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Author	Assoc Prof Dr. Prem Chand
Organisation/Institution	National Law University, Delhi
Country	INDIA
Panel	Constitutional and Admin Law
Title	Right to Safe Urban Space from ‘Stray Dog Bites’: A Constitutional Right to Dignified Life
Abstract	India reports a staggering annual dog-bite incidents (10,000 per day), which accounts for approximately one-third of global human rabies deaths. In this article it is argued that this epidemiological and the experiential dog bite landscape, exposes a much deeper crisis of the constitutional governance, and which also depicts failure of the public institutions in securing the public health and dignified mobility of the human beings in everyday spaces of the Indian streets, educational institutes (schools and universities), hospitals, public transport such as, railway stations and bus terminals. The first central research question is to examine how the constitutional rights frameworks in India reconceptualise the ‘stray dog bites’ menace, which directly affects the fundamental right to a dignified life. Secondly, existing legislative schemes on animal welfare (including Dogs), public health, and municipal governance will be examined to determine the State’s responsibility in preventing stray dog bites and re-anchoring of its accountability. And, thirdly, it will be discussed how the Constitutional rights discourses on stray dog bites can be learnt from other Asian cities, such as, Manila, Jakarta and Bangkok, etc. And, based on public-health data and other socio-legal scholarships on urbanism, it will be contended that the stray dog-bite crisis in India has led to the constitutional pressure point through which now there is an urgent strong need to concretised, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3, 11 and 16, which is about good health and the well-being, Sustainable Cities and the Communities, and peace, justice and the strong institutions. In the end, it is argued that empowering Asia’s rise also requires the right to a safe, stray-dog-bite-free movement on public streets and in institutions, including educational institutions, necessary for regional integration.
Biography	Dr. Prem Chand is Associate Professor of Law and Executive Director, Centre for Law & Urban Development, National Law University Delhi, with over sixteen years of teaching experience, including earlier service at Law Centre-II, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi. He holds a Ph.D. in Law and LL.M./LL.B. degrees from Kurukshetra University. His teaching and research span Law of Property, Real Estate, Law and Society, Contract and Tort, and Law and Urban Development, with a sustained engagement with questions of social justice, urban governance and human rights. He has published widely on smart cities and sustainable urban governance, constitutional norms and urban space, gender justice under the new criminal laws, urban infrastructure and gender equity, barrier-free environments and disability rights, housing and real estate regulation, linguistic politics, and consumer protection. Dr Prem has contributed chapters to edited volumes on sustainability, environmental jurisprudence, disability rights, social development, nationalism and patriotism, consumer rights, science and technology, and cybercrime. He regularly represents NLUD and the legal academy as an invited speaker and resource person at national and international conferences, faculty development programs, and workshops across India, and has developed multiple MOOCs/SWAYAM modules in law. He has also played significant representational and leadership roles as Coordinator of different key committees, member of Academic Council of NLU Delhi and key internal committees, and as organiser and chair of national and international academic events.