IALS Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS)

Indian Law Society, was established in 1923 with more than one commitments. One, to establish schools and colleges where legal education could be imparted according to the prescribed curricula of the affiliated Academia. The second purpose was to spread comprehensive knowledge of various relevant laws amongst the general public.

The Institute of Advanced Legal Studies was established in 1991 keeping in tune with second object of ILS. The Institute was launched on 4th March 1991 at the hands of Late Shri. G.G. Karnik, the then Vice-President of the Indian Law Society. Professor S.P. Sathe, the former Principal of the ILS College was the founder Director of the Institute. Professor Sathe was the inspiration behind the establishment of the Institute. IALS was his brainchild. During his tenure, Professor S.P. Sathe, put in all his efforts to establish IALS as a prominent research institution.
The office of the Institute is located within the campus of ILS Law College, Pune. Currently Mrs. Sathya Narayan is the Director of the Institute.

The Institute was established with an object to promote research in law and to conduct courses on different laws, helpful to the society in general. The target audience for these courses were principally the common man. The courses are designed and directed to promote legal awareness, to spread general knowledge of law not only to professionals but also amongst lay people, commoner and persons engaged in various pursuits. These courses are designed to create a distinct and quality legal culture amongst the Indian community, which is supportive of the rule of law. IALS has been consistently and regularly conducting intensive shot term diploma and certificate courses programs
The other purpose for establishing the institute was to complement and support the efforts of ILS Law College in promoting quality legal education.

1. Courses conducted:

   In tune with the objective of spreading legal awareness, the Institute has introduced a number of courses on law, since its inception. Institute of Advanced Legal Studies has been conducting the following few diploma/certificate courses

   • Diploma in Consumer Law
   • Women and Law
   • Diploma in Housing Laws
   • PG programme in Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods
   • Certificate Course in Legislative Drafting
   1. Diploma in Consumer Protection Laws (DCPL):
      IALS commenced the Diploma course in Consumer Protection Laws in the year 1992. The course is designed to educate the laymen, the students of law and also the professionals.The course is designed in two parts: –
      Part I which covers the pre enactment scenario (prior to passing of Consumer Protection Act, 1986) about the legal provisions related to consumer protections in India; like sanctions for the offences related to consumer in Indian Penal Code, civil liability under law of Torts, relevant provisions under the Food Adulteration Act and the Essential Commodities Act.Part II contains discussions on all the important provisions of the Consumer Protection Act – the definitions, the forums established under the Act, their constitution, remedies available under the Act etc.
   2. Women and Law:
      In 2000, the Institute collaborated with the SNDT College, Pune, to conduct a course on “Striya ani Kayada” at the SNDT University, for the benefit of First Year students of the B. A. course.
   3. Diploma in Housing Laws:
      The Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, announced the Diploma in Housing Laws in the year 1995. The course on Housing laws trains the entrants with legal and practical information about the laws related to immovable property, housing and real estate, in India. Housing is an important aspect of life and also an important source of investment. With the increasing urbanization in the recent decades, group housing has become a norm in most of the urban centers. The course aims at providing a platform to familiarize the candidates, laws relevant to buying or leasing a house, open land, agricultural and non-agricultural property, law relating to cooperative housing societies, law of ownership flats and apartment-owners, law related to Stamp and Registration of conveyances. The course is primarily designed to educate the common man about the complexities of laws related to buying a house. The course is also designed to train the professionals, like the Architects, Civil Engineers, and Property Developers, Promoters and Builders, Property Owners, Government Undertakings, engaged in housing construction.
   4. Post-Graduate Diploma in Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods (ADRM):
      IALS launched the PG Diploma in Alternative Dispute Resolution in 2008. This course is conducted in a distance learning mode. ADR is a newly emerging system in dispute resolution and has proved itself as an effective method of resolving disputes outside the court. The better knowledge of ADR mechanisms, not only would increase the faith of the public in the justice system as well as it would definitely increase the practice of settlement of disputes outside the court and in turn minimize the burden on the judiciary. The main objects of this course would be to train the entrants about the intricacies of other informal mechanisms that are being adapted to resolve disputes; to appreciate the potency and limitations of the dispute resolution methods; to build up the techniques and skills of those mechanisms.
   5. Certificate Course in Legislative Drafting:
      Institute of Advanced Legal Studies initiated a unique course to impart training in legislative drafting in the year 2017. The first edition was a great success as it attracted students, teachers as well as Lawyers.

   The second edition of the said course is on the domain of IALS – which is planned for days during the month of February and March 2019.

   Purpose of the course:

   • This course on Legislative Drafting is designed to empower students of law, lawyers and public officers, officers working in the legislative wing of the Parliament and State Legislature with the essential skills that a good draftsman must hold.
   • The Course emphasizes on the need of specialized and expertise knowledge of legislative drafting which is essential for legal profession. The purpose of the course is to empower, applicants who would like to pursue legislative drafting as their career, train them to apply best drafting practices.
   • The purpose of the training programme is to promote an ethos amongst the participants about the necessity of drafting statutes in clear, simple and easy to understand language. This certificate course aims at capacity building of the participants in effective drafting of laws and also expose them to the essential skills that a good draftsman must hold.

   Course Modules:

   • What Statute Law is? Who legislates?
   • The purpose of Legislation
   • Legislative process
   • Legislative drafting
   • The semantics of Legislative drafting
   • Writing Legislative sentences
   • Importance of communication in legislative drafting
   • Factors which bock reader’s comprehension
   • Key tools for drafters
     1. Language use
     2. Legal writing
     3. Ancillary skills
   • Drafting the Preliminary Provisions-long title, commencement etc.
   • Drafting of Substantive provisions; supplementary provisions
   • Statutory interpretation and its relevance to legislative drafting.

   Learning Outcomes:
   The learning outcomes of the course are as follows;

   • Chose a career as legislative drafters
   • Translate policy guidelines into new primary and secondary legislation
   • Drafting of new legislations
   • To amend existing legislation

Completed:

• The Tribunal System in India;

Projects in Hand:

• Social Action Litigation: A study of the Profile of the Litigant;
• Causes of delay in Criminal Justice System: With special reference to offence of rape in trial courts: Solutions and suggestions

IALS has published law bulletins in the regional language (Marathi) as well in English -Under the title

1. “Kayada Sarvansathi”
2. “Law Awareness”
3. “Do You Know Your Rights”

The purpose of these bulletins is to provide information about laws to the common man, in their interest.
On 27th December 2003, four such booklets (three in Marathi and one English) under the caption “Kayada Sarvansathi”, and “Law Awareness” were released at the hands of Smt. Medha Patkar. Institute has to its credit, as on today, the following Booklets.

1. Human Rights Violation in Narmada Valley. (English)
2. Narmada Khoryatil Manavi Hakkanche Ullanghan. (Marathi)
3. Rights of the accused – फौजदारी कायदा आणि सामान्य माणूस (Phujdari Kayade ani Samanya Manus)
4. Law and the Layman – कायदा आणि सामान्य माणूस (Kayada ani Samanya Manus ) (Marathi)

Publication of a leaflet under the caption – “Do you know Your Rights?”

• Elder’s Rights: An overview of the Legislation “The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007”, applicable to senior citizens / parents.

Proposed Booklets under the scheme Law Awareness Booklets:

1. Laws of the Disabled Persons
2. Consumer’s Law
3. Law relating to Succession
4. Law relating to Marriage

Endowments; Funds and Grants of the Institute

1. Endowment: 
   An endowment of Rs. 6, 00,000/-is created under the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, in memory of Late Shri.G.N. Katre by his siblings. G.N. Katre retired as a District and Sessions Judge. His main concern during the tenure as a judge was about the delays in the justice system particularly in the criminal trials. His chief anxiety was the long-drawn-out years that are taken for disposal of trials of serious crimes such as murders; rapes and robberies. He had recommended serious investigation into the problem by carrying out proper research. The purpose of the endowment thus is focused to promote research in the area of criminal justice system to identify the causes of delays and to suggest solutions. Institute of Advanced Legal Studies under the said Endowment – has undertaken a research on the topic Causes of delay in Criminal Justice System: With special reference to offence of rape in trial courts: Solutions and suggestions
2. Funds: 
   Major source of funding has been the Ford Foundation, New Delhi.
   1991:
   The Ford Foundation gave a pilot grant to the ILS Law College in 1985 for conducting five workshops for judicial officers. In 1991, the Ford Foundation gave a grant of $ 1, 00,000 (INR 25,79,000/-) to the Institute for:
   1. Conducting workshops for the judges and administrative officers performing quasi-judicial functions;
   2. Conducting a research project on the Tribunal System in India.

   1999:
   In 1999, the Ford Foundation gave a grant of $ 70,000 (INR 32,49,750/- ) for conducting a research project on Social Action Litigation.

   2000
   In the year 2000, a revised budget was submitted to the Ford Foundation, which was approved, and a supplementary grant of $ 50,000 (INR 22,84,000/-) was sanctioned for completing the said project.

Grant:

1. Cummins Lecturer-ship in Law
   The Cummins Diesel India Foundation gave a grant of Rs.5, 00,000/- to the Indian Law Society for creating a chair of a Cummins Lecturer in the Institute. The Cummins Lecturer was required to perform following functions.
   1. 1. General Administration
      2. Managing the courses conducted by the Institute
      3. Suggesting changes in the curriculum of the courses conducted by the Institute
      4. Preparing and updating the teaching materials for such courses.
      5. Helping in the research effort of the Institute.
      6. Conducting personal research,
      7. Taking part in seminars
      8. Publishing research papers.

    

2. Workshops and seminars
   The Institute conducts training programs to judges, lawyers and specific consumers. The training programs were designed with a focus to provide continuing education to the legal fraternity to keep abreast about the advancement in the legal field. Training programs like training in Consumer Law; Gender sensitization etc. These programs are designed to provide continuing legal education to update the audience with the developments in the laws.

The Institute of Advanced Legal Studies conducted various Workshops for judicial officers, administrative officers and lawyers in the academic years 1992-93 and 1993-94, for proper utilization of the Ford Foundation fund. To mention a few:

1992 to 1994

1. Conciliation Proceedings in. Industrial Relations, 8-9th February 1992 for Conciliation Officers of the Govt. of Maharashtra.
2. Consumer Protection Law,/ 28-29th March 1992 for Presiding Officers of the District Forums in Maharashtra.
3. Tax Laws, 27-29th June 1992 for Assistant Income-tax Commissioners and Commissioners in the Pune Region.
4. Women and Violence –I, 14-15th Nov. 1992 for District and Sessions Judges / Additional District Judges.
5. Women and Violence – II, 11-12th January 1993 for Lawyers. Workshop
6. Administrative Discretion, 12-14th August 1993 for Registrars, Deputy and Assistant Registrars of Co-Op. Societies
7. Justice to Neglected Children, 28-30th August 1993 for Chairpersons of the Boards under the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986.
8. Family Court and Gender Justice, 8-9th January 1994 for Judges of the Family Courts, Senior Division Judges, Conciliation Officers etc.
9. Women and Development, 10-11th January 1994 for Lawyers, Law Teachers and Activists.
10. Perspectives of Consumer Justice, September 1994 for the Presiding Officers and other members of the District Forums in Maharashtra
11. Towards a Common Law of Adoption, October 1994 wherein a model common law of adoption containing provisions as to who can adopt, who can be adopted and who can give in adoption, as also procedures, institutional midwifing of adoption and inter-country adoption was subjected to intense discussion. The participants were social workers, lawyers and social scientists.

As a part of the project on “Social Action Litigation” one day workshops on the following topics were organized to get inputs about the status of PIL in India through interactions with the activists.

2000-2001

1. Securing Rights of Women and Children: PIL and other strategies”-3rd March 2000
2. Public hearing on ‘Big dams and Alternatives’ in collaboration with National Alliance of Peoples Movements and National Commission for Women on 26th March 2000.
3. Competing Urban space: PIL and other strategies – 9th September 2000.
4. Repercussions on People’s Movements and Public Interest Litigation’:- 15th November 2000
5. “Adoption from the perspective of child right”- 28th July 2001.
6. “Asserting Tribal Rights: PIL and other strategies” – 11th August 2001.