In this chapter we examine the problems that plague India's lower courts and trace the evolution of dispute forums outside the courts. We focus on the currently much favored lok adalat forum where disputes are mediated, describing their functioning and assessing their performance. Finally, we suggest preferable strategies by which India might serve die legal needs of the vast majority of its citizens. We conclude that to truly recognize and protect the legal rights of those citizens, India must move beyond simply promoting the lok adalats.
Bibliographic Citation
Debased Informalism: Lok Adalats and Legal Rights in Modern Indian, in Erik G. Jensen & Thomas C. Heller, eds., Beyond Common Knowledge: Empirical Approaches to the Rule of Law (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press: 2003) 76-121.
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