• NATIONAL NEWS

MPs Salary bill approved by Cabinet

MPs has finally been approved by the Cabinet. With the passage of the bill the basic salary of MPs would increase from the current Rs16000 to Rs50000.Other emoluments like office expenses, parliamentary fund, etc. have also been increased.

Domestic airlines may open up to FDI

Aviation minister Praful Patel informed Lok Sabha 19.08.2010 that the Government was considering to open up the aviation sector to foreign investments. Foreign airlines may be allowed to hold stake in the domestic carriers.

Criminal liability being considered under DNC

Considering to make provisions under the national do-not-call registry to hold defaulting telemarketers criminally liable after a warning and even a disconnection of services if they continue to make unwanted calls to customers who have registered under the registry.

Deadline for implementing MNP extended

The implementation of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) scheme has been postponed to October 31. MNP scheme allows a mobile user the liberty to change the operator without having to surrender the existing mobile number.

Banks not to invest in gold ETFs

The Forward Markets Commission is planning to advice RBI against permitting banks from investing in gold Exchange-traded funds. The decision came in response to the permission sought by the banks to invest in such ETFs.

Draft policy to improve Urea production ready for approval of Ministry

Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has prepared a draft policy that proposes to increase the floor price of urea by 10%.It is an attempt to make urea an attractive product to fertilizer industries which in turn will help increase the urea production and availability to the farmers in the country.

SEBI might enhance limit for defining Retail Individual Investor in public share offers

SEBI has proposed to amend ICDR Regulations to enhance the prescribed limit to define a Retail Individual Investor in a public issue. Discussion paper for the proposed change has been put up allowing investors to bid upto Rs2 lakh instead of the existing limit of Rs1 lakh.

Plan to change gun laws opposed

Mr. Digvijay Singh has sent a memorandum to PM opposing plans of home minister,Mr. Chidambaram to make changes in the Arms Act. Mr.Singh alledged that in the guise of minor changes very important changes are being made in the Act which will undermine the right of citizens to bear arms for self defence.

Defence FDI cap proposed to be hiked

A hike of 23% has been proposed by the commerce and industry ministry in the FDI cap in defence sector. From the present 26% to 49% or could be even more in certain sectors. DIPP has sent letter to the defence ministry on 9th August to seek its views on the recommendation at the earlies.

Regulatory body for Biotech use to be set up soon

Mr. Jairam Ramesh addressed a meeting of ABLE-AG in Delhi highlighting aspects of The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill, which shall be introduced in parliament soon. He stressed on the need of a regulatory body which will ensure safe and effective use of biotechnology in the field of agriculture

Exemplary punishment for cheque default

A local court in Meerut, UP has awarded exemplary punishment to the defaulter in a cheque bouncing case today. The court has awarded 1 year imprisonment and a fine of Rs5 lakh to the defaulter.

SC reserves judgment in samsung electronics case

SC has 19.08.2010 reserved its judgment in the appeal filed against Karnataka High Court decision in the case of CIT vs Samsung Electronics. The matter contested relates to TDS under Section 195 of the IT ACT.

Amendment bill on GST not to be tabled this session.

Due to the unresolved differences between the govt. and the opposition concerning the new tax structure proposed for the indirect taxes, the Bill on GST is not likely to be tabled in this parliamentary session.

Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill,2006 passed in RS

The bill proposes to make law for the regulation of contributions made by foreign organisations as well as individuals in view of changed internal security laws.

BRIC nations to consider legal issues on environment

India's Environment Ministry is organising a 2 day colloquium on Climate Change Law and Governance in South Asia,in collaboration with International Union for Conservation of Nature, Geneva. It aims at discussing legal issues concerning climate change and will be attended by all the BRIC nations

SEBI recommends to continue tax exemption on ELSS

Equity linked savings scheme (ELSS) shall continue to operate tax free. This recommendation was made by SEBI to Central Board of Direct Taxes on 19.08.2010 sighting that the tax free structure is investor friendly and especially beneficial for small investors.

Amendment of Section 3(d) of patents Act being reviewed by Government

Health ministry decides to resist proposal of Government to increase the patent period of drugs to more than 20 years.Also the amendment of Section 3(d)of the Indian Patents Act is under consideration which is being resisted by experts sighting concerns over resultant deterioration of quality of drugs.

Bangalore civic body takes action against public smoking

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike on 17.2010 filed an Action Taken Report (ATR) before the high court with regard to the implementation of the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (COTPA). The BBMP explained in the report the various measures it had taken to implement the Act.

In its ATR, the BBMP has said that its health department, sanitary inspectors, medical officers and health officers have been on a drive to sensitise all those responsible for the enforcement of the Act. A total of 27 cases have been booked for violating the ban on smoking in public places, and Rs5,400 has been collected in fine, the BBMP's ATR said.

The Act also bars the sale of tobacco and tobacco products within 100 yards of educational institutions. "There are 33 high schools and 12 PU colleges under BBMP. The principals of the high schools and colleges were called for half a day sensitisation programme on 28.07.2009, about the ill effects of COTPA.

Anti-Tobacco Clubs in the respective BBMP schools under their jurisdiction. Thirty-six sessions were held regarding creating health awareness, three anti-tobacco clubs have been formed and 34 members are there in the clubs," the report claimed.

The BBMP also plans to involve teachers and students to ensure that campuses are tobacco-free.

A health corner will be set up at schools, so that material related to health and tobacco's ill effects can be displayed and students can be warned off the habit. The BBMP also wants to involve residents' welfare associations in the drive to inspire greater local initiative in the matter.

Supreme Court pulls up Centre, states for not issuing birth certificates

The Supreme Court on 16.08.2010 pulled up the Centre and state Governments for not taking steps to register the births of all children in the country, which is mandatory according to the law of the land.

A PIL submitted by Committee for Legal Aid, a voluntary agency, sought direction of the Apex Court to the Centre and the States for mandatory registration of all births and issuance of birth certificate

A bench of Chief Justice S H Kapadia and Justice K S Radhakrishna sought reply from the Union government on the provision notified in 1969.

Additional Solicitor General P P Malhotra said most states had implemented the legal provision. However, the lawyer appearing for the NGO submitted that despite making the registration, authorities were not issuing the birth certificate in many states.

Law Ministry mulls commission to regulate legal education

The Law Ministry plans to set up a national commission to regulate various aspects of legal education in India, a job so far entrusted with the Bar Council of India. The draft Higher Legal Education and Research Bill, 2010, prepared by the Ministry provides for creation of a national commission to regulate various aspects of legal education.

The bill also provides for the regulation of various aspects of higher legal education and research, grant of recognition to law schools, colleges and institutions imparting legal education and research.

The ministry drafted the bill to counter the HRD Ministry's National Commission for Higher Education and Research Bill, which sought to include legal education under the ambit of a single regulator for all streams of higher education.

According to one of the clauses of the draft bill, the ministry seeks to create a national commission comprising a chairperson and six members to be appointed on the recommendation of a selection panel headed by the Prime Minister.

While there is no mention of the Bar Council of India, other members in the selection panel would include the Attorney General, Chief Justice of India or his nominee and the Law Minister.

According to 1961 Advocates Act, promotion of legal education and laying down its standards, in consultation with universities, has been defined as a function of the Bar Council of India.

Orissa lawyers split over High Court benches

After few years, the lawyers in Orissa are once again up in arms against each other over the contentious and controversial issue of establishment of permanent benches of the Orissa high court in different areas in the state.

The lawyers based in western Orissa districts have reiterated their demand for setting up of a bench of the high court in the backward region immediately which has been strongly opposed by the members of the Cuttack-based Orissa high court bar association. At present, the Orissa high court is located in Cuttack, the erstwhile capital of Orissa.

While supporting the demand made by their western Orissa counterparts, the lawyers in southern Orissa districts have also come out with a similar demand to set up a high court bench in Berhampur, the principal socio-cultural as well as business hub of southern Orissa.

The lawyers of capital Bhubaneswar have also decided to join the bandwagon and have gone one step further to demand the shifting of the high court from Cuttack to Bhubaneswar though the distance between the two cities is less than 30 km

HRD orders compel many to seek legal remedy: PATNA

The case of demotion and pay cut of absorbed teachers or withdrawal of enhanced scale of readers as per UGC notification or age of superannuation of teachers or ban on payment of salaries for the next 10 months, the HRD department has been caught in tight spot.

Academics feel that in most cases, the university people have been compelled to seek legal remedy as they feel harassed by the orders of the HRD department. Whatever they have earned in the past, they are being asked to forego on one pretext or the other.

All States to get National Law Schools

The Union Law Ministry, the National Law Schools Bill, 2010 intends to establish national law schools, institutions of excellence in the field of legal education and research, in every State where no such school exists.

These will be in addition to the five Centres for Advanced Legal Studies and Research being planned in the five regions to carry out cutting-edge research in various aspects of law with a thrust on new and emerging areas.

Though the Bill provides for public-private partnership in the establishment and functioning of the schools, the central body of the schools  the Council   dominated by government representatives. The Council proposed to be chaired by the Union Law and Justice Minister.

The other members will be the chairpersons and directors of all the National Law Schools; chairman of the University Grants Commission; secretary-general of the International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution; Director of the Indian Law Institute and the National Law University; three persons nominated by the Central Government from the Ministries of Law and Justice, Human Resource Development and any other ministry.

In addition, there will be a representative from the Bar Council of India, three to five persons nominated by the President from the field of law, three Members of Parliament - two from the Lok Sabha and one from the Rajya Sabha.

To be named after the State it is established in, the Centre and the State government will have concurrent responsibility of providing funds for setting up these institutions. The Centre will provide grant-in-aid to the States while the States will ensure acquisition of land required.

The funds given by the State Governments for land acquisition will be considered as part of State's share towards the overall cost of setting up of schools.

The State Government may, if it considers necessary, evolve and operationalise public-private partnership for the smooth functioning of the school.

The public-private partnership will draw a partnership agreement clearly defining the expectations, mutual responsibilities, technical cooperation and reciprocity of benefits.

As per the draft Bill, the schools will prepare professionals equipped to meet the challenges and dimensions of internationalisation; and to seek path-breaking legal research to create new legal knowledge and ideas to help meet the emerging challenges in a manner responsive to the needs of the country and ideals and goals of the Constitution.

GST regime to propel economic growth, and to enhance competitiveness of India Inc

Economic reforms that involved State Governments and made India competitive can push India's GDP growth rate to 12% from the current 8% which was achieved in spite of all hardships and impediments. ``With right reforms which touches the State Governments, the growth rate can be raised to 12%. Reforms can easily add at least one per cent each to manufacturing, agriculture, export and infrastructure sectors.

GST and the Direct Tax Code (DTC) were the two major economic and fiscal reforms that were to be unfolded in the coming months. Both would have significant impact on business. These path-breaking reforms should make India more competitive, especially its manufacturing sector. China, the country with which India has to compete in the world market, was 15-20% more competitive than India. Its share of manufacturing in GDP was over 30% while India had only 15%.

Judges propose transgender law

Legal luminaries, including judges of the Supreme Court and the Madras High Court on 14.08.2010 emphasised the need to enact separate laws to protect and uplift the marginalised transgender community. Not one, but all three SC judges, P. Sathasivam, Altamas Kabir and Dhanveer Bhandari, who spoke during the day-long conference 'Issues Relating to TG Community' echoed the immediate need for enacting special legislation to protect and uplift transgenders.

The conference was organised by the Madras High Court along with National Legal Services Authority, Tamil Nadu Legal Services Authority and the Department of Social Welfare. Requesting the Centre and the state to enact a special legislation on the lines of the SC/ST Act 1989 . 

• INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Governor appoints Cheryl Thomas to Hillsborough circuit bench on 10.08.2010

Cheryl K. Thomas, a county judge since 2001, has been appointed by the governor to Hillsborough's circuit bench.

Thomas, 51, was an assistant attorney general in Tampa for several years before becoming a judge. She also worked as an assistant staff counsel for the Florida Bar, an assistant general counsel with the Florida Department of Transportation and an assistant state attorney in the 6th and 9th judicial circuits.

A graduate of the University of Florida, she previously served as a captain in the U.S. Army and served in the Army Reserve.

She fills the vacancy created by Judge Anthony Black's move to the 2nd District Court of Appeal.

Salaries of officials of 9 gov't offices withheld for unliquidated P2.4-billion cash advances

MANILA: The Office of the Ombudsman (Ombudsman) on 17.08.2010 ordered nine government agencies to withhold the salaries of their accountable officers for their failure to liquidate cash advances amounting to some P2.4 billion.

Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez named the said agencies as the Department of Education , Commission on Elections , Philippine National Police , Bureau of Jail Management and Penology , Bureau of Immigration , Department of National Defense , Bureau of Customs , Philippine Ports Authority  and the National Police Commission .

The Ombudsman pointed out that they are now collating financial documents from other agencies as well.

Under Commission on Audit  Circular 97-002, cash advances must be liquidated as follows :

• Salaries, wages etc. - five days after each 15 day/end of the month pay period;

• Petty Operating Expenses and Field Operating Expenses - within 20 days after the end of the year, subject to replenishment as frequently as necessary during the year;

• Official travel - within 60 days after return to the Philippines in case of foreign travel or within 30 days after return to his permanent official station in case of local travel;

• Intelligence and Confidential Funds for National and Corporate Sectors - within one month from the date the purpose of the cash advance was accomplished;

On the other hand, Commission on Audit Circular 2003-002 states that projects continuing beyond one month, a monthly progress liquidation report shall be submitted starting one month after the commencement of the project.

New Orleans Judge Picked to Handle Gulf Spill Suit on 12.08.2010

A judicial panel has decided that the 300 plus lawsuits filed after the Deepwater Horizon blowout will be handled by a federal judge in New Orleans. The judicial panel said the federal court based in New Orleans is the best place for the litigation. Some attorneys had favored Houston or Gulfport.

Canadian lawyers oppose bill requiring bilingualism in all top court judges

The organization representing Canadian lawyers voted 14.08.2010 to oppose a federal bill requiring all Supreme Court of Canada judges to be bilingual.

A resolution, which called for the abandonment of a bill that is currently in the final stages of the Parliamentary process, passed overwhelming at an annual gathering of the Canadian Bar Association.

The resolution was crafted by lawyers from Western Canada, who argued that mandatory bilingualism would rule out too many otherwise qualified contenders by forcing linguistic ability to trump legal expertise.

Until now, the bar association has taken no official position in an intense debate on whether Supreme Court judges should be bilingual.

New Democrat Yvon Godin's private member's bill has passed the House of Commons and is currently before the Senate.

Godin's bill passed in the House of Commons by a narrow 140-137 margin last spring, with the three opposition parties ganging up against the Conservatives, who unanimously voted nay.

The issue, which has quietly simmered for about two years, has erupted into fierce debate in legal and language-rights circles, with retired Supreme Court judge John Major leading the charge against the pending legislation.

Moreover, judges have the benefit of a vast legal record in each case, including written submissions for both sides and court of appeal rulings.

Major contends that only three of the nine judges are truly fluent in that they are equally functional in both languages - Quebec justices Louis LeBel and Morris Fish, and Franco-Ontarian Louise Charron.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, who opposes the bill, has maintained that merit is the key qualification for a Supreme Court appointment.

The most vocal proponents of Godin's initiative are Quebecers and groups representing francophones, including former Supreme Court justice Claire L'Heureux-Dube, Quebec Premier Jean Charest and Official Languages Commissioner Graham Fraser.

Tory senators outnumber Liberals but there are five independents, so the Conservatives do not have the majority needed to ensure the bill's defeat.