CENTRE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE

NATIONAL CONVENTION ON
SOCIAL JUSTICE LAWYERING


June 13-14, 2014

Venue: Indian Social Institute, Bangalore























CENTRE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), established in 1993, is a human rights organisation fighting for
the rights of the marginalised and vulnerable sections of society. Inspired by Freiran thought, CSJ
has been active in more than ten States across India making human rights interventions by using
law as a key strategy through an intimate engagement with grassroots realities. CSJ fulfills its
mandate by training and strengthening community lawyers and paralegals by building their
capacities to deliver change-inducing leadership in their communities through a network of law
centres; one of CSJs core competencies relates to their capacity-building initiatives, a flagship
example being their Lawyers For Change (LFC) fellowship programme. A pioneer in the field of
access to justice, CSJ has also made path-breaking institutional interventions in the form of
research, legal reforms and initiatives bringing together grassroots activism, law and policy-making
on a wide array of issues affecting women, dalits, adivasis, minorities and other socio-
economically vulnerable groups.

At present, CSJ is engaged in action-research, advocacy, training, and capacity building across the
following themes:

Law, Society & Culture in the Adivasi Context (Dangs District, Gujarat)
Rights of Persons living in Coastal Areas (Gujarat)
Socio-Economic Rights of Minorities (Rehnuma Centres in 12 States)
Socio-Economic Rights of Vulnerable Groups (Law Centres in Chhattisgarh and Madhya
Pradesh)
Action-Research Study towards Building Rule of Law Communities in Villages (Gujarat and
Rajasthan)
National Campaign on Access to Justice

CSJ aspires to position itself as providing linkages between human rights issues at the village and
district level, and research being done at the policy level. Today, it is recognized as a pioneering
institution in terms of demonstrating what a well-networked group of social justice lawyers can do,
on one hand, and the role of paralegals as the bridge between society and institutional legal
systems, on the other.


OBJECTIVE OF PROGRAMME

CSJ aims to bring together young lawyers, who recognize the importance of safeguarding and
extending the rights of the vulnerable and marginalised sections of society, who seek to fight
against injustice, who work to maintain and protect the rights of those who suffer, and who look
upon law as an instrument for the protection of the people rather than for their repression. We have
learnt a lot of lessons from our work at the grassroots level. Often, the struggle of a social justice
lawyer is full of challenges.
This event is designed as a space for expression of solidarity and is meant to be a platform for
sharing different types of experiences and learnings.


TENTATIVE LIST OF RESOURCE PERSONS

1. Ms.Aarti Mundkur- Strategies Used in Defending Rights of Women
2 Prof. Ramdas Rao- 'On Doing a Human Rights Fact Finding Investigation'
3 Ms.Nalini Shekhar- Legitimization of Informal Work
4 Ms.Dileep Kamat- Community Learning Movement : People Centred Advocacy By
Marginalised Communities for Their Rights
5 Mr.Clifton Rozaria- Role of Advocates in Changing India
6 Mr.B.T. Venkatesh- Practical Tips for Defending Labour Rights
7 Ms.Rama Priya Gopalakrishna- Practical Tips for Defending Labour Rights
8 Aneka Trust- Sex, Gender and Sexuality
9 Mr. Mastan Biradar- Implementation of the Prime Ministers 15 Point Programme in
Minority Concentrated Districts
10. Mr. S Sudarshan Ready- Defending Human Rights