Our objective

·         Articulate an alternative constitutional law based not on property but on universal human values.

·         Introduce a broader ideological mooring for legal work as part of an overall process to bring about social change in which legal campaigns and social movements collaborate.

·         Incorporate international human rights principles in Indian law and, in turn, influence constitutional law in foreign jurisdictions through the development of innovative and path-breaking case law in India.

·         Build close links between legal networks in India and human rights law groups abroad, both in the development of law as well as programmatically.

·         Campaign for wide-ranging reforms of the legal system, particularly with respect to state funded legal aid for the poor, so that the state takes more responsibility for legal services and allocates more resources for legal aid.

·         Bring human rights law education in India into the mainstream.

·         Build alliances between the judiciary and rights based initiatives to sensitise the judicial system to a more inclusive understanding of human rights and to an increased awareness of human rights law and practices in different parts of the world.

Our mission

·         To protect fundamental human rights, increase access to basic resources for marginalized communities, and eliminate discrimination.

·         To create a justice delivery system that is accessible, accountable, transparent, efficient and affordable, and works for the underprivileged.

·         To raise the level of pro bono legal expertise for the poor to make the work uniformly competent as well as compassionate.

·         To equip through professional training a new generation of public interest lawyers and para-legals who are comfortable both in the world of law as well as in social movements, and who learn from the social movements to refine legal concepts and strategies.

·         To work towards an increased awareness of rights as universal and indivisible, and their realization as an immediate goal.

About us

The Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) is a collective of lawyers and social activists dedicated to the use of the legal system to advance human rights, struggle against violations, and ensure access to justice for all. A not-for-profit, non-governmental organization, HRLN defines rights to include civil and political rights as well as economic, social, cultural and environmental rights. We believe human rights are universal and indivisible, and their realization is an immediate goal.

Starting in 1989 as an informal group of lawyers and social activists, HRLN has evolved into a human rights organization with an active presence in many states of India.

The organization provides pro bono legal services to those with little or no access to the justice system. It participates in the struggle for rights through its various activities including public interest litigation, advocacy, legal awareness programmes, and investigations into violations, publishing ‘know your rights’ materials, and participating in campaigns.

HRLN collaborates with social movements, human rights organizations, and grass-roots development groups to enforce the rights of children, dalits, people with disabilities, farmers, HIV positive people, the homeless, indigenous peoples, prisoners, refugees, religious and sexual minorities, women, and workers, among others.

HRLN views the legal system as a limited but crucial instrument for realizing human rights. We believe that large scale struggles against human rights violations have to be waged by social and political movements, and that the legal system can play a significant supportive role in these struggles.