LEGAL METHOD: LW1006
Table of Contents
General Information
Grading and Assessment
Topics
Week 1 Understanding Law, its Functions and Sources
Week 2 An Introduction to Legal Institutions and Processes
Week 3 An Introduction to Legal Language and Legal Terminology and using a Law
Library
Week 4 An Introduction to Legal Language and Legal Terminology and using a Law
Library
Week 5 Law-making and Legislative Processes
Week 6 Understanding Statutory Interpretation
Week 7 Legal Reasoning and the Doctrine of Precedent
Week 8 Legal Reasoning and Learning Legal Rules-I
Week 9 Legal Reasoning and learning Legal Rules-II
Week 10 Logic and Legal Reasoning
Week 11 Judicial Law-making
Week 12 Legal Decision Making Beyond the State
Week 13 Legal Research and Legal Writing-I
Week 14 Legal Research and Legal Writing-II
Week 15 Revision
General Information
This course is an introduction to legal methods for students of law. It aims to teach the law
student the craft of legal reasoning and the skills for legal research including the ability to
critically read and analyse statutes, cases and other legal materials. It also aims to make the
student aware of the relationship between law and society in the context of the different
branches of law such as tort, contract, property and public law and the nature and structure of
legal institutions. This course also teaches students the fundamentals of legal writing.
The objectives of the course are as follows:
1) Seeks to develop essential skills for law students such as the ability to use and analyse
cases, statutes and other legal materials
2) Introduces legal reasoning and develops the ability of the students to formulate and
articulate legal argumentation (written and oral)
3) Provides a foundation in legal concepts and principles and the nature of legal
processes and institutions
4) Introduces students to legal language and fosters ability in legal writing
5) Inculcates interdisciplinary approaches in resolving legal issues
Assessment
Type of Assessment Weightage
In class participation 10%
Reflection Paper 1 10%
Reflection Paper 2 10%
Field Project 20%
End Term Exam 50%
Topics for Reflection Papers 1 and 2 will be announced in Week 4 and Week 8 respectively.
Reflection Paper 1 must be submitted at the end of Week 5 and Reflection Paper 2 must be
submitted at the end of Week 9. Students will be expected to have a short proposal on the
field project that they will conduct for discussion in Week 5. A written reflection on the field
project must be submitted at the end of Week 12.
The field project aims to make students aware of the difference between law in the books and
law in action. Students are required to interview a social activist/ lawyer/policymaker on their
experiences with law/legal procedures/law reform and write a reflection paper summarising
what they have learned from the project.
Academic dishonesty and Plagiarism
Students must ensure that all written submissions must quote source material. If text comes
from somebody else, it must be clearly stated where the text is from. All sources from which
numbers, ideas, or other material are obtained must be cited. Use of ChatGPT or other AI
composition software is not permitted. What is plagiarism and how to avoid it will be
discussed in detail in Week 5.
If you have any questions about what does or does not constitute plagiarism, ask!
Policy on Cell Phone Use
Usage of cell phones is not permitted in the classroom. Students are not permitted to record
or film lectures through any electronic device.
Week 1
Understanding Law: Its Functions and Sources
We will begin with a discussion of the fictitious case “The Speluncean Explorers” by Lon
Fuller to understand the different approaches to law. Read the case carefully and
1) Identify what is the law in the various judgments.
2) What is the role of the judge
3) What is the relationship between law and the various agencies of government?
In Session 2 we will examine the relationship between law, society and morality and
strengthen our understanding of the different approaches to law. We will also study the
relationship between law and property which is essential in understanding the different
branches of law
Session 1
Mandatory readings
“Speluncean Explorers”, Harvard Law Review, vol. 62, no. 4 (1949) pp. 616-645.
Glanville Williams, Learning the Law (Thomson Reuters, 2020) pp1-12
Phil Harris An Introduction to Law (Cambridge University Press 2007) pp 1-8
Session 2
Mandatory Readings
Phil Harris An Introduction to Law (Cambridge University Press 2007)pp 1-15. 26-45, pp
110-118
A (Children), Re [2000]4All ER961 ( focus on Parts 3, 4 and 5)
https://www.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/media/Re_A_(Conjoined_Twins)_(2001)_Fam_147_rep
ort.pdf
Week 2
An Introduction to Legal Institutions and Processes
We will explore India’s legal system and its main features. This will include the structure of
the judiciary, the relationship between the different branches of government and local dispute
resolution mechanisms.
We will also focus on dispute resolution and fact finding in this module. Students will
develop an understanding of the tools used in courts for ascertaining facts and collecting
evidence. In this connection we will read two cases which are the Kali Ram case and the
Nanavati case (which was the last case in India to be tried under a jury system). In this
context students will gain an understanding of concepts such as the burden of proof, the
difference between the adversarial and inquisitorial systems, and the role of different parties
in the judicial process.
In Session 4 we will discuss the Nanavati case and also examine the comparative
jurisprudence arising from a mixed system (incorporating both adversarial and inquisitorial
systems) through the Amanda Knox trial in Italy.
Session 3
Mandatory Readings
1.Poonam Khanna, Judicial System in India in Towards Legal Literacy: An Introduction to
Law in India (Kamala Sankaran and Ujjwal Kumar Singh ed., 2008), 27-44
2.Chapter 11 titled “Dispute Resolution: The Courts and Adjudication in Carl F Stychin and
Linda Mulcahy, Legal Methods: Texts and Materials (Sweet and Maxwell, London.
3. Kali Ram v State of Himachal Pradesh 1973 AIR 2773
Session 4
Mandatory Readings
1. K.M Nanavati v. State of Maharashtra, AIR 1962 SC 605
2.Julia Grace Mirabella Scales of justice: Assessing Italian criminal procedure through the
Amanda Knox trial. BU Int'l LJ, 30, p.229 (2012)
3. John Head Great Legal Traditions (excerpts)
Week 3
An Introduction to Legal Language and Legal Terminology
We will learn about the nature of legal language and how it determines thinking and
communicating like a lawyer. Students will be familiar with the relationship between law and
fact and law and language and how this provides judges the flexibility to decide a case. We
will also learn about the role of language in the judicial process and how presentation, style
and terminology may affect the outcome of a case. To gain familiarity with the complexities
of legal language we will read the recent report of the Law Commission on Sedition.
Session 5
Mandatory Reading
1. Chapter 5 “Law, Fact and Language” in James Holland and Julian Webb. Learning
legal rules: a students' guide to legal method and reasoning (Oxford University Press,
2013) pp 124 -148
2. Chapter 1” Introduction: Key Concepts” Alan Durant, and Janny Leung. Language
and Law: A resource book for students. (Routledge, 2017) pp 1-24
Session 6
1. Chapter 1” Introduction: Key Concepts” Alan Durant, and Janny Leung. Language
and Law: A resource book for students. (Routledge, 2017) 25-51
Excerpts from Law Commission on Sedition
Week 4
An Introduction to Legal Language and Legal Terminology
Using a Law Library
We will strengthen our understanding of legal language and legal processes by examining the
petition and arguments in Joseph Shine v Union of India AIR 2018 SC 4898. We will also
have a workshop on using the library resources as a law student.
Session 7
Case study
https://www.scobserver.in/cases/joseph-shine-v-union-of-india-decriminalisation-of-adultery-
background/
Session 8
Workshop -Law Library
Week 5
Legal Research and Legal Writing-I
We will learn about the different modes by which legal research is conducted such as
descriptive, analytical, applied and fundamental among others. This week will be used for the
presentation of student proposals on field projects.
Session 9
Eugene Volokh, Academic Legal Writing pp 9-29
Stephen Wilhoit, Helping Students Avoid Plagiarism, College Teaching , Fall, 1994, Vol. 42,
No. 4 (Fall, 1994), pp. 161-164
Narayan Uma, Sources of Indian Legal Information. Legal Information Management, 2007,
7, pp 133-139 doi:10.1017/S1472669606001204
Session 10
Field projects discussion
Week 6
Law-making and Legislative Processes
We will gain an understanding of legislative processes and how law is made in India. The
power to legislate is governed by Articles 245 to 255 of the Indian Constitution which
stipulates that Parliament will have exclusive power to make law on the subjects specified
under the Union List whereas the Legislatures of the States have power to legislate on the
subjects specified in the State List. We will examine the concepts of delegated legislation and
conditional legislation through the Supreme Court judgments of Vivek Narayan Sharma v
Union of India 2023 SCC OnLine SC 1 (read the dissenting judgment of Justice Nagaratna)
and State of Tamil Nadu v. Sabanayagam and another (1998) SCC 318 respectively.
Session 11
Mandatory Readings
1.Salmond on Jurisprudence pp 127 to 137
2. Legislation- Passage of Legislative Proposals in Parliament [extracts from the Parliament
website http://164.100.47.4/newlsbios_search/Legislation.aspx
3. Dipika Jain, Law-Making by and for the People: A Case for Pre-legislative Processes in
India, Statute Law Review, Volume 41, Issue 2, June 2020, Pages 189–206,
https://doi.org/10.1093/slr/hmz005
Session 12
Dissenting judgment Nagaratna Vivek Narayan Sharma v Union of India
Examination of a recently drafted legislation- The Transgender Persons (Protection of
Rights) Act, 2019
Suggested Reading: Dipika Jain & Kavya Kartik, Unjust Citizenship: The Law that Isnt’,
NUJS Law Review (2020)
Week 7
Understanding Statutory Interpretation
We will learn how to read statutes and gain an understanding of the different parts of a statute
and how statutes are classified. We will also learn about the role of legislative intention in
drafting legislation. We will also learn about the different rules of interpretation such as the
literal rule, mischief rule and the golden rule.
Students must come to class prepared to read statutes in reference to case law and must
familiarise themselves with the cases mentioned.
Session 13
Mandatory Readings
1. Deborah Maranville, ‘How to Read a Statute: MAP It!’ available online :
courses.washington.edu/civpro03/helpful_hints/StatuteMAP.do
2. https://www.law.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/A-Guide-to-Reading-
Interpreting-and-Applying-Statutes-1.pdf
3. Chapter 21 “ The idea of legislative intention” in Ian MacLeod, Legal Method (
Macmillan Law Masters) pp. 269-280
4. Class exercise
Reading the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 with Hariprasad Shivshankar Shukla v A.D.
Divikar AIR 1957 SC121,
Reading the Madras General Sales Tax Act, 1959 with CCT v Ramkrishan Jhaver AIR
1968 SC 59.
Session 14
1. Glanville Williams, Learning the Law (Thomson Reuters, 2020) pp.107-126
2. Pepper v Hart [1992] 3 WLR 1032
3. CIT (Ag) v Keshab Chandra Mandal AIR 1950 SC 265 (literal rule)
4. State of M.P.v Azad Bharat Finance AIR 1976 SC 276 (golden rule)
5. Shashikant Laxman Kale v Union of India 1990 SCC (4) 366 ( mischief rule)
Week 8
Legal Reasoning and the Doctrine of Precedent
Students will learn about the doctrine of precedent which is rooted in the common law
tradition. This is also referred to as stare decisis which means “stand by the decision” . This
means that inferior courts are bound to apply the principles of law set down by higher courts
on cases that have identical facts. This provides consistency, predictability and stability to the
law.
Article 141 of the Indian Constitution states that the law declared by the Supreme Court shall
be binding on all courts in India. To understand the scope of this doctrine we will read Bengal
Immunity Co. v. Union of India AIR 1955 SC 631. We will also read Uttaranchal Road
Transport v Mansi Ram Nainwal 2006) 6 SCC 366 to understand what the Supreme Court
understands to be precedent.
We will also examine how to decide which parts of a case law are binding authority through
the principles of ratio decidendi and obiter dicta. In this context we will discuss the case of
Wilkinson v Downtown which is discussed in Glanville Williams’s book.
Session 15
Chapter 3 “The Practice and Problems of Precedent” in Frederick Schauer. Thinking like a
lawyer: a new introduction to legal reasoning (Harvard University Press, 2009).
Bengal Immunity Co. v. Union of India AIR 1955 SC 631
Uttaranchal Road Transport v Mansi Ram Nainwal 2006) 6 SCC 366
Session 16
Glanville Williams Learning the Law (Thomson Reuters, 2020) pp.66-96
Olga Tellis v. Union of India (1985) 3 SCC 545
Weeks 9 and 10
Legal Reasoning and Learning Legal Rules
In this week we will explore how legal reasoning has been applied in the Indian context. In
particular, we will understand the approach adopted by judges of Indian constitutional courts
in interpreting the statutory and constitutional provisions. We will also examine the sources of
legal rules in India ranging from the constitutional provisions, statutory laws, customary laws
etc. Further, we will also discuss the hierarchy and relationship between these sources and the
manner in which the courts have resolved the conflicts or inconsistencies between them.
Session 17
Chapter 2 and 3 in Frederick Schauer. Thinking like a lawyer: a new introduction to legal
reasoning (Harvard University Press, 2009).
Session 18
- Upendra Baxi, "Taking suffering seriously: Social Action Litigation in the Supreme Court
of India", in Rajeev Dhavan et al. (eds.), Judges and the Judicial Power: Essays in Honour of
Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, Sweet & Maxwell Asia, 1985, pp. 289-316.
Session 19
- M.P. Jain, "Introductory", in M.P. Jain, Indian Constitutional Law, LexisNexis
Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur, 2010, pp. 1-29.
Session 20
-Bail, Shishir (2022) "From Nyaya Panchayats to Gram Nyayalayas: The Indian State and
Rural Justice," Socio-Legal Review: Vol. 11: Iss. 1
Week 11
Logic and Legal Reasoning
In this week, students will get to learn the technique of logic and legal reasoning. To prepare
legal arguments or carry out any form of legal analysis, it is important to learn fundamentals
of logic in law and the types of legal reasoning (deductive and inductive). In the two lectures,
the students will explore methods of legal reasoning and also understand the various elements
of logical arguments.
We will read two specific case-laws to examine how the judges applied different types of legal
reasoning to arrive at a specific conclusion. Also, we will read two leading theorists on legal
reasoning.
Session 21
● Neil MacCormick, Chapter 2 in Legal Reasoning and Legal Theory (1978)
● Lloyd L. Weinreb, Chapter 2 in Legal Reason: The Use of Analogy in Legal
Arguments pp 19-41
Session 22
● Donoghue v. Stevenson, [1932] UKHL 100
● McPherson v. Buick Motors Ltd (21 7 N.Y 382)
Week 12
Judicial Law-making
Over the years, the role of the judicial branch in the law-making sphere has only increased. In
view of the same, the students will learn about the various approaches taken by the judges in
interpreting the law and how it led to the origin of public interest litigation in India.
Through discussions on case-laws from 1980s onwards, students will learn to examine the
evolution and criticism of judicial activism in India. We will also read the judgment of the
Supreme Court in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan and its implication on judicial law-making.
Session 23
● Chapter 1, Anuj Bhuwania, Courting the People: Public Interest Litigation in Post-
Emergency India (Cambridge University Press 2017) pp 16-49.
● Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan AIR 1997 SC 3011
Session 24
● Nick Robinson, Expanding Judiciaries: India and the Rise of the Good Governance
Court, 8 Wash. U. Global Stud. L. Rev. 1 (2009),
http://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_globalstudies/vol8/iss1/2
Week 13
Legal Decision Making Beyond the State
In this course we have studied law as being laid down and implemented by the nation state.
This module seeks to introduce students to forms of law beyond the nation state. Students
will learn about traditional legal systems and their status under state law. Did the traditional
forms of law-making that existed prior to colonialism disappear due to the introduction of the
colonial legal system? How does the Indian legal system which has descended from the
colonial legal system deal with these forms of law-making?
Students will also learn about international law and how international law affects domestic
legal systems.
Session 25
Mandatory Reading:
Galanter, M., 1968. The displacement of traditional law in modern India. Journal of Social
issues, 24(4), pp.65-90.
Vishwa Lochan Madan Vs. Union of India, AIR 2014 SC 2957 :
Recommended Reading:
Wojkowska, Ewa, 2006. “Doing Justice: How informal justice systems can contribute”. UNDP
Menaka Guruswamy & Aditya Singh (2010) Village courts in India: unconstitutional forums
with unjust outcomes, Journal of Asian Public Policy, 3:3, 281-293, DOI:
10.1080/17516234.2010.536345
Ali F, Mathew SK, Gopalaswamy AK, and Babu MS, (2017) Systematic review of different
models and approaches of non-state justice systems in South Asia and its complementarity with
the state justice delivery systems. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, UCL
Institute of Education, University College London.
Session 26
Beckman, Robert and Butte, Dagmar, “Introduction to International Law”
Vivek Sehrawat, Implementation of International Law in Indian Legal System, 31 Florida
Journal of International Law 97-119 (2021).
The UN Charter
Week 14
Legal Research and Legal Writing-II
In this week we will consolidate our understanding of legal analysis through studying and
practising legal writing. How does one formulate a legal question and the issues to be answered
in resolving a legal problem in the context of writing a case brief? What are the nuances of
legal argumentation? Students will learn to formulate a case brief by closely reading statutes
and other legal materials in connection with legal questions.
We will also do a short moot court in the latter session.
Session 27
1. Part Three in Linda Edwards Legal Writing and Analysis ( Wolter Kluwers 2015)
2. Orrin S. Kerr, “How to Read a Legal Opinion: A Guide for New Law Students”, 11
Green Bag Journal (1)
Session 28
Moot court presentations
Week 15
Revision
