Efficacy of Human Rights Commissions in Protection and Promotion of Human Rights in India A Comparative Study of National Human Rights Commission and Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission

Abstract

The advent of the Human Rights Commissions signified an important progress for human rights in India.It not only positioned these Commissions as the foundation of the Human Rights system in the country but also established a close connect with international Human Rights norms through association with the United Nations and its regional affiliations. As a signatory to various conventions and treaties on Human Rights, India is expected to conform to these in domestic laws and procedures.The promulgation of the Protection of Human Rights Act in 1993-94 envisaged the establishment of Human Rights Commissions to protect and promote Human Rights in the country. However, the real achievement would actually depend on how well the Human Rights Commissions function. This research is an attempt to decipher the working of Human Rights Commissions in India in order to understand their efficacy in Protection and Promotion of Human Rights. The research has attempted to study the composition, structure and functions of two Commissions, NHRC and MSHRC, as a sample of all 26 Human Rights Commissions in India.The two Commissions have been compared through Four Research Objectives and Seven Research Questions to enquire into how the Commissions fare with international norms (Paris Principles), functions as elucidated in its foundational legislation, the PHR Act, as well as other criteria that affect efficacy.