NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LAWS IN INDIA
Centre for Comparative Constitutional Law and Administrative Law (CCAL) National Law University Jodhpur in collaboration with Centre for Civil Society (CCS)
Centre for Comparative Constitutional and Administrative Law, NLU Jodhpur, in collaboration with Centre for Civil Society, is organising a National Symposium on ‘Improving the Quality of Laws in India’, scheduled to be held on February 24, 2023, at Jodhpur. Eligible candidates are requested to submit their abstracts by January 15, 2023.
About The National Law University, Jodhpur
National Law University-Jodhpur (NLUJ) is one of India’s leading Law Schools situated at the vibrant and colourful city of Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Since its establishment in 1999, NLUJ has endeavoured to produce exceptional lawyers and legal scholars aimed at pushing and challenging the existing boundaries of knowledge.
About The Centre for Comparative Constitutional Law and Administrative Law
The Centre for Comparative Constitutional Law and Administrative Law (CCAL) was established under the patronage of the Vice Chancellor of National Law University Jodhpur, Professor Poonam Pradhan Saxena. The Centre publishes its flagship journal and blog under the guidance of our Director, Professor I.P. Massey, and members of the Advisory Board, including former CJI M.N. Venkatachaliah, Senior Advocate Rajeev Dhawan, and Professor Timothy Endicott, among others. We attempt to create a niche in the field of comparative constitutional law and administrative law discourse by discussing existing precedents and the constant changes that are taking place in the field. Our endeavour is to promote a wide-scale engagement limited to not only students pursuing law, but also academicians and other legal luminaries alike.
About The Centre For Civil Society
The Centre for Civil Society envisions a world where each individual leads a life of choice in personal, economic, and political spheres and every institution is accountable. It advances social change through public policy. Its work in education, livelihood, and policy training promote choice and accountability across the private and public sectors. To translate policy into practice, it engages with policy and opinion leaders through research, pilot projects, and policy training. Centre for Civil Society is India’s leading liberal think tank, ranked 5th in India and 83rd in the world by the annual study conducted by the 2021 Global Go-To Think Tank Index Report released by the University of Pennsylvania.
About The Comparative Constitutional Law and Administrative Law Journal
The Comparative Constitutional Law and Administrative Law Journal is the flagship journal of the Centre for Constitutional Law and Administrative Law, published under the guidance of Prof. (Dr.) I.P. Massey, Dean, Faculty of Law, National Law University Jodhpur. It is an open-access online journal published biannually, aiming to foster debate on contemporary issues in comparative constitutional law and administrative law with a comparative perspective. The first issue of CALJ was published in 2013. The issues of CALJ are indexed on SCC Online and Manupatra.
CALJ aims to promote scholarly excellence in the area of comparative constitutional and administrative law with a diligent editorial board, an eminent advisory board, and an institution known for its academic excellence. Each issue contains articles, notes, case comments, and book reviews based on contemporary issues of comparative constitutional and administrative law.
About the Symposium
A healthy republic is built on the back of a sound legislative framework. A missing review mechanism, coupled with outdated and conflicting laws, impinge on ease of living and doing business in India. Laws in India are often introduced without a review of existing regulation, transparent consultations, or consideration of costs, benefits, and incentives. Language of laws continues to be complex, parliamentary control over delegated legislation is weak, and there are no periodic quality checks of the existing stock of laws. In a move to widen the discourse on improving the quality of laws in India, Centre for Comparative Constitutional and Administrative Law, in collaboration with the Centre for Civil Society, is inviting young scholars (undergraduate, postgraduate students, and early career scholars of law) across India to draft and present papers analysing laws using the ‘Quality of Laws (QoL) Toolkit’.
Based on a review of Indian and international literature on administrative law and a study of global indices, Centre for Civil Society built a three part toolkit to review laws. The three kinds of safeguards to review any law are: Representation (ensures that the law reflects the preferences and interests of stakeholders), Rights (ensures that the law protects individual rights and respects natural justice) and Resources (ensures that the law positively impacts stakeholder incentives and lowers administrative burden).
The Centre for Comparative Constitutional and Administrative Law, National Law University, Jodhpur, in collaboration with Centre for Civil Society, is organising a National Seminar on ‘Improving the Quality of Laws in India’. It will be conducted in two parts. The Virtual Seminar will be held from February 16th-17th, 2023, during which selected authors will deliver their presentations. Their presentations will be reviewed and evaluated in preparation for the next phase.
The Offline Seminar shall be held on 24th February, 2023, where esteemed speakers from across the country shall be discussing and deliberating on the key issues pertaining to administrative law and functioning in India. The selected papers will be published in a special issue of the centre’s flagship journal, Comparative Constitutional and Administrative Law Journal, in June 2023.
Structure and Stages of the Event
The online seminar shall be from February 16th-17th, 2023, on Cisco WebEx. Time will be communicated to the participants closer to the date.
It will consist of select authors presenting papers moderated by distinguished panellists. It shall be followed by a feedback session with panel members.
The offline seminar shall be conducted at the National Law University, Jodhpur on 24th February, 2023.
It shall begin with an inaugural session followed by paper presentations by select authors. The paper presentations shall be chaired by eminent panellists, and will be followed by a closing session where eminent speakers shall put forth their views and deliberate on important areas of administrative law and jurisprudence in India.
Themes
All submissions must fit under one of the following:
- Analysis of laws and rules that have a bearing on agriculture, education, ease of doing business, healthcare, environment, and Science and Technology, among others using the Quality of Laws toolkit;
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Critique of the Quality of Laws Toolkit based on literature on law review
The participants are expected to engage with the QoL Toolkit in their paper. Please note that the policy areas listed under the first point are only indicative. Authors may analyse other laws and rules using the Toolkit.
Submission Guidelines
- The abstract shall be under 300 words. At least 5 keywords must be highlighted.
- The abstract should primarily be based on the Quality of Laws Toolkit, critically assessing policies, existing laws or the toolkit itself.
- Formatting guidelines: font: Garamond; font size: 12; footnote size: 10; justified: line space-1.5, between footnotes 1.0; verbatim quotes must be put in double quotes and italicised with a 0.5” indent.
- Co-authorship up to 2 authors is permissible.
- In case of co-authorship, the author submitting the abstract is requested to mention all required details of their coauthor.
- For the purpose of convenience, kindly ensure that the abstract reflects the core argument of the author(s) and is complete in all respects.
- The abstracts may be submitted at: ccalcentrenluj[at]gmail[dot]com, with the subject “QoL Abstract Submissions | title of submission”. The body of the mail should include the name of the author(s), their institutional affiliation/designation.
- For further queries, write to:
editorcalq[at]gmail[dot]com or ccalcentrenluj[at]gmail[dot]com
Eligibility Criteria
The symposium shall be open only to undergraduate and postgraduate students, and early career scholars of law.
Registration Fee
The registration fees for all participants shall be ₹1000. Registration fee is required only upon acceptance of the abstract.
Other Details
- Co-authors shall register separately.
- Evaluation of papers shall occur at the stage of the Virtual Seminar.
- The selected papers will be published in a special issue of the Centre’s flagship journal, Comparative Constitutional and Administrative Law Journal, in June 2023.
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The top three papers will be awarded with cash prizes up to ₹30,000.
Important Dates
- Deadline for abstract submissions: 15th January, 2023
- Announcement of accepted abstracts: 25th January, 2023
- Deadline for payment of registration fees: 5th February 2023
- Virtual Seminar & Paper Presentation: 16th-17th February, 2023
- Offline Seminar & Paper Presentation: 24th February, 2023
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Publication of Selected Papers: Tentatively June 2023, alongside Volume VII, Issue 2 of CALJ
Contact Information
For any query feel free to mail at: editorcalq[at]gmail[dot]com
In case of urgent communication, participants may contact:
Persons In-Charge
Jayana Bedi
(Senior Research Associate)
Centre for Civil Society
Email: jayana[at]ccs.in
Sayantani Bagchi
(Assistant Professor)
National Law University Jodhpur
Email: sayantanibagchibl1[at]gmail.com
Student Coordinators
- Atharva Chandra: +91 6204424388
-
Sonsie Khatri: +91 9873212142
