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LEGAL RESEARCH AND

LEGAL REFORM
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legal research
What is Legal Research?
• Learning and understanding of the law.
How is Legal Research done?
• Identifying and retrieving necessary information to support
legal decision making
In clearer terms, it includes steps,
a)beginning from analysis of facts of a problem and
b)ends with the application and communication of the result of
legal investigation.
 Finding primary sources of
law.(e.g. cases, statutes,
provisions)
Three steps of
legal research Finding secondary
authority about legal
topics.(e.g. legal
dictionaries, law reviews,
etc.)

Searching non-legal
sources, for supportive
information
What are the Sources of legal research ?

 Printed books
 Law libraries
 Legal research websites and databases
 Law schools and colleges
 Law firms and other research environments.

Who does legal research ?

 Can be performed by anyone who needs legal information.
 Includes lawyers, law students, law librarians, paralegals
 What can the legal
fraternity research about ?

Legal reform report Case laws

for improvising the
law

Meaning of any
legal word or
maxim
Content of the
speeches

Legislative intent of Parliamentary

any Act(can be found debates
on the Bill passed)
Law reform
Reform: [Latin: reformo]
• Improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt or
unsatisfactory.

What is law reform?

• (also referred as legal reform)
• Examining existing laws
• Advocating and implementing changes in legal system
Why legal reforms ?
• Enhancing justice and efficiency.
• Law of a country cannot remain static.
• Must keep abreast with the rising social, political, cultural
and legal changes of a country.
Who felicitates legal reforms ?
• Law Reform Bodies OR Law Commissions
 set up by the government but are intellectually independent
 This is done to accurately reflect on how the law should progress
• They carry out research in order to simplify and modernize
law.
Who felicitates legal reforms in India?

• Law commission of India is the executive body which works

for legal reforms in India.
• Recommendations of law commission of India are not
binding on the government of India.
• The suggested legal reform report can be accepted OR
rejected.
How can law be reformed ?

Repeal

Four
methods for Consolidate
reforming
the Law are
practiced
Create

Codification
• Repeal: Complete removal OR replacement of a
law.
• Consolidate: Combination of number of Acts of
Parliament into one codifying statute.
• Create: Creation of a completely new law.
• Consolidate: Collecting and restating the law of a
jurisdiction in certain area, followed by forming a
codex(book of codes) of law.
Legal Research and Legal Reform

• There are many components of legal reform.

• Legal research contributes as an important component.
• In accordance with the law reform, this research depends
on several factors:
 Body/Institution taking the project of law reform
 Subject matter of the reform
 Time allowed for submitting the report of legal reform.
limitations
• Research in general is limitless i.e. it is a deep exploration
of a particular topic.
• But when research is a part of a law reform it is;
 Undertaken with a definite end
 Done to formulate proposals regarding improvising law in
precise terms
• Because of this, research is to be moulded in a particular
direction
• Thus, research under legal reform is “considered with
limitations”
Legal research for the purpose of law reform has 3
main categories

Analytical Historical Comparative

Analytical Research:
• Primarily aims at exploration about the existing law. e.g. if
consists of statutes, research would mean finding relevant
statutes.
• Qualitative inquiry, since it has content-bound
generalizations.
• Involves critical thinking.
• Evaluation of facts of law which is to be reformed.
• Critical details can be added to the law reform report
through this type of report.
Historical research:
• Deals with finding out the previous law in order to
understand the existing law.
• Studies course of evolution of existing law.
• Why is this research important?
As present law raises meaningful queries, it becomes
necessary to explore the circumstances through which the
present law was enforced.
• It comes to the researcher, while doing Historical research,
that attempt to reform the current law was thought of in the
past too, but was rejected for valid reasons.
Comparative research:
• Involves comparisons of legal doctrines, legislation and
foreign laws.
• Studies how law acts differently in different settings of
social and cultural character.
• Thus, helps in amending and modernizing the law.
• The practical problem that a researcher faces, is which
countries are to be chosen for comparison.
Conclusion:
It can be concluded that, Legal Research in a systematic yet
limited manner is a necessary component of Legal Reform.

In order to improvise and advance the law of our country, it is

always beneficial to consider Legal Reforms.

MANVA KHOJARE [1st year, BALLB]

(khojare.manva@gmail.com)