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7 NUJS L. Rev. [i] (2014)

handle is hein.journals/nujslr7 and id is 1 raw text is: EDITORIAL NOTE JUDGMENT WRITING AND LEGAL SCHOLARSHIP: THE PATH FORWARD I. INTRODUCTION In the plethora of legal writing available, judgments rendered by courts as well as articles written by law professors and students occupy a crucial position. However, the writing in both these branches of legal scholar- ship is riddled with certain flaws which have the deleterious effect of lowering the overall quality of legal scholarship. We intend to shed light on these sys- temic defects. Addressing the defects would be beneficial for litigants, lawyers, judges, law students, law professors, organizations and the general public. In Part II, we discuss legal judgment writing by judges as a subset of legal scholar- ship, and underline the importance of making judgments precise, reasoned and comprehensive. In Part III we scrutinise legal pedagogy in law schools, and the reasons behind the lack of meaningful engagement with empirical exploration in the works of law professors and students in the course of their research. In Part IV we draw some conclusions. II. LEGAL JUDGMENT WRITING BY JUDGES A large, but under-recognized, part of legal writing is not only found in treatises and articles but also in judgments. As is well known, judg- ments are one of the primary 'sources' of law. The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 ('CPC') refers to the term 'decree' and defines it as a formal expression of an adjudication which conclusively determines the rights of the parties.' The word 'judgment' is also specifically defined under the CPC to mean the statement given by the judge on the grounds of a decree or order. Order XX Rule 4(2) of the CPC goes on to prescribe what a judgment should contain - a concise statement of the case, the points for determination, the decision thereon, and the reasons for such decision. Though these terms are defined specifically, through this note reference to a 'judgment' will encompass a broader reference to formal orders given by judges who preside over Courts as well as officers who preside over Tribunals and other quasi-judicial bodies. The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, § 2(2). 2 The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, § 2(9). January -March, 2014

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