ILS LAW COLLEGE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY CUM ENABLING CELL IN COLLABORATION WITH CENTRE FOR DISABILITY STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS (UK)
ANNOUNCES
A ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON “EXPLORING TITANIC SHIFTS IN THE HUMAN RIGHTS PARADIGM AFTER THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES”
20th JANUARY 2020
Venue: ILS Law College Campus, Pune
About ILS Law College, Pune
Established in 1924, ILS Law College (https://ilslaw.edu/) is one of the oldest law schools in India and has been playing a pioneering role in legal education and scholarship in the country. Ninety-six years since its establishment, the Law College has acquired the reputation of being a premier institution imparting quality legal education. Since its inception, ILS Law College has produced some of the most highly regarded contributors in the field of law. Three Chief Justices of the Supreme Court, Justice P. B. Gajendragadkar, Justice Y. V. Chandrachud, Justice E. S. Venkataramaiah, Former Governor of Maharashtra K. M. Reddy, Former Defence& Finance Minister and First Chief Minister of Maharashtra Y. B. Chavan, Former Minister of Commerce, Mohan Dharia, Former Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Sushil Kumar Shinde and Vilasrao Deshmukh, all received legal education from ILS Law College. With its illustrious history and heritage, the institution has contributed immensely to the growth of the legal profession and has upheld its tradition of producing meritorious legal scholars who dedicate themselves to public service and reform. The generations of distinguished legal luminaries who have been nurtured by this unique institution have made a seminal contribution globally to the evolution of the esteemed field of Law.
About the Equal Opportunity Cum Enabling Cell
“Disability is created by societal barriers rather than by variations in body or mind”. The ILS Law College established Equal opportunity cum Enabling Cell on 4 January 2013, on the auspicious occasion of Braille Day. The establishment of this Cell has resulted in substantial enhancement in the level of inclusion, both in physical and attitudinal dimensions.
Its main objectives are to:
- Provide equal educational opportunities to disabled students in the field of Law in ILS Law College Pune.
- Create awareness among the functionaries of ILS Law College about the specific educational needs of disabled students.
- To raise consciousness amongst teachers in the College of approaches to teaching and evaluation procedures.
- Equip ILS Law College with the state of art facilities to provide equal access to disabled students for legal education and encourage the adoption of universal design.
- To provide counselling to disabled students on the types of courses they could study at the higher educational institutions.
- Monitor the implementation of all existing and future legislation and policies, pertaining to higher education of disabled persons.
- To ensure admission of as many disabled students as possible through the open quota and through the reservation.
- To provide information to disabled students about the fee concessions, examination procedures, reservation policies, etc.
- To assess the educational needs of disabled persons enrolled in the college to determine the types of assistive devices to be procured and avail them reasonable accommodation.
- To study the aptitude of disabled students and assist them in getting appropriate employment when desired by them after their studies.
About the Centre for Disability Studies, University of Leeds, UK
The Centre for Disability Studies is an interdisciplinary network of researchers from across the Social Sciences, Humanities and STEM subjects, united by their commitment to carrying out research and teaching that helps achieve equality and social justice for disabled people, globally. The Centre is well-known for its research and teaching in the areas of sociology of disability, disability politics and policy, disability law and human rights, inclusive design (transport systems and assistive technologies) and Deaf Studies.
https://disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk/about/
About the Conference
Introduction
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) has generated a titanic shift in the International Human Rights law regime. It has problematised notions of human beings as self-reliant and self-contained beings and disrupted the dichotomy between civil and political rights, on the one hand, and socio-cultural and economic rights on the other. Although Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) require support for exercising their capacities, this does not imply that they are diminished beings. Interdependence through support, to quote Prof. Amita Dhanda, “allows a person to admit deficits without feeling diminished.” (Dhanda 2008) In other words, the idea that physical and mental impairment should be used to label PWDs as lesser Human beings has been clearly questioned. Under the UNCRPD, the default premise is that, through appropriate support, every human being should have the chance to flourish and thrive.
This titanic shift has been achieved, in part, by the UNCRPD’s embrace of ideas such as ‘Reasonable accommodation’, ‘Accessibility’, ‘Universal design’, ‘Equal legal capacity’, ‘Independent living’ and ‘transformative equality’. These developments are attracting attention, including through scholarship in evolving fields such as ‘comparative international human rights’. (see eg Waddington and Lawson 2018).
The UNCRPD presents clear challenges to prevalent notions of ableism (Kumari Campbell 2009). It calls for respect for difference and the acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity.
Against this backdrop, the conference will provide a forum for exploring, in the Indian context, the implications of the conceptual shifts associated with the UNCRPD. We hope to generate discussion of issues such as reasonable accommodation, accessibility, access to justice and transformative equality. We welcome abstracts which contain original and creative ideas relevant to the conference theme and the sessions below. Only abstracts selected by the conference organisers will be presented as papers in the conference.
Schedule of the Conference 20 January 2020
| Time | Details |
|---|---|
| 9.30 am to 10.00 am | Welcome |
| 10.00 am to 11.30 am | Plenary session One – Implications of India’s Ratification of the UNCRPD, with particular focus on the Right to Access Justice |
| 11.30 am to 11.45 | Tea Break |
| 11.45 am to 1.15 pm | Plenary session Two – Interface Between the Right to Reasonable Accommodation and the Right to Accessibility |
| 1.15 pm to 2.15 pm | Lunch Break |
| 2.15 pm to 3.45 pm | Plenary session Three – The Right to Legal Capacity |
| 3.45 pm to 4.15 pm | Tea Break |
| 4.15 pm to 5.45 pm | Presentation of Short-listed papers |
Topic of the Research paper may not be strictly restricted to themes of the Plenary sessions. However, the paper must focus on the theme of the conference.
Instructions for Participants
- Please register and pay the registration fees to confirm your participation.
- Abstracts can only be submitted if you also register and pay for attendance.
- In order to register as a student, your College/ University Photo ID card is required.
Abstracts, which should not exceed 500 words, should be submitted before 23 December by email to icd2020@ilslaw.in with the subject “Research Paper Abstract-International conference on disability”. - Abstracts should include the following:
- Name and contact details of author and co-author if any;
- Central idea of the research theme and the core arguments;
- Order of the sections in the paper
- Abstracts (and subsequent papers) should be in MS Word format with Times New Roman font on A4 size paper and 1” margin on all side, font size 12 and line spacing of 1.5.
- Citations must be in the form of footnotes and conform to the latest edition of ILI style (http://ili.ac.in/cstyle.pdf)
Details of how to Register
- The registration fee is not refundable.
- Registration Fee (Incl. GST, Covers- Conference kit, Refreshment, Participation certificate)
| ILS students | INR 360/- |
| Non- ILS Students | INR 600/- |
| Professionals | INR 1770/- |
| International Students | INR 3,550/- |
| International Professionals | INR 5,950/- |
- Registration does not cover travel and accommodation, and these costs must be borne by participants.
- Accommodation may be provided on request but will be subject to payment. Please send requests to icd2020@ilslaw.in with subject “Request for Accommodation”.
- Single occupancy (Attached WC) Rs 999/- (per day) (excluding food)
- Double occupancy (Attached WC) Rs 750/- (per day) (excluding food)
To register and pay
Bank Details:
Bank Name: State Bank of India
Bank Account Name: ILS Law College
Bank Address: Deccan Gymkhana Branch, PMT Building, Pune, Maharashtra 411004
Type of Account: Current
Account Number: 11100349321
IFSC Code: SBIN0001110
Branch Code: 01110R126
Swift Code: SBININBB218
NOTE
Registration fees do not include bank remittance charges and these will need to be met by participants.
Please mention your name and address while remitting your fee and instruct your banker to mention it in the remittance letter to India.
Important Dates
| Last date for submission of Abstract | 23 December 2019 |
| Notification for shortlisted Abstracts | Within 7 days from submission of abstract |
| Last date for registration | 15 January 2020 |
For Queries and Clarifications Contact
E-mail to: icd2020@ilslaw.in
or call student volunteers
Varad Kolhe +91 9503453510
C.V. Rajmohan +91 8547547050
Nihar Chitre +91 9757135410
