Litigation Dispute Resolution Comparative Guide

1 Legal framework

1.1 What system of jurisprudence applies in your jurisdiction? What implications does this have for litigation?

Indian jurisprudence is largely based on the British common law system. This means that the judicial precedents passed by higher courts (eg, the Supreme Court and high courts) have binding value and are referred to in subsequent cases involving similar questions of law and fact which are dealt with by lower courts. Further, the courts follow an adversarial system.

However, India's legal system also incorporates elements of civil law, equitable law and customary and religious laws.

In this scenario, the implications for litigation are as follows:

• There is a certain amount of predictability of outcomes in cases where the law is well settled by a decision passed by the Supreme Court or a division bench of a high court.