Judicial delays and high pendency is a serious problem that has
rule of law and fundamental rights implications. Law and judicial
reform in India aimed at reducing judicial delays and pendency
have met with limited success since they have been almost solely
focused on increasing the number of courts and such other supply driven mechanisms without ascertaining the causes of delay. This
paper argues for re-orienting law and judicial reform by engaging
in empirical methods. In so arguing, this paper also exposes the
difficulties in using empirical methods in India owing to the
unavailability of crucial data. It also suggests some non conventional solutions for more effective and efficient civil and
criminal justice systems.
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