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?

nearest

smooth

'Waiting Areas'

(The Courthouse: A Guide to Planning & Design)

Ar. Prerna Chouhan, ‘Case Study: District Administrative and Judicial Court Complex, Sector 76, Mohali’ (

Slideshare,

22 January 2021)

[“Case Study of Mohali District Court”]

‘13 Best Baby Nursing and Changing Rooms in Klang Valley Malls’ (

Makchic,

1 August 2014)

[“Makchic”]

Judicial Council of California,

California Trial Court Facilities Standards 2020 (Draft for Public Comment)

p. 4.17.

General waiting rooms

POCSO and Family Court waiting rooms

Spaces for waiting in corridors

Segregated waiting area for the Accused

Waiting area for expert witnesses

Objectives

Ensure safe, comfortable, non-intimidating, accessible waiting areas

for diverse user groups such as Persons with Disabilities, children, the elderly, pregnant women, etc;

Design

adequate accessible signage and information systems

, including adequate IT infrastructure, in the waiting areas to assist the parties, Advocates, and general public visiting the Court Complex

Design all waiting areas to be

non-confrontational and soothing spaces

that make all users feel psychologically safe; and

Ensure functional efficiency

by providing an adequate number of waiting areas on each floor, and for each Courtroom or group of Courtrooms, as required.

Users

Parties

Advocates

Family members/other visitors connected with the case

General public

Accused Persons

Expert witnesses

Adjacencies

Public waiting areas must be easily accessible from main public entrances.

The waiting areas must be in proximity to stairs, lifts, and elevators to ensure efficient movement.

A lobby area with facilities for waiting must be provided near the main building entrance.

Other general waiting areas must be provided near each Courtroom in the Court Complex. Additionally, seating may be provided in corridors connected to all Courtrooms.

The waiting area for the Accused must be located close to a dedicated separate entrance and exit provided for them.

Dedicated waiting areas must be provided near Special Courts such as POCSO Courts, VWDCs, etc.

Design Considerations

Adequate multilingual and accessible signages must be provided for easy movement of all persons using the waiting area.

Provisions must be made for accessible case display screens and information kiosks with audible announcements.

Appropriate and separate space, including adequate seating, must be provided for all users as per their requirements.

The design of the waiting area must take into consideration the visual continuity of movement from waiting areas to other spaces.

Adequate provision must be made for amenities, including sanitary provisions such as accessible toilets and drinking water facilities, and a play area to ensure that waiting areas are child-friendly and cater to instances where persons may be visiting the Court with their children.

The waiting areas must be in close proximity or have direct access to a Quiet Room and a Feeding to cater to the needs of diverse users, when necessary. For further details of the design considerations for a Quiet Room, please refer to

Section 3.6.

, and for Feeding Room, please refer to

Section 3.3.B.

The design of all waiting areas must ensure minimal noise transmission from the waiting areas to the Courtrooms or other public-facing administrative offices.

The design must include sufficient acoustically absorptive materials (preferably in the ceiling) as well as acoustic isolation, to avoid noise buildup and disturbances in the waiting area. For further details on acoustics, please refer to

Annexure 5.

Adequate amenities such as canteen facilities, as well as basic first-aid services,

must be provided in convenient locations in or near all waiting areas.

All waiting areas must have less obtrusive and non-intimidating security provisions.

Provision must be made for appropriate fire safety provisions, including emergency evacuation plans, as per norms.

Adequate CCTV surveillance equipment must be provided in all waiting areas.

Specific Design Considerations

In addition to the design considerations laid out in the section above, the waiting rooms specifically designed for POCSO Courts and Family Courts should also follow child-friendly design guidelines. For further details, see

Sections 2.1.B.

and

2.3.A.

Additionally, these waiting rooms must be in close proximity, or have direct access to, family-friendly sanitary provisions.

These spaces must be acoustically treated to avoid noise transfer from adjacent areas and vice versa. Sufficient acoustically absorptive materials must be provided to avoid reverberation/echo. For further details on acoustics, please refer to

Annexure 5

Silent duress alarm buttons and video surveillance, with camera coverage including the interior and exterior corridors by the door as well as the waiting area, must be provided.

A door intercom, remote door release, and local alarm system must be provided to notify staff that a child has entered an out-of-view area, or that someone has entered the waiting area without permission.

Waiting areas in corridors must have comfortable, ergonomic seating including accessible seating provisions.

Case display screens outside the Courtrooms, and auditory announcements regarding the cases being heard, must be provided.

These waiting areas must be in close proximity to accessible sanitary provisions, including washrooms and drinking water.

These waiting rooms must be located along the segregated paths with controlled access points to be followed by the Accused for movement through the Court Complex, and must be accessible only by the Accused and accompanying police personnel. For further details, please refer to

Sections 1.4

These specific waiting rooms may be of a smaller size to accommodate fewer users with grills to ensure visibility within the waiting area for the accompanying police officers.

For such instances where the Accused may have to be placed in the Accused waiting area during meal times, specific provisions should be made to provide them with food in a systematic and hygienic manner.

The waiting area design must be in compliance with accessibility standards to accommodate Persons with Disabilities, including sensory and cognitive disabilities.

Inclusive signage and communication systems must be incorporated to ensure adequate guidance and dissemination of information within the waiting area.

Additional security provisions, including secure entrances, comprehensive CCTV surveillance cameras, and rigorous screenings, must be provided.

The security features provided must be subtle to maintain safety without compromising comfort.

The waiting areas must be acoustically treated to reduce noise build-up and interference with adjacent areas. For further details on acoustics, please refer to

Specific emergency protocols and communication systems must be incorporated within the Accused waiting area for quick responses to unforeseen situations.

The waiting areas on each floor should be segregated to accommodate Accused Persons who may be of different genders, with specific waiting areas being provided for juveniles.

These waiting rooms may be of a smaller size than general waiting areas, to accommodate the fewer number of users.

Case display screens, and auditory announcements regarding case status for the connected Courtrooms, must be provided.

The waiting area must be designed to have designated private or semi-private areas with adequate acoustic treatment within the waiting room to allow confidential discussions between experts and Advocates. For further details on acoustics, please refer to

The waiting area must have tables or workstations equipped with power outlets and adequate lighting for experts to review case materials or prepare documents.

Security measures must be implemented to safeguard sensitive information discussed or handled by expert witnesses while they wait.

General waiting rooms must be provided on each floor of the Court Complex,

and for each Courtroom or group of Courtrooms, depending on the footfall and the number of cases being listed in the Court on a day-to-day basis.

General waiting rooms must be provided with facilities catering to diverse user groups, including information kiosks, nursing rooms,

quiet rooms, prayer rooms, child-friendly facilities such as a play area, etc.

Additionally, the waiting rooms must be equipped with ergonomic seating, adequate natural light and ventilation, access to green spaces or indoor plants (as required), etc.

Adequate seating facilities, including designated space for wheelchairs and prams, must be provided in all waiting areas.

Case display screens, and auditory announcements regarding case status for the connected Courtrooms, must be provided in all waiting areas.

Amenities including sanitary provisions, vending machines, etc., must be provided.

The space must be acoustically treated with acoustically absorptive ceiling materials, to avoid noise buildup. For further details on acoustics, please refer to

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PART C - THE HANDBOOK

ORGANIZATION AND DESIGN OF SPACES OF THE COURT COMPLEX

2.2.

Waiting Areas

In order to ensure a comfortable, safe, secure and user-friendly environment for all visitors to the Court Complex, sufficient spaces must be provided for well-lit and well-equipped waiting areas at various spaces throughout the Court Complex. Sufficient number of waiting areas should particularly be located near Courtrooms and other public-facing administrative offices. All waiting areas must be adequately equipped to serve the needs of diverse user groups.

Five types of waiting areas must be provided:

A. General Waiting Rooms

The general waiting rooms are provided throughout the Court Complex for parties and Advocates to wait for their cases to be called for hearing, and for the use of the general public visiting the Court Complex.

B. POCSO and Family Court Waiting Areas

Separate waiting areas must additionally be provided near POCSO Courts and Family Courts.

C. Corridor Waiting Areas

Sufficient seating arrangements must be provided in the corridors outside Courtrooms, for parties and Advocates awaiting their cases to be called for hearing.

D. Waiting Areas for Accused Persons

A separate waiting area for the Accused Persons must be strategically provided near Courtrooms, to wait for their cases to be called for hearing.

E. Waiting Areas for Expert Witnesses

A separate waiting area must be provided near Courtrooms for expert witnesses who have been called to provide evidence or testimony in cases, to ensure that the general waiting areas are not overcrowded and witnesses have adequate space and access to facilities.

References

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