Academic Article by- Anuj Vishwakarma
Introduction-
Originally started to be a method of practical teaching, legal aid clinics over the course of time have evolved to be an ethical free service to serve the poor and backward class. Legal aid clinics are law school-based programs intended to make legal services and reliefs easily accessible to the poor and backward people. They are almost on the similar lines of primary health centres in which doctors (primarily medical students providing medical services to serve the backward and poor class and gain practical knowledge and skills to a medical practitioner as well) and other medical staff provide basic health care services to the backward and poor people. However, The work of these clinics is not only restricted to providing free legal services, but also extends to educating people about legal rights, promoting legal services, spreading legal and social awareness, etc. Students typically provide legal assistance to the clients, draft legal documents, do research on the matter in hand, sometimes also give oral argumentations in the courts. However, in India, the direct representation of clients by law students is restricted to the PIL cases only. In India, legal aid clinics work under the aegis of the National Legal Services Authority which adopted a scheme in 2010 called the National Legal Services Authority (Legal Aid Clinics) Scheme, 2010, to provide legal services and assistance to the poor, marginalised and weaker sections of the society as categorised in Section 12 the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 (Central Act).
Importance in India-
Ensure access to justice-
The rule of law and access to justice for all is an important principle enshrined in the Indian Constitution. The Preamble to the constitution of India also seeks to achieve social, economic, and political justice. Further, Article 39-A of the Indian Constitution directs the state to secure the operation of the legal system to promote justice on the basis of equal opportunity. The state shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation and schemes, or to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic status or other disabilities. Legal aid clinics work to achieve these important tenets of the Constitution. In India, economically and socially backward people have a high number of legal problems, however, due to the constrain of economical means and neglect by the already overburdened legal system in the country, these people go without representation. Even if somehow economically backward they arrange for private legal, it costs them a fortune of money. This is against the tenets of equality and free legal aid to the marginalized as provided under the Constitution. Legal aid clinics work toward achieving these tenets of the Constitution by enabling the marginalized section of quality legal assistance and services. This provides access to justice to the people.
Impart practical knowledge to law students-
In law schools, though theoretical knowledge of the law is thoroughly imparted, practical knowledge is not sufficiently provided to the law students. No amount of theoretical knowledge is sufficient in the absence of the knowledge of its applicability. Opportunities for mooting are also limited. Students pursuing law have the enthusiasm to provide legal services. Legal aid clinics thus work in serving the two-fold purpose, the first that they provide free legal services to economically weaker people, and second, they direct the efforts and energies of the students of law in contributing to the society. These students are guided by their teachers. The members of the Legal Aid clinic are tied up in spreading legal awareness in rural areas through street plays as well as legal aid camps where they make the population aware of different legal service programs and assist them to avail these facilities.
Help educate the people of their rights-
In India, many people are still unaware of their basic rights due to which the legal aid movement has not achieved its goal yet. In the absence of legal awareness, exploitation and deprivation of rights and benefits of the poor is very easy. It is the need of the hour that the poor illiterate people should be provided with legal knowledge and should be educated on their basic rights. The poor people who are socially and economically marginalized do not know about their legal rights and the legal procedures to solve disputes. They either wave off on their rights or end up solving them on the streets or to make the situation worse, they use their muscle power. This kills the legal system of the country and the citizens lose faith in the administration of the law of the country. Legal aid clinics contribute significantly to curbing this exploitation and ignorance of the people by making them aware of their rights and the legal assistance they can seek. Thus, legal aid to the poor and weak person is compulsory for the preservation of the rule of law which is necessary for the existence of the society. The poor and the unaware people being kept in the dark and not given justice is unequal to the law and rights being infringed unfair to all the citizens.
Conclusion-
The Clinical Legal Education movement is procuring momentum in India as in other parts of the world. Many law schools in India have set up legal aid clinics as required by law. However, only some of these clinics are functional, while others exist only on paper or are not operational. The most basic and common activity performed by these clinics in India is community awareness. With approximately 26 percent of India’s population illiterate, people here are in acute need of awareness about the law and their rights, duties, and government policies. Law school clinics provide community awareness via legal literacy programs. Street plays, workshops, rallies, poster displays, and public talks are common methods used in legal literacy programs. There is no doubt that these activities are necessary for any legal aid clinic and must be carried out extensively, but in addition to that different approach towards them would fetch much better benefits.
References-
http://chdslsa.gov.in/right_menu/schemes/pdffiles/legal_aid_clinic.pdf
file:///D:/Downloads/India_Legal_Aid_Clinics_Creating_Service_Learning_.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_clinic
https://in.linkedin.com/company/legal-aid-clinic-nliu-bhopal
https://indiacsr.in/legal-aid-clinics-scheme-for-rural-india/
http://www.commonlii.org/in/journals/NALSARLawRw/2013/13.pdf
https://www.lawctopus.com/academike/legal-aid-and-legal-schools/