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?

Objectives

Provide a

flexible and adaptable design

for the library, to serve the immediate and future needs of the Judges, Advocates, and administrative staff;

Adopt a

system for efficient organisation

of journals and other materials, including incorporating a flexible digital system for streamlined organisation and retrieval of legal resources;

Ensure an environment where the

books and materials are protected from humidity and other threats

that could damage them;

Ensure preservation of materials through digital archiving

while enabling remote access for collaboration beyond physical boundaries, and promotion of continuous professional development and collaborative research; and

Ensure that all spaces in the libraries are

accessible for diverse user groups.

Users

Judges

Advocates

Librarians

Staff maintaining the library resources

Adjacencies

The libraries need not be part of the public facing functions of the Court Complex.

Libraries for the Advocates and administrative staff must be accessible from the Advocates’ corridor and from the administrative wing.

The Judges’ library must be directly accessible from the Judges’ corridor.

The office of the Head Librarian/library staff must be in close proximity to the libraries.

The libraries must be located close to lifts and elevators, for easy transporting of relevant materials to Courtrooms, Judges’ chambers, PP/GP offices, etc.

Design Considerations

The libraries must be designed to ensure adequate space between the aisles for the movement of diverse user groups, including Persons with Disabilities.

Adequate space must also be provided for manoeuvring the trolleys used for transporting books from the library to the Courtrooms/Judges’ chambers/PP and GP offices, etc.

All libraries must be equipped with accessible ergonomic furniture, including modular seating, conference tables, etc.

Libraries must be equipped with information kiosks and digital case display systems, highlighting ongoing cases in all Courtrooms.

A part of the library must be designed for the users to have digital access to study material, and must be equipped with adequate technological equipment including all necessary software to facilitate the same and ensure privacy.

Digitisation of the available material as well as additional online subscriptions must be provided to ensure remote access as well as reduction of storage space. A supporting digital catalogue system must be incorporated to keep track of the digitised materials and to ensure easy integration with the physical library.

Computer systems must be provided with adequate internet and intranet connections to support a digital catalogue system/electronic library.

Wherever possible, Mobile Compactor Storage Systems with rolling shelves must be used to help save space in the library and to make retrieving of books and journals easier. Adequate space must also be apportioned to account for modular storage solutions for the digital resources being provided.

Modular storage shelves of uniform height must be used, with some shelves being lower to ensure sightlines across the library.

Scanners and photocopying facilities and other reprographic services must be provided within the library.

If the library has stacked shelves, portable ladders/steps/stools must be provided to access books at the top shelves.

The positioning of windows must be considered relative to the placement of the storage facilities when designing the library, to ensure that the room receives adequate ventilation and natural light. Depending on the geographical location of the library, suitable methods to naturally regulate the internal temperature of the rooms must be adopted.

Reading Room

Specific space must be provided for a reading room within the libraries.

The reading room must be provided with adequate ergonomic seating and reading tables. Stand-up reading areas and counters must also be provided.

It must have natural lighting and ventilation.

Adequate space and technological support must be provided for accessing digital facilities.

Space for Library Staff and Head Librarian

Adequate working space must be provided for the Head Librarian as well as the staff working in the library.

The Head Librarian must have their own office room wherever possible. For details of a single person office space, please refer to

Section 2.5.B.

The office room must have adequate workspace, along with seating for visitors.

The room must be provided with adequate storage space to store files and books as well as their personal belongings.

The space provided for the Library Staff must be accessible with proper ventilation and ergonomic seating. For further details of a multi-person office space, please refer to

Section 2.5.C.

The work space for Library Staff must have adequate storage facilities as well as provision for a scanner/copier for the use of the staff.

Adequate storage space must be provided for the personal belongings of the staff members.

PART C - THE HANDBOOK

ORGANIZATION AND DESIGN OF SPACES OF THE COURT COMPLEX

2.9.

Legal Facilities

C. Library

The Court Complex must be equipped with library facilities for all users. Specific libraries for judges and Advocates are necessary to ensure that they have access to the requisite resources, for continuous learning and updates regarding new developments in legal jurisprudence. Libraries must also be provided to the administrative staff to ensure that they have access to resources relevant to executing their specific functions. The libraries for the judicial officers and the staff may be combined, if required, depending upon the number of staff at that particular Court.

Additionally, specific facilities must be provided for the offices of the Public Prosecutors and the Government Pleaders (

Section 2.6.B.

). Relevant online subscription services and databases must also be incorporated as part of the digital resources for the library.

Figure 64: Typical floor plan of a library

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