LEGAL RESEARCH AND IT'S PROCESS FOR A PROFESSIONAL
AUTHOR- DEEPANSHU GUPTA *
EDITOR- RIYA LUHADIA
INTRODUCTION
Legal research has always been part and partial of the legal world. It is a way of finding relevant information to frame a case, petition arguments, and many more. These days with the advent of modern technologies, legal research has become simpler but a technical part of the profession. This part of the profession determines the quality of the service delivered.
Legal research is an exercise to pick out and fetch data and information required to analyze the problem, get an overview, and frame the required documents. Numerous resources and sources available to retrieve information for legal professionals have made research much efficient. An expert always knows where to pick the data from and what data is to be selected. An essential thing while harvesting the data is that it should be the latest and up-to-date.
WHERE TO START?
Legal research for a professional starts by figuring out the legal problem. Going through the client notes and figuring out the issue through previous experience and knowledge[1]. Reading the case's facts and finding who, how, what, why, where, and when it happened? Indian legal system is a dynamic body, changing and evolving every day. Precedents and judgments given by various courts all over the country rotate, remodel and reshape laws every day. After reading the client's notes, the relevant material needed is to be searched to draft the required documents. One needs to find the most efficient way to conduct legal research to save time, do credible research, and search for relevant material.
The professional needs to identify the legal authorities and jurisdiction of the case and begin the research. Research is not something that can be learned within a day or two or by reading a blog or article. It is more about the experience, which is what a person is paid for in the service sector. Amateurs should start the research from secondary resources, legal literature, and legal articles and then refer to primary sources. With time, students or lawyers gain the experience they can begin by looking into primary sources like bare acts, statutes, case laws, and many more. Making notes and researching is very important to save time later and avoid the human error of memory.
In India, secondary resources do not hold any authority in a court of law. So this step is often skipped, but it should be noted that secondary resources are reflections of primary sources. They are expert opinions, hence help us understand the law and its interpretation better. They help us construct a strong base for legal research. The resources to find primary and secondary resources are to be chosen based on what information is required. To find case law or to find legislation, there are different sources depending upon the nature of the research.
After reading relevant materials, identify a parent case and read it, and in case of non-clarity, refer to secondary sources. This is the challenging part of legal research, to understand the principle case law and then apply it to the current case. Use digests and databases to find more cases. It is important to note that a good lawyer should prepare his research from both sides for and against; this helps him argue against any statement given by the opposing party.
After research, the last step is to assure that the authorities and data researched is correct, up to date, and is still prevailing as good law. It is essential to keep the trail of research to complete the last step and start drafting the document. Legal research is never complete because of the increased number of sources and dynamism.
Research needs to be refined; for effective research, one needs to choose the keywords appropriately and search using numerous of them. Research should be preferred to be done on official websites only.
PRIMARY SOURCES AND SECONDARY SOURCES
Primary sources of law are the documents that spell outlaw on the legal issue. It tells what laws to hold authority in a particular case. They include-
Bare acts/statutes
Regulations and annotations
Case laws
Gazette publications
Parliamentary debates
Parliamentary bills
Secondary sources include law reviews, legal articles, legal commentaries, practice guides, and news, and many more. They give us a better understanding and perspective of primary sources. Primary sources read with secondary resources are the best kind of research for beginners.
In India, the authority of interpretation given by courts as precedents are essential to statutory laws; secondary resources help us understand and relate both judgments of courts and the defined legal framework.
CREDIBLE RESOURCES FOR LEGAL RESEARCH IN INDIA
With the advent of modern technology, the methods of research have changed. Research can be done online or offline. With artificial intelligence, research has become even more accessible online. However, legal research is not putting some keywords on Google and getting results. The credibility of the sources needs to be maintained.
Case law search engines online have done this task of maintaining credibility. The online research facility has made it possible to filter and present relevant data in a few seconds! Before digitalization, research was done through print media by referring to AIRs (All India Reporters), journals, etc. Lawyers used to read them from local libraries for the latest updates.
Online research can be used to find relevant case laws, statutes, legal documents, etc. Official and reliable resources in India are as follows-
1) To find case laws on a subject “digests” and “Commentaries” are used. Such digests and commentaries are topic-specific. If there is no specific commentary available on the topic being looked for, the “AIR manual” is a vital resource.
a) Commentaries from important writers can be found in libraries. For example, Seervi H.M., D.D. Basu. M.P. Jain for constitutional law; Wade H.W.R and M.P. Jain for administrative law; BatukLal and Nakvi S.K.A RatanLal&DhirajLal for IPC etc. other important legal commentaries can be read on https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/India_Legal_Research.html#_11._Legal_Research.
b) Important digests that can be read are Surendra Malik’s Supreme Court Yearly Digest, Supreme Court Millenium Digest by AIR publications.
2) Nearly 60% of advocates refer to Supreme Court judgments. Important law reports in India to find Supreme Court judgments are:
SCC (Supreme Court Cases)
AIR (All India Reporter)
SCR (Supreme Court Reports), published quarterly
Judgment Today
SCALE
3) For High Courts, ILR (Indian Law Review) is published quarterly by every high court.
4) India code is a print media and was started in 2000 by the government of India. It contains all central statutes, state laws and regulations, the constitution of India, and all other official publications of laws in India. General statutory rules and orders are also published along with the India Code, which consists of subordinate legislations.
5) Acts of India can be brought from the government press in New Delhi.
6) To understand the logic behind the laws or the “legislative intent,” lawyers and judges also refers to-
Objects and reasons of the act (mentioned in the draft bill)
Parliamentary debates
Law commission reports
Parliamentary committee reports
Ministry committee reports
7) Accident claims journal and All India Criminal Law Reporter are also practical means to get Supreme Court judgments and high court judgments.
8) Online resources are more popular than any other print media these days. This is clear because they are accessible and give the advantage of easier use over print media. Important online media are-
Judgements of the Supreme Court are available on the judgment information system by the government of India. It also contains judgments from several important High Courts in India.
https://main.sci.gov.in/ is a Supreme Court website where all the Supreme Court judgments and other information such as case status, judges, collegiums, etc. are available.
https://www.indiacode.nic.in/ is an excellent official source for the statutes of parliament of India.
Supreme court library has developed online databases “SUPLIS”, “LEGISLATION” and “SUPLIB” which are still to be released[2]
9) Important legal dictionaries or legal lexicons are Advanced Law Lexicon by Aiyar Ramanatha P., Judicial Dictionary by Aiyar K.J., etc.
10) Official government websites are another vital resource that gives essential notifications and updates from government departments, such as SEBI, TRAI, etc.
CONCLUSION
Legal research is not simple; it is a complicated process that requires filtering out irrelevant and relevant data. Good research comes from good experience and knowledge. Knowledge about reliable and authentic resources can be gained only with time and practice. Legal research is a very basis for beginning a career in writing. Good research can turn the face of a case and bend it in our favor, and flawed research can lead to losing the case. Good researching skills can only be developed over time and learned with experience.
REFERENCES
"Things You Need To Know About Indian Case Laws & Research - Legitquest". Legitquest.Com, 2021, https://www.legitquest.com/legal-guide/things-you-need-to-know-about-indian-case-laws-and-research. Accessed 6 Apr 2021
"Legal Research Guide: India | Law Library Of Congress". Loc.Gov, 2021, https://www.loc.gov/law/help/legal-research-guide/india.php. Accessed 6 Apr 2021.
using, How, and Thomson Reuters. "How To Research Like A Pro: 7 Little-Known Legal Research Tips & Tricks All Lawyers Should Be Using". Legallyindia.Com, 2021, https://www.legallyindia.com/sponsored-posts/how-to-research-like-a-pro-sponsored-20141009-5166. Accessed 6 Apr 2021.
"A Guide to India's Legal Research And Legal System - Globalex". Nyulawglobal.Org, 2021, https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/India_Legal_Research.html#_11._Legal_Research. Accessed 6 Apr 2021.
"Home | SUPREME COURT OF INDIA". Main.Sci.Gov.In, 2021, https://main.sci.gov.in/. Accessed 6 Apr 2021.
"Oxford Libguides: Legal Skills And Research: Legal Research". Ox.Libguides.Com, 2021, https://ox.libguides.com/c.php?g=423012&p=2888691. Accessed 6 Apr 2021.
"The Judgment Information System". 164.100.79.153, 2021, http://164.100.79.153/judis/#:~:text=The%20Judgment%20Information%20System&text=The%20Judgments%20Information%20system%20consists,1950%20till%20date%20are%20available. Accessed 6 Apr 2021.
*The Author is a student of LLB at Department Of Laws, Panjab University, Chandigarh.
Disclaimer: The opinions and views in this article are personal and independent opinions of the author. VAIDHA doesn't hold any liability arising out of this article.
Very informative! Thank you for this blog! 😁