In a country with a well-established judicial system, justice is delivered through the judgments of the Courts. A common man’s journey for justice begins at the gates of trial courts. It is these courts where the faith in justice system can be reassured or shaken. Hence, it is very important for these courts to write judgments keeping in mind all the necessary parameters. Being the courts of first instance, trial Courts must deal with facts, oral as well documentary evidence very meticulously. Sound understanding of legal concepts and the legal authorities concerning the matter is also very crucial for writing the judgment. The judgment should satisfy the parties about its outcome and therefore must be accompanied with proper reasons. Hence, much attention is to be given to the way the judgments are written.
Judgment writing is a skill and requires formal training and practice. Unfortunately, no training is imparted to the law students at any point in the curriculum to equip them with the art of writing a judgment. Therefore, Indian Law Society has decided to conduct a One Day Online Workshop on Trial Court Judgment Writing. This workshop will witness retired judges, sitting judges, lawyers and academicians guiding the participants about various niceties of writing a good judgment.
The workshop will cover discussion on writing judgments for civil and criminal cases before trial courts.
Who may Apply: Law Students/Aspirants of Judiciary/Law Professionals
Last Date of Application: 7th August 2024
Admission: First come first serve basis
Fees: Rs. 750/- (inclusive of GST)
Date of Workshop: 10th August 2024
Time of Workshop: 2:00 PM onwards
Online Platform: Google Meet.
The link of the workshop will be shared with the registered participants one day prior to the workshop.
Certification: E-Certificate about participation in workshop will be provided to the participants attending all the sessions of the workshop.
Detailed Program Schedule:
Day | Time | Topic | Resource Person |
Introductory Session | 02:00 PM to 02:10 PM | Welcome and Introduction to the Workshop | Dr. Varsha Khandagale |
Session 1 | 02:10 PM to 03:10 PM | Thinking Like a Judge -Developing qualities of a judge- impartiality, empathy, in accordance with Law – Do’s and don’ts while writing a judgment – What the appellate court wants to see in the trial court judgment? |
Justice Shriram Modak, Judge, Bombay High Court |
Session 2 | 03:10 PM to 03:40 PM | Understanding the overall structure of a judgment (Civil and Criminal) | Ms Sharvari Joshi, Civil Judge Junior Division & Judicial Magistrate First Class |
Session 3 | 03:40 PM to 05:40 PM | Understanding parts of a judgment (Civil and Criminal) – Opening Statement of a judgment – Facts – How much facts to write, how to write the facts in neutral manner – Determining issues involved in the matter – Finding out admitted factsFinding out presumed facts – Evidence – Writing about oral and documentary evidence – Writing Conclusions issue-wise – Proving beyond reasonable doubt and preponderance of probabilities |
Dr. Nilima Bhadbhade, Lawyer and Academician |
05:40 PM to 05:50 PM | Question and Answer Session | ||
05:50 PM to 06:00 PM | Vote of Thanks |
The discussions in session no. 2 and 3 will be conducted with reference to pre-decided set of facts. Facts of a civil and criminal case will be given to the resource persons and participants in advance. The participants are advised to read the facts of both the cases in advance, to facilitate better learning and participation during the workshop. The participants are required to keep their videos on during the workshop.