Name – ABINASH DAS

Institution – P. G. Department of law, Utkal University

ASSIGNMENT NO. - 3

(Q.1) How students should keep themselves updated on the

latest judgments or rulings of various Courts/tribunals setting
up principles of law?

“In order for lawyers to play this vital role in our society, legal education needs to combine
and replicate these core democratic and constitutional values with the highest standards of
professional competence and skill.”

Legal judgements are written decisions authored by judges explaining how they resolved a
particular legal dispute and explaining their reasoning. The following suggestions can be
implemented in order to make the law students aware about the nitty-gritty of various Courts
or tribunals setting up principles of law:

1. Empirical understanding of law and legal institutions through internships and field
work

In order to make the law students to have a careful understanding about the facts of the case,
the Bar Council of India can impose a mandate of undergoing eight weeks compulsory legal
internship in the Supreme Court or High Court. This will inculcate amongst the law students,
the ability to use the law to respond to critical problems in social policy and how the laws
operate in the Society.

2. To inculcate or develop the rationale behind the final judgement

Most law students underestimate the importance of the facts when they read a case.
Therefore, online portals like – “SCC Online and Live Law” should be made freely
accessible to the law students to get a thorough understanding of the arguments that each
party argued in the court. This will help in understanding of the final outcome of the judicial
decision and the rationale or reasoning behind the majority opinion, as well as the reasoning
of any concurring an dissenting opinions.
 3. To encourage law students to raise questions as to understand the impact and legal
force behind the passing of a judgement

How the law should be reformed? Why the law should not be reformed in a certain way, if it
is affecting the interest of the Society at large? How the law might develop in the future in
order to do substantial justice or to shape the Society? Why the decision in a particular case
that was decided in the past was fundamentally flawed with the result that the case should be
ignored? Why a particular case that was decided in the past is extremely important and is
binding on the present scenario?

4. To understand how the line of reasoning of a judgement or a Court decision affects

the rights of people or religious denominations

If a fundamental right has been abrogated affecting the public interest at large, then it
is the Constitutional duty of the Court to adopt a harmonious construction while
dealing with the conflicting rights of the people. It is pertinent on the part of the law
students to understand the grounds on a state law is challenged for restricting or
violating the right to deny entry to certain Hindu classes. The law students need to
adopt an empirical approach as to visualise the furtherance of social welfare and
reform as embedded in a judicial decision.

(Q.2) What is the nature of public policy with regard to target

groups?

I. Essence of Public Policy

Public policy is the regulated guide, to action taken by the administrative executive branches
of the state, with regard to some issues, in a manner consistent with law and institutional
customs.

India’s global competitiveness is directly linked to its ability to formulate and implement
sound and effective public policies, which is often ignored in India. The purpose of public
policy is not only to provide all answers, but also to help the government in asking the right
questions in the first place. Governance has become tied to democracy, with the public sphere
becoming crucial and public policy a critical field. Public policy is broadly conceived as
about ‘government’, its behaviours, actions, intentions, interactions and commitments and for
the common good. Public Policies are goal oriented. Public policies are formulated and
implemented in order to attain the objectives which the government has in view for the
ultimate benefit of the masses in general. These policies clearly spell out the programmes of
government. In short, public policies are governmental decisions, and are actually the result
of activities which the government undertakes in pursuance of certain goals and objectives. It
can also be said that public policy formulation and implementation involves a well-planned
pattern or course of activity and requires a thoroughly close knit relation and interaction
flanked by the significant governmental agencies viz., the political executive, legislature,
bureaucracy, and judiciary.

II. Nature of Public policies

“Public policy is not a decision, it is a course or pattern of activity. It delineates a time frame
in which its goals are to be achieved and follows a defined course of action viz. formulation,
implementation, monitoring, and evaluation”

i. Public policy is what the government actually decides or chooses to do. It is the
relationship of the government units to the specific field of political environment in a
given administrative system. It can take a diversity of shapes like law, ordinances,
court decisions, executive orders, decisions etc.
ii. Public policy is positive in the sense that it depicts the concern of the government and
involves its action to a scrupulous problem on which the policy is made. It has the
sanction of law and authority behind it.
iii. Removal of poverty is a goal that the government wants to pursue. Public policies are
concerned with such specific goals.
iv. In order to become a policy, the goal has to be translated into action. Programmes
have to be intended to achieve specific objectives. As an illustration, let us look at the
policy of poverty alleviation. Many programmes have been intended for this, e.g., The
integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP), The National Rural Employment
Programme (NREP) etc.
v. Each programme has certain goals to achieve within a specified time and each
programme is provided with financial possessions and administrative personnel.
 Policy spells out the strategy of achieving a goal. Therefore policy is essentially an
instrument to achieve a goal.
vi. Decision-making can result in action, in changes in the decision-making itself, or both
or neither. The policies of most socially important decision-making, such as most
public policy making are planned to result in action. Also policies directed at the
policy making tools itself such as efficiency drives in government are action oriented,
such as – ‘The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)’ is a government scheme
launched in 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which envisages the distribution
of 50 million LPG connections to women below the poverty line.