Court Design Handbook

Court Design Handbook for District Courts in India

The Design Handbook seeks to envision and implement a user-centric District Court Complex responsive to the needs of all diverse users, i.e., litigants, judges, lawyers, Court staff, witnesses, accused persons, police, public visitors and other stakeholders in the justice system. A principles-based framework is used to highlight associated guidelines and design considerations, for creating truly inclusive, accessible, efficient, comfortable, adaptable, and sustainable Courts where the experience of seeking and providing justice is significantly improved.

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Projects Authors And Acknowledgements

Shreya Tripathy is a Senior Resident Fellow at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy working as part of the Justice, Access, and Lowering Delays in India (JALDI) Initiative. Priyamvadha Shivaji is a Research Fellow at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy working as part of the Justice, Access, and Lowering Delays in India (JALDI) Initiative. Brinda Sastry is an architect, urban designer, and planner with experience in formulating policies, audit frameworks, and design guidelines, with a participatory approach, to ensure inclusive and equitable design of public places. Shreya Shetty is an architect and urban design consultant, Co-Founder of 369 Ochre Studio who assisted in drafting the Harmonised Guidelines & Standards for Universal Accessibility in India 2021, drafted by the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) & Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee released by Central Public Works Department, Government of India under Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Bhagyalaxmi Madapur , Co-Founder of 369 Ochre Studio in Bengaluru, India, is an architect and urbanist who worked as a contract consultant with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on the project "Sponge City: Towards Building Flood Resilient Kolkata," which involved creating educational materials-infographic handbooks, videos, and brochures aimed at strengthening the capacity of Kolkata Municipal Corporation for resilient urban services. Abubakar Shaikh is an architect and Art Lead at Autovrse. Gayatri Ganesh is an architect and Experience Designer at Autovrse. Milind D.P. is the Executive Vice President, Consultancy & Projects, BNA Technology Consulting Ltd. His division is focused on IT Infrastructure Design, Project Management and Monitoring of ICT Projects. Arun Kumar is an acoustic consultant at HMPL Consulting Pvt Ltd, Bangalore, with over 8 years of expertise in Architectural, Environmental, and Industrial Acoustics, dedicated to shaping sound environments for optimal experiences. Akshatha Hariharan is an architect exploring the realms of Visual & User experience design. Rama Raghavan is an Architectural writer and researcher based in Pune. As a pedagogue, she has curated courses in Accessibility and Universal Design. She has worked on several publications that intricately connect the built environment with socio-spatial dimensions. This report has been in the making for over two years and owes a great deal to the inputs provided by a multitude of people. The authors would like to thank the following: Deepika Kinhal (Team Lead, JALDI) for her guidance throughout the project and for reviewing the report. The authors are also grateful to Reshma Sekhar (Former Senior Resident Fellow, JALDI) for her contribution to the conceptualisation of the Handbook. Dr. Gaurav Raheja (Professor of Architecture, IIT Roorkee) and Dr. Rahela Korakhiwala (Author, From the Colonial to the Contemporary: Images, Iconography, Memories, and Performances of Law in India's High Courts) for their guidance in the conceptualisation stage. Justice Badar Durrez Ahmad (Former Chief Justice, Jammu & Kashmir High Court), Justice Ponugoti Naveen Rao (Former Acting Chief Justice, Telangana High Court) and Mr. Suresh Kogilgere (Former Registrar, Karnataka High Court) for their inputs for the project. Dr. Tanya Machado (Professor of Clinical Psychology (Rtd). Consultant Clinical Psychologist) and Dr. Ria Fernandez (Rehabilitation Specialist, Mazumdar Shaw Hospital) for their inputs on child-friendly design and providing trauma-informed design considerations for vulnerable witnesses. Akhilesh (Project Second Chance) for his inputs on safe, secure, and humane design considerations for accused persons. Nilesh Singit (independent accessibility expert) and Dr. Sanjay Jain (Professor at National Law School of India University, Bengaluru), members of the Supreme Court Committee on Accessibility, for their inputs on ensuring universal accessibility. Alok Prasanna Kumar (Co-founder and Team Lead, Vidhi Karnataka), and Vidhi Fellows Manmayi Sharma (Senior Resident Fellow, Disability Inclusion & Access), Yashaswini Basu (Outreach Lead, Nyaaya), Yogini Oke (Impact and Partnerships Fellow), Shireen Yachu (Communications Fellow, Impact Collective) and Somya Jain (Research Fellow, Disability Inclusion & Access) for their inputs on the project. Damini Ghosh (Team Lead, Disability, Inclusion & Access at Vidhi) and Prof. Sanjay Kanvinde (Senior Partner, Kanvinde Rai & Chowdhury) for peer-reviewing the Handbook and providing their invaluable feedback. Over the months of February and March 2024, four round-table consultations were held with experts from various fields, on the following themes covered in the Handbook: Institutional capacity building; Making District Courts safe, secure and comfortable; Incorporating Universal Design Principles; and Facilitating efficient and future-ready Court Complexes. The authors would like to thank the following participants for their inputs during the sessions: Justice (retd.) Ponugoti Naveen Rao (former acting Chief Justice at Telangana High Court), Prof. Jyoti Dogra (Professor at Indian Law Institute), Dr. Sheila Ramaswamy (Technical & Operational Lead at NIMHANS), Ms. Arushi Anthwal (Legal Counsel at Counsel to Secure Justice), Ms. Kushi Kushalappa (Director, Support & Rehabilitation at Enfold India), Ms. Shirisha Reddy (Program Manager at Nyaaya Kannada), Mr. Amar Jain (co-founder at Mission Accessibility), Ms. Anita Iyer Narayan (Managing Trustee, sponsor and volunteer at Ekansh Trust), Prof. Gaurav Raheja (Professor Incharge, Inclusion & Accessibility Services at IIT Roorkee), Ms. Nivedita Krishna (founder-director at PACTA), Ms. Pooja Sastry (PhD candidate in architectural history at University College, Dublin), Ms. Shruti Dixit (practising lawyer in Lucknow), Mr. Akshay Jain (Assistant Program Manager at National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People), Mr. Rahul Bajaj (co-founder at Mission Accessibility) and Mr. R. Sri Kumar (former Head of Police Force in Karnataka and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner). The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy is an independent think-tank doing legal research to make better laws and improve governance for the public good. The JALDI Initiative is a multi-year initiative that aims to advocate for and implement evidence-based reforms to eliminate the existing backlog in Courts and ensure that cases are disposed within reasonable timelines. This report is under the aegis of JALDI Innovation Lab, a multi-disciplinary collaborative of experts to design solutions for the justice delivery systems in India. Errors, if any, rest with the authors. Contact us at jaldi@vidhilegalpolicy.in

Sub Project Title

Design Guide for User-Centric Court Complexes

design

law

Jaldi Lab Aspect Title

Design

Design

Design-thinking and architecture to transform how accessing justice looks and feels

Jaldi Lab Aspect Title

Law

Law

Rules and policies to guide implementation of reforms in a fair, just and transparent manner.

Introducing the Court Design Handbook

Introducing the Court Design Handbook

Court Design Handbook: Reimagining Courts that meet the needs of all users

Court Design Handbook: Reimagining Courts that meet the needs of all users

Designing Justice: Introducing JALDI's New Video Series

Designing Justice: Introducing JALDI's New Video Series

Designing Justice: Interview with Anchal Bhateja

Designing Justice: Interview with Anchal Bhateja

Introduction to the series

Introduction to the series

How can we improve e-Filing in courts?

How can we improve e-Filing in courts?

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The Department of Justice has been implementing the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (“CSS”) for development of infrastructure facilities since 1993-94, to augment the resources of the State Governments for constructing Court buildings and residential accommodation for Judicial Officers. For further details on funds allocation see: CSS for Judicial Infrastructure (2012).

NCMS (2012), p. 7.

The process outlined in this section has been proposed after consultations with Court officials, Judges and urban planners.

NCMS (2012).

The criteria for site selection should be developed to ensure that the required facilities that cannot be accommodated within the site Master Plan are easily accessible in the vicinity. Site selection criteria may include ensuring easy public access and avoiding eco-sensitive zones.

A Phasing Plan that outlines the phases of construction should be prepared. Site planning principles should be followed to prepare the layout of buildings in the Master Plan.

The non-negotiable design principles and related set of guidelines, as defined in this Handbook in

PART B

, may be used as a framework to ascertain the functional, spatial and infrastructural requirements of the District Court Complex.

To ascertain the functional requirements of the District Court Complex, a Stakeholder Engagement Plan should be prepared which identifies all concerned stakeholders and users of the Court, and experts involved in the decision making process. This plan should outline how to engage with various government authorities, the Judicial Officers and staff, and all users of the Court Complex throughout the various stages of the design process.

Stakeholder surveys should be designed to gather inputs from Judges, lawyers, litigants, staff, vulnerable groups, Accused Persons, and members of the public on space design and infrastructure requirements. This would help with ascertaining the functional and infrastructural needs and corresponding space requirements in relation to the plan, to determine the overall built up area required for the District Court Complex. This would also ensure that the proposed design is responsive to the needs of diverse user groups.

The spatial requirements and infrastructure needs determined through the stakeholder assessment of requirements should be used to prepare the Design Brief for the project. It should also determine the scope of work, and prepare broad budget estimates for design and construction. The budget estimates should include the requirements for implementing the project, operating & maintaining, managing and monitoring the Court facilities, and conducting regular audits.

In addition to building construction professionals (planners, architects, landscape architects, interior designers, structural engineers, Mechanical, Engineering and Plumbing (“MEP”) consultants, etc.), other specialised consultants in areas such as security, universal design, wayfinding and signage, IT infrastructure provision, facilities management, accessibility compliance, waste management systems, and other relevant consultants should be involved. This would ensure comprehensive planning and implementation.

For the preparation of a Site Plan, a preliminary site analysis that involves understanding the plot of land, its constraints and contextual conditions, the applicable local land use zoning restrictions and building regulations, should be undertaken. Preliminary sketches of the site plan and basic building design ideas should be created at this stage.

The Building Committee, along with the design consultants/team of experts selected, should use the feedback from various stakeholders to prepare a draft concept plan, to suit the chosen site and its context, with the necessary adjacencies of functions and facilities. The draft concept plan may further be improved after consultations with all stakeholders to prepare the final plan.

It is essential to ensure that the key design principles identified in the vision are met in the final plan through a set of related guidelines. Additionally, the standards for spaces within the Court Complex and specific design considerations along with the users and desirable adjacencies of functions should be considered in finalising the building floor plans and sections.

Preparation of a DPR with construction drawings and documents for tendering including site plan, floor plans, sections, elevations and bill of quantities should be prepared.

A construction agency empanelled with the PWD should be onboarded to execute the plans and conduct Project inspection and management.

Additionally, a separate Monitoring Cell comprised of the PDJ, architects and design/construction experts and project management consultants may be constituted, to assist the Building Committee in systematically reviewing the construction process.

Preparing standard operating procedures and implementation policies for the operations and management of building facilities before occupancy is crucial (

Section 2.3

Building institutional capacity of staff, Judicial Officers and others concerned for ensuring smooth management and operation of facilities, and sensitising them to standard operating procedures and needs of diverse stakeholders (

Section 5

); and

Preparing survey, audit and evaluation frameworks for assessing the needs of diverse user groups based on the design principles and guidelines (

Section 6

A committee for Court facilities management and appointment of Facility Manager/Management Agency (for further details, please refer to

Section 2.4

) should be constituted through a tendering process to ensure adequate maintenance of the Court Complex.

The other aspects to be covered in this stage include:

An independent research body may be engaged by the High Court Building Committee to undertake review and monitoring of the implementation of the Design Principles and guidelines annually. The research body should consist of a multi-disciplinary committee of experts with experience in working with diverse user groups and vulnerable witnesses.

Stakeholder consultation should be undertaken to assess the building operations, and the functioning of the Court system and its infrastructure facilities using the audit and evaluation frameworks provided in this Handbook. It is recommended that the stakeholder consultations must be held on a periodic basis, which may be fixed by the Building Committee to be bi-annual or annual.

A cost-benefit analysis should be undertaken to compare the intangible benefits of the Court building such as greater access to justice, increased satisfaction of the various stakeholders, efficient delivery of justice, etc., with the financial costs and other social costs.

A post-occupancy evaluation should be undertaken to prepare a post-occupancy assessment report. Typically the assessment must be undertaken after 12 to 18 months of the occupation of the buildings. For further details, please refer to

Section 6.2.

PART D - IMPLEMENTATION, MONITORING & EVALUATION

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS

Typically, once the decision to construct a District Court Complex is initiated through a High Court order, the Building Committee selects the land and assigns the state Public Works Department (“PWD”) to prepare a phase-wise plan for constructing the new building Complex. Funds are allocated for the construction jointly by the Central Government and the State Government.

A Master Plan with building designs and Detailed Project Report (“DPR”) for design and construction of the new Court Complex is prepared, which is submitted to the Building Committee of the High Court.

A Court Development Plan, Vision and Objectives are prepared for the District Court. Short-term (annual), medium-term (five-year) and long-term plans are set with a vision statement for a 10-year period.

Targets to be achieved through objectives and measurable quantitative as well as qualitative goals are also identified. This provides a direction for preparing the District Court space and infrastructure requirements. The Building Committee (High Court) oversees the design, construction and implementation of the District Court Plan.

This Handbook seeks to serve as a ready reference for the Building Committees (High Court) and the PWD when formulating the Vision, objectives, plans, and implementation process of a new District Court Complex with a user-centric design approach. This section provides recommendations for implementing the design of a new District Court Complex within the framework of a typical building design process.

The following outlines the stages in a typical design process and the additional processes which may be followed under each stage for implementation of the recommendations of this Handbook:

Stage 1: Pre-Design

Stage 2: Design

Stage 3: Construction

Stage 4: Implementation of Policy Procedures

Stage 5: Monitoring and Evaluation

The Audit framework provided in this Handbook will provide a useful tool to assess the status of the Court after it is occupied. Additionally, the user experience survey based on the set of design guidelines outlined in this Handbook will assist in a qualitative evaluation of the Court Complex, which will assess the extent to which the design principles have been met. For further details, please refer to

Section 6.

The recommendations for an ideal design process outlined in the Handbook are in accordance with the Targets of selected Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”) set out by the United Nations which have been adopted by India. For further details, please refer to

Annexure 7

References

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