Master of Laws (Access to Justice)

Description

Access to law and justice is the hallmark of any civilised and caring society—a basic necessity in a democracy governed by the rule of law, which is supreme. Access to Justice means being treated fairly according to the law and if you are not treated fairly, being able to get appropriate redress. It also means making access to law less complex and everyone having some basic understanding of their rights. Access to justice includes not only access to courts and legal redress mechanisms, but also good governance including transparency and accountability in the making of laws and process of their implementation and administration.

The current justice delivery system is perceived as expensive, time-consuming, procedure-ridden, technical and difficult to comprehend, which prevents the poor and vulnerable groups from approaching the legal system to redress their grievances. Complex laws and procedures, an expensive system to deal with the huge backlog of cases, delays in delivering justice, and corruption are some of the challenges to accessing justice. The laws, legal institutions and processes need to be reformed so that they are more responsive to the needs of all citizens, particularly the vulnerable and marginalised groups and individuals in the society. There is an urgent need to create a cadre of conscientious and socially committed lawyers to transform the justice system. It is in this context, a programme to develop socially committed legal professionals assumes significance. The one-year, full time, Master’s degree programme in Law (LL.M) aims at developing legal professionals with greater skills, sensitivity and commitment to deliver basic, high quality legal services to the poor, marginalised and vulnerable groups in society.

Graduates from this LL.M. programme will be creative problem-solvers and fundamentally alter the way justice system works for the most needy sections of the society. They will have knowledge, skills and perspective to practice law that can deliver justice to all people, and advance the cause of the disadvantaged and marginalised groups. Graduates can practice in the Court of Law, and work for the society using expertise in legal literacy, socio-legal research, policy analysis and advocacy, and legislative reforms. They can also find employment with universities and research institutions, legal institutions and services, peoples’ organisations, or have an independent practice. This programme involves classroom teaching, Research, Fieldwork, Legal Services Clinics, intern-ships, Visits to the legal Institutions, and participation in research projects, seminars, workshops, etc. TISS has a group of faculty with long years of experience as teachers, practitioners, legal experts. In addition, this programme will be supported by visiting and adjunct faculty consisting of law teachers from other universities within and outside the country, retired judges, practising lawyers, civil servants, professionals, social activists and trade unionists strongly committed to the cause of social justice. The one-year programme will be conducted in two semesters.

Distribution of Credit Hours:

Semesterwise Courses:

Note: The total number of credits, list of CBCS courses, and semester-wise listing of courses is provisional, and may undergo some changes.

Fee Structure:

*Institute reserves the rights to revise the Fees Structure of programme if necessary.

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