His Lordship, Judge S.P. Bharucha, Executive Chairman of NALSA, has repeatedly urged the State judicial authorities to continue to maintain Lok Adalats under the old model so that the pace of Lok Adalats processing cases is not impeded. Permanent and continuous Lok Adalats are mainly aimed at resolving disputes in the pre-litigation phase and more contentious cases pending before the district courts, where the parties can only be motivated by repeated meetings in order to reach an agreement. The advisory and mediation bodies in the districts and the permanent Lok Adalats in the districts can be brought together under one roof and work effectively in harmony. The most important contribution of the legal services authorities to the administration of justice would be the settlement of disputes by Lok Adalats in the pre-litigation phase, so that the influx of cases into our already overburdened courts is reduced as much as possible. Most government legal services offices are now equipped with fax machines, computers and e-mail services. These modern arrangements will certainly help legal advisers to act quickly to provide legal assistance and meaningful assistance to the persons in question. Under the chairmanship of the Honourable Executive Chairman at the time, Justice Altamas Kabir, the following innovative measures were introduced into NALSA`s operations: Judge S.P. Bharucha, Executive Chairman of NALSA in Nyaya Deep, and in his keynote address at the meeting of secretaries members at the NALSA Bureau on 19.2.2000, stressed the need to improve the quality of legal aid, which is provided by the judiciary.
Advocate for development aid. His Lordship noted that millions of people in this country, living below the poverty line in backward and remote tribal areas, turn to legal services authorities for help and assistance in resolving their legal problems. When they are involved in litigation, they very often feel that they are fighting an unequal battle in which the party with better financial resources can get more competent legal assistance. His Lordship believes that these poor and weaker strata should not give the impression that they receive comparatively inferior legal assistance. His Lordship has asked the legal services authorities to revise the remuneration schedule for Legal Aid Board lawyers and tighten them up so that the lawyers of the Unit receive more work and better remuneration from the legal aid authorities and thus be encouraged to provide effective legal assistance to those supported. NALSA, or National Legal Services Day, was founded in 1995. This was done under the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987. To get legal aid, the person can choose to write an application. People can follow up by submitting the same in offline mode or online. Here are the roles that the authorities have assumed among them, free legal aid that provides advice to those in need. Legal aid clinics in all villages staffed by volunteer paralegals and roster lawyers. The first movement of legal aid seems to date back to 1851, when legislation was introduced in France to provide legal assistance to those in need.
In Britain, the history of organised state efforts to provide legal services to the poor and needy dates back to 1944, when Lord Chancellor Viscount Simon set up the Rushcliffe Committee to examine existing facilities in England and Wales to obtain legal advice to the poor and to make desirable recommendations to ensure that people in need of legal advice from the state. Since 1952, the Indian government has also addressed the issue of legal aid for the poor in various conferences of justice ministers and legal commissions. In 1960, certain guidelines for legal aid plans were developed by the government. Legal aid programmes have been established in various countries through legal aid committees, companies and legal services. In 1980, a committee was formed at the national level to oversee and supervise legal aid programs throughout the country under the chairmanship of the Honourable Justice P.N. Bhagwati, then a Justice of the Supreme Court of India. This committee became known as CILAS (Committee for the Implementation of Legal Aid Schemes) and began overseeing legal aid throughout the country. The introduction of Lok Adalats added a new chapter to the country`s judicial system and succeeded in providing litigants with a complementary forum for the conciliatory settlement of their differences. In 1987, the Law on Legal Aid Bodies was promulgated in order to provide a legal basis for legal aid programmes throughout the country in a uniform pattern.
This law was finally adopted on 9 September. It was introduced in November 1995, following the introduction of certain amendments by the Amending Act of 1994. The Honourable Justice R.N. Mishra, then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, played a key role in the enforcement of the law. In short, the whole purpose of National Legal Services Day is to provide citizens with free and competent legal assistance. It focuses on people who are part of the poor part of the country. This act also mentions that the Lok Adalats must be established on that day for the peace settlement to be concluded. NALSA was established under the Legal Services Authority Act of 1987 for the purpose of providing free legal services to the weaker sections of society and organizing Lok Adalats for the amicable settlement of disputes. The Chief Justice of India is the Chief Justice of NALSA and the Second Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India is the Acting Chief Justice of NALSA. Article 39A of the Constitution provides for free legal assistance to the poor and vulnerable sections of society in order to promote justice based on equal opportunities. Articles 14 and 22, paragraph 1, oblige the State to ensure equality before the law. The Legal Aid Counsel program, designed and implemented by His Lordship the Honourable Justice A.S.
Anand, when His Lordship was Executive President, was well received throughout the country. Legal assistance has been provided in most of the country`s courts of first instance to provide immediate legal assistance to prisoners who are unable to hire their own lawyer. The Honourable Justice S.P. Bharucha, Executive Chairman of NALSA, stressed at the working session of the Second Annual Meeting of State Legal Services Authorities in Hyderabad that counseling and mediation centers should be established in all districts of the country to reach a negotiated solution to disputes between the parties. All State legal services are taking steps to establish such centres, which would be extremely useful in resolving pre-litigation disputes and would also assist legal officials in determining whether or not a person who comes to them has prima facie grounds in their favour, which is a prerequisite for the granting of legal aid. The Executive Chair has repeatedly stressed that legal aid should not be provided systematically and that frivolous cases should not be supported by legal aid authorities. Following the establishment of the Central Authority and the NALSA Bureau in early 1998, the following plans and measures were considered and implemented by the Central Authority: (a) Establishment of permanent and continuous locomotive adalats in all districts of the country to resolve outstanding issues and disputes at the pre-litigation stage; b) Establishment of a separate permanent and continuous Ada locomotive for the government. for legal aid before the Supreme Court of India and Rs 1,000,000 per annum for legal aid up to the High Courts; and (m) measures to establish rules for the reimbursement of court fees and the enforcement of arbitral awards adopted by Lok Adalats. School clubs of legal competence have been established in all high schools under the aegis of the State legal services to raise awareness and obey the law and disseminate the philosophy of the rule of law among the younger generation.
