Thursday, May 26, 2011

Overview of Indian Law System

This chapter wants to give a brief overview of India´s law system, the sources of its legislation and how law is interpreted.

One basic principle of Indian law is that jurisdiction is independent. This is one important part of the written Indian constitution that also declares India as a socialist, secular and democratic republic with a nearly federal structure. (Vagadia 2007, p. 33).

The systems of law can be divided into two main parts: On the one hand civil law and on the other hand criminal law. It is also divided into Higher or Union Judiciary consisting of the Supreme Court and into Subordinated Courts or State Judiciary. Additionally, for special purposes special courts and Tribunals can be formed. (Vagadia 2007, p. 33). These Tribunals are empowered to decide disputes between two parties and have to follow the legal procedures and aim to assist the judiciary as well as to avoid slow and expensive formalities. (Vagadia 2007, p. 35).
The primary source of new laws is the Indian government. The president and local state Governors have only limited powers to issue ordinances as long as the parliament is not in session. (Vagadia 2007, p. 34).

Another, secondary source of law are judgments of the Supreme Court and of specialized Tribunals. They do not only decide legal facts in case of a dispute between two parties but also declare and especially interpret existing law. (Vagadia 2007, p. 34).

The Constitution itself rules that law that is declared by the Supreme Court is binding for all courts within India but also says that the Supreme court itself is not bound on its own decisions. (Vagadia 2007, p. 34).

Another important role in Indian law play local customs that, as unwritten law, express doctrines of justice in the society. Examples for these customs are Hindu Law or Muslim Law. (Vagadia 2007, p. 35).

As the General Rules in Indian Law are based on English principles, Indian courts also frequently use the help of English decisions. (Vagadia 2007, p. 36).

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Nice post. India surely is one of the major outsourcing destinations these days. Looking forward to further information.