Lawyers Collective is a

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

in India which promotes human rights, especially on issues relating to

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

and parliamentary

corruption in India Corruption in India is an issue which affects economy of central, state and local government agencies in many ways. Corruption is blamed for stunting the economy of India. A study conducted by Transparency International in 2005 recorded that ...

. On 1 June 2016, Govt of India suspended the FCRA registration of the NGO for alleged violation of FCRA norms. This revoking of the license was challenged in the

Bombay High Court The High Court of Bombay is the high court of the states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily at Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), and is one of the ol ...

and the case is currently pending. The

Central Bureau of Investigation The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmen ...

filed a

first information report __NOTOC__ A first information report (FIR) is a document prepared by police organisations in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asian countries including Myanmar, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan when they receive information about the commissio ...

Founding

Lawyers collective was founded in 1981. Among its founders were

Indira Jaising Indira Jaising (born 3 June 1940) is an Indian lawyer and activist. In 2018, she was ranked 20th on the list of 50 Greatest Leaders of the World by Fortune magazine. She also runs '' Lawyers' Collective,'' a non-governmental organization (NGO ...

and

Anand Grover Anand Grover is a senior lawyer known for legal activism in Indian law relating to homosexuality and HIV. Along with his wife Indira Jaising, he is a founder-member of the Lawyers Collective. He was the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rig ...

Access to medicines

Lawyers Collective represented the Cancer Patients Aid Association in the landmark intellectual property case Novartis v. Union of India., opposing Novartis' patent for Glivec, a life-saving leukemia drug. The case has generated global attention for its impact on

access to medicines Access to medicines refers to the reasonable ability for people to get needed medicines required to achieve health. Such access is deemed to be part of the right to health as supported by international law since 1946. The World Health Organization ...

worldwide. On 1 April 2013, Novartis' patent was rejected by the Supreme Court of India

HIV issues

The Lawyers Collective has written a bill intended for debate in parliament regarding HIV / AIDS discrimination. The purpose of the proposed law is to prohibit discrimination against persons living with HIV. The proposal describes prohibition of discrimination in employment, healthcare, and education, and further prohibits hate and discriminatory propaganda.

is the head of the Lawyers Collective HIV/ AIDS unit.

Decriminalization of homosexuality

The Lawyers Collective works closely with the Naz Foundation and acted as their legal team in their lawsuit to repeal

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code Section 377 of the British colonial penal code criminalized all sexual acts "against the order of nature". The law was used to prosecute people engaging in oral and anal sex along with homosexual activity. The penal code remains in many former col ...

Women's rights

In 2006 the Lawyers Collective received a grant from the

United Nations Development Fund for Women The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, french: Fonds de développement des Nations unies pour la femme, ) was established in December 1976 originally as the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women in the International ...

to develop a project titled "Staying Alive – Empowerment through Law." The purpose of this project was to provide legal resources to promote women's rights in the Indian legal system.

Suspension of FCRA registration

On 1 June 2016, the Govt of India suspended the FCRA registration of the NGO for alleged violation of FCRA norms for 6 months pending further procedure. Lawyers Collective in a statement said that it intends to take the matter to the court. The funds received include Ford Foundation. The suspension of the FCRA license was then challenged in the

. The

filed a

on 13 June 2019 relating to charges of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating, false statement made in declaration and various sections under the FCRA and Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act 1988. Various academics and activists claimed that this was an act of intimidation and harassment.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.lawyerscollective.org/
Draft law of 2007 HIV/AIDS Bill
Think tanks based in India Legal organisations based in India Women's organisations based in India