The Primary Sources of Legal Research

In one line

A primary source is the law itself rather than somebody's account of it, and in India the primary sources are the Constitution, Acts, subordinate legislation, notifications, judgments, and the official records of how each came to be.

In the wording a student can write in an exam: primary sources of legal research are those which contain the law itself, comprising the Constitution of India, Central and State legislation, subordinate legislation in the form of rules, regulations, bye-laws and orders, notifications published in the Gazette, treaties and international instruments, and the judgments of courts and tribunals, together with the official record of their making, such as Bills, statements of objects and reasons, legislative debates and Law Commission reports.

The list, with where each is found

The Constitution of India. India Code carries the official text with amendment footnotes, which is what this book used, chapter 540.

Central Acts. India Code, which now runs on a different platform from the one older guides describe; the routes an earlier tool used all return nothing, and this book records that in its own findings.

State Acts. The State's own legislative department, and India Code for many.

Subordinate legislation. Rules, regulations, bye-laws and orders. This is the category students neglect and it is often where the operative law is, chapter 840. The Rules of Legal Education 2008 and the NALSA Regulations of 2010 and 2011 are all subordinate legislation, and all three are on India Code.

Notifications. The Gazette of India and the State Gazettes. Commencement dates, appointed dates, prescribed amounts and declarations are all here and nowhere else. The Legal Services Authorities Act's commencement on 9 November 1995 by notification S.O. 893(E) is an example, chapter 550.

Judgments. The Supreme Court's own site, the High Courts' sites, and the free full-text databases. Chapter 940.

Treaties, where relevant.

And the record of making: Bills, statements of objects and reasons, legislative debates, and the reports of Law Commissions and committees. The 184th and 266th Reports are on the Law Commission's own site, chapter 720.

Why a primary source is not negotiable

Because a secondary source is somebody's reading of it, and readings differ, are abridged, and go out of date.

Because the words matter. A rule turns on the exact words, and a summary loses them. This book quotes section 12's eight clauses, chapter 570, because the difference between a woman and a poor woman is the whole of that clause.

And because a proposition attached to a summary cannot be checked, which fails chapter 790's first test.

The rule for a student, and it is short: read the source, cite the source, and use the secondary work to find it and to understand it.