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The Chief Justice of India gave a ray of hope to nearly .17 Million under trials languishing in jails for years despite being booked for petty offences. Hon’ble Prime Minister, Law Minister and Chief Justice of India unanimously expressed that some urgent steps are needed to secure their release as in many cases, their period of detention due to the slow pace of justice delivery system could have actually overshot the sentence that would have been awarded to them in case of conviction. The Chief Justice of India said during the conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of all states that every chief judicial magistrate had been instructed by the High Courts to be in touch with jail authorities to find out the number of under trials booked for petty offences. If they had served more than half the sentence that would have been awarded to them in case of conviction at a future date, then they could be “immediately released on a personal bond”, the CJI said, adding that the benefit of plea bargaining would also be available to them. Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, expressing deep concern over under trials said, “Many of them have been in jail for periods longer than they would have served had they been sentenced. This is indeed very disturbing. There have been pronouncements of the high courts and the SC on this issue but still their number in jails continues to be very high.” In India there are almost 1,500 jails accommodating 3.5 lakh inmates. This is more than their actual capacity to accommodate 2.5 lakh prisoners. Approximately 70% of the jail population is made up of under trials, which means the number could be pegged at 2.45 lakh. Out of these, according to the Hon’ble CJI, 70% or 1.7 lakh were booked for petty offences. The conference of Chief Justices and Chief Minister was held in New Delhi in which some crucial resolutions were also passed pertaining to the speedy Justice to under trial. It was resolved that the High Courts will make scientific and rational analysis as regards to accumulation of arrears, and devise a road-map for itself and jurisdictional courts to arrest arrears of cases taking into account average institution, pendency and disposal of cases and to ensure speedy trial within a reasonable period of time. Further it was resolved that The Chief Justices of the High Courts will expedite the matter with the respective State Governments for the purposes of holding of courts, in jail, of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate/Chief Judicial Magistrate or Metropolitan Magistrate/Judicial Magistrate, wherever possible. The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate/Chief Judicial Magistrate or Metropolitan Magistrate/Judicial Magistrate, shall discharge obligation keeping in view the principles of `Plea Bargaining’ as enshrined in Chapter XXI-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and confessions in petty cases. Advocate provided by the District Legal Services Committee/State Legal Services Authority be also deputed, wherever not deputed, in jail to work in the aid of under-trial prisoners for providing requisite services to them to present their case before the Metropolitan Magistrate of Concern Court, as the case may be. These positive responses indeed will improve the Justice Delivery System to under trials. A lot needs to be done but certainly an initiative by Hon’ble Chief Justice of India will strengthen the faith of Under trials currently in the Justice Delivery System.

The third session of IBJ’s training programme in Pondicherry India was designed to encourage communication and discussion. The participants were divided into groups of five and asked to identify all the procedural errors they could see in the hypothetical case expertly formulated by trainers Ajay Verma, IBJ Fellow in India and Manohar Raju, San Francisco Public Defender. Participants identified all the procedural errors they could see, including several innovative ones challenging the mental capacity of the imagined accused. Since all were aware of the judgment in the case of D.K. Basu pinpointing errors such as forced confessions or refusal of legal representation, this came easily to the well prepared participants. As a response to the hypothetical acceptance of the confession given and its effect on the verdict, several participants proposed a series of defenses that could be readily used, and advocated plea bargaining as the future of criminal litigation. Participants in small groupsWhen asked to specify the various trends that daily affect their practices as legal aid lawyers, several common problems raised their heads. Lawyers often face hurdles such as non- cooperating investigating agencies, unavailability of First Information Reports, delays in the procedure, lack of sufficient infrastructure and meager pay that can barely sustain a living. After this, the groups were asked to state the various goals they hoped to achieve during the course of their practice and identify short term plans to help reach their ultimate goal. While a few lawyers wanted to spread legal awareness and knowledge, increase literacy and empower women, others wanted a more impartial judiciary and an incorruptible police force and to help achieve there goals they sought a more active role from the legislature in the form of stricter laws. To end on a lighter note, participants were asked to describe the defining moment of their career as a lawyer, most of which included winning the first case or their client being granted bail, and a general sense of camaraderie could be observed. The trainers then asked groups of three to draw a picture of what the legal system should look like in 10 years. With several participants taking up crayons for the first time in years, this brought about the training programme to a successful close with groups coming up with imaginative drawings and catchy slogans. Particpants share their vision of the legal system in ten years time Mr. K.Uthirapathy, District Judge and Hon’ble Member Secretary of the Pondicherry Legal Service Authority, addresses the group The day ended with a thank you from the Hon’ble Member Secretary of UTPLSA and the distribution of certificates and group photos. Participants receive their certificates at the end of the day

On Friday 19th June, IBJ India Fellow Ajay Verma and San Francisco Public defender Manohar Raju, along with the Union Territory of Pondicherry Legal Services Authority, conducted a training session for legal aid lawyers in Pondicherry, India. The day-long training began with a welcome by Ajay Verma highlighting the role of IBJ in providing effective representation to every man, woman and child before the court of law. IBJ India Fellow Ajay Verma introduces the workshop The workshop was introduced by Manohar Raju, and began with a video about the use of torture throughout the world. This was followed by an address from Mr. K. Uthirapathy Hon’ble Member Secretary in which he expressed gratitude and hoped that the training would be useful for all members of the bar. The participating lawyers began by introducing themselves and sharing their expectations for the day, and Session One began with the participants listing some difficulties they faced in criminal defense cases. These included: that facts were not disclosed to the lawyers, unavailability of copies of the case, pressure on counsel as well as judges, lack of infrastructure, stigma being attached to the counsel for the accused, etc. Session Two began with a clip of the O.J. Simpson trial, to identify effective techniques of criminal defense. Participants discussing the centrality of early access to counsel This was followed by a discussion on the importance of early access to counsel, as well as the origin of that right. During these discussion questions, the pay defenders receive was raised repeatedly. It was generally agreed that a pay increase would lead to better practice. The focus of the day was the importance of early access to counsel and the client/lawyer relationship, and this session in Pondicherry marks the third criminal defense training session in India.

On Friday, June 19, IBJ India Fellow Ajay Verma and San Francisco Public Defender Manohar Raju teamed up with the Union Territory of Pondicherry Legal Services Authority (UTPLSA) to produce a successful one-day training session in Pondicherry, India. The training focused on the topics of the importance of early access to counsel and the nature of the lawyer/client relationship. Over the course of the day, training participants took a practice test to brush up on the fine points of Indian law, developed a legal strategy for defending victims of police torture, and presented their vision of how the criminal justice system could fully protect the rights of accused persons. Among the 45 lawyers present were the President of the Pondicherry Bar Association, a member of the bar council in Tamil Nadu, and the member secretary of the UTPLSA, all of whom expressed their appreciation for the training and urged IBJ to continue with similar events. The Pondicherry training marks IBJ India’s third criminal defense training session in India, following previous events in West Bengal and New Delhi. The President of the Pondicherry Bar Association (seated, left) presents his vision for improving criminal defense in India.

IBJ is delighted to announce that Moodbidri Veerappa Moily, India’s new Minister of Law and Justice, has made clear that his top priority is to bring about judicial reforms to ensure the speedy delivery of justice to the poor and those who need it most. The Hindu, an Indian newspaper, quoted the new Law Minister as saying, “The next five years will be the era of judicial reforms. We have to ensure that the rule of law is for every individual.” In a statement which was perfectly aligned with IBJ’s missions and goals, Mr. Moily highlighted the importance of ensuring equality under the rule of law. In regards to the severe backlog which is endemic in Indian courts he said, “The last man in the queue should be able to get justice without delay.” IBJ looks forward to assisting the new Law Minister in his endeavors in addition to its continued success in building effective and efficient criminal justice systems in India.

GENEVA. Over 30 criminal defence lawyers will undertake a training programme in West Bengal, near Kolkata. The training will be co-hosted by International Bridges to Justice (Geneva, Switzerland) and MASUM, a community organizing and legal advocacy group that works to educate and empower local citizens against human rights violations by the state, on 11-12th April 2009, Radisson Forte Hotel, Raichak. The training workshop is entitled, URGENCY – Importance of Early Access to Counsel by the Accused. It will be facilitated by trainers from International Bridges to Justice, MASUM and Calcutta High Court. The workshop for 30 lawyers representing clients from West Bengal will be introduced by Abhijit Datta (MASUM) and Sanjeewa Liyanage (IBJ) on the 11 April 2009. Mr. Jaimalya Bagchi, Sr. Advocate of Calcutta High Court and Justice D.K. Basu are going to attend the training and participate as trainers. Two training sessions will be organized by Mr. Bagchi. The first one on topics such as “Basic criminal defence skills, duties and responsibilities of a criminal defence lawyer, importance of early access to counsel, skills lawyers should have during early stages of arrests, especially the accused person is under police custody”. And the second training session will focus on “All defences under India Law” (such as self defence, duress, necessity, provocation, false confession, entrapment etc. A speech from D.K. Basu will cover the theme of urgency and importance of early access to Counsel by the Accused: He will focus on rights of accused persons in police custody, importance of the presence of a lawyer during early stages of arrest, especially during police investigations, challenges in implementing rights of accused persons in police custody and jails and suggestions and recommendations to overcome them. They will also be a focus on storytelling and exercises examining the past and present state of the criminal justice system in India and plans to improve this criminal system and the rule of law in the country by envisioning them through paintings. The interest of expanding the training to other regions in India was expressed at the end of the New Delhi 2008 training in order to overcome the need in rural regions. With this training in West Bengal we are starting to move forward in the improvement of the criminal justice system in India.

Over 130 criminal legal aid lawyers from 26 Indian States underwent an intensive 3-day training programme, co-hosted by International Bridges to Justice (Geneva, Switzerland) and New Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA) from 10-13 July, 2008, at the Habitat Centre in New Delhi. The Training Conference entitled, URGENCY, COURAGE, PASSION – International Criminal Defence Training Conference: A Session for Legal Aid Advocates, was facilitated by trainers from International Bridges to Justice, San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, and DLSA. The Conference – attended by 138 advocates representing indigent clients from 26 Indian states – was introduced by the Chief Justice of India, Honorable Mr. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, at the inauguration dinner on 10 July, 2008. The proceedings were also attended by three other Supreme Court Justices and at least 16 High Court judges. Training sessions on topics such as cross-examination, framing a theory of a case, and developing advocates’ abilities to paint a defence picture through storytelling, were among many topics included during the training. Trainees also underwent exercises examining the past and present state of criminal justice system in India and devised plans to improve the Indian criminal justice system and the rule of law in the country. “This was a phenomenal event,” said IBJ founder and CEO Karen Tse. “Criminal defence lawyers from many regions of India gathered and indicated their commitment to improving criminal defence, securing early access to counsel, and working towards the prevention of torture.” Experts discussed important legal issues with participants such as examining forensic evidence, expediting cases, getting clients released on bail, and plea bargaining, a process which only became a part of Indian law in 2006. “IBJ is committed to the improvement of criminal justice system in India and I am touched by the dedication and diligence of the criminal legal aid lawyers that attended the training,” Tse added.Over 130 criminal legal aid lawyers from 26 Indian States underwent an intensive 3-day training programme, co-hosted by International Bridges to Justice (Geneva, Switzerland) and New Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA) from 10-13 July, 2008, at the Habitat Centre in New Delhi. The Training Conference entitled, URGENCY, COURAGE, PASSION – International Criminal Defence Training Conference: A Session for Legal Aid Advocates, was facilitated by trainers from International Bridges to Justice, San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, and DLSA. The Conference – attended by 138 advocates representing indigent clients from 26 Indian states – was introduced by the Chief Justice of India, Honorable Mr. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, at the inauguration dinner on 10 July, 2008. The proceedings were also attended by three other Supreme Court Justices and at least 16 High Court judges. Training sessions on topics such as cross-examination, framing a theory of a case, and developing advocates’ abilities to paint a defence picture through storytelling, were among many topics included during the training. Trainees also underwent exercises examining the past and present state of criminal justice system in India and devised plans to improve the Indian criminal justice system and the rule of law in the country. “This was a phenomenal event,” said IBJ founder and CEO Karen Tse. “Criminal defence lawyers from many regions of India gathered and indicated their commitment to improving criminal defence, securing early access to counsel, and working towards the prevention of torture.” Experts discussed important legal issues with participants such as examining forensic evidence, expediting cases, getting clients released on bail, and plea bargaining, a process which only became a part of Indian law in 2006. “IBJ is committed to the improvement of criminal justice system in India and I am touched by the dedication and diligence of the criminal legal aid lawyers that attended the training,” Tse added.