NUJS International Conclave on Disability Law and Rights , 2025

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About the Organisers

The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS), established in 1999, is renowned for its academic excellence and commitment to inclusivity, making it one of India’s top law schools. The university offers a range of undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programs and has built a strong reputation not only for its rigorous legal education but also for its efforts to create an accessible environment for all students, including those with disabilities. In addition to its academic achievements, NUJS is committed to fostering an inclusive and competitive legal environment. It has hosted Para-Invicta, a dedicated sports festival for specially-abled students, alongside Invicta, its flagship law sports festival, promoting equal opportunities. Beyond this, NUJS has organized a wide range of Moot Court and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) competitions, such as the NUJS-HSF Moot Court Competition and the NUJS ADR Mediation Competition. These initiatives provide young lawyers with a dynamic platform to engage with complex. The university’s inclusive approach and its commitment to supporting specially-abled students make NUJS a beacon of accessibility and social responsibility in legal education.

About the Conclave

The 1st National Disability Rights Conclave, hosted by the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS), Kolkata, is a landmark initiative aimed at fostering critical dialogue on the rights, dignity, and inclusion of persons with disabilities (PwDs) within the Indian legal framework. The Conclave seeks to bring together judges, legal academics, practitioners, policymakers, and activists to reflect on the current state and future direction of disability rights law in India.

At its core, the Conclave aspires to deepen the understanding of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and explore the legal, institutional, and societal challenges in its implementation. It will facilitate interdisciplinary discussions on crucial themes such as reasonable accommodation, digital and physical accessibility, the role of the judiciary in promoting inclusive justice, and the social stigma that continues to affect the lived experiences of disabled individuals.

Through this Conclave, NUJS aims to generate actionable insights, promote empathy-driven legal thinking, and support reform-oriented approaches to disability law. By creating a collaborative platform for stakeholders across sectors, the event seeks to move beyond symbolic inclusion and toward substantive equality, accessibility, and empowerment for the disabled community within the Indian justice system.

Who Should Attend?

● Law students and academicians

● Practicing advocates and judicial aspirants

● Disability rights advocates

● Policymakers and government officials

Whether you’re a scholar, a legal practitioner, or a social reformer, your participation will contribute to a more inclusive legal framework.

Why Should You Attend?

● Engage directly with sitting judges and national experts

● Learn from real-world challenges in the implementation of disability law

● Network with stakeholders driving legal and social change

● Contribute to policy-relevant dialogues

Themes of Panel Discussions

● Evolving jurisprudence of accessibility in India (Moving away from social model to-CRPD new model)

● Beyond Compliance: Reimagining India’s Disability Rights Framework in Light of International Legal Standards

The Conclave will serve as a forum for vibrant discussions, offering legal professionals, students, policymakers, and civil society members an opportunity to engage with the most pressing issues in disability rights law.

Key Areas of Discussion

● Shift from Social to Rights-Based Model

● Judicial Interpretation and Case Law

● CRPD’s Influence and the Road Ahead

● Reasonable Accommodation

● How the Indian Model Can Be Improved?

Speakers of the Conclave (including and not limited to) :

● Sara Hossain: Chair of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. She is also Honorary Executive Director of BLAST, and is the recipient of the International Woman of Courage Award, 2016.

● Soma Roy Chowdhury: Legal and governance expert with 20+ years of experience in development work, specializing in legal aid, human rights, gender justice and public interest litigation. She was the National Program Coordinator for a major UK-funded (£12 million) legal services program, and has consulted for numerous international organizations such as USAID, UNODC, ILO, and the EU.

● Advocate Rahul Bajaj and Advocate Amar Jain: Founders of Mission Accessibility, an NGO for advancing the rights of individuals with disabilities.

● Sumit Agarwal: Recognized as an Icon of the Election Commission of India, a distinguished Member of Committee at NITI Aayog, SDG Ambassador for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) and DEI Advisor to Fortune 500 Companies. A leading authority and accomplished advocate on disability law and rights, he is widely respected for shaping discourse and legislation to improve opportunities and inclusion for the disabled community across India and beyond.