16 i EXPERIENCE OF THE WORKING OF THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS ACT, 1993
district as a Human Rights Court have not had the desired effect, section 30 in its
present form lacking clarity. The Commission had therefore proposed that this
provision be amplified and clarified and had recommended a specific
amendment to achieve this end. In the absence of any reaction to this proposal,
too, the purposes of the Act are not being fulfiled, the infirmity being built into
the present text.
• The provisions of the present Act also need to be reviewed in order to reinforce
the financial and administrative autonomy of the Commission — a cardinal
feature of the 'Paris Principles' that should he reflected in the wording of the
statutes of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human
Rights. Specific proposals have been made by the Commission in respect of
sections 32 and 33 of the Act which also need to be acted upon without delay in
order to ensure that the National Human Rights Commission and State Human
Rights Commissions are assured of adequate means and autonomy to function
properly. Regrettably, the experience of more than one State Human Rights
Commission has already shown how easy it is to subvert the purposes of the Act
by withholding the means and denying the autonomy required for the proper
functioning of such institutions.
• Experience has also shown that there is need to radically amend the present
wording of section 36 of the Act, dealing with 'matters not subject to the
jurisdiction of the Commission,' as it has lent itself to efforts to thwart the
purposes of the Act. On occasion, this has been done by bringing a matter before
a State Human Rights Commission or some other Commission in similar, or
slightly modified manner, in order to seek to block the jurisdiction of the
National Human Rights Commission. On other occasions, this has been done by
setting-up a Commission under the Commission of Inquiries Act after the
National Human Rights Commission has already taken cognisance of a matter
and then questioning the jurisdiction of the National Commission, in a court of
law, to proceed with its efforts or monitor a situation. The Commission has
made specific proposals to amend section 36(1) of the Act in order to provide the
National Humam Rights Commission with an over-arching ability to oversee
issues of human rights violations and their remedies. The Commission has,
additionally, observed that other Commissions have taken disparate positions
on fundamental issues of human rights, including serious social issues such as
bonded labour, the rights of women and children, and that this has resulted in a
lack of clarity in respect of the jurisprudence of human rights. It therefore
NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION