Application of Legal Operations in Indian Judiciary to Manage Backlog of Cases: An Interdisciplinary Analysis

Abstract

Technological innovation has been a disruptive factor in the world economy in every domain. If we see the economy to understand the steps of production and consumption, we get to know why technology has made a great impact. Resources have always been scarce but humans have evolved to utilise the given resources and maximise their satisfaction. Technology has helped in this process of production, distribution, and consumption. Managerial theory and practices have further incorporated the use of optimised theories to manage day-to-day business activities. But, we humans have evolved as a civilisation governed by rules and norms set by the society, not to mention that even economics came from state order, thereby unifying law and economics. Indian Judicial system is facing a backlog of pending cases of more than 3.5 crores due to various impediments but more importantly because of a poor case management system, management of caseflow and courtrooms. It leads to undesirable consequences like the high cost of legal fees, the disappearance of witnesses, repeat offences, wastage of limited resources etc. The growth of the Indian economy has also been stifled due to the backlog in the administration of justice and executing contracts and property rights cases, as quoted by Vijay Joshi, an Indian economy scholar. Legal Operations is one such method that can effectively enhance the judicial system by introducing effective management of the legal process. The paper aims to find the possibilities of implementing the Legal Operations in reducing the backlog of cases and maximising the utility of the Indian judicial system. Exploratory research has been undertaken using theoretical and empirical analysis. Management tools and operational technology have been used to develop the model.