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LEGAL MATERIALS
Legal research materials help us find out what law is. The relevant law must be found out from an authoritative source of law. Law is obtained from these sources: Legislature, Judiciary and Custom. Primary and secondary sources: The sources may be primary or secondary keeping in view the fact whether the law is emanating from the competent authority directly or it is not coming from that authority directly. Primary legal materials or sources of law : Primary legal materials are authorized statements of law issued by a branch of the government. They include statutes, cases and regulations- the law itself. Primary sources are also called authoritative sources. The laws emanating from the competent authority directly are termed as authoritative source because the authority of that body to enact the law is indisputable, but if it is coming from some other body, i.e. the body not competent to enact it. Eg: Commentaries – it is unauthoritative source of law. Act and statutes of codes published under the authority of the Parliament or the State Legislature are primary sources of law. Secondary sources of law or legal materials : Secondary legal materials provide commentary and interpretation of the law and include such materials as law review articles, legal encyclopaedias and treatises and materials that discuss, explain, interpret and analyse what the law is or what it should be. Secondary sources also provide extensive citations to primary legal materials and other relevant secondary sources. These documents are found in libraries and archives. Libraries and archives are therefore, the most suitable place to find the law. ENACTMENTS : The enactment is an Act of the Parliament or State Legislature. To enact means to make an Act or statute. There is a difference between an Act and an enactment. An Act or Statute refers to the whole or complete part of the legislation whereas an Enactment may refer to the whole or a part of it. COURT JUDGEMENT : A decision by the court or other tribunal that resolves a controversy and determines the rights and obligations of the parties is called a judgement. A judgement is the final part of a court case. A judgement resolves all the contested issues and terminates the lawsuit, since it is regarded as the court’s official pronouncement of the law on the action that was pending before it. It states who wins the case as well as the remedies the winner is awarded. Remedies may include money damages, injunctive relief, or both. A judgement also signifies the end of the court’s jurisdiction in the case. A judgement must be in writing and must clearly show that all the issues have been adjudicated. It must specifically indicate the parties for and against whom its given. Monetary judgements must be definite, specified with certainty, and expressed in words rather than figures. Judgements affecting real property must contain an explicit description of the reality so that the land can easily be identified.
Once a court makes a judgement, it must be dated and docketed with the court’s administrator’s office. Prior to modern computer databases, judgements were entered in a docket book, in an alphabetic order, so that the interested outsiders could have official notice of them. An index of judgements was prepared by the court administrator for record keeping and notification purposes. Most courts now record their judgements electronically and maintain computer docketing and index information. Though the means of storing the information are different, the basic process remains the same. Different types of judgements are made, based on the process the court uses to make the final decision. A consent judgement, or agreed judgement, is a final decision that is entered on the agreement of the litigants. It is examined and evaluated by the court, and, if sanctioned by the court, is ordered to be recorded as a binding judgement. Consent judgements are generally rendered in domestic relations cases after the husband and wife agree to a property and support settlement in a divorce. A default judgement results from the named defendant’s failure to appear in court or from one party’s failure to take appropriate procedural steps. It is entered upon the failure of the party to appear or to plead at an appropriate time. Before a default judgement is entered, the defendant must be properly served notice of the pending action. The failure to appear or answer is considered an admission of the truth of the opposing party’s pleading, which forms the basis for a default judgement. Thus, a judgement in a legal context is synonymous with the formal decision made by a court following a lawsuit. At the same time the court may also make a range of court orders, such as imposing a sentence upon a guilty defendant in a criminal matter, or providing a remedy for the plaintiff in a civil matter. This is a decision given by the judge on the grounds of a decree or order. It has some essentials. Every judgement given by the lower court must contain:
- The concise statement of the case.
- The points for the determination.
- The decision thereon.
- The reasons for such decision. REPORTS OF THE LAW COMMISSION : Law Commission of India is an executive body established by an order of the Government of India. Its major function is to work for legal reform. Its membership primarily comprises legal experts, who are entrusted a mandate by the Government. The Commission is established for a fixed tenure and works as an advisory body to the Ministry of Law and Justice. The first Law Commission was established during the British regime in 1834 by the Charter Act of 1833. After that three more Commissions were established in pre-independent India. The Law Commission of independent India was established in 1955 for a three-year term. In present day society, the Commission has assumed a very significant role. In India, the Central government and State governments constitute Law Commissions to propose new set of rules for a for a situation already arisen and likely to arise in respect of which there is no law. After examination of the laws, the Commission submits its report. The reports of Law Commission play important role and hence researchers must examine the proposals put forward
LEGAL PERIODICALS :
Legal periodicals provide articles on a wide variety of law topics. There are two major legal periodical indexes that help us locate law articles. They are the Current Law Index and the Index to Legal Periodicals. Each has hardbound annual volumes and paperbound monthly supplements. The Current Law Index goes back to 1980. We can search it by author, title and subject. (An online version of this is called Legaltrac.) Each index includes a table of statutes and a table of cases. Legal periodicals contain articles of great importance for the lawyer and student. There are certain periodicals in England. The important ones are Law Quarterly Review, which is published quarterly, Modern Law Review, which is published every 2 months, and the Cambridge Law Journal (CLJ), published twice a year. Current Legal Problems appear annually. New books are- Legal Studies, the Oxford Journal of Legal Studies and the Journal of English Legal History. The legal weeklies, the New Law Journal (NLJ), Solicitors Journal (SJ), the Justice of the Peace (JPN) are published chiefly for practitioners. The best coverage of the New Law Journal which is intended for students, contains summaries of recent cases which may be found useful. In India legal periodicals or journals are published by various institutions engaged in the study of law. These periodicals and journals contain mostly articles of eminent persons belonging to the field of law, comments on cases, legislative materials as well as book reviews. They are more important from the point of view of forming opinion, in assessing the drawbacks of legislation, and loopholes in cases decided by the courts. These articles and comments pave the way for improvement in future. The prominent periodicals the Journal of Indian Law Institute, Modern Law Review, Stanford Law Journal, Yale law Journal, current legal problems, Canadian Law Review, American Journal of International Law, Australian Law Journal, etc. Libraries also contain Index to Indian Legal Periodicals and Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals. These indexes help a great deal in locating a law.They too are kept separately and year wise, so that a researcher can easily locate them. GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS : In a legal research, the government publications whether of the state or central, in the form of reports of various committee and commission such as the Law Commission of India, the commission of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe, the commission for Backward Classes, the committee on Public Undertaking, Pay Commission, Finance Commission, Planning Commission etc. are of much importance. The policy of the government expressed in these reports says about the shape of the thing to come in future. A researcher by going through these materials can formulate his conclusions. He can approbate or reprobate the same. LEGAL DICTIONARIES : Legal dictionaries give definitions of words related to law. The words are arranged alphabetically. One common legal dictionary is Black’s Law Dictionary.Another is Words and Phrases.Black’s Law Dictionary provides a basic definition for each word, often from a single jurisdiction. Words and Phrases often provide many definitions, from a variety of jurisdiction. LEGAL ENCYLCOPAEDIAS :
Legal encyclopaedia are multi-volume sets that provide information on any topic of law. The topics are arranged alphabetically the two major legal encyclopaedias are American Jurisprudence and Corpus Juris Secundum. Some states have their own legal encyclopaedias. There is an index for each encyclopaedia set. The index helps us find encyclopaedia sections by subject. Encyclopaedia Social Science, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Corpus Juris Secundum, Words and Phrases legal definitions help in understanding various words and their scope. Halsbury Laws of England are also equally important. COMPUTERISED SOURCES : All of the legal research materials, which have been discussed in this research manual, can be found in very up to date computerized sources. Computerized sources include fee-based search engines such as Westlaw.com, Lexis.com, Loislaw.com and Versuslaw.com. Each of these contains a table of contents that can lead to databases that can by searched by keywords. Many of these include citator services. Computerized sources also include the legal periodical index, Infotrac (the online version of Current Law Index), which can be searched by keyword, subject, etc. Computerised sources also include free sources on the Internet. CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY DEBATES: The Constituent Assembly of India was a pivotal body responsible for drafting the Constitution of India. Its proceedings, known as the Constituent Assembly Debates (CAD), were essential in shaping the legal and institutional framework of independent India. These debates documented the extensive discussions, arguments, and deliberations that took place during the formation of the Indian Constitution, providing deep insight into the thought processes and intentions of the drafters. The Constituent Assembly Debates are a valuable historical resource, offering insight into the intentions behind various constitutional provisions. They help interpret and understand the Constitution’s meaning, especially when courts and legal scholars refer to them for constitutional interpretation. The debates reflect the diverse perspectives of India’s leaders, addressing the country's complex social, economic, and political challenges. OTHER LITERATURE : Apart from Acts, Statutes, Law Report, Journals and Periodicals, a researcher must also go through Digests, Encyclopaedia, dictionaries, etc. to ensure easy research work. Citations and digests present the subject topic wise and cases decided during certain period are included in it, example 5 years or 10 years. E.g. the Supreme Court Labour Law Digest (1951-1975). Thus, through one literature a researcher may get relevant material as well as its reference without running from pillar to post.These materials help a researcher a great deal.He can locate relevant data, whereby his work becomes easier and more comprehensive. Therefore, it can be said without any slightest doubt that a well-equipped law library is a must for legal research.
