IML is an unique training institute incorporating complete administrative and academic infrastructure together with flexibility for innovations and experimentation in the pursuit of excellence. The institute has developed an infrastructure to run the basic, middle and higher level law courses for officers. In one decade of its existence, the institute has imparted training in the field of military and allied laws to over 1400 Army officers.

The integrated curriculum of the courses include, besides military law, all relevant subjects like international humanitarian law, human rights, environmental law, constitutional law and law relating to women and internal security duties.

The training syllabi for all the courses include a visit to the Central Prison and the State Forensic Laboratory at Nagpur. The student officers are familiarised with the correctional aspects of imprisonment and the technicalities of forensic examination in detection and investigation of crime. Training is also imparted to discharge command functions effectively while investigating any offence and administering justice to the Army personnel.

The objective of the IML is not only to create legal awareness but to equip the officers with legal knowledge so that they may effectively and correctly deal with any problem that may arise in the discharge of their duties.

IML attempts to infuse in every officer a sense of responsibility towards the organisation and respect for human life and its dignity. Incorporating modern judicial trends and practical aspects of dispensation of justice, IML is committed to its mission of training officers to exhibit fairness and equity in the dispensation of justice.

IML can boast of well-equipped classrooms with state-of-the-art acoustics and computer-based training. The library has a large collection of textbooks, reference manuals and legal publications.

Computerised facilities for housekeeping and information retrieval will soon revolutionise the information bandwidth of the student officers. Easy access to the internet will help to look at the best legal databases available.

Since Independence, the Army has been continuously engaged in counter-insurgency operations. Allegations of violation of human rights have increased manifold. A capsule course of human rights now forms a part of all training curriculum at the institute. IML also conducts seminars and symposia on international humanitarian laws and human rights to dispel any false propaganda about allegations against defence personnel. Eminent jurists and personalities interact and discuss the relevance and fairness of the prevalent judicial system in the Army.

IML has added another feather to its cap by publishing Military Law Journal (MLJ), a biannual journal containing a compilation of the latest High Court and Supreme Court rulings in matters concerning the Armed Forces. It also contains articles on contemporary subject of law. First published in 1996, MLJ has now established itself as a professional journal and is relied upon by the bench and the bar. It is even being cited as authority in judicial pronouncements by courts all over the country.

On January 20, 2000, IML unfolded a new dimension to its activities with the inauguration of the Legal Aid Cell by Lt Gen HB Kala, GOC-in-C, ARTRAC. It provides legal assistance to serving soldiers, ex-servicemen and their families in matters concerning realisation of their rights.

As the present Commandant of IML, Col P S Rathore says, ‘‘The strength of the Army is its age-old ethos and customs. Good administration and welfare are essential for boosting the morale of troops. All these can be done if justice is administered in accordance with law’’.