First All India District Legal Services Authorities Meet

The District Legal Services Authorities meet will deliberate on creation of an integrated procedure in order to bring homogeneity and synchronisation across DLSAs.

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All India District Legal Services Authorities Meet- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: Governance, Administration and Challenges- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

District Legal Services Authorities Meet 2022 in News

Recently, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the inaugural session of First All India District Legal Services Authorities Meet at Vigyan Bhawan on 30th July 2022.

All India District Legal Services Authorities Meet

About: All India District Legal Services Authorities Meet 2022 is the first ever national level meet of District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs).
Mandate: The District Legal Services Authorities meet will deliberate on creation of an integrated procedure in order to bring homogeneity and synchronisation across DLSAs.
Venue: All India District Legal Services Authorities Meet 2022 is being organize from 30-31 July 2022 at Vigyan Bhawan.
Organizing Authority: First All India District Legal Services Authorities Meet is being organized by National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).

District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs)

About: DLSA was set up to provide free and legal aid and services to the weaker sections of this society to make sure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.
Parent Legislation: District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) is formed under Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.
Mandate: District Legal Services Authority is constituted in every District so that there must be proper implementation of Legal Aid Programmes and Schemes in the District.
Functioning: There are a total 676 District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) in the country. They are headed by the District Judge who acts as Chairman of the authority.
- Through DLSAs and State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs), various legal aid and awareness programmes are implemented by NALSA.
- The DLSAs also contribute towards reducing the burden on courts by regulating the Lok Adalats conducted by NALSA.
Composition: Section 9(1) of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 states that the DLSA is a body that shall be constituted by the State Government in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court.
- It shall be constituted in every District in the State in order to exercise the powers and perform the functions which are assigned under this Act.
- District Judge acts as the Chairman of the DLSA.

National Legal Services Authority (NALSA)- Key Points

Background: In 1987, the Legal Services Authorities Act was enacted by the Parliament, which came into force on 9th November, 1995.
- NALSA Act 1987 aims to establish a nationwide uniform network for providing free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society.
About: The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to provide free Legal Services to the weaker sections of the society.
NALSA Patron-in-Chief and Chairman: The Chief Justice of India (CJI) is the Patron-in-Chief and the Senior most Hon’ble Judge, Supreme Court of India is the Executive Chairman of the NALSA.
Need: NALSA was created to fulfill the following constitutional obligations-
- Preamble: NALSA aims towards fulfilling the Preambular promise of securing to all the citizens, Justice – social, economic and political.
- Articles 14 and 22(1) of the Constitution: make it obligatory for the State to ensure equality before law.
- Article 39 A: It aims to provide free legal aid to the poor and weaker sections of the society, to promote justice on the basis of equal opportunity.
Mandate: National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) aims-
- To legally empower the marginalized and excluded groups of the society by providing effective legal representation, legal literacy and awareness
- To legally empower the marginalized and excluded groups of the society by bridging the gap between the legally available benefits and the entitled beneficiaries.
- To strengthen the system of Lok Adalats and other Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanisms in order to provide for informal, quick, inexpensive and effective resolution of disputes and minimize a load of adjudication on the overburdened judiciary.
Key Objective: The Principal objectives of The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) includes-
- To provide free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society
- To ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities, and
- To organize Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes.
- Spreading legal literacy and awareness, undertaking social justice litigations etc.