DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

A Tabular format indicating the vertical compression and horizontal expansion of the Statement of Budget Estimates to establish a one-to-one correspondence between financial and the outcome budgets (The budgetary allocations for Department of Justice for the year 2015-16 are indicated as below )

FINANCIAL AND OUTCOME BUDGET

The tabular format of the scheme-wise budgetary allocations in respect of the Grant No. 64 –Law & Justice for the year 2015-2016 is as follows:

ORGANIZATIONAL SET UP

The Department is headed by the Secretary, who is a Senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Officer. In addition to Secretary (Justice), the organizational setup includes three Joint Secretaries, five Directors / Deputy Secretaries and seven Under Secretaries. In addition to the matters connected with the appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts, the Department is also assigned the task of implementation and monitoring of Plan and Non-Plan Schemes; including the recently set-up National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms. 

SCHEMES IMPLEMENTED AND MONITORED BY THE DEPARTMENT 

The Schemes, which are implemented and monitored by the Department of Justice, are as follows:- 

PLAN SCHEMES: National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms has been set up with its period coinciding with the 12th Five Year Plan. It provides a platform for addressing the issues which affects the performance of the Judiciary. Infrastructure Development for Subordinate Judiciary is the thrust area of National Mission. Other Schemes / programmes mentioned below support objectives of National Mission: 

(i) Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Development of Infrastructural Facilities for the Judiciary. 

(ii) Scheme for Computerization of the District and Subordinate Courts. This Scheme is being implemented as a Mission Mode Project, titled, “ëCourt MMP”. 

(iii) Access to Justice – Government of India Project. 

(iv) United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) assisted externally aided project (EAP) “Access to Justice for Marginalized in India”. 

(v) Financial support to the States Governments for operationalisation of the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008. 

(vi) Action Research and Studies on Judicial Reforms. 

(vii) Setting up of Model Courts (The Scheme is yet to be approved). 

NON-PLAN SCHEMES: The Non-Plan Schemes being implemented and monitored by the Department of Justice are as under:- 

1. Grant-in-aid to the National Judicial Academy (NJA), Bhopal for meeting its operational expenditure. 

2. Central assistance to the States at specified rates for the operation of Family Courts. 

3. Grants-in-aid to the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to monitor and evaluate implementation of legal-aid programmes and to lay down policies and principles for making legal services available under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. The Plan and Non-Plan Schemes implemented by the Department of Justice and the subjects dealt with by the Department of Justice aim at providing support to the High Courts and the States for facilitating improved administration of justice, reducing backlog and pendency of cases in the courts.

. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

The Department of Justice (DoJ) is a part of the Ministry of Law & Justice (MoL&J). However, Administrative support to the Department of Justice is being provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). As per the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961, the subjects handled by the Department of Justice include the following:- 

1. Appointment, resignation and removal of the Chief Justice of India and Judges of the Supreme Court of India; their salaries, rights in respect of leave of absence (including leave allowances), pensions and travelling allowances. 

2. Appointment, resignation and removal etc. of the Chief Justice and Judges of High Courts, their salaries, rights in respect of leave of absence (including leave allowances), pensions and travelling allowances. 

3. Appointment of Judicial Commissioners and Judicial Officers in Union Territories. 

4. Constitution and organization (excluding jurisdiction and powers) of the Supreme Court (but including contempt of such Court) and the fees taken therein.

5. Constitution and organization of the High Courts and the Courts of Judicial Commissioners, except provisions as to offices and servants of these courts.

 6. Administration of Justice and constitution and organization of courts in the Union Territories and fees taken in such courts. 

7. Court fees and Stamp duties in the Union Territories. 

8. Creation of All India Judicial Service (AIJS). 

9. Conditions of service of District Judges and other Members of Higher Judicial service of Union Territories. 

10. Extension of the jurisdiction of a High Court to a Union territory or exclusion of a Union Territory from the jurisdiction of a High Court. 

11. Legal Aid to the poor. 

12. Administration of Justice. 

13. Access to Justice, Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms.

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT

1. Legislative Department acts mainly as a service provider in so far as the legislative business of the Union Government is concerned. As such, it does not have any specific scheme that can be translated into physical and quantifiable outputs. However, as a service provider, it ensures smooth and speedy processing of legislative proposals of various administrative Departments and Ministries. An overview of the subject matter mainly dealt with by the Legislative Department is as follows :- 

(i) Scrutiny of Notes for the Cabinet in relation to all legislative proposals from drafting and constitutional angles; 

(ii) Drafting of all Government Bills including Constitution (Amendment) Bills before introduction in Parliament; their translation into Hindi and forwarding of both English and Hindi versions of the Bills to the Secretariats of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha; drafting of official amendments to Bills, scrutiny of non-official amendments and rendering assistance to administrative Departments and Ministries to decide the acceptability or otherwise of non-official amendments;

(iii) Rendering assistance to Parliament and its Joint, Select and Standing Committees at all stages through which a Bill passes before enactment. This includes scrutiny of and assistance in preparation of reports and revised Bills to the Committees; 

(iv) Drafting of Ordinances promulgated by the President; 

(v) Drafting of legislation enacted as President’s Acts in respect of States under President’s rule; 

(vi) Drafting of Regulations made by the President; 

(vii) Drafting of Constitution Orders, i.e. Orders required to be issued under the Constitution; 

(viii) Scrutiny of all statutory rules, regulations, orders, notifications, resolutions, schemes, etc., and their vetting and translation into Hindi; 

(ix) Scrutiny of State legislation in the concurrent field, which require assent of the President under article 254 of the Constitution; 

(x) Scrutiny of legislation to be enacted by the Union territory Legislatures; 

(xi) Elections to Parliament, Legislatures of States and Union territories and Offices of the President and Vice-President; 

(xii) Apportionment of expenditure on elections between the Centre and the States/Union Territories with Legislatures; 

(xiii) Election Commission of India and electoral reforms; 

(xiv) Administration of the Representation of the People Act, 1950; the Representation of the People Act, 1951; the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991; 

(xv) Matters relating to the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners under the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991; 

(xvi) Matters relating to the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Legislative Assembly Constituencies. 

(xvii) Legislation on matters relating to personal laws, transfer of property, contracts, evidence, civil procedure, etc., in the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution; 

(xviii) Imparting training in legislative drafting to the officers of the Union and State Governments, etc. 

(xix) Publication of Central Acts, Ordinances and Regulations and their authorised translations in Hindi and other languages specified in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution and also translation of legal and statutory documents. 

(xx) Publication of Patrikas containing Hindi translation of selected judgments of the Supreme Court and High Courts on cases pertaining to constitutional, civil and criminal laws. 

2 Legislative Department does not have any statutory or autonomous body under its control. It has two other wings under it namely, the Official Languages Wing and Vidhi Sahitya Prakashan, which are responsible for propagation of Hindi and other Official Languages in the field of Law. 

(a) Official Languages Wing of the Legislative Department is responsible for preparing and publishing standard legal terminology and also for translating into Hindi all the Bills to be introduced in Parliament, all Central Acts, Ordinances, Subordinate legislations, etc. as required under the Official Languages Act, 1963. This Wing is also responsible for arranging translation of the Central Acts, Ordinances, etc., into the Official Languages as specified in the Eight Schedule to the Constitution as required under the Authoritative Texts (Central Laws) Act, 1973. The Official Languages Wing also releases Grantsin-aid to various registered voluntary organisations engaged in promotion and propagation of Hindi and other regional languages and those organisations, which are directly engaged for the publication of legal literature and propagation of Hindi and other languages in the field of Law. 

(b) Vidhi Sahitya Prakashan is mainly concerned with bringing out authoritative Hindi versions of reportable judgments of the Supreme Court and the High Courts with the objective of promoting the progressive use of Hindi in the legal field. In this connection, the Vidhi Sahitya Prakashan brings out various publications of legal literature in Hindi. It also holds exhibitions in High Courts, District Courts and Law Colleges of various States for giving wide publicity to legal literature available in Hindi and to promote sales. Under the Scheme for writing, translating and publishing of law books in Hindi and awarding prizes to such books for use as text books or reference books, an award to the tune of Rs.5,00,000/ - (Rupees Five lakh only) has been instituted. Under this Scheme, 1st prize of Rs.50,000/-(Rupees fifty thousand only), 2nd prize of Rs.30,000/-(Rupees thirty thousand only) and 3rd prize of Rs.20,000/ -(Rupees twenty thousand only) are awarded annually for the best publication in Hindi. 

3. The organisational set-up of the Legislative Department includes the Secretary, Additional Secretary, Joint Secretary & Legislative Counsel, Additional Legislative Counsel, Deputy Legislative Counsel and Assistant Legislative Counsel. The work relating to legislative drafting in relation to all forms of principal legislation and scrutinising and vetting of subordinate legislation under various statutes has been distributed amongst Legislative Groups of officers. Each Group is headed by a Joint Secretary & Legislative Counsel or Additional Secretary, who in turn is assisted by a number of Legislative Counsel at different levels. The Secretary acts as the Chief Parliamentary Counsel and the Additional Secretary is in charge of all subordinate legislation.