Notice

SEMINAR AND DISCUSSION SOCIETY

CAMPUS LAW CENTRE

http://sdsclc.blogspot.in/

 

Mr. Nick Robinson Nicholas will make a presentation on an Empirical Study entitled "Indian Supreme Court by Numbers" on Wednesday, February 27, 2013 at 1.30 p.m in the Seminar Hall of Campus Law Centre. All are welcome to participate. A brief synopsis is attached herewith.

Prof (Dr.) Usha Tandon
Convener

Synopsis 

By

Mr. Nick Robinson Nicholas

Indian Supreme Court by Numbers

The Indian Supreme Court is both powerful and sprawling. In dozens of major causes each year its orders have far reaching political, economic, and social consequences. At the same time, it hears tens of thousands of admission matters and thousands of regular hearing matters each year. Yet, remarkably little research has been done on the Court's actual workload and how it has changed over time, largely because of difficulties in acquiring and interpreting data. In this Talk, Nick Robinson uses both publicly available and internal Supreme Court data to analyze the Court's docket in detail - including from where appeals come, what kind of cases they are, and which get accepted for regular hearing.

Understanding the Supreme Court's Docket in more depth not only sheds light on the functioning of this important institution, but raises fundamental questions about what role the Court should be playing within the judicial system. Should the Court focus more on constitutional benches or Public interest Litigation? How much time should be spend supervising the High Courts? What types of litigation should it be most accessible to? These are questions that not only the court's judges need to grapple with, but lawyers and Indians more generally. It is hoped a better understanding of the Court's workload will aid in this effort.