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How to Read Current Legal Issues for Litigation Practice (LITIGATION BASICS 6)

August 19, 2023
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Law is a dynamic subject that continuously evolves with the passage of time. Legislation and the judiciary are the two primary sources of law. While Parliament enacts and amends laws, the judiciary interprets and applies them through judicial decisions. A legal practitioner must therefore remain attentive to current developments in law and understand their practical application. Law students and junior lawyers often face difficulty in updating themselves with the latest legal developments due to the vast number of statutes, amendments, and judicial pronouncements available. Selecting relevant and reliable sources becomes challenging and often leads to confusion and wastage of valuable time.


(A) IMPORTANCE OF READING CURRENT LEGAL ISSUES

  1. Knowledge of current legal issues offers several advantages. A legal practitioner must regularly update himself or herself with developments in the chosen area of practice.

  2. It is essential for a legal practitioner to be aware of newly enacted laws and amendments to existing statutes.

  3. Judgments of the Supreme Court and High Courts constitute the law of the land. Studying recent judgments and understanding their applicability is crucial for effective legal practice.

  4. Apart from statutes and judgments, understanding social, political, and economic issues and their impact on law is also helpful in developing a well-rounded legal practice.


(B) HOW TO READ CURRENT LEGAL ISSUES


(1) Choose Your Practice Area

Reading everything without focus is unproductive. One must first identify a practice area and acquire basic knowledge of that field.

Example:
If you are interested in criminal law, begin by understanding the fundamentals of criminal law, including the IPC, CrPC, and relevant special statutes. The same approach applies to other areas such as civil and commercial law.


(2) Divide the Practice Area into Sub-Areas

Continuing with the example of criminal law, practice includes trial work before Magistrate and Sessions Courts, and appellate practice before High Courts and the Supreme Court. Criminal law also includes specialisation in areas such as offences against the human body and property, crimes against women and children, and economic or white-collar offences.


(3) Understand the Relevancy and Application of Current Legal Issues

Whenever a current legal issue arises, its relevance to the chosen practice area must first be assessed.

(a) Relevancy of New Statutes or Amendments
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, which reduced the juvenile age from 18 to 16 in certain cases, had a significant impact on the criminal justice system. Practitioners dealing with juvenile cases must be aware of such developments.

(b) Relevancy of Recent Judicial Pronouncements
In Neeraj Dutta v. State (NCT of Delhi), 2022, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court observed that there is no legal bar to recording a conviction based on the testimony of a hostile witness if it is corroborated by other reliable evidence. This judgment is important for understanding the scope of Section 154 of the Evidence Act.


(4) Maintain Notes

It is difficult to remember everything that is read. Maintaining concise and regularly updated notes is therefore essential. Digital tools such as Evernote or OneNote may be used, and judgments can be stored on Google Drive for easy reference.


(C) LIST OF IMPORTANT WEBSITES

For Accessing updated Bare Acts

  • India Code - India Code is repository of all Central Acts and Rules.
  • Bombay HC (For State of Maharashtra Acts) - All Acts enacted by Maharashtra State are available on this link.
  • SCC Online 

For accessing Judgements

For Current Legal Updates

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