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ADR · Unit 1

The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987

Unit 1 of Alternate Dispute Resolution (syllabus: Module I — legal services authorities, services and persons entitled to them, Lok Adalats, para-legal training and legal literacy, and Permanent Lok Adalats). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.

What this unit covers

  • Why was the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 enacted, and what problem was it meant to solve?
  • How are the legal services authorities constituted, and who heads each of them?
  • What are the functions of the Central Authority, and where do legal literacy and para-legal work fit in?
  • Who is entitled to free legal services, and what must the authority be satisfied of before granting them?
  • When does the constitutional right to free legal aid in a criminal case arise, and can it be lost by not asking for it?
  • What may a Lok Adalat take up, and by what routes does a case reach it?
  • What is the status of a Lok Adalat award, and why does no appeal lie against it?
  • How does a Permanent Lok Adalat differ from an ordinary Lok Adalat?

Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.

Provisions

Leading cases

Full case summaries

Exam questions on this unit

In this paper