Legal system

7.01India is a parliamentary democracy governed by a lengthy written constitution widely perceived to be a ‘living instrument’, having been amended over a hundred times since its adoption in 1950. India has, in part, a common law legal system, a legacy of its colonial past. The principal sources of law are: (i) legislation, including statutes passed by the Parliament and state legislatures, and subordinate legislation such as rules, notifications and orders passed under the statutes; and (ii) common law to be found in decided cases developed by courts through a reliance on precedent. Much of the law of tort and administrative law is common law based.

7.02The Indian judicial system consists of a Supreme Court that sits in Delhi, and has original, appellate and advisory jurisdiction, and twenty-one High Courts spread across the territory of India. In addition, there are several specialised tribunals including the recently constituted National Green Tribunal. The law declared by the Supreme Court is binding on all courts within the territory of India.