The Joint Committee on Human Rights, UK visited the Commission between 5 to 9 October 2002. The Committee comprised Members of both Houses of the British Parliament. It visited India to gather information in connection with the Committee’s inquiry into whether there was a case for establishing an independent Human Rights Commission for England and Wales, or for the UK as a whole, or both (there is already a Commission in Northern Ireland, and Scotland was in the process of deciding on its own institutional arrangements). The team comprised Jean Corston, MP, Chair of the Committee; Vera Baird, QC MP; Norman Baker, MP; Kevin McNamara, MP; Richard Shephered, MP; Shaun Woodward, MP from the House of Commons and Baroness Prashar, Baroness Whitaker, Baroness Perry from the house of the Lords. Two of the visiting members of the team were part of the staff of the Committee Paul Evans, Clerk and Duma Langton, Committee Assistant.

During the course of their visit, the Committee met the Chairperson and Members of the Commission and, in addition, interacted with the Secretary General and senior officers of the Commission. They were briefed about the working of the Commission and the human rights issues that the NHRC was focusing on, the processes adopted by it for handling complaints, the budgeting and financing of the Commission’s activities etc