RDI908 | Rights, Duties and Institutions

This course will advance the knowledge gained in the first trimester course on Transformative
Constitutionalism. The purpose of this course will be to examine in greater detail the frame work of
Rights, Duties and Institutions primarily under the Constitution of India (CoI). This naturally brings us
to the study of those parts of the Constitution that deal with Fundamental Rights, Directive
Principles of State Policy and Fundamental Duties (Parts-III, IV & IVA). While examining these
provisions for our purpose (study of public policy) we will naturally delve into the relationship
between constitutional law-including contributions through judicial review and policy perspectives
that derive from our Grundnorm. A cursory examination of the International Human Rights regime
with a special focus on the Bill of Rights (UDHR, ICCPR & ICESCR) will also be undertaken as an
approach to identify the international linkages including the role such linkages play in international
policy setting processes.

Institutions we will examine a select number of those institutions which are contemporarily
important and explicitly provided for in the CoI. This selection may include institutions like (a)
the higher judiciary, (b) the CAG of India, (c) the Lok-Pal and Lok-Ayuktas, (d) the finance
commission, (e) the SC & ST commissions, (f) the election Commission and (g) local selfgovernment. While studying the above institutions we will examine the role that these
institutions are expected to play vis-à-vis formulation, clarification, review and the
implementation of policy and take note of structural limitations that these bodies face for
discharging assigned functions.