Reports
Law Commission of India and Government Reports
India Justice Report: Ranking States on Police, Judiciary, Prisons and Legal Aid, Tata Trusts (2020)
This is the second edition of the India Justice Report (IJR), an initiative of Tata Trusts in collaboration with Centre for Social Justice, Common Cause, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, DAKSH, TISS–Prayas, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, and How India Lives. The focus of the report is on tracking the rise and falls in each state’s structural and financial capacity to deliver justice, using the latest available government figures. The ranking is based on quantitative measurements of budgets, human resources, infrastructure, workload, diversity across police, judiciary, prisons and legal aid in 18 large and medium sized states with a population of over 1 crore and 7 small states. Data for 7 Union Territories (UTs) and 4 other unranked states is also provided.
The 14th Law Commission of India Report on Reform of Judicial Administration (1958)
This Law Commission Report engaged on how to improve the judicial administration in the country to make it speedy and less expensive. Chapter 27 discusses the provision of legal aid. It discussed the history of legal aid in India, analysed systems in other countries, highlighted the importance and necessity of providing legal aid and made recommendations for a legal aid system for the country that relies on the legal profession for its administration.
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The 48th Law Commission of India Report on Some Questions Under The Code of Criminal Procedure Bill, 1970 (1970)
This Law Commission Report discussed specific questions on the Code of Criminal Procedure Bill, 1970. It discussed the provision of legal aid to the poor and in proceedings for maintenance. With respect to section 304 of the Code, it recommended that the provision be extended to all criminal trials and not be restricted to Sessions Courts.
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Report of the Expert Committee on Legal Aid, Processual Justice to the People (1973)
The Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, appointed an Expert Committee on Legal Aid with Justice VR Krishna lyer as chairman to examine the matter of making legal aid and advice available to the community. In its report, the Expert Committee made wide-ranging proposals for an overhaul of the system of administration of justice with focus on legal services to the poor. Its aim was to formulate, having regard to the resources available, a scheme for legal aid and advice for weaker sections of the community and persons of limited means in general, and citizens belonging to the socially and educationally backward classes in particular. It focused on the facilitation of legal advice to raise awareness of their constitutional and legal rights and legal aid in proceedings before civil, criminal and revenue courts.
Report of the Legal Aid Committee, Government Central Press, Gandhinagar (1971)
This report was by the committee constituted by the Government of Gujarat under the chairmanship of Justice PN Bhagwati. It considered the question of grant of legal aid in civil, criminal, revenue, labour and other proceedings to poor persons, to persons of limited means and to persons belonging to backward classes, and made recommendations to render legal advice more easily available and make justice more easily accessible to such persons, including recommendations on the question of encouragement and financial assistance to institutions engaged in the work of such legal aid.
The 131st Law Commission of India Report on Role of the Legal Profession in Administration of Justice (1988)
In this Law Commission Report, while discussing the role of the legal profession in the administration of justice, the Report also discussed the role of lawyers in providing access to justice and legal aid. In its recommendations it put forward the responsibility of the legal profession to create a “public sector” of the legal profession that provides its services to those needy persons who cannot afford to pay the fees.
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Bihar State Legal Services Authority, Prisons of Bihar: Status Report (2015)
This Report recorded the findings of the inspection of all 58 prisons of Bihar. Chapter 2 discussed access to justice, including the access to legal representation.
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Kerala State Legal Services Authority, A Comprehensive Report on Prisons in Kerala (2017-18)
This was a study on the physical conditions and infrastructure of prisons in Kerala undertaken by the Kerala State Legal Services Authority, in coordination with the district and taluka level legal services authorities. One component of this evaluation was the access to legal aid in these prisons.
Reports by Civil Society Organisations
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) has contributed immensely to the monitoring of legal aid services in India in the past three decades. To access their reports, please follow the link.
Department of Justice, Government of India and United Nations Development Programme, Needs Assessment Study of the Legal Services Authorities in the States of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh (2012)
This study was a needs assessment of the Legal Services Authorities (LSAs) in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh; assessing the needs of the LSAs to fulfil their role and the needs of the communities sought to be served in terms of enforcement of rights and accessing legal remedies. The LSAs of the states mentioned above were studied in terms of three of their main functions: legal aid, legal awareness, Lok Adalats. The report explored some of the obstacles in fulfilling the role of LSAs and made recommendations for how they may be overcome and for better functioning of the LSAs.
Dasra, Tipping the Scales: Strengthening Systems for Access to Justice in India (2018)
An analysis of the work done by ten non-profits in facilitating and improving the access to justice.
Amnesty International, Justice Under Trial: A Study of Pre-Trial Detention in India (2017)
In a study analysing the conditions of undertrial detention in India, the report studied the access to legal aid for undertrial prisoners and the remuneration paid to legal aid lawyers.
Dr Jeet Singh Mann, Impact Analysis of the Legal Aid Services Provided by the Empaneled Legal Practitioners on the Legal Aid System in City of Delhi, National Law University Delhi (2017)
This study involved interviews with beneficiaries of legal aid services, judicial officers, Member Secretaries of the Delhi Legal Services Authorities and Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee, legal aid counsels (LACs); and women in court who were eligible but did not opt for legal aid services, in Delhi, from December 2014 and December 2015. It also involved observation of proceedings in civil and criminal courts in cases in which LACs were involved. The report analysed the commitment and competency of the LACs. It evaluated the professional skills such as arguments and drafting skills of the LACs on the basis of feedback of interested stakeholders. It also highlighted the difficulties faced by stakeholders of the legal aid system in Delhi. Finally it provided recommendations to improve the quality of legal aid services.
India Justice Report: Ranking States on Police, Judiciary, Prisons and Legal Aid, Tata Trusts (2019)
This is an initiative of Tata Trusts undertaken in partnership with Centre for Social Justice, Common Cause, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), DAKSH, TISS-Prayas and Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. This report ranks 18 large and mid-sized, and 7 small states according to their capacity to deliver justice to all. It uses government data to assess the budgets, infrastructure, human resources, workload, diversity and 5 year trends of police, prisons, judiciary and legal aid in each state, against its own declared standards.
Materials from the United Nations
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Access to Justice: Legal Defence and Legal Aid, A Criminal Justice Assessment Toolkit (2006)
This tool guides the assessment of the provision of legal representation to people being investigated for or charged with a criminal offence with a focus on provision of these services to the poor or indigent accused.
General Assembly Resolution 67/187: United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems (2013)
Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly as a useful framework to guide Member States on the principles on which a legal aid system in criminal justice should be based and applied in accordance with national legislation.
The United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Global Study on Legal Aid: Global Report and Country Profiles (2016)
This study was undertaken to establish a baseline understanding of how the right to legal aid in civil, criminal and administrative cases has been defined and addressed around the world. It comprises the Global Report, which presents data, findings and recommendations on access and provision of legal aid services around the world and Country Profiles, which contain information on various aspects of legal aid delivery in 49 countries. The findings of the Global Study were based on survey responses from UN Member States and independent national experts in 106 countries across all regions of the world and development contexts. The Global Study aimed to assist legislators, policymakers, and other national and international stakeholders working in the area of access to legal aid by identifying priorities for technical assistance and making evidence-based recommendations on how to strengthen the provision of legal aid services.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Model Law on Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems with Commentaries (2017)
The Model Law on Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems was developed as a technical tool to assist States in their drafting of legal aid legislation. It proposes a model for establishing a comprehensive legal aid system to assist in the national legislative drafting process. It is based on the United Nations Principles and Guidelines and is limited in scope to the provision of criminal legal aid.