The Legal Information Institute of India (LII of India), a free legal portal on Indian legislations, treatises and case laws which was  developed by LII of India an initiative of AustLII as part of the Free Access to Law Movement. The institute   to have its technical hub at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad had its soft launch at Sydney recently.

Speaking on this occasion LII of India director Prof VIvekanandan said that this web portal was part of the Free Access to Law Movement around the world and will bring Indian Legal resources to legal fraternity and public at large free of cost. In a sense it was a right to information on the legal resources which will be provided without petitioning for it. He added that it was an ongoing project with continuous updating and will partner more law schools in the coming days.

Indian Consul General Mr Amit Dasguptha said that this was a major step forward in what India and Australia can do together.. a strategic partnership must be rooted in law.

The President of the New Southwales Court of Appeal, Dr Sun-Hee Lee said that LII of India was a prime example of the type of good idea that AusAID wishes to support.

The member of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group, Mr Michael Kirby said that a case like Naz Foundation vs Government of NCT of Delhi (2009) has implications for countries all round the Commonwealth with similar legislation and similar human rights standards as India. The LII of India makes it available across the Commonwealth.

The site was open for public access at http://liiofindia.org, prior to its formal launch in India in early 2011. There was an outline of the project at http://liiofindia.org/liiofindia/brochure.pdf/ and a user guide at http://liiofindia,org/liiofindia/guide/current.pdf. Many system features will be familiar to users of AustLII, WorldLII and other free legal sites. (NSS)