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UGC NET LAW (058) · UNIT 10 · MODULE 4: ACCOUNTABILITY, OPEN GOVERNMENT AND MASTER REVISION · TOPIC 11

Master Revision: Question Patterns, Cheat Sheet and Common Mistakes

The last-week sheet: question patterns, names and numbers topic by topic, mistakes to avoid and how to revise.

  • 4 sub-topics
  • 3 min read
  • Topic 11 of 11

What this topic covers

4 sub-topics, in the order to study them. Tap one to jump to it.

  1. 11.1Question Patterns Seen in UGC NET Law (Unit-wise Tendencies)Covers Match the following, Country ↔ feature, Assertion–reason, Chronology, Statements true/false and more.
    • Match the following
    • Country ↔ feature
    • Assertion–reason
    • Chronology
    • Statements true/false
  2. 11.2One-Page Cheat Sheet: Names and NumbersTopic Key names and numbers Comparative law Lambert, Saleilles (Paris 1900); Zweigert and Kötz (functional method); Watson, Kahn-Freund, Legrand, Teubner (transplants)…
  3. 11.3Common Mistakes to AvoidCovers formal, federal, dual citizenship, advisory opinions, before and more.
    • formal
    • substantive
    • federal
    • written
    • dual citizenship
  4. 11.4How to Revise (Practical Plan)Covers First pass, Second pass, Third pass, Practice, Update check.
    • First pass
    • Second pass
    • Third pass
    • Practice
    • Update check

Revision mode hides the full explanations and keeps each section's key terms, lists and tables and the Memory Capsule. Use it from your second read onward.

11.1Question Patterns Seen in UGC NET Law (Unit-wise Tendencies)#

In brief

Covers Match the following, Country ↔ feature, Assertion–reason, Chronology, Statements true/false and more.

  • Match the following
  • Country ↔ feature
  • Assertion–reason
  • Chronology
  • Statements true/false
  • Odd-one-out

  1. Match the following: scholar ↔ idea (Bagehot, Dicey, Wheare, Fuller, Raz, Dworkin, Montesquieu, Madison, Kelsen, Zweigert and Kötz); case ↔ principle (Marbury, Kesavananda, Bommai, McCulloch, Ram Jawaya Kapur, Youngstown, Maneka Gandhi).

  2. Country ↔ feature: residuary power with the States/Centre; judicial review absent for federal statutes (Switzerland); a priori review (France); Ombudsman in Sweden; collegial executive (Switzerland).

  3. Assertion–reason: federalism and basic structure; Article 368 and ratification by States; rule of law and ADM Jabalpur.

  4. Chronology: FOIA 1966 → Privacy Act 1974 → FOIA UK 2000 → RTI 2005; Marbury 1803 → Kelsen 1920 → French 1958; Kesavananda 1973 → Minerva Mills 1980 → Coelho 2007.

  5. Statements true/false: UK has no strict separation of powers; India has single citizenship; the President in the US has no role in amendments; Switzerland's Federal Supreme Court cannot strike down federal acts.

  6. Odd-one-out: e.g., in federal states – USA, Canada, India, UK (UK is unitary).

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11.2One-Page Cheat Sheet: Names and Numbers#

In brief

Topic Key names and numbers Comparative law Lambert, Saleilles (Paris 1900); Zweigert and Kötz (functional method); Watson, Kahn-Freund, Legrand, Teubner (transplants)…

Topic Key names and numbers
Comparative law Lambert, Saleilles (Paris 1900); Zweigert and Kötz (functional method); Watson, Kahn-Freund, Legrand, Teubner (transplants); Sacco (formants)
Forms of government Bagehot, Dicey, Jennings, Wheare, Linz, Duverger; Switzerland (Federal Council of 7)
Federalism Corwin (layer cake), Grodzins (marble cake); McCulloch 1819; Bommai 1994; POGG (Canada); Quebec Secession Reference 1998
Rule of law Dicey (3), Fuller (8), Raz (formal), Hayek, Dworkin (rights), Bingham (8), Delhi Declaration 1959
Separation of powers Locke, Montesquieu 1748, Madison (Federalist 47, 51), Ram Jawaya 1955, Chadha 1983, Youngstown 1952, CRA 2005 (UK), Articles 34 and 37 (France)
Judiciary Judges cases 1981, 1993, 1998, 2015; Veeraswami 1991; Chase 1804; Schlesinger 1947
Constitutional review Marbury 1803; Kelsen 1920; Article 190 (Swiss); 1971 and 2008 (France); Kesavananda 1973
Amendment Article 368; Article V; Section 74 (South Africa); 24th, 42nd, 44th, 101st, 103rd, 106th Amendments
Ombudsman Sweden 1809; Denmark 1955; New Zealand 1962; UK 1967; ARC 1966; Lokpal Act 2013 (in force 2014)
Open government Sweden 1766; FOIA 1966; FOIA 2000; RTI 2005; Raj Narain 1975; S.P. Gupta 1981

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11.3Common Mistakes to Avoid#

In brief

Covers formal, federal, dual citizenship, advisory opinions, before and more.

  • formal
  • substantive
  • federal
  • written
  • dual citizenship
  • dual judiciary
  • advisory opinions
  • before

  • Confusing formal (Fuller, Raz, Hayek) with substantive (Dworkin, Allan, Bingham) rule of law.

  • Writing that the UK is a federal state or has a written constitution.

  • Saying India has dual citizenship or dual judiciary.

  • Assuming that US courts give advisory opinions (they do not; India's Article 143 does).

  • Believing that the Swiss Court has full constitutional review of federal laws (it does not; Article 190).

  • Forgetting that the French Council reviews laws before promulgation (and since 2010 also by QPC).

  • Mixing the numbers: Golaknath (11 judges, 1967), Kesavananda (13 judges, 1973).

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11.4How to Revise (Practical Plan)#

In brief

Covers First pass, Second pass, Third pass, Practice, Update check.

  • First pass
  • Second pass
  • Third pass
  • Practice
  • Update check

  1. First pass: read each topic once; underline names, numbers and cases.

  2. Second pass: write comparison tables from memory (India vs USA vs UK vs France).

  3. Third pass: revise the "Exam Traps" and cheat sheet daily in the last two weeks.

  4. Practice: attempt previous-year UGC NET Law questions on this unit to learn the patterns; note which scholars and cases keep repeating.

  5. Update check: Indian legal developments (new constitutional amendments, major Supreme Court rulings, the status of the DPDP Act amendment to the RTI Act) should be verified from current sources before the exam.

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Test yourself on Master Revision: Question Patterns, Cheat Sheet and Common Mistakes

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↑ Module 4: Accountability, Open Government and Master Revision · All 12 topics in Comparative Public Law and Systems of Governance · Unit overview and sample MCQs

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