INTERNAL EXAMINATION – 2
SUBJECT- LEGAL DATABASE
INTERNAL COMPONENT – RESEARCH-BASED
ASSIGNMENT
BATCH – 2023-28
PROGRAMME – B.A. LLB
SEMESTER – 1
PRN- 23010421117
SECTION- B
NAME – SIMRAN PAWAR
INTERNAL COMPONENT – 2
LEGAL DATABASE
1. Discuss the use of legal databases in legal research with special emphasis on the various search options
and resources available in SCC OnLine, Manupatra, Westlaw Asia, and LexisNexis. (15 Marks) (CO1, CO2)
[Word Limit 2000-3000 Words
Ans: If we have to discuss the use of legal databases in legal research, we first have to look into what research is and
then what is legal research and how it differs from normal research.
So, what is research?
According to the oxford learner’s dictionaries, research is a careful study of a subject, especially in order to discover
new facts or information about it1 and according to the Cambridge dictionary it is to study a subject carefully or in
detail, especially in order to discover new information or understand the subject better.2 From these two definitions
we can assume research in brief is the process of carefully and thoroughly examining the subject or object matter to
get a better understanding or learn newer facts about it. Depending on the subject we are researching we can either
conduct research through case studies, interviews, reviews of literature etc. It is a systematic investigation or
procedure that includes observation, inquiry, investigation to question facts that are already established and to
further add or contradict these facts. For example, The Salem Witch trials, we once believed witchcraft to be the
cause of the strange behavior of some women and conducted executions and persecutions on a large-scale but now
through research we know the cause to be child abuse, deteriorating mental and physical health. This knowledge
would never be brought to light and further expanded the understanding of the consequences of deteriorating
health without research. Thus, Research is absolutely needed for progress and development.
Then, what is legal research?
Legal Research is the systematic procedure of analyzing and detailed reading of legal information and sources to
understand specific subjects relating to law or answer certain legal questions. Thus, we can say research in the legal
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Ids-water.com, 21 sept 2023 13:38
field on the topics of legality and judicial process is Legal research. It is a basic need in the legal profession for law
students to advocates and prosecutors to judges alike. Just the way research has various components like inquiry,
investigation, literature reviews, legal research also has certain components, I.e. 
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Identifying Legal Issues: to form Legal question or issues that we must investigate or research about
Gathering Legal Materials: collecting all the relevant and official sources of research like precedents, articles
and research papers.
 Analyzing and Synthesizing Information: Reading and interpreting the various information given in the
sources and how they affect one another or other subjects and topics
 Citing Legal Authorities: giving accurate citations and references of the sources used during the research is
important for credibility and relevancy of the research and for ensuring ethical research.
 Formulating Legal Arguments: Depending on the research and information collected, we have to now draw
new conclusions, arguments and interpretations of the law. These are supported with legal sources.
 Legal Writing: Accurate and exact drafting of legal documents including contracts, briefs and legal opinions
 Staying Current: being updated with the latest developments in the legal fields and the ever-changing law is a
part of legal research.
This legal research is an important skill for anyone in the legal field as it shows an ability to analyze, draw conclusions,
attention to detail, all of which are important in the legal profession. It shows the ability of a legal professional to
make accurate arguments, navigate through legal complexities to further help and assist their clients.
Now that we know what research and legal research is, we have to now understand what a legal database is and
why it is essential for a through and effective legal research.
Legal database is like a legal library with various advanced features available on the internet. It is an online collection
of various legal sources and information including bare acts, judgements, case laws or notes for easier understanding
on various sections or case laws. They are the resources available for every legal professional seeking legal
information from various sources simultaneously from one site.
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Legal Database as mentioned above is like a library or depository for huge amounts of legal information and
material that is used to assist law students to practicing lawyers. It includes statutes, arguments, precedents,
legal opinions and secondary sources of law I.e., articles and journals, all in one easily accessible website. It
makes legal research easier and saves time as professionals can search, collect, analyze relevant documents
with just the availability of the internet and within a few hours. This is more efficient than the traditional
means of research of scanning through physical documents that we had to retrieve from various offices or
sources.
RESOURCES OF VARIOUS DATABASES
SCC (supreme court cases) Online
SCC Online is a legal database that provided a platform where information is easily accessible on a wide range of
areas like I) Various topics like international law, taxation, labor law, constitutional law, public law, arbitration, mediation
and conciliation.
II) Law reports categorized state wise
III) Judgements of various courts Indian and international – divided by years or level of authority
IV) Detailed legislation of India and other countries – organized by alphabetical or authority. It includes repealed
laws, state laws and circulars for reference during research.
V) Legal articles from various renowned law journals like Law Review, Government Law College and Law weekly.
It also includes SCC online blog and reports from DAKSH- Approaches to justice in India.
VI) Topic overviews on various subjects like international maritime laws and privacy laws and collected essays on
a variety of topics like international contracts or article 12.
VII) It also has a divided by year collection of tagore law lectures.
VIII) Secondary material like bills introduced in parliament, constitutional documents, historical trials, reports of
commissions and committees.
IX) Bilateral and money lateral treaties
X) International databases like heinonline
All this information is divided in such a way that one can browse multiple topics of interest at their leisure and also if
certain information is needed for research, then it can be accessed swiftly through the detailed and specific division.
MANUPATRA
Manupatra has an equally vast platform giving just as much information to assit legal professionals and students with
legal research, drafting, referencing, making arguments. Some of the sources available on Manupatra are 1) Supreme court Judegements and orders
2) Cases in high court and other courts divided state and then year wise
3) Tribunals and commissions like SEBI and SCDRC
4) International databases organized by country and year
5) Business policies and laws
6) Corporate laws and taxation
7) Notifications and circulars
8) Bare acts
9) Bills and ordinances
10) Court fees, forms, rules, committee reports, draft agreements and statutory forms
11) Articles and e- books
Users can access any of these sources easily and all of them are easily available on just one website.
WESTLAW
Unlike manupatra and SCC online that while giving international sources on law, mainly focus on the details of Indian
cases, laws and legislation while giving a comparatively less or brief information on international law sources,
westlaw focuses on international laws, unions, legislations while having comparatively less information on Indian
sources. The sources of information available on westlaw areBy content type:
1) Cases
2) Legislation
3) Commentary
4) Journals
By jurisdiction
1) Content type sources divided by country
Practice area
1) Personal injury and company law organised by country
Westlaw classic
1) European Union
2) Global Competition & Antitrust
3) International Arbitration Materials
4) Intellectual Property
5) International Materials
6) Sample Agreements
7) Law Reviews & Journal
Practical Law
1) Key practice areas of different countries
LEXIS NEXIS
Lexis Nexis also provides various sources of legal material and publications including journals, bare acts, case laws. It
provided sources including 1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Publications divided by country that is further divided into content type or jurisdiction
Cases
Legislations
News
Analytical material – publications by various authors on a wide range of subjects.
Curated information on various topics such as
1)
2)
3)
4)
Accounting
Aviation
Contract
Criminal procedure etc.
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In traditional research, we have to look through various documents, statutes, case laws to get the
information needed. In this process we often have to scan and read through excess irrelevant information to
get to the needed information, this wastes a lot of time and effort. Thus, doing traditional research is
extremely exhaustive as we have to look through old and invalid laws, irrelevant arguments and judgements
of bad law while finding relevant information and legal databases allow users to search and retrieve
information using highly targeted or specific words that help cutting out huge amounts of irrelevant
information and reducing the reading material to just what is relevant and required. Various databases
organise and sort the material by jurisdiction, year, relevance which makes the process of research easier.
SEARCH OPTIONS OF VARIOUS DATABASES
SCC Online
SCC online allows users to search for case laws through a variety of ways making the task of finding precedents
easier. The different ways through which we can search are 1) Word search – searching a specific word or word in documents and materials available
 By year
 Search area – entire document, digest note, party name etc.
 Including synonyms
2) By section quoted or applied in the case law (Central Acts)
 Access to complete act and division by sections
3) By the citation of the case law
 Automatic citation format given by choosing the journal the case is included in.
4) By the name of any of the parties of the case – defendant, plaintaiff, appellate or respondent
 If a case is famously known by a particular title that can be used to search too. Ex- Banks nationalisation case.
5) By topic
 You can directly put in the specific topic for search and there is also a list of topics and statutes the
specifically divided for easy and efficient research
6) By specific words or phrases
 Shows list of words and phrases starting with typed text and then searches related material
 Shows list of words and phrases that have typed text included anywhere and then searches the relevant
material
MANUPATRA
Manupatra also has various search options like SCC Online but It is a bit more complicated to use. The search bars are
divided into Manu search, Legal search, citation search and Assisted search.
MANU SEARCH1) Search through words or phrases
2) Through names of parties
3) Through statutes applied etc
4) Synonyms can be included
5) Material can be sorted by relevance, citied the most, decision date, alphabetical order.
LEGAL SEARCH1) Advance search
 Appellant/Respondent,
 Judges,
 CaseNote,
 Subject like Human Rights, Insolvency, Insurance or Intellectual Property Rights
 Sub Subject Or
 Case Category,
 Disposition - Appeal Allowed, Appeal Dismissed, Partly Dismissed or Stay Granted
 Date of the case
 Judgments under a specific Section of an Act
 Relevant Section Field Search
2) By Act further divided by sub parts or sections, eg- Actuaries Act 2006
3) By Rule, eg- ADVOCATES FEE RULES, 2010
4) Notification search
 Ministry/authority
 Department/board
 Title of notification
 Date
CITATION SEARCH
INDIAN CITATION
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2)
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Publisher citation
Publisher Citation
Publisher, eg- AIR(Allahabad), AIR(Andhra Pradesh), AIR(Bombay)
Volume Number
Page Number
Court
Neutral citation
Court name
Year
Number
INTERNATIONAL CITATION
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Publisher, eg- AC, ADC
Enter Year
Volume Number
Page Number
Court
ASSISTED SEARCH
Research is made easier through these options in assisted research1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
All of these words,
Synonym can be included
Any of these words
Exactly this phrase
None of these words
These words
WESTLAW
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4)
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Cases
Free Text
Party Names
Citation
Terms in Context
Legislation
Free Text
Legislation Title
Provision Number - Any Appendix, Article, Bylaw, chapter
Terms in Context
Commentary
Free Text
Paragraph Number
Terms in Context
Journals
Free Text
Article Title
Author
Terms in Context
LEXIS NEXIS
QUICK FIND
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3)
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Case
Case citation
Case name
Start from International Snapshot View or IN Case
Legislation
Legislation title
Provision number
Start from International Snapshot View, IN Acts and Secondary Legislation or IN Annotated Legislation
Analytical material
Terms
Titles and headings
Authors
Start from Indian Secondary Materials or International Snapshot View
4) Defined terms
 Dictionary Definitions
 Legislative Definition
ADVANCED SEARCH
1)
2)
3)
4)
IN Cases Search within entire document for
International cases
Legislation
Analytical material
*Common for all options of advanced search*
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Terms
Search for text anywhere within documents
Document Segments/Fields
Citation
Case Name
Catchwords
Judgment Date
Judge
Representation
Legislation Title
Provision Number
Legislation Title E.g. crimes act 1914
Provision Number . E.g. for section 85, enter 85.
References to Cases
Jurisdiction
Court
Citations and references are extremely necessary for proving relevancy and credibility of legal research. It is
also necessary to provide references and citations to give credit to the people you have referenced and avoid
plagiarism and accusation of unethical research. However, the format of citations is varied like the APA style,
MLA style, Chicago style etc. and many of these formats are updated frequently thus it makes it very hard for
a researcher to ensure standardized and accurate citations throughout the research. Legal Databases,
however, make citing and referencing very easy as they provide standardized and accurate legal citations for
every piece of information and these citations can easily be applied and used in legal research making the
process of making the research credible easier. SCC ONLINE, MANUPATRA, LEXIS NEXIS automatically
genrate citations of the materials you want to refer to or cite.
On a single topic of law there can be various interpretations as law is a vast and ancient subject. No matter
which Act, statute, section or sub-section we are looking into, there is a high chance we will find different
interpretations and application of the law or even a change in the law through time. Thus, doing traditional
research is extremely time consuming as we have to scan and read through various and excessively detailed
physical documents for cross referencing and physically and manually highlight and gather how law were
interpreted in earlier cases, gather relevant precedents and trace the history of various statues. SCC ONLINE
and WESTLAW not only provide laws that are in use but also repealed laws for research and analysis
purposes. Legal Databases offer resources that make cross-reference and making notes easier. They also
provide all relevant precedents and judgements with just a specific key word or phrase and how various legal
authorities have been referenced. It also provides international laws to make a global comparison on needed
subjects of research. Legal databases especially WESTLAW allows access to various treaties and laws and acts
of other countries that allows us to compare the legal principles, statutes, interpretations and understand
how the law changes according to culture and society and what changes should be made for a positive
development and also how to avoid a negative consequence
 As mentioned earlier, keeping up with legal developments is an essential part of legal research. People in the
field of law have to be aware of the changing laws, new cases and interpretations and current issues.
However, in current times, keeping up with news through traditional means like newspapers or news
channels is a extremely difficult task as it takes time and often, we don’t have time to look through various
news. Legal Database with the makes this task of being updated easier by providing news alerts and
notifications about new case laws, laws or legislative changes ensuring users are in the loop about happening
news especially related to the legal field eg- SCC Online allows browsing of legal news, Lexis nexis has a news
as a content type in publications search
 One hardship of legal databases is the navigation and the proper use of these resources to ensure efficient
research especially for professionals in the field who have been using traditional means of research and for
students who are new to such legal databases using them efficiently and to their full potential is harder. This
problem is however countered by these databases themselves as they provided a user manual and customer
service where users can ask for assistance and get help with the navigation. For students who are new to the
field, there are notes to breakdown legal complexities, assist in research and moot court resources like
example problems and memorials available to assist them in their law journey. SCC ONLINE has moot court
resources where the winning memorials and arguments of previous moot competetions have been provided
for reference and easier understanding.
 In traditional research, saving the progress made in research or making copies of needed document for
personal use or working, or tracing what one has referenced and looked through becomes challenging as
they are all physical documents and all the work has to be done manually however legal databases saves the
research trail so we can look back on what we have referenced once the research session is over.
MANUPATRA, LEXIS NEXIS AND WEST LAW have a function that allows us to see our trail that is resources
seen and read while online.
 Drafting of legal documents another essential of legal research is extremely tiring with assistance of manual
research as searching for primary sources like precedents, statutes and secondary sources like journals and
articles from individual books or sites is a tough task. Legal Database makes this task easier by providing a
comprehensive platform where both primary and secondary sources of law are easily available, making legal
writing or drafting efficient and easier. SCC ONLINE has a clear division of primary and secondary resources
too.
 Legal databases are also extremely cost and time effective. One of the major proportion of users of legal
databases are students, for their research papers and to cite case laws and students do not usually have the
means to pay an exorbitant amount for purchasing physical legal texts or time to make in person visits to
libraries. Thus legal databases which provide comparatively cheaper and more time effective accessibility to
legal resources is preferred and essential.
In conclusion, Legal databases provide a consolidated and comprehensive platform to access legal information and
offer various other resources that make legal research easier, effective and less time consuming and exhaustive. They
help and assist legal professionals and students in seeking information and legal writing and keeping updated about
various news.
2. Analyse online legal databases by comparing various SCC OnLine and Manupatra features.
Ans: SCC Online and manupatra are both well established and trusted legal databases that are widely used in the
legal profession for assisting in legal research by legal professionals and law students. Unlike Westlaw or lexis Nexis,
they have a simpler navigation and the resources available are more vast and have wider expanse of information in
both Indian and international laws. They have various features that make research much more efficient and time
saving and in this answer, we will analyze the features of both these databases starting with SCC ONLINE.
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SCC ONLINE has the simplest navigation as it has a clear and concise dashboard and the appearance of the
website is clearer and briefer than crowded. On the dashboard there are three options 1) Research
We can find case laws, their judgements, citation, the bench of judge and arguments of both parties through this
option. Along with the judgement, digest notes are also given for the easier understanding of the judgement for
students.
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Word search – searching a specific word or word in documents and materials available
By section quoted or applied in the case law (Central Acts)
By the citation of the case law
By the name of any of the parties of the case – defendant, plaintaiff, appellate or respondent or If a case is
famously known by a particular title that can be used to search too. Ex- Banks nationalisation
 By topic
 By specific words or phrases
This file of judgement or digest notes can be saved in a folder in the database or be sent as a mail to your personal
mail id too.
You can copy the citation and party name to the clipboard and you can see the case references too as you are reading
through the judgement
2) My library – browsing through various resources is possible efficiently due to simple division and easy access.
 Curated topics like international or civil law
 Law reports divided by state then year
 Judgements by courts and tribunals
 Legislation
 Articles
 Secondary material like Bills In Parliament, Constitutional Documents, GST Council, Historical Trials, Policy
Documents, Reports of Commissions & Committees
 Treaties
 Moot court resources – the case given for the previous competition and the winning team’s memorial.
 Legal/business news – notification to be updated with legal developments
3) Online links to international databases and blogs
 Lawnet ( singapore)
 Heinonline (USA)
 SCC Online blog
 EBC learning and webstore
 SCC Online store
All this together provides more comprehensive knowledge and improves overall understanding of the topic all
through one site. As there is a breakdown of legal terms a state and year wise division of cases for easier access and
use. Drafting of a legal document also becomes easier as we are able to amil the sources directly from the website.
There's also a standardization of citations throughout the research as the database generates the citation. The moot
court resources are extremely helpful for any law student as it gives them an idea of how a memorial should look like
and how the format of one should be and helps with analyzing how to form and frame arguments and navigate
through legal complexities by the provision of numerous case laws.
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SCC Online also has a “my client” drop menu which allows a legal professional to file for which client and case
they are using which material and document.
It also has a “my folder” option where users can collect the resources they want to refer to or find relevant
for their study
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Many times, old professionals who are used to traditional research and law students who new to legal
research find it hard to navigate through these site and use them to their full potential for their use thus SCC
ONLINE has 1) Quick help
2) User manual – answers frequently asked questions to make navigation easy. It also has a search bar where
you can ask your query or for help if you have trouble using the site. It has numerous articles on how to use
each feature of the manupatra most efficiently so that it is used to it’s full potential.
3) Navigation of dashboard – it specifically explains how to use the links given in the dashboard and the very
basics from how to log in and it includes a video demo for better understanding.
 You can also set search preferences where you can include or exclude material and documents from certain
sources.
Now to move on to the features of Manupatra,
Manupatra like SCC online is a vast database and has vast material resources and additional features.
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The resources and materials it has are Supreme Court judgements and orders
High Courts and Other Courts – divided by state
Tribunals and Commissions
International Databases that provide legislations, laws and statues of other nations and help to make a
comparative analysis in research
Business Policy / Industry Modules
Corporate Law and Taxation
Notifications and Circulars
Bare Acts (Statutes) / Rules and Regulations to quote during research and to see how they have evolved with
time
Bills and Ordinances
Court Fees, Forms, Rules, Stamp Duty, Calendar, etc.
Committee Reports
Draft Agreements / Deeds
Statutory Form
Academic e-Books
Compare Provisions
Dictionary, Maxims
e-Books
Articles
Legal Taxonomy
The search options are also extensive -
MANU SEARCH
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In manu search you can search for case laws through Search through words or phrases
Through names of parties
Through statutes applied etc
LEGAL SEARCH-
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In llegal search you can look for case laws through Appellant/Respondent, Judges,
CaseNote,
Sub Subject Or
Case Category,
Disposition - Appeal Allowed, Appeal Dismissed, Partly Dismissed or Stay Granted
Date of the case
Judgments under a specific Section of an Act
Relevant Section Field Search
By Act further divided by sub parts or sections, eg- Actuaries Act 2006
By Rule, eg- ADVOCATES FEE RULES, 2010
Notification search
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Through notification search you can look for case laws through
Ministry/authority
Department/board
Title of notification
Date
CITATION SEARCH
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There are three different ways of citation search given in manupatra that are INDIAN CITATION
Publisher citation
Publisher Citation
Publisher, eg- AIR(Allahabad), AIR(Andhra Pradesh), AIR(Bombay)
Volume Number
Page Number
Court
NEUTRAL CITATION
Court name
Year
Number
INTERNATIONAL CITATION
Publisher, eg- AC, ADC
Enter Year
Volume Number
Page Number
Court
ASSISTED SEARCH
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It includes All of these words,
Any of these words
Exactly this phrase
None of these words these words
Through these options we can cut down on significant irrelevant information, read what is needed and save time on
research as they provide information based on detailed information we have put in according to our needs.
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It has a stick notes feature where we can put online sticky notes on the documents to add our comments and
points for emphasis. It also included annotation features.
It also has a notepad feature to make points as we read and research on manupatra and it has a history
feature so we can look back on what we have read and referenced during research which makes the process
of referencing easier.
Like SCC it also generates citations through a tab called manu cite and save documents through a tab called
saved docs.
It also provided news updates bases on current legal happenings to keep users in the loop about legal news
While the overall navigation of manupatra is more difficult as it has a more precise search engine while SCC Online is
simpler with easier search options like part names and citations, both are an exemplary source of information.
While SCC Online focuses on providing mainly access to Supreme Court cases and decisions, along with case law from
various High Courts in India while offering access to Central and State legislation, legal journals, and international
treaties. Manupatra offers a broader range of content, including case law from Supreme Court, High Courts, and
various Tribunals in India. It provides access to a more extensive collection of legal commentaries, journals, and legal
updates. It is excellent tool for in-depth analysis of legal subjects as it has newsletters, articles and other various
secondary sources that SCC online does not provide as it does not focus on secondary sources.
Both databases provide news alerts and articles for legal professionals to keep in touch with new developments and
new and ongoing cases.
Both databases also have tools for documents sharing and collaboration for easy facilitation and sharing of
information between co-workers, researchers and lawyer and client.
Despite the analysis and the comparisons drawn it is hard to decide which is a better database as professionals and
law institutes usually use and subscribe to both databases simultaneously to get the best and most effective research
and comprehensive platform of legal information and depending on the subject matter and type study and the users’
needs the database that is better suited may differ.