Contours of Legal Aid: Past, Present and Future

The origins of legal aid are deeply rooted in Indian history and can be recited from old scriptures. From the extensive journey of the legal system from the Vedic era to the present, a codified legal framework of legal aid has grown to the myriad importance in India. Access to justice has been identified as a human right at the international level through Articles 8 and 10 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights. The General Assembly in 2012 adopted the ‘UN Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice System’, which is considered to be the first legal instrument for providing legal aid rights. At the national level, India is much ahead and considers legal aid as a basic right that flows from access to justice. The Constitution of India, through Articles 21 and 14, has identified fundamental rights through the active participation of judiciary. 2 Article 39A specifically states the state’s duty towards providing legal aid. 3 On the same line, there are provisions in civil 4 and criminal law 5 for providing free legal aid, so that access to justice can be achieved. In addition, the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, also works towards this goal by providing National Legal services Authorities (NLSA), District Legal Services Authorities (DLSA) and establishing Lok Adalats. The Bar Council of India made it compulsory for all law colleges and universities to establish legal aid cell to spread awareness about basic laws and free legal aid through various programmes. The Ministry of Law and Justice has also come up with the scheme of Designing Innovative Solutions for Holistic Access to Justice (DISHA) to achieve this constitutional mandate through the pro bono culture. In this article, Introduction gives a brief introduction to legal aid and its changing importance. In Development of the Concept of Legal Aid, historical development is traced to understand the need for legal aid in the early period. Analysis of Present Precise Legal Safeguard to Legal Aid focuses on the development of legal aid after the introduction of the Legal Aid Act and the efforts taken by the government and other educational institutions or contributing to promote to access to justice in the present era. In Legal Aid at an International Regime, some international efforts have been made to find legal aid in some developed countries. Way Forward provides the way forward for legal aid and discusses available best practices followed in this area with certain suggestions.