NALSA

1. Background

• "The soul of India breathes in rural areas or villages” 
• Article 39A of the Constitution of India spells out the paradigm for ensuring justice to all. 
• The Constitutional vision of 'Equal Justice and Free Legal Aid' is imperative for a nation whose millions of people are living in abject poverty. 
• In consonance with the said vision, Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 was passed by the Parliament of India. 
• The Act came into force in the year 1995.
• “An Act to constitute legal services authorities to provide free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen because of economic or other disabilities, and to organize Lok Adalats to secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity” 
• The Legal Services Institutions which have come into existence under the Act are constantly working to achieve the objective of ensuring 'Equal Justice and Free Legal Aid' and strive to overcome the barriers such as legal illiteracy, complex judicial processes, etc. so that millions of marginalized people are afforded access to justice in the true sense of the term. 
• The Constitution of India makes it obligatory to ensure equality before the law and a legal system which promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity for all. The Legal Services Institutions must ensure that easier access to justice is made available to the poor, downtrodden and weaker sections of society. 
• The aim is to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reasons of economic or other disabilities.
• ‘Nyaya Deep’ is the official newsletter of NALSA.

2. Evolution of legal aid movement in India

• The first legal aid movement appears to have started in France in 1851 when a law was passed to provide legal assistance to the poor.
• Article 39A of the Indian Constitution assures underprivileged and weaker sections of society free legal help as well as fair justice for all.
• The State must also ensure equality before the law and a judicial system that promotes justice on an equal footing for all citizens, according to Articles 14 and 22(1) of the Constitution.
• Since 1952, the Indian Government has addressed the issue of legal aid for the underprivileged at several conferences of law ministers and low commissions.
• The Government issued rules for legal aid schemes in 1960 and plans were proposed by Legal Aid Boards, Societies, and Law Departments in several states. 
• Under the Chairmanship of Justice P.N. Bhagwati, then a Judge of the Supreme Court of India, a national committee was formed in 1980 to oversee and regulate legal assistance programs across the country.
• The Committee was renamed CILAS (Committee for the Implementation of Legal Aid Schemes) and was given the responsibility of overseeing legal aid activities across the country.
• Later, the Legal Services Authorities Act was enacted by Parliament in 1987 and came into force on November 9, 1995, to create a nationwide uniform network for delivering free and competent legal services to the weaker parts of society on an equal footing.

3. About National Legal Service Authority

• The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to provide free Legal Services to the weaker sections of the society and to organize Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes.
• NALSA is located in New Delhi. In every State, the State Legal Services Authority has been constituted to give effect to the policies and directions of the NALSA and give free legal services to the people and conduct Lok Adalats in the State. The State Legal Services Authority is headed by Hon’ble the Chief Justice of the respective High Court who is the Patron-in-Chief of the State Legal Services Authority.
• In every District, District Legal Services Authority has been constituted to implement Legal Services Programmes in the District. The District Legal Services Authority is situated in the District Courts Complex in every District and is chaired by the District Judge of the respective district.

4. Provisions of free legal aid may include

• Payment of court fees, process fees and all other charges payable or incurred in connection with any legal proceedings;
• Providing Advocate in legal proceedings;
• Obtaining and supplying certified copies of orders and other documents in legal proceedings.
• Preparation of appeal, and paper book including printing and translation of documents in legal proceedings.
• Rendering of any service in the conduct of any case or other legal proceeding before any court or other authority or tribunal.
• Giving advice on any legal matter

5. Functions of NALSA

• Spreading legal literacy and awareness through Information  Education  Communication (IEC) approach
• Undertaking social justice litigations.
• To organize Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes.
• Providing free and competent legal aid to the poor and weaker sections of society.
• To promote deliverable justice based on equal opportunity.
• Victim compensation.

6. Challenges associated

• Less number of people benefited: According to the India Justice Report 2019, just 15 million people have benefited from legal aid services since 1995, even though over 80% of the country's 1.25 billion inhabitants are eligible.
• Improperly Trained Advocates: The India Justice Report 2019 pointed out that lawyers are not trained well enough to provide satisfactory solutions to the people.
• Inefficient Use of Finance: The lack of optimal financial management and responsibilities, inadequate performance monitoring, and absence of mechanisms to gauge customer satisfaction hamper the functioning of Legal Aid Services to a great extent.
• Uneven organizational practices: In 2018, there were 664 district legal services authorities (DLSAs) and 2,254 sub-divisional/taluka legal services committees established across districts. Tripura, West Bengal, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh, on the other hand, have yet to create DLSAs in all of their judicial districts.
• Inadequate Women Representation: Amongst panel lawyers, the gender breakdown is much less encouraging, with only 18 per cent of them being women.

7. Innovative steps were taken by NALSA to ensure justice

• “Designing Innovative Solutions for Holistic Access to Justice in India“ has been launched with the aim to strengthen pre-litigation advice and consultation through 
• Tele-Law: Reaching the Unreached; 
• Ensure  pan - India dispensation framework to deliver Pro Bono legal Services through Nyaya Bandhu (Pro Bono Legal Services) programme; 
• Facilitate disposal of 15-year-old pending cases at the district level through its Nyaya Mitra programme and empower citizens through Pan India legal literacy and legal awareness programme. 
• The Scheme embeds the use of technology and developing contextualized IEC (Information, Education and Communication) material in regional/local dialects to support its intervention and to achieve easy accessibility of legal services to the poor and weakest sections of the society.