Legal Studies Class 12 Syllabus

Theory paper is of 80 marks and 3 hours duration. There are seven units in the syllabus.

Exam Structure

# Units Marks
1 Judiciary 10 
2 Topics in Law 20 
3 Arbitration, Tribunal Adjudication and Alternate Dispute Resolution 10
4 Human Rights in India 10
5 Legal Profession in India 10
6 Legal Services 10
7 International Context 10
  Total  80 

Unit 1: Judiciary

  • Structure and Hierarchy of Courts and Legal Offices in India
  • Constitution, Roles and Impartiality
  • Appointments, Trainings, Retirement and Removal of Judges
  • Courts and Judicial Review

Unit 2: Topics in Law

  • Law of Property
  • Law of Contracts
  • Law of Torts
  • Introduction to Criminal Laws in India
  • Administrative Law

Unit 3: Arbitration, Tribunal Adjudication and Alternate Dispute Resolution

  • Adversarial and Inquisitorial Systems
  • Introduction to Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Types of ADR
  • Arbitration, Administrative Tribunals
  • Mediation and Conciliation
  • Lok Adalats
  • Ombudsman
  • Lokpal and Lokayukta

Unit 4: Human Rights in India

  • Introduction - History and International Context
  • Constitutional framework and Related laws in India
  • Complaint Mechanisms of Quasi-judicial Bodies

Unit 5: Legal Profession in India

  • History of Legal profession in India
  • Classification of lawyers: Roles and Functions, The Advocates Act, 1961, The Bar Council of India, Lawyers and Professional Ethics, Advertising by Lawyers
  • Opportunities for Law graduates, Legal Education in India, Liberalization of the Legal Profession, Women and the Legal Profession in India.
  • Legal Profession in other jurisdictions

Unit 6: Legal Services

  • Introduction
  • Brief History of legal services
  • Legal background - Free Legal Aid under International law, The Indian legal system, Free Legal Aid under Criminal law, Legal Aid by the State, Legal Aid under the Indian Constitution, NALSA Regulations, 2010
  • Criteria for giving free Legal Services
  • Hierarchy of Legal Aid Service Authorities - The Central Authority, The State Authority, The District Authority and Taluk Legal Services Committee
  • Lok Adalats
  • Legal Aid in Context of Social Justice and Human Rights
  • Funding

Unit 7: International Context

  • Introduction to International Law
  • Sources of International Law - Treaties, Customs and ICJ Decisions
  • International Institutions
  • International Human Rights
  • Customary International Law
  • International law & Municipal Law
  • International Law & India
  • Dispute Resolution - ICJ, ICC and Other Dispute Resolution Mechanisms