LEGAL METHOD

Definition of Law:
Law is defined as Rules of Human action. Blackstone defines law as “ It is a rule of action whether it be animate or inanimate or of nations. Thus law of motion are as much law of nature or of nations. Other jurists however restrict the meaning and scope of law only to norms necessary for regulation of human conduct. Salmond defines law as the “body of principles recognized and applied by the state in the administration of justice. Austin defines Law is the aggregate of rules set men as politically superior or sovereign to men as politically subject. Duguit defines Law as essentially and exclusively as social fact. Roscoe Pound defines law as a social institution to satisfy social wants. Another great sociological jurist is Ehrlich. He includes in his definition all the norms which govern social life within a given society.

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Semester: FIRST Semester
LLB 101
Name of the Subject:
LEGAL METHOD
UNIT I
INTRODUCTION TO LEGAL
METHOD

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Definition of Law:
LawisdefinedasRulesofHumanaction.
Blackstonedefineslawas“Itisaruleofactionwhetheritbeanimateorinanimateorofnations.Thuslaw
ofmotionareasmuchlawofnatureorofnations.
Otherjuristshoweverrestrictthemeaningandscopeoflawonlytonormsnecessaryforregulationof
humanconduct.
Salmonddefineslawasthe“bodyofprinciplesrecognizedandappliedbythestateintheadministration
ofjustice.
AustindefinesLawistheaggregateofrulessetmenaspoliticallysuperiororsovereigntomenas
politicallysubject.
DuguitdefinesLawasessentiallyandexclusivelyassocialfact.
RoscoePounddefineslawasasocialinstitutiontosatisfysocialwants.
AnothergreatsociologicaljuristisEhrlich.Heincludesinhisdefinionallthenormswhichgovernsocial
lifewithinagivensociety.

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FUNCTIONSOFLAW
Thelawservesmanypurposesandfunctionsinsociety.Fourprincipalpurposesandfunctions
areestablishingstandards,maintainingorder,resolvingdisputes,andprotectinglibertiesandrights.
EstablishingStandards
Thelawisaguidepostforminimallyacceptablebehaviorinsociety.Someactivities,forinstance,arecrimes
becausesociety(throughalegislativebody)hasdeterminedthatitwillnottoleratecertainbehaviorsthat
injureordamagepersonsortheirproperty.Forexample,underatypicalstatelaw,itisacrimetocause
physicalinjurytoanotherpersonwithoutjustification—doingsogenerallyconstitutesthecrimeofassault.
MaintainingOrder
Thisisanoffshootofestablishingstandards.Somesemblanceoforderisnecessaryinacivilsocietyandis
thereforereflectedinthelaw.Thelaw—whenenforced—providesorderconsistentwithsociety’sguidelines.
ResolvingDisputes
Disputesareunavoidableinasocietymadeofpersonswithdifferentneeds,wants,values,andviews.The
lawprovidesaformalmeansforresolvingdisputes—thecourtsystem.
ProtectingLibertiesandRights
TheconstitutionsandofIndiaprovideforvariouslibertiesandrights.

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Apurposeandfunctionofthelawistoprotectthesevariouslibertiesandrightsfromviolationsor
unreasonableintrusionsbypersons,organizations,orgovernment.Forexample,subjecttocertain
exceptions,theFirstAmendmenttotheConstitutionprohibitsthegovernmentfrommakingalawthat
prohibitsthefreedomofspeech.Someonewhobelievesthathisfreespeechrightshavebeenprohibited
bythegovernmentmaypursuearemedybybringingacaseinthecourts.
Youhaveprobablyrealizedthatlawsmayservemorethanoneprincipalfunctionandthereareobviously
moreprincipalfunctionsthanthefourthatwehaveidentified.
Law and Morality
Inasociety,peoplegenerallyinteractinahumanway,cooperatingandcommunicatingwitheach
other.Astrongsocialstructurecanbemaintainediftherearegenerallyacceptedrulesofconduct.Many
believethattheserulesneednotbedefinedandenforcedbyanycentralizedagency.However,this
concepthascausedthedestabilizationofmanysocietiesandhasweakenedsocialrelations.
Thedefectliesnotwiththesystemofthecentralizedagency,butinthenotionofprevailingsocialvalues.
Intheso-calleddemocraticsociety,statelawdoesnotfollowthedictumofsocialinstitutions.Butin
Islamicsociety,religiouslawguidesthestatelaws.

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Therearecontradictingideasregardingtheimportanceofnaturallawaspositivelaw.AccordingtoLocke,
obediencetothestateistheprotectionoftherightspossessedbyindividualsundernaturallaw.Some
philosophershavegonefurtherandsaidifaruleisinconflictwithnaturallaw,itcannotbeapositivelawat
all.OneoriginforthedoctrineofnaturallawistheideathatGodstandsinrelationtomankindatlargeasin
therelationofamonarchtohissubjects.Fromthisdevelopedtheconceptofthedivinerightsofkings.
Inthisera,withitspluralityofconflictingmoralbeliefs,thedoctrineofnaturallawhaslostmuchofits
appeal.Politicalphilosophersgenerallyconfusemoralvalueswithreligiousdoctrines.Naturallawdoesnot
meanthatithastohaveareligioussanction.Thereareinnumerablecontradictoryreligions,eachdefining
theirownconceptofethicalstandards.
Naturallawshouldnotbeconsideredasthelawenactedbytheclergy.Similarly,muchimportancehasbeen
giventodaytopositivelaw,thelawenactedbythestate.Theconceptoflegalandillegalisconsideredonly
onthebasisofthepenalcode,asenactedbythepoliticalinstitution.Yet,sofarthereisnoreasontobelieve
thatstatelawhasprotectedfreedomandhumanvaluesinthetruesenseoftheterm.

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Morality
Moralityshouldnotbeconfusedwithreligiousethicsthatenforcecertaindo’sanddon’tsonpeopleby
somecentralisedagency.Moralitymusthaveauniversalfoundation;itisadynamicprinciplethatguides
humanexpressiontowardsbenevolence.Theprinciplesofnon-violence,truthfulness,non-stealingina
widersense,non-indulgenceanduniversalattitudeinfusethespiritofbenevolence,humanness,justice
andfairness.Theseuniversalmoralprinciplesshouldbetheguidingfactorinframinglaws.
The“protectionofhumanvaluesinallthethreesphereslife”andtheconceptof“Humansocietyisone
andindivisible”,aretwocardinalprinciplesofPROUT.Wearefirstlyhumanbeingsandsecondlysocial
beings.Humanvalueprecedessocialvalue.Ifanybodydoesacrime,measuresforreforminghisorher
charactershouldbetakeninsteadofpunishment.However,untilthepersonisrehabilitated,social
responsibilityshouldnotbegiventothem.Capitalpunishmentshouldbeabolishedfromallpartsof
society.
ClassificationofLaw
PublicandPrivateLaw

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Public Law
1.Govern the relationship between state and individuals.2.Public law includes constitutional
law,administrative law,criminal law(criminal law is enforced on behalf of or in the name of the
state),international law,municipal law
3.The objective of public law is mentioned in the Preamblei.e to achieve the objective of the state
4.Sources-Natural law, Magna Carta, Bill of Rights, Indian Independence Act. The Government of India
Act,constitutions of other countries
5.Remedies-Writs,PIL,etc
6.Case-Brown v Board Of Education
Private Law
1.Governs the relationship between individuals.
2.Private law includes Law of contract,Law of tort,Law of property,Law of succession, family laws
3.The objective of private laws is to regularise and control the behaviour ofindividuals when they meet
with other individuals
4.Sources-Customs,traditions,precedents,conventions and treaties
5.Remedies-Suits,intention,declaration
6.Case-Carvajal v Hillstone Restaurant Group

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Procedural lawconsists of the set of rules that govern the proceedings of the court in criminal lawsuits
as well as civil and administrative proceedings. The court needs to conform to the standards setup by
procedural law, while during the proceedings. These rules ensure fair practice and consistency in the
"due process".
Substantive lawis astatutory lawthat deals with the legal relationship between people or the people
and the state. Therefore, substantive law defines the rights and duties of the people, but procedural law
lays down the rules with the help of which they are enforced. The differences between the two need to be
studied in greater detail, for better understanding.
International Law and Municipal laws
International law, a term coined around 1800 by philosopher Jeremy Bentham
[1]
, refers to the body of
legal decisions, rules, and customs that regulate the discourse between nations (e.g., human rights,
military intervention, and global concerns such as climate change). Conversely, municipal law governs
the actions of individuals and commercial entities within the borders of sovereign states (e.g., civil codes
and criminal statutes).
Define municipal law.In common usage, especially in the United States, municipal or municipality,
refers to a city or town. However, in the realm of international law, municipal refers to any sovereign
entity, including countries, states, counties, provinces, cities, and towns.

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INTERNATIONALLAWMUNICIPAL LAW
International Law is the law of nations, regulating the relations between the member States of the family
of nations. Municipal Law is the law of State regulating the conduct of individuals and deal with
therelation between individual and theState.
International Law is concerned mainly with foreign affairs or inter-state affairs. Municipal Law is infra-
state affairs concerned with domestic affairs.
International Law is a nature of consent and consensus. Municipal Law is of command and sanction.
International Law is a decentralized system acting vertically. Municipal Law is a centralized acting
horizontally.
CIVIL LAW
The law enforced by the State is called Civil Law.
The force of the state is the sanction behind the law.
It is derived from the Roman word Jus Civile.
It is territorial in nature as it applies within the territory of the State.
Austin prefers to call civil law a positive law because it is enforced by the sovereign political authority.

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UNIT-II
SOURCES OF LAW

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Custom:
Customhasbeenoneoftheoldestsourcesoflaw.Inancienttimes,socialrelationsgave
risetoseveralusages,traditionsandcustoms.Thesewereusedtosettleanddecide
disputesamongthepeople.Customswerepracticedhabituallyandviolationsofcustoms
weredisapprovedandpunishedbythesociety.Initiallysocialinstitutionsbeganworkingon
thebasisofseveralacceptedcustoms.
Gradually,theStateemergedastheorganizedpoliticalinstitutionofthepeoplehavingthe
responsibilitytomaintainpeace,lawandorder;naturally,italsobeganactingbymaking
andenforcingrulesbaseduponcustomsandtraditions.Infact,mostofthelawshadtheir
birthwhentheStatebeganconvertingthecustomsintoauthoritativeandbindingrules.
CustomhasbeenindeedarichsourceofLaw.

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Customandusageistheearliestsourcesoflaw.Whentherewasnostate,thepeoplefacedproblem.They
reactedtothemindifferentways.Slowlyandgraduallythereemergedakindofuniformityinthese
reactions.Thesewerecalledcustomsandtraditions.Forexample,therearestillcertaincustoms,whichare
observedbythepeoplesoforastheirmarriage,familyrelations,andinheritanceareconcerned.Afterthe
emergenceofthestatesuchcustomsandtraditionswereformallyadoptedandtheseweregiventhename
oflaws.Theselawswhicharederivedfromcustomsarecalledcustomarylaws.Thebestexampleofsuch
lawistheEnglishCommonLaw.
Custominlawis the established pattern of behavior that can be objectively verified within a particular
social setting. A claim can be carried out in defense of "what has always been done and accepted by law."
Related is the idea ofprescription; a right enjoyed through long custom rather than positive law.
Customary law(also,consuetudinaryorunofficial law) exists where:
a certain legal practice is observed and the relevant actors consider it to be law (opiniojuris).
Essentials of Custom
1.Antiquity
2.Continunance

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3. Peaceful enjoyment
4. Obligatory Force.
5. Certainty
6. Consistency
7. Reasonableness
8 Conformity with statute law.
Classification of Custom
The custom in their wider sense may be divided into two classes.
1, Customs without sanction.
2. Custom having sanction.
Custom having sanction are further divided into two parts namely
1. Legal and Conventional Customs

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LegislationItistheprimesourceoflaw.andconsistsinthedeclarationoflegalrulesbya
competentauthority.Legislationcanhavemanypurposes:toregulate,toauthorize,toenable,
toproscribe,toprovidefunds,tosanction,togrant,todeclareortorestrict.
Aparliamentarylegislatureframesnewlaws,suchasActsofParliamentandamendsor
repealsoldlaws.Thelegislaturemaydelegatelaw-makingpowerstolowerbodies.
IntheUKsuchdelegatedlegislationincludesStatutoryInstruments,OrdersinCouncil,
&Bye-laws.Delegatedlegislationmaybeopentochallengeforirregularityofprocess;andthe
legislatureusuallyhastherighttowithdrawdelegatedpowersifitseesfit.
Mostlegislatureshavetheirpowersrestrictedbythenation'sConstitution,andMontesquieu’s
theoryoftheseparationofpowerstypicallyrestrictsalegislature'spowersto
legislation.Althoughthelegislaturehasthepowertolegislate

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Itisthecourtswhohavethepowertointerpretstatutes.treatiesand
regulations.Similarly,althoughparliamentshavethepowertolegislate.
Itisusuallytheexecutive
[
whodecidesonthelegislativeprogramme.
TheprocedureisusuallythatabillisintroducedtoParliament,andafterthe
requirednumberofreadings,committeestagesandamendments,thebill
gainsapprovalandbecomesanAct.
Legislationisoneofthemostimportantinstrumentsofgovernmentin
organisingsocietyandprotectingcitizens.Itdeterminesamongstothersthe
rightsandresponsibilitiesofindividualsandauthoritiestowhom
thelegislationapplies.
ThecommonmeaningofLegislationisthemakingofthelaw.
Itmaybedefinedasthepromulgationoflegalrulesbyanylawmadebyany
source,suchasprecedents

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Difference between Legislation and Custom
1.The existence and authority of legislation is dejurewhereas the existence of custom is de facto.
2.Legislation is considered to be superior and more authoritative source of law than customs.
3.Generally customs deals with the relationship between man and man. Legislation always bring into
picture, the state.
4.The authority of legislation lies in express will of the state. Customs are generally based on the will
of the people. They have only an implied authority of the state.
5. Legislation is an advanced method of legal development and is characteristic mark of mature legal
systems. Customs have their way mainly in a primitive society.

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Precedent:-
Incommonlawlegalsystemsaprecedent,orauthority,isaprincipleorruleestablished
inapreviouslegalcasethatiseitherbindingonorpersuasiveforacourtorothertribunal
whendecidingsubsequentcaseswithsimilarissuesorfactsCommonlawlegalsystems
placegreatvalueondecidingcasesaccordingtoconsistentprincipledrulessothatsimilar
factswillyieldsimilarandpredictableoutcomes,andobservanceofprecedentisthe
mechanismbywhichthatgoalisattained.
Theprinciplebywhichjudgesareboundtoprecedentsisknownasstaredecisis.
Black’’sLawDictionarydefines"precedent"asa"ruleoflawestablishedforthefirst
timebyacourtforaparticulartypeofcaseandthereafterreferredtoindecidingsimilar
cases“.
executivebranchagencies).

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Commonlawprecedentisathirdkindoflaw,onequalfootingwithstatutorylaw(statutesand
codesenactedbylegislativebodies),anddelegatedlegislation(inU.K.parlance)orregulatorylaw(in
U.S.parlance)(regulationspromulgatedbyexectivewingofthestate.
Staredecisisisalegalprinciplebywhichjudgesareobligatedtorespecttheprecedentestablished
bypriordecisions.ThewordsoriginatefromthephrasingoftheprincipleintheLatinmaximStare
decisisetnonquietamovere:"tostandbydecisionsandnotdisturbtheundisturbed".
Inalegalcontext,thismeansthatcourtsshouldabidebyprecedentandnotdisturbsettled
matters.Theprinciplecanbedividedintotwocomponents:
Adecisionmadebyasuperiorcourt,orbythesamecourtinanearlierdecision,isbinding
precedentthatthecourtitselfandallitsinferiorcourtsmustfollow.
Acourtmayoverturnitsownprecedent,butshoulddosoonlyifthereisastrongreasontodoso,
andeveninthatcase,shouldbeguidedbyprinciplesfromsuperior,lateralandinferiorcourts.
Thesecondprinciple,regardingpersuasiveprecedentreflectsthebroadprecedentguidancea
courtmaydrawuponinreachingallofitsdecisions.
.

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UNIT-III
BASIC CONCEPTS OF
INDIAN LEGAL SYSTEM

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RULE OF LAW:-
The term “Rule of Law" is derived from the French phrase 'La Principe de Legality' (the
principle of legality) which refers to a government based on principles of law and not of
men.
In a broader sense Rule of Law means that Law is supreme and is above every
individual. No individual whether if he is rich, poor, rulers or ruled etc are above law and
they should obey it.
In a narrower sense the rule of law implies that government authority may only be
exercised in accordance with the written laws, which were adopted through an established
procedure. The principle of Rule of Law is intended to be a safeguard against arbitrary
actions of the government authorities.

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The principle of Rule of Law is intended to be a safeguard against arbitrary actions of the government
authorities.
The rule of law has been described as a “rare and protean principle of our political tradition
The rule of law centrally comprises “the values of regularity and restraint, embodied in the slogan of “‘a
government of laws, not men’". The term Rule of Law does not provide any thing about how the laws are
to be made, or anything specific like the Fundamental Rights or the Directive principles or equality etc.
but it provides for two basic concepts that is Law must be obeyed by the people and that the law must be
made in such a way that it is able to guide the behaviour of its subjects

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Edward Coke is said to be the originator of concept of Rule of Law when he said that the king must be
under God and law and thus vindicated the supremacy of law over the pretensions of the executives.
In India, the concept of Rule of Law can be traced back to the Upanishad. It provides that Law is the
King of Kings.
It is more powerful and higher than the Kings and there is nothing higher than law.
By its powers the weak shall prevail over the strong and justice shall triumph.
This establishes the fact that law is absolutely supreme and it excludes the existence of arbitrariness in
any form. According to Diecy where there is scope discretion there is room for arbitrariness.

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DICEY'S THEORY of Rule of Law consists of three main principles:[
1.Absence of Arbitrary Power or Supremacy of Law: :
A As per Dicey Rule of law means the absolute supremacy of law and 'no man is punishable or can
lawfully be made to suffer in body or goods except for a distinct breach of law established in the
ordinary legal manner before the courts of the land.
B Dicey was of the view that all individuals whether if he is a common man or government authority are
bound to obey the law..
C He is of the view that no man can be punished for any thing else than a breach of law which is already
established. And also that the alleged offence is required to be proved before the ordinary courts in
accordance with ordinary procedure.
2. Equality before Law: As per Dicey Rule of law, in the second principle, means the equality of law or
equal subjection of all classes of people to the ordinary law of the land which is administered by the
ordinary law courts. In this sense rule of law conveys that no man is above the law.

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EventheGovernmentOfficialsareunderadutytoobeythesamelawandtherecanbenoother
specialcourtsfordealingspecificallywiththeirmatters.
3.Constitutionistheresultoftheordinarylawoftheland:AsperDicey,inmanycountriesrightssuch
asrighttopersonalliberty,freedom,arrestetcareprovidedbythewrittenConstitutionofaCountry.
InEnglandtheserightsarearesultofthejudicialdecisionsthathavearisenduetotheconflict
betweentheparties.
Theconstitutionisnotthesourcebuttheconsequenceoftherightsoftheindividuals..
ButthisprincipleofDiceyisnotapplicableinIndiaasinIndiaweconsidertheConstitutiontobethe
basicgroundworkoflawsfromwhichallotherlawsarederived.

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Theruleoflawhasbeendescribedasa“rareandproteanprincipleofourpolitical
tradition“.
Theruleoflawcentrallycomprises“thevaluesofregularityandrestraint,embodiedinthe
sloganof“‘agovernmentoflaws,notmen’".
ThetermRuleofLawdoesnotprovideanythingabouthowthelawsaretobemade,or
anythingspecificliketheFundamentalRightsortheDirectiveprinciplesorequalityetc.
itprovidestwobasicconceptsthatisLawmustbeobeyedbythepeopleandthatthelaw
mustbemadeinsuchawaythatitisabletoguidethebehaviorofitssubjects.
TheconceptofRuleofLawisveryold.InthethirteenthcenturyBracton,ajudgeinthe
reignofHenryIIIinawayintroducedtheconceptofRuleofLawwithoutnamingitasRule
ofLaw

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SEPARATION OF POWERS
Theterm"triaspolitica"or"separationofpowers"wascoinedbyCharles-LouisdeSecondat,baronde
LaBrèdeetdeMontesquieu,an18
th
centuryFrenchsocialandpoliticalphilosopher.
Hispublication,SpiritoftheLaws,isconsideredoneofthegreatworksinthehistoryofpoliticaltheory
andjurisprudence,anditinspiredtheDeclarationoftheRightsofManandtheConstitutionoftheUnited
States.
Separationofpowers,therefore,referstothedivisionofgovernmentresponsibilitiesintodistinctbranches
tolimitanyonebranchfromexercisingthecorefunctionsofanother.Theintentistopreventthe
concentrationofpowerandprovideforchecksandbalances.
‘
The traditional characterizations of the powers of the branches of American government are:
•The legislative branch is responsible for enacting the laws of the state and appropriating the money
necessary to operate the government.
•The executive branch is responsible for implementing and administering the public policy enacted and
funded by the legislative branch.
* The judicial branch is responsible for interpreting the constitution and laws and applying their
interpretations to controversies brought before it.

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Forty state constitutions specify that government be divided into three branches:legislative, executive
and judicial.
California illustrates this approach; "The powers of state government are legislative, executive, and
judicial.
Persons charged with the exercise of one power may not exercise either of the others except as
permitted by this Constitution.
While separation of powers is key to the workings of American government, no democratic system exists
with an absolute separation of powers or an absolutelack ofseparation of powers.
Governmental powers and responsibilities intentionally overlap; they are too complex and interrelated to
be neatly compartmentalized.As a result, there is an inherent measure of competition and conflict among
the branches of government.
Throughout American history, there also has been an ebb and flow of preeminence among the
governmental branches.Such experiences suggest that where power resides is part of an evolutionary
process.

28. Chanderprabhu Jain College of Higher Studies & School of Law
Plot No. OCF, Sector A-8, Narela, New Delhi –110040
(Affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and Approved by Govt of NCT of Delhi & Bar Council of India)
UNIT-IV
Legal Writing and
Research

29. Chanderprabhu Jain College of Higher Studies & School of Law
Plot No. OCF, Sector A-8, Narela, New Delhi –110040
(Affiliated to Guru GobindSingh IndraprasthaUniversity and Approved by Govtof NCT of Delhi & Bar Council of India)
Statuteisaformalwrittenenactmentofalegislativeauthoritythatgovernsacity,state,orcountry.
Typically,statutescommandorprohibitsomething,ordeclarepolicy.Statutesarerulesmadeby
legislativebodies;theyaredistinguishedfromcaselaworprecedent,whichisdecidedbycourts,
andregulationsissuedbygovernmentagencies.
ThetermstatuteisalsousedtorefertoanInternationaltreatythatestablishesaninstitutionsuchasthe
StatuteoftheEuropeanCentralBankaprotocoltotheinternationalcourtsaswell,suchastheStatuteof
theInternationalCourtofJusticeandtheRomeStatuteoftheInternationalCriminalCourtStatuteisalso
anotherwordforlaw.ThetermwasadaptedfromEnglandinaboutthe18thcentury.
Definition ofSTATUTE
1:a law enacted by the legislative branch of a government
2:an act of a corporation or of its founder intended as a permanent rule
3:an international instrument setting up an agency and regulating its scope or authority

30. Chanderprabhu Jain College of Higher Studies & School of Law
Plot No. OCF, Sector A-8, Narela, New Delhi –110040
(Affiliated to Guru GobindSingh IndraprasthaUniversity and Approved by Govtof NCT of Delhi & Bar Council of India)
DefinitionofBill
Aformalstatementofaplannednewlawthatisdiscussedbeforebeingvotedon:
Draftofaproposedstatute(ActOfParliament)whichmustbeapprovedbybothhousesofthe
legislatureandsignedbytheHeadOfState(suchasaPresident)tobecomealaw.
LAWREPORTS:-
TheUnitedStatesReportstheofficialreporteroftheSupremeCourtoftheUnitedStates
Lawreportsorreportersareseriesofbooksthatcontainjudicialopinionsfromaselectionofcase
lawdecidedbycourtsWhenaparticularjudicialopinionisreferenced,thelawreportseriesinwhichthe
opinionisprintedwilldeterminethecasecitationformat.
Thetermreporterwasoriginallyusedtorefertotheindividualpersonswhoactuallycompile,edit,and
publishsuchopinions.Forexample,theReporterofDecisionsfortheU.S.SupremeCourtistheperson
authorizedtopublishtheCourt'scasesintheboundvolumesoftheUnitedStatesReports.InAmerican
Englishreporteralsodenotesthebooksthemselves.IntheCommonwealththesearedescribedbythe
pluraltermlawreports,thetitlethatusuallyappearsonthecoversoftheperiodicalpartsandthe
individualvolumes.

31. Chanderprabhu Jain College of Higher Studies & School of Law
Plot No. OCF, Sector A-8, Narela, New Delhi –110040
(Affiliated to Guru GobindSingh IndraprasthaUniversity and Approved by Govtof NCT of Delhi & Bar Council of India)
Officiallaw reports or reporters are those authorized for publication bystatuteor other governmental
ruling.
Governments designate law reports as official to provide an authoritative, consistent, and authentic
statement of a jurisdiction'sprimary law.
Official case law publishing may be carried out by a government agency, or by a commercial entity.
Unofficiallaw reports, on the other hand, are not officially sanctioned and are published as a
commercial enterprise

32. Chanderprabhu Jain College of Higher Studies & School of Law
Plot No. OCF, Sector A-8, Narela, New Delhi –110040
(Affiliated to Guru GobindSingh IndraprasthaUniversity and Approved by Govtof NCT of Delhi & Bar Council of India)
Forthepublishersofunofficialreportstomaintainacompetitiveadvantageovertheofficialones,unofficial
reportsusuallyprovidehelpfulresearchaids(e.g.,summaries,indexes),liketheeditorialenhancementsused
intheWestAmericanDigestSystem.
Somecommercialpublishersalsoprovidecourtopinionsinsearchableonlinedatabasesthatarepartof
largerfee-based,onlinelegalresearchsystems,suchasWestlaw,Lexis-NexisorJustis.
Contents of a good law report
The headnote from the leading English caseWilkinson v. Downton[1897] 2 QB 57.
A good printed law report in traditional form usually contains the following items:
The citation reference.
The name of the case (usually the parties' names).
Catchwords (for information retrieval purposes).
Theheadnote (a brief summary of the case, the holding, and any significant case law considered). However,
a headnote is not part of the decision rendered. Headnotes occasionally contain misinterpretations of the law
in judgments of lower courts, and are not regarded as part of an official judgment or precedent.

33. Chanderprabhu Jain College of Higher Studies & School of Law
Plot No. OCF, Sector A-8, Narela, New Delhi –110040
(Affiliated to Guru GobindSingh IndraprasthaUniversity and Approved by Govtof NCT of Delhi & Bar Council of India)
A recital of the facts of the case (unless appearing in the judgment).
A note of the arguments of counsel before the judge. (This is often omitted in modern reports.)
The judgment (a verbatim transcript of the words used by the judge to explain his or her reasoning).
Astudentbriefisashortsummaryandanalysisofthecasepreparedforuseinclassroomdiscussion.It
isasetofnotes,presentedinasystematicway,inordertosortouttheparties,identifytheissues,
ascertainwhatwasdecided,andanalyzethereasoningbehinddecisionsmadebythecourts.
Althoughstudentbriefsalwaysincludethesameitemsofinformation,theforminwhichtheseitemsare
setoutcanvary.Beforecommittingyourselftoaparticularformforbriefingcases,checkwithyour
instructortoensurethattheformyouhavechosenisacceptable.
The parties and how to keep track of them
Beginning students often have difficulty identifying relationships between the parties involved in court
cases.

34. Chanderprabhu Jain College of Higher Studies & School of Law
Plot No. OCF, Sector A-8, Narela, New Delhi –110040
(Affiliated to Guru GobindSingh IndraprasthaUniversity and Approved by Govtof NCT of Delhi & Bar Council of India)
Thefollowingdefinitionsmayhelp:
Plaintiffssuedefendantsincivilsuitsintrialcourts.
Thegovernment(stateorfederal)prosecutesdefendantsincriminalcasesintrialcourts.
Thelosingpartyinacriminalprosecutionoracivilactionmayaskahigher(appellate)courttoreviewthe
caseonthegroundthatthetrialcourtjudgemadeamistake.
Ifthelawgivesthelosertherighttoahighercourtreview,hisorherlawyerswillappeal.Iftheloserdoes
nothavethisright,hisorherlawyersmayaskthecourtforawritofcertiorari.
Underthisprocedure,theappellatecourtisbeingaskedtoexerciseitslawfuldiscretioningrantingthe
casesahearingforreview.
Forexample,adefendantconvictedinafederaldistrictcourthastherighttoappealthisdecisioninthe
CourtofAppealsofthecircuitandthiscourtcannotrefusetohearit.
ThepartylosinginthisappellatecourtcanrequestthatthecasebereviewedbytheSupremeCourt,but,
unlesscertainspecialcircumstancesapply,hasnorighttoahearing

35. Chanderprabhu Jain College of Higher Studies & School of Law
Plot No. OCF, Sector A-8, Narela, New Delhi –110040
(Affiliated to Guru GobindSingh IndraprasthaUniversity and Approved by Govtof NCT of Delhi & Bar Council of India)
Researchcanbeclassifiedinmanydifferentwaysonthebasisofthemethodologyofresearch,the
knowledgeitcreates,theusergroup,theresearchproblemitinvestigatesetc.
Basicresearch
Thisresearchisconductedlargelyfortheenhancementofknowledge,andisresearchwhichdoesnot
haveimmediatecommercialpotential.
Theresearchwhichisdoneforhumanwelfare,animalwelfareandplantkingdomwelfare.
Itiscalledbasic,pure,fundamentalresearch.Themainmotivationhereistoexpandman'sknowledge,
nottocreateorinventsomething.
AccordingtoTravers,“BasicResearchisdesignedtoaddtoanorganizedbodyofscientificknowledge
anddoesnotnecessarilyproduceresultsofimmediatepracticalvalue.”
Sucharesearchistimeandcostintensive.(Example:Aexperimentalresearchthatmaynotbeorwillbe
helpfulinthehumanprogress.)

36. Chanderprabhu Jain College of Higher Studies & School of Law
Plot No. OCF, Sector A-8, Narela, New Delhi –110040
(Affiliated to Guru GobindSingh IndraprasthaUniversity and Approved by Govtof NCT of Delhi & Bar Council of India)
Research means repeated search for something, to find out some different new things or something
special knowledge in the existing facts.
Legal research is any systematic study or research of legal theories, concept, doctrine, cases, principles,
rules and regulations etc. methodology, in the sense of O+M+V i.e. way/method/approach and verified
facts.
Simply, method is the way of doing something and Methodology is the science or study of a particular
subject.
The main objectives of legal research are to ascertain the nature, purpose and policy –objectives of legal
rules and principles that govern a specific situation and determine their current relevance, utility,
adequacy or efficacy.
,Doctrinal research which is sometimes also referred to as armchair research
2
which is essential for
a library base study as the material needed by a researcher may be available in libraries, archives and
other data bases.

37. Chanderprabhu Jain College of Higher Studies & School of Law
Plot No. OCF, Sector A-8, Narela, New Delhi –110040
(Affiliated to Guru GobindSingh IndraprasthaUniversity and Approved by Govtof NCT of Delhi & Bar Council of India)
Doctrinal research is a research of legal preposition by way of analyzing of the existing statutory provision
along with the present case laws by applying the reasoning power of researcher.
In doctrinal research, researcher mainly uses different judgments, treaties, statutes texts, legal journals,
magazines etc., and from these he tries to collect all relevant material on the topic and then with reasoning
power, researcher tries to find out gap, problem and draws out final conclusion. Dr. S.N. Jain observed that
doctrinal research involver’s analysis of case law is arranging, ordering and systematizing legal preposition
and study of legal institution through legal reasoning or rational deduction.
Non-doctrinal research is also known as social-legal research.
Innon-doctrinal research, researchers make efforts to collect knowledge and information from first hand
study or primary data related to his particular matter or topic.
It aims to organizing society in systematic and peaceful manner. It is a type of research that employs methods
taken from other discipline to generate empirical data that answers research questions. It can be problem,
policy or modification of the existing law.
A non-doctrinal research can be qualitative or quantitative and dogmatic. It can be part of a large-scale project
in the law.

38. Chanderprabhu Jain College of Higher Studies & School of Law
Plot No. OCF, Sector A-8, Narela, New Delhi –110040
(Affiliated to Guru GobindSingh IndraprasthaUniversity and Approved by Govtof NCT of Delhi & Bar Council of India)
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