DailyPost 1894
NATIONAL LEGISLATURE RESEARCH ORGANISATION
Codification of law through a complex procedure and process goes through governmental detailed preparatory work and taking inputs and opinions from stakeholders is known to us. The legislative process we are witnessing on our television live or recorded for quite some time now. What amount of legal acumen comes into the legislative process. An element of being state of the art professional knowledge and expertise is a must just to bring the nitty gritty of the issue to the table. Can a lot of politics and politicking be eliminated by this nature of research? This research will leave nothing to doubt and would be able to provide justification and substantiation of every word which gets the legislative nod.
Undeniably, law is the most executable piece of writing, for which there would be no recourse. It is etched in stone. Getting a law amended or repealed is generally beyond human effort. What is not covered or wrongly covered keeps wreaking havoc for all times to come. So many times, the rules, and associated protocols, mechanisms directed in the law do not see the light of the day, or it happens very late and at times are not even complete. Who is there to follow it? The law thus remains congenitally flawed. Does the present system allow for a full proof law to be enacted? There seems to be a knowledge gap all around, which can be filled by experts, researchers, legal brains, legislation and enforcement experts.
In short, there is dire need for a robust research body under the control of the Union Legislature to cater to all its requirements directly related to the enactment of laws. It can also be a handy resource for JPCs and Committees studying bills and legal issues. The government departments making the draft bill and getting it vetted by the legal department and procedurally with the other organizations in the process, have left us with more loopholes than the laws. Law is not one discipline, it is the regulatory and justiciable discipline for anything that has to fall under the legal process of the country. Citations is one complex case that can give a fair understanding of the nature of knowledge required. Many times courts take the help of a group of experts before deciding on the critical matters.
We are all aware of the euthanasia case. The recent issues of social media intermediaries, the data protect bill and treatment meted out to the whole issue of Cryptocurrencies makes it crystal clear that we are groping in the dark. Some half knowledge and suggestions would be forthcoming and in haste the enactment would be over. Rest is history as they say. The subjects are so diverse, forward looking, impacting the economy, that giving this treatment is detrimental to the nation. This research body would provide the teeth and confidence to move ahead with legislation. They would also develop expertise to handle amendments and the follow creation of rules and other mandatory mechanisms for proper enforcement of the law. Slowly, they would develop expertise in the legislative process as well.
LAW WITHOUT PERFECT RESEARCH ENABLEMENT IS LIKE GROPING IN THE LEGAL MINEFIELD.
Sanjay Sahay