Beyond the Gavel: A Paradigm Shift in Global Criminal Justice in Honor of Professor K. Chockalingam

This book explores key topics in criminal justice, criminology, victimology, and criminal law, offering a global platform for intellectual discourse. It documents 17 research works on the evolving role of law enforcement, challenges in fair trials, policy and legislative changes, crime studies, globalization's impact on criminal behavior, victim experiences, victim support systems, psychological and social ramifications of victimization, and the intersection between technology and criminal legislation. The book addresses current understanding and a critique of criminal justice system by offering a comprehensive viewpoint from various perspectives. Drawing on diverse criminal justice theories, it provides a conceptual framework for understanding the complexities of the domain. It integrates analytical and empirical methods to provide a holistic understanding of changing criminal justice systems. The book aims to contribute significantly to existing discourse and serve as a valuable resource for scholars and practitioners in this field.

G.S. Bajpai serves as Vice-Chancellor of National Law University Delhi, India. He has previously served as Vice-Chancellor at Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL), Punjab, and Registrar at National Law University Delhi. He also served as Convenor of the Committee for Reforms in Criminal Laws set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, tasked with spearheading historic reforms in Criminal Laws in India. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Govt. of India, has nominated Prof. G.S. Bajpai as Member of the committee for conferring statutory status to the ‘Right to Repair’ under the statutory framework of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. Having more than thirty years of professional experience as a researcher, teacher, and administrator, Prof. Bajpai has authored twenty-two books/monographs, more than sixty papers, over a hundred op-eds in leading Indian newspapers like Indian Express, The Hindu, and The Tribune. He is the Vice President of Victim Support Asia and the President of the Indian Society of Victimology and credited with designing and pioneering the expression: ‘Critical Criminal Law in India’, which is now a LL.M. course in many universities. He is also credited to have conceptualized the novel paradigms of ‘Victim Justice’, ‘Victim Jurisprudence’ and ‘Wrongful Prosecution’ in the Indian context. Prof. G.S. Bajpai was appointed as Amicus Curiae in various cases by High Court of Delhi. His areas of interest include victim justice, critical criminal law, criminal procedure, empirical legal research, and criminology & victimology.

M. Priyamvadha is Professor in the Department of Criminology at the University of Madras, Chennai, India. She has received numerous awards, including Commendation Disc from Bureau of Police Research and Development in 2023, International Visitors Leadership Award 2023 from US Government, the Achiever's Award in 2014, and the Fellowship Award from the Indian Society of Victimology in 2018. Prof. Priyamvadha has published numerous research articles on the rights of children, women, and aged people and has conducted research projects funded by various government agencies. She has co-edited a book on victim assistance. In 2022, she participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program "Road to Safe Social Media Space for Girls and Young Women."

 Beulah Shekhar is Professor of Criminology at Lok Nayak Jayprakash Narayan National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science, and Emeritus Professor of Criminology at Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore, India. She was Head of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice Sciences at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University and coordinated UGC sponsored programs on victimology & victim assistance and human rights & duties education. Prof. Shekhar has also served as Juvenile Justice Board Member for the three districts of Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and as Director of the Childline Nodal agency and the Sahodari Family Counselling Center Project at Tirunelveli. Prof. Shekhar's research focuses on inequalities in various areas, including vulnerability and denied access to justice for excluded groups like women, dalilts, children, transgender persons, victims of crime, and abuse of power. She focuses on developing partnerships between researchers, policymakers, program developers, agency personnel, and community groups to conduct basic and applied research and evaluation in sociological concerns and various aspects of victimology, crime, criminology, law, and justice.