of mentally ill offenders, public safety, and justice can all be enhanced by putting these ideas into practice. Nigeria's mental health legislation will advance if it conforms to international best practices.

Analyzing Gender Gap in Recognition of IPRs of Women in the Indian Handloom Sector

2024-12-02T11:38:15+00:00

The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights covers intellectual property rights in Article 27. It says people may protect their scientific, literary, and creative achievements. Handicrafts provide income for women, particularly in rural regions with few economic options. Women make up 16.2% of inventors worldwide in 2023, while males make up 83.8%. The United States of America has progressed as there is a considerable rise in women author registrations. The percentage of women writers registered in 2020 was above 38%, up from 28% in 1978. However, women are underrepresented in intellectual production and face prejudice, bias, and stereotypes. Arts, crafts, literature, and the handloom sector might struggle to establish intellectual property rights owing to their perceived lack of originality or marketability for legal reasons. Traditional civilizations stigmatize women who engage in these pursuits, making it hard to copyright their artistic creations. It is often observed that men have patented women's innovations and creativity under their names. This paper advocates recognition of IPR for handloom women craftsmen. It encourages creative freedom beyond gender prejudice, fair recompense for women craftsmen.

An Analysis of The Conflict between the Right to Information Act 2005 and Official Secrets Act 1923 in India

2024-12-02T11:04:20+00:00

The 2019 Rafale deal case facilitated the reemergence of an old debate between official secrecy and transparency, which now invites more scholarship with the introduction of the Right to Information Act (RTI Act 2005). The legislation intends to maximise the dissemination of information kept by public authorities, with only limited exceptions where it can be withheld. With such a profound impact on how information should be handled by public authorities, the governmental obsession with the colonial Official Secrets Act 1923 (OSA 1923) attracts scrutiny. Unlike the RTI Act 2005, which streamlines the framework on what and how information with the government can be made available, the OSA 1923, which is concerned with the regulation of official secrets in the country, is silent on the limits of withholding. Under the colonial framework, the government is empowered to classify without exception, criminalise any wrongful disclosure (sensitive or not), and minimise transparency otherwise aimed at under the RTI Act 2005. It is time that the OSA 1923 is harmonised with the RTI Act 2005, with its glaring inconsistencies. In this paper, the author argues that the OSA 1923 has become obsolete and should be harmonised with the RTI Act 2005 to prevent the dilution of the latter.

Prisoners’ Rights in India: A Human Rights Perspective

2024-12-02T11:02:38+00:00

The most significant document pertaining to prisoner’s rights are the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (presently titled as Nelson Mandela Rules). As far as prisoners’ rights in India is concerned, the Constitution does not explicitly mention about their rights, but the judiciary has been instrumental in protecting the rights of prisoners by giving a liberal interpretation to Article 21 of the Constitution to include their rights within the ambit of the provision. The Model Prison Manual, 2016 and Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act, 2023 have been drafted by the government to give impetus to prison reforms and effectively implement the Nelson Mandela Rules in India. Despite the dominance of India in the economic and democratic front globally, it is fraught with an ineffective adjudication process in its criminal justice system resulting in denial of rights to the accused. The paper delves into the legal framework that governs human rights of prisoner vis-à-vis under trial prisoners in jails along with the predicaments of undertrials. It analyses the secondary data sources that include Prison Statistics Report- 2022, newspaper reports as well as information from digital platforms like the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) and National Prison Portal (NPP) to augment the study. Furthermore, from data collected through the Right to Information Act, 2005 it seeks to provide an insight into the lacunae in the Indian criminal justice system as it fails f to provide respite to under trials, with respect to grant of bail sans conviction by a court of law.

A Critique on the Legal Framework for ‘Guardian Ad Litem’ in India with Specific Reference to the Principle of Participation in Child Custody Disputes

2024-11-06T03:29:25+00:00

This paper seeks to highlight the significance of Guardians Ad Litem (GAL) with respect to participation of children in judicial proceedings. While GAL in various other jurisdictions is vested with diverse roles and well stipulated qualifications; the Indian model reflects a more limited role and an inherently paternalistic approach towards a child’s participation in judicial proceedings involving his/her interest. Deeply imbibed in the welfare principle, the provisions for a child’s representation through GAL in the legal framework seems inadequate due to the immense importance given to natural guardians and the lack of specialized qualifications in the statutory provisions. The paper further seeks to highlight, that despite of the statutory recognition of a child’s right to legal aid and representation under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012; the role of a GAL which vests primarily with the guardians of the children might result counter operative when such a guardian itself is guilty of abuse or neglect. Moreover, a near absence of any such provision in the child custody dispute within the legal framework, may seriously impair the right of a child considering the immense trauma a child might have to undergo in a custody battle.