NATIONAL LEGAL SERVICES DAY
CONTEXT
- The National Legal Services Day (NLSD) is celebrated on 9th November every year to spread awareness for ensuring reasonably fair and justice procedure for all citizens.
MORE ABOUT NEWS
- The Legal Services Authorities Act was enacted in 1987 to provide a “statutory base to legal aid programmes” in India on a uniform pattern, according to the website of the National Legal Services Authority of India (NALSA). After a lot of deliberation and some amendments, the Legacy Services Authorities Act came into existence on 9 November 1995.
- The purpose of the Act is to provide competent and free legal aid to people who belonged to marginalised socio-economic communities in the country. The Act also mentions the setting up of Lok Adalats for the settlement of disputes amicably.
- Since then, the passing of the Act has been every year through awareness programmes and camps about the provisions of the Legal Services Authorities Act.
NATIONAL LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY (NALSA)
- The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to monitor and evaluate implementation of legal aid programmes and to lay down policies and principles for making legal services available under the Act.
- In every State, a State Legal Services Authority and in every High Court, a High Court Legal Services Committee have been constituted. District Legal Services Authorities, Taluk Legal Services Committees have been constituted in the Districts and most of the Taluks to give effect to the policies and directions of the NALSA and to provide free legal services to the people and conduct Lok Adalats in the State.
- Supreme Court Legal Services Committee has been constituted to administer and implement the legal services programme insofar as it relates to the Supreme Court of India.
FUNCTIONING OF NALSA
- NALSA lays down policies, principles, guidelines and frames effective and economical schemes for the State Legal Services Authorities to implement the Legal Services Programmes throughout the country.
- Primarily, the State Legal Services Authorities, District Legal Services Authorities, Taluk Legal Services Committees, etc. have been asked to discharge the following main functions on regular basis
- To Provide Free and Competent Legal Services to the eligible persons;
- To organize Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes and
- To organize legal awareness camps in the rural areas.
FREE LEGAL SERVICES
THE FREE LEGAL SERVICES INCLUDE: –
- Payment of court fee, process fees and all other charges payable or incurred in connection with any legal proceedings;
- Providing service of lawyers in legal proceedings;
- Obtaining and supply of certified copies of orders and other documents in legal proceedings.
- Preparation of appeal, paper book including printing and translation of documents in legal proceedings.
PERSONS ELIGIBLE FOR GETTING FREE LEGAL SERVICES INCLUDES
- Women and children;
- Members of SC/ST
- Industrial workmen
- Victims of mass disaster, violence, flood, drought, earthquake, industrial disaster.
- Disabled persons.
- Persons in custody
- Persons whose annual income does not exceed Rs. 1 lakh (in the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee the limit is Rs. 5,00,000/-).
- Victims of Trafficking in Human beings or begar
LOK ADALATS
- Lok Adalat is one of the Alternative Disputes Resolution Mechanisms.
- It is a forum where the disputes/cases pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation stage are settled/compromised amicably.
- The Lok Adalat has been given statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.
- Under this Act, an award made by a Lok Adalat is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal lies against thereto before any court.
- Lok Adalats are being organized by the Legal Services Authorities/Committees for settlement of cases pending before courts u/s 19 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 and also for matters at pre-Litigative stage, under the guidance of NALSA.
- Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 in the year 2002 was amended, with a view to provide compulsory pre-Litigative mechanism for conciliation and settlement of disputes relating to ‘Public Utility Services’.
- Further in view of Covid, E-Lok Adalat has been conceptualized which significantly improved access to justice for people who were otherwise unable to participate in the Lok Adalats.