• NATIONAL

Gram Nyayalaya Act 2008 to come into effect from October 2, 2009

The Central Government has decided that the provisions of the Gram Nyayalayas Act shall come into force in the areas to which this Act extends on October 2, 2009 i.e. the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 has been enacted to provide for the establishment of the Gram Nyayalayas at the grass roots level for the purpose of providing access to justice to the citizens at their door steps.

Surat gets two legal mediation centres

The Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court, K S Radhakrishnan has inaugurated two mediation centres in Surat on Saturday. One will be functional in Surat District Court and another at South Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI). The Gujarat High Court will appoint a mediator who will listen to the petitioner, the accused and their lawyers, and help them reach a solution. Justice Radhakrishnan said, "The cases that will be resolved at the mediation centres will be disputes related to property, marriage, company-clients, company-workers, etc. mediation centres will reduce the workload of the district courts. It will also be useful for parties who don't want to go to courts, and also keep the matter secret." Gujarat High Court Judge Mohit Shah said, "Mediation centre is beneficial not only to the court but to the general people as well, as their cases will be solved at the earliest. At the mediation centre, the decision-making power lies in the hands of parties. A mediator will act as a catalyst to bring the two disputing parties together by defining issues and eliminating obstacles for communication and settlement."

Piracy in Bollywood, UTV takes legal action

For the first time a corporate face has been dragged into the public for films piracy. Employees belonging to Anil Ambani-owned Adlabs Films, Kanwar promoted UFO Moviez and the one of the oldest home entertainment labels Sheramoo, have all been accused of aiding the piracy of the movie "What's your Rashee?'

The arrest of the two corporate executives has firmly put the spotlight on the corporate source of film piracy. They, along with a third co-accused, have been arrested for pirating the film "What's Your Rashee?" In response, a shocked UTV, the producer of the film has slapped a notice on Adlabs Films and UFO Moviez, seeking Rs 50 crore each in damages. In its notice UTV said, "Since the print has been pirated and made available in the market, the film will also lose a significant portion from its theatrical market." UFO Moviez said it sacked the employee in question and is considering legal implications. Kapil Agarwal, Joint MD of UFO Moviez, said, "We will now take a call if the claim is binding on us." However, Adlabs for its part said, "We shall take all appropriate legal actions against any person or persons in the organisation found guilty of any lapse or misconduct. Piracy is eating away a substantial chunk of the legitimate revenues of the entertainment industry and Reliance ADA group stands committed to fight this evil."

Moily, Sibal in turf war over legal education

Two senior ministers, both trained lawyers, are at cross purposes over who has the mandate to usher in reforms in legal education. HRD minister Kapil Sibal's proposals on legal education have run into a turf issue with law minister Veerappa Moily feeling this was the domain of his ministry. Moily has no objection to Sibal's ministry considering a proposal to start a graduation degree in law, but that is as far as it should go and no further. He made it clear that introducing reforms in legal education was the task of the law ministry. The law minister said, "So far as introducing an academic course is concerned, we have no objection. But when it comes to setting standards of legal education, the law ministry has to consider. That is the domain of the law ministry."

Sibal had recently decried the non-cooperative attitude of Bar Council of India, which was miffed at the HRD ministry's initiative for a round table on reforms in legal education. Sibal's argument is that standards of legal education need drastic improvement to equip lawyers to handle the challenges of 21st century, a task for which BCI lacked the wherewithal.

BJP leader demands legal action against cop for misbehaving with her

The city district (north) vice president of the BJP has met the city police commissioner in Chennnai and lodged a complaint against a policeman who misbehaved with her during the Tirupathi festival procession in Kilpauk on Thursday. Complainant P V Jayanthi (46) said, "I have been running an export business in Chennai. I went to attend the Tirupathi festival procession in Kilpauk and a policeman was touching the bare bodies of some of the devotees while trying to push them in front. I strongly objected to it. Following this, the policeman misbehaved with me. Later, under the instruction of a senior police officer, women police personnel assaulted me in full public view." Jayanthi added, "I suffered injury and sent a message to 95000 99100. I received a reply that a police personnel would attend to my case but no one responded." Jayanthi demanded legal action against the policeman who misbehaved with her. Her petition was forwarded to concerned police officer in Kilpauk for further inquiry.

• INTERNATIONAL

Swiss legal battle awaits Polanski

Roman Polanski's arrest in Zurich at the weekend has caused headlines around the world and anger among many. But legally, Switzerland's extradition agreement with the United States is clear. The US had issued an international arrest warrant for Mr Polanski. US officials apparently pointed out that the film director would be on Swiss soil on Saturday, and asked the Swiss authorities to detain him. Switzerland's Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf did not hesitate. "We have an agreement with the US to apprehend those wanted for offences," she said. "When we knew Mr Polanski was here and the US asked us to act, it was our duty to do so." The US has 60 days to serve the extradition request, but even then, Mr Polanski can challenge it in the Swiss courts. It is a process which could take weeks, more likely months. Swiss precedent shows that the subjects of extradition requests are normally kept in detention.

Sound legal framework key to financial certainty

Sound regulatory and legal framework is essential to providing certainty and predictability to the financial transactions and the innovative products, a Malaysian official has said. Malaysia's central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz made this remark at the opening ceremony of the Fourth Islamic Financial Services Board Seminar on legal issues in the Islamic financial services industry. She said the current international financial crisis had demonstrated the importance of having the regulatory and legal framework aligned with the rapid transformation of the functioning of the international financial system. Besides gaining certainty, such mechanism would also help promote public confidence in the financial system, added Zeti.

Tesco legal bid will 'delay jobs'

Supermarket giant Asda has warned that legal action by rival Tesco over land for a new store will delay investment and the creation of new jobs. Both retailers had bid for council land to build a supermarket in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire. Tesco is now seeking a judicial review of the local council's decision to sell the site to Asda, despite the fact Tesco had offered to pay more. Asda said the court action would disadvantage the town. The 11-acre Kittoch Field site, which lies next to the existing shopping mall in the town, was earmarked for retail development by South Lanarkshire Council last year.

The local authority announced in March that it would sell the land site to Asda for £27.3m. Tesco said it had submitted a bid of £31.5m to buy the greenfield site from the council.

Thorpe drops legal case against newspaper

Former Australia swimmer Ian Thorpe has dropped his defamation case against the publishers of a French newspaper that reported he returned an irregular doping test in 2006. Thorpe's lawyer Tony O'Reilly said in a statement on Monday that his client was dropping the case because the French newspaper L'Equipe and a journalist had failed to show up in court. "In these circumstances, Ian has decided not to pursue the proceedings as he sees little point in obtaining a verdict in the absence of (the defendants)," O'Reilly told reporters outside the court. Thorpe, a multiple world and Olympic champion, was cleared of an doping offences after a random drug test taken before his retirement in 2006 showed slightly elevated levels of a naturally-occurring hormone. Although there was never a suggestion Thorpe had broken any rules, he commenced defamation proceedings against the paper and the journalist who wrote the story, arguing that the publicity from the case had tarnished his reputation and the leaking of the test results was a breach of confidentiality.