LEGAL METHODS COURSE

SOURCES (Module – I)
1. Legislation
• Delegated v. subordinate
• Prospective v. retrospective
• Codified v. uncodified
• Saving clause, exception, proviso, and/or distinction
2. Precedent
• Hierarchy of courts (civil and criminal)
• Perspective overruling
• Ratio v. obiter [Art. 141]
• Per incuriam, sub silentio, by consent of parties
• Precedent v. legislation
3. Customs
• Uncodified v. codified
• General v. local
• International custom v. domestic custom
• Evolution of common law
• Customs in personal law
COMMON LAW (Module – II) [Ian McLeod]
1. Role of custom in development
2. Role of legislation
3. Common law (three meanings)
4. Common law and equity division (with reliefs)
5. Judicature Act
6. Prerogative writs
7. Hierarchy of English courts
8. Civil Law
• Codification
• Meaning of ‘civil’ law
• Adversarial v. inquisitorial system
• Judicial review (administrative acts)
• Droit administrative (French Civil Law)
9. Religious Legal System
• Islamic
o Schools
• Secular laws under religious legal system
SOME GENERAL CONCEPTS (MODULE – III)
1. Public v. private law
• Participant basis
• Autonomy, hegemony difference
• Practice, policy distinction
 2. Ownership
• Ownership v. possession
• Types of ownership
o Trust v. beneficiary
o Contingent v. vested
o Legal v. equitable
o Co-ownership
• Modes of ownership
o Acts of party
o Operation of law
• Claims of ownership
o Better title
o Best title
o Personality (legal and natural)
o Corporate as a person
• Title
o Vestive facts
o Basis of title
MODULE – IV
1. Legal reasoning
• Deduction Scott Brewer
• Induction
• Abduction
2. Analogy in law
• Meaning of analogy
• Criteria of relevance – Lyod Wenrieh
3. Ratio descidendi
• Inverse test (Wambaugh)
• Material facts (Goodhart)
• Criticism of Goodhart by Julius Stone