Themes & Format
The Programme will take place over two days, combining substantive discussion panels with dedicated skill-building sessions. This hybrid format reflects the conviction that academic rigour and practical competence are mutually reinforcing, not competing, priorities.
Discussion panels will bring together speakers and discussants to examine specific legal and policy questions in depth. Each panel will be moderated and structured to allow for active audience engagement. Skill Development sessions, facilitated by experienced practitioners and trainers, will use experiential learning methodologies, including the YExLS (Youth Experiential Learning Labs) approach, to build transferable competencies in advocacy, witness examination, and child-sensitive communication.
Thematic Focus
The Programme is organised around four interconnected themes, each addressed through a dedicated discussion panel:
Access to justice for girls, adolescent love and the law
Examining strict liability under POCSO in light of social realities, including constitutional considerations of dignity and privacy, the institutional impact of criminalising consensual adolescent relationships, and the feasibility of protective exemption clauses in the Indian context.
The trial of children as adults
Evaluating provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act permitting children aged 16 to 18 to be tried as adults, including definitional difficulties around heinous offences, standards for assessing capacity to stand trial, and compliance with constitutional safeguards and India’s international obligations.
The right and reality of speedy trials
Assessing implementation of procedural time limits under both the POCSO and JJ Acts, identifying institutional barriers, and examining the role of capacity building and self-regulation among stakeholders.
Interagency coordination in safeguarding child rights
Evaluating the degree of implementation of the multi-agency framework under POCSO and the JJ Act, assessing the establishment and functioning of mandated bodies, and exploring the role of technology in ensuring coordination.
Skill-Building Lab
Alongside the discussion panels, the Programme incorporates dedicated skill-building sessions, facilitated by international trainers using the YExLS (Youth Experiential Learning Labs) tool:
YExLS: Youth Experiential Learning Labs – “Take a walk in my shoes”
An immersive two-part experiential session inviting participants to engage empathetically with the lived realities of children in contact with the justice system.
Persuasive advocacy and learning-by-doing on children in the justice system
Practical training in constructing and delivering advocacy arguments in child justice contexts.
Skill building for child clients and witnesses
A learn-by-doing session on examining children, covering child-sensitive questioning techniques and trauma-informed interviewing practices.