CSEET · Business Laws and Management

Introduction to Law: formula sheet

Full chapter guide

Key formulas

Definition of law: Law = rules of conduct + made or recognised by the State + binding on all + enforced by sanction; Use these four elements to test any statement about what law is.
Main sources of law: Custom, Judicial precedent, Legislation (statutes); Agreements, equity and juristic writings are further sources in many texts.
Conditions for a valid custom: Ancient + Certain + Reasonable + Continuous + Not against statute or public policy; A custom that violates a statute is not enforced.
Precedent rule: Higher court decision binds lower courts; The binding part is the ratio decidendi, not the passing remarks (obiter dicta).
Legislation types: Supreme legislation (Parliament or State Legislature) and Subordinate legislation (rules, regulations, bye-laws); Subordinate legislation is valid only within the power given by the parent Act.
Public law: Public law = rules on State vs individual (constitutional, administrative, criminal); The State is a party or the authority. Criminal law is usually placed under public law.
Private law: Private law = rules on individual vs individual (contract, property, family, torts); Also called civil law in the wide sense, so read the question carefully.
Civil vs criminal: Civil = private right, compensation or relief | Criminal = offence against society, punishment; In criminal cases the State prosecutes. In civil cases the injured person sues.
Substantive vs procedural: Substantive = defines rights, duties, offences | Procedural = how to enforce them; Procedural law is also called adjective law.
Three organs of State: Legislature = makes law; Executive = implements law; Judiciary = interprets law; The most tested one-line summary. Do not swap the roles.
Fundamental Rights vs Directive Principles: Fundamental Rights: Part III, enforceable in court. Directive Principles: Part IV, not enforceable in court; Rights are claims of individuals against the State. Directive Principles are guidelines for the State.
Union, State and Concurrent Lists: Union List: Parliament only. State List: State Legislature normally. Concurrent List: both; On the Concurrent List, a conflict is generally resolved in favour of the Union law.
How a Bill becomes law: Introduction → passed by both Houses → President's assent → Act; A Money Bill follows a special procedure where the Rajya Sabha has limited powers.
Supremacy of the Constitution: Any law inconsistent with the Constitution is void to the extent of the inconsistency; Courts exercise judicial review to enforce this.
Court hierarchy: Supreme Court → High Courts → Subordinate courts; Tribunals such as the NCLT handle specialised matters.
Literal rule: Clear words → follow the ordinary, natural meaning; Used when the words are plain. Result may be harsh, but the court does not rewrite the law.
Golden rule: Plain meaning + absurdity → modify the words minimally; Applies only when the literal meaning leads to absurdity or repugnancy.
Mischief rule: Old law → mischief → remedy → true reason for remedy; Also called the rule in Heydon's case. Focus is the purpose of the law.
Harmonious construction: Conflicting provisions → read together so both survive; Do not make one provision useless if you can avoid it.
Ejusdem generis: Of the same kind; General words after specific words are limited to things of the same kind as the specific ones.
Noscitur a sociis: A word is known by the company it keeps; Meaning of a doubtful word is taken from the words around it.
Expressio unius est exclusio alterius: Express mention of one thing excludes others; If a law lists items, items not listed are taken as left out.
Ignorantia juris non excusat: Ignorance of law is no excuse; A person cannot escape liability by saying they did not know the law.
Caveat emptor: Let the buyer beware; The buyer must check the goods before buying.
Res ipsa loquitur: The thing speaks for itself; Facts themselves suggest negligence.
Ultra vires: Beyond the powers; An act beyond legal authority. Intra vires means within the powers.
Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea: An act is not guilty unless the mind is guilty; Guilty act plus guilty mind is generally needed for crime.
Other common maxims: Volenti non fit injuria; Audi alteram partem; Nemo judex in causa sua; Stare decisis; Ubi jus ibi remedium; Consent bars a claim; hear the other side; no one is judge in own cause; follow precedent; where there is a right there is a remedy.
Section 3: definitions: Terms defined in Section 3 apply unless the context requires otherwise; Know the main ones: person, month, year, good faith, immovable property, movable property, offence, writing.
Person: Person includes any company or association or body of individuals, whether incorporated or not; So a company, a firm or an unregistered club is a "person" for Central Acts.
Month and year: Month = month by the British calendar; Year = year by the British calendar; Month means a calendar month, not a fixed 30 days.
Good faith: A thing is done in good faith if it is done honestly, whether negligently or not; Honesty is the test. Negligence alone does not destroy good faith.
Immovable property: Includes land, benefits arising out of land, and things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth; Movable property is every other kind of property except immovable property.
Commencement (Section 5): An Act with no stated start date comes into operation on the day it receives assent; an Act with a stated date operates from the expiry of the previous day; Operation begins immediately on the expiration of the day before the commencement day, so the Act is in force from the first moment of its commencement day.
Effect of repeal (Section 6): Repeal does not revive anything not in force, affect past operation, or affect any right, liability, penalty or proceeding already accrued or incurred; This holds unless a different intention appears. Pending proceedings can continue.
Computation of time (Section 9): Exclude the first day; include the last day; Applies where a period is counted "from" a day. Count the remaining days forward to find the last day.
Last day a holiday (Section 10): If the last day for an act in a court or office is a day on which it is closed, the act is in time on the next day it is open; Applies to acts to be done in a court or office, not to every duty.
Gender and number (Section 13): Masculine includes feminine; singular includes plural, and the reverse; Applies unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context.
Service by post (Section 27): Service is deemed made by properly addressing, prepaying and posting by registered post; it is presumed effected when the letter would be delivered in the ordinary course of post; The presumption stands unless the contrary is proved. It is a rebuttable presumption.
Offence under two enactments (Section 26): The offender may be prosecuted and punished under either enactment, but not punished twice for the same offence; Double punishment for the same offence is barred.

Quick revision

Law is a set of rules made or recognised by the State and enforced to regulate conduct in society.
Main sources of law: custom, judicial decisions, legislation and the Constitution.
Public law deals with the State and its relation to people; private law deals with relations between individuals.
Substantive law creates rights and duties; procedural law lays down how to enforce them.
Civil law deals with private rights and remedies; criminal law deals with offences against society.
The Constitution of India is the supreme law, and every other law must conform to it.
A statute is a law passed by a legislature; interpretation is the process of finding its meaning.
Read maxims by meaning, not by word-for-word translation, and link each to a situation.
The General Clauses Act, 1897 gives common definitions and rules for reading Central Acts and Regulations.
Check whether an option says always or only; absolute claims are often wrong.
There is no negative marking in Paper 4, so never leave an MCQ blank.

Common mistakes

Saying law and morality are the same. Fix: Remember that law is enforced by the State with sanction; morality is enforced by conscience and society.
Treating every old practice as a legal custom. Fix: Check the conditions: ancient, certain, reasonable, continuous and not against a statute.
Treating criminal law as private law. Fix: Remember the State prosecutes crimes. So criminal law is usually grouped under public law.
Calling the Contract Act procedural law. Fix: The Act defines rights and duties, so it is substantive. Procedure only says how to enforce them.
Saying Directive Principles can be enforced by courts. Fix: Remember: Part III is enforceable, Part IV is a guide for the State. Directive Principles direct the government, not the court.
Giving the power to interpret laws to the executive. Fix: Final interpretation belongs to the judiciary. The executive only implements.
Mixing up the golden rule and the literal rule. Fix: Ask if the plain meaning is absurd. If the court changes the words, it is golden. If it follows them as they are, it is literal.
Thinking the mischief rule means the court can ignore the words. Fix: The court still reads the words, but chooses the meaning that cures the mischief the law aimed at.
Counting the first day when computing time. Fix: Remember the rule: exclude the first day, include the last. A 10-day period from 5 March ends on 15 March.
Saying repeal wipes out all pending actions and penalties. Fix: Repeal does not affect rights, liabilities, penalties or proceedings already accrued, unless a different intention appears.

Exam tips

Learn the three main sources by who creates each one, and expect MCQs that give a situation and ask for the source.
Memorise the five conditions of a valid custom; options often drop or change one.
Know ratio decidendi versus obiter dicta in one line each.
Paper 4 has no negative marking, so attempt every question.
Read all four options before choosing; look for words like 'always' or 'only' that overstate a rule.
In Paper 4 the questions are one-mark MCQs, so learn the one-line definition of each type and one example.
Expect match-the-following and example-based questions, such as which category a given Act belongs to.
Watch for words like 'adjective law' and 'State' in the options, which signal procedural and public law.