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Among the law teaching institutions in Western India, Institute of Law, Nirma University has assumed a prominent place in a relatively short period. The credit goes entirely to a dedicated team of enthusiastic teachers and the liberal support extended by the Board of Governors headed by Chairman, Dr. Karsanbhai Patel. Let me record my appreciation for the good work you are doing for quality education and wish you all success for your noble endeavor.It is thoughtful on the part of Institute of Law, Nirma University to have convened this Seminar on a topic crying for attention of scholars and researchers for a long time in this country. What impact the laws are making on the lives of the people particularly the marginalized sections for whose welfare the Constitution has provided special provisions? Article 38 of the Indian Constitution mandates the State to secure a social order for the promotion of welfare of the people and in particular, strive to minimize the inequalities in income, eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities, not only amongst individuals but also amongst groups of people residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations. Article 39 further stipulates the State to secure adequate means of livelihood for all citizens, equal pay for equal work for both men and women, protection of the strength and health of workers, tender age of children from not being abused, dignity of childhood and youth etc. Though the Constitution does not show preference to any particular model of economic development and left it to the Government to decide, it does direct the State to see that "(a) the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to sub serve the common good, and (b) that the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment". This is the socialist philosophy of the Constitution and the social justice agenda set for the Parliament and State Assemblies. Article 37 explicitly states that though the Directives are not directly enforceable through courts, yet they are fundamental in the governance of the country and it shall be the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws.

It seems obvious that the Anna Hazare led movement has petered out. What is far from obvious is why the movement, even at its peak, seemed destined to end in disarray. Its limitation as a movement sprang from its inability to articulate what it was fighting against. But it is important to acknowledge that it was indeed a movement, for only then can we appreciate the deeper significance of its failure. When, in April, Anna Hazare sat on his hunger strike, the government seemed disoriented, if not paralyzed. The pedantic and condescending Chidambaram, the posh and glib Sibal, seemed unsettled. Manmohan Singh seemed more weightless than ever. In fact, the government for a few days seemed deprived of legitimacy. I don't think we had ever witnessed anything like this. No one doubted that Anna Hazarewas instantly the voice of a movement. Not thathe was notknown, but precisely because he was known, the authority he now commanded seemed all the more surprising.After Hazare called off the fast, and the stage was taken over by the negotiators, not many would have believed he would be able to repeat the act again. But come August, his authority and leadership seemed enhanced, the movement stronger and wider, and the government seemed composed of card-board

This article highlights the deeply contested nature of various conceptualizations of law and illustrates primarily the usefulness of pluralist methodology in legal analysis today. Highly politicized views infect much recent writing about Indian law, often represented today as examples of abuses of power and deeply deficient statehood. Both Shah Bano and Narendra Modi are used globally as iconic symbols to misrepresent and hide significant Indian legal developments. Many observers refuse to accept that Indian law is simply different from so-called Western, purportedly global prototypes. However, Indian law will continue to develop differently from Western models simply because law is of necessity culture-specific. The personal law system of India, in particular, despite some evidence of gradual harmonization, retains critical elements of structural and functional difference in legal management that global legal scholarship must account for in analyzing Indian laws and searching for 'the right law'. To argue against Indian personal laws today thus comes close to violating basic human rights, as Indians, too, deserve a right to culture.While many Indian lawyers fail to understand their own legal system, in theory and often in practice, confusions are multiplied when Gujarati NRIs as a long-established migrant group with multiple cross-jurisdictional links are embroiled in complicated intercultural cases litigated in English courts. The article advises basically more focused attention on intercultural conflicts of laws as an underdeveloped field within private international law.

Criminalization is the process of labelling a particular human conduct illegal, involving censorship from the State showing its disapproval of such conduct. The State will often impose a punishment or sanction on the actor who violates the mandate of the State as regards the prohibited act. Philosophers and legislators alike, espouse that each person in society has their own 'individual autonomy' and that the State should restrain itself from interfering with their individual autonomy. However, it may so happen that in the larger interests of society, it may become necessary for the State to curtail certain acts of individuals, this probably constituting a cramp on complete individual liberty. Individual autonomy involves concepts such as determinism and free will. Free will, simply put, means that man is free to make his own choices, and he does so independent of any rules guiding such choice. Determinism on the other hand is the belief that every event is governed by rules and that there is no 'random'. Through the ages, philosophers have remained largely conflicted about the compatibility and/or incompatibility of free will and determinism. If one were to adopt the determinist view – that every event is governed by laws – would that then mean that there is no scope for individual human choices? Would that therefore, mean that mens rea, an essential constituent of a crime, would be rendered redundant, thereby making no man capable of committing a crime? Or would it force us to go back to the drawing board and rethink the constituent elements of crime? This paper seeks to delve into these questions and more; to find out if the adoption of a determinist view would in fact annihilate the concept of mens rea.

Law and political science are related to each other. State, a subject of political science, is considered as a legal association. State is considered as protector of law. Law studies the principles of the state, organisation and citizens. The relationship of law and political science has been established by political thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau, Bentham, John Austin, Duguit and Maciver.

In the present era of increasing awareness among people about granting equal status to women and taking steps for their empowerment, a lot is happening. But the question we need to ask is whether all of these steps address the grave issues which have a major impact over women? The answer to this cannot be affirmative. In India, we grant certain property rights to women such as absolute rights over what we call as stridhan. When a woman decides to opt out of a marital relationship, she faces major sustenance issues. In order to help such women sustain themselves, various legislations have been put in place such as maintenance laws, Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 etc. But even these legislations hardly suffice in providing the required resources to a woman. In India, there is no law which regulates the division of marital property after divorce. As a result, we see a prevalence of separate marital property regime in India which means that the person who has the title to the property (mostly the one who made the major financial contribution and in Indian scenario, the man) takes the property after divorce. This regime creates huge problems in India because the contribution of the homemaker (the woman in Indian scenario) gets completely ignored and she is left with nothing in case the marital tie breaks down. The major purpose of this paper is to bring out this problem and argue for a legislation regulating the division of marital property after divorce and based on community of property regime, as it is followed under various other jurisdictions.

In India, the alternative dispute resolution forums are being encouraged, but the cardinal question of how to determine the most appropriate dispute resolution forum amongst Negotiation, Mediation, Arbitration and Litigation to resolve the dispute remains unanswered. This paper proposes a model containing six parts to answer this fundamental question. First part will involve understanding the emergence and transformation of client's dispute through the process of naming, blaming and claiming. This process even though essential, is often neglected. Second part will explain about understanding the client's expectation from the case. Third part will demonstrate evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the client's case by conducting a financial, reputational, organizational, personal, and legal risk analyses. This part will also explain the importance of framing a Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement and Worst Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement with the help of a case study. The benefit of evaluating the strength and weaknesses of the case, and framing a Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement and Worst Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement will also be covered in this part. Fourth part will include defining the client as a 'repeat player' or a 'one shotter' which will significantly affect the choice of appropriate dispute resolution forum. Fifth part will explain about the tiered dispute resolution process and escalation clause. Last part will emphasize that even though concept of 'vanishing trial' is becoming popular, cases which have the potential of setting precedents and rules for public good must be resolved through litigation. The paper will conclude by explaining the circumstances in which a particular dispute resolution process is suitable.