• NATIONAL

Court orders status quo on Rae Bareli land

A day ahead of Congress president Sonia Gandhi's visit to Rae Bareli, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court ordered status quo on the land for a proposed rail coach factory to be built in her constituency that had been withdrawn by the Uttar Pradesh government. The land had been acquired by the railway from the state government.

Environmental court yet to have a chief even after 11 yrs

The government set up a Special Appellate Court in 1997, but even after 11 years, it has been unable to find a judge to head it. This is the story of the National Environmental Appellate Authority created more than a decade back to lessen the increasing burden of environment related public interest litigations on the judicial system.

Symbiosis Law School to give free legal service

Pro bono, the practice of US lawyers offering their services free or at subsidised rates, is set for a pilot run in India through a tie up between the City University of New York (CUNY) and the Pune-based Symbiosis Law College. The Indian project will replicate CUNY Law's community legal resource network (CLRN) programme in and around Pune, promoting law as a social service and providing legal services to marginalised communities.

Centre open to changes in anti-terror law, but not to POTA

The Central Government reiterated its aversion to bringing in a new Pota-type anti-terror law saying that there was already an existing law to deal with terrorism - the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. At the same time, it did not rule out suitable amendments to UAPA to keep it in tune with the times and the changing requirements of law enforcement agencies. The Government is open to amendments could be made to sections of the law as long as they are not draconian in nature or against the accepted principles of criminal jurisprudence.

Chief justice favours tough anti-terror law

Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan advocated the need for a stringent anti-terror law saying that the government had the responsibility of protecting the lives of innocent citizens.

Intelenet eyes legal process outsourcing

Blackstone-backed BPO firm Intelenet is looking at legal process outsourcing (LPO), education and HR outsourcing as new areas to steer growth in the domestic market. Among the largest BPO firms catering to the domestic market, it currently caters to banking and financial services, telecom and travel verticals.

Layoffs could have landed Jet in a legal soup

The retrenchment of employees by Jet Airways could have landed the airline in a legal tangle as the company did not follow the "principles of natural justice" and failed to follow the laid down process for sacking staff in the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947, according to lawyers. The country's largest private airline had laid off 800 employees and announced its decision to sack another 1,100 staffers, before going back on the decision later. "The Industrial Disputes Act clearly states that the company must justify the reasons for any layoff decision and give a proper termination notice and compensation.

• INTERNATIONAL

Bush signs controversial anti-piracy law

President George W. Bush signed into law a controversial bill that would stiffen penalties for movie and music piracy at the federal level. The law creates an intellectual property czar who will report directly to the president on how to better protect copyrights both domestically and internationally. The Justice Department had argued that the creation of this position would undermine its authority. The law also toughens criminal laws against piracy and counterfeiting, although critics have argued that the measure goes too far and risks punishing people who have not infringed.

US patent office's notice floors legal outsourcing

The US slowdown has kicked off a heated debate in the US legal circles. At the heart of debate is a recent notice by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) barring companies who send information overseas regarding inventions and patents without government clearance. While some believe offshoring is good as it cut costs for legal firms, lawyer groups in the US are against it. Some also believe the notice might sound a death knell for the LPO industry, while a section of Indian lawyers believe it is the result of hectic lobbying by a section of US law fraternity.