• NATIONAL NEWS

Government exempts CWG helium balloons from customs duty

The much-talked about Helium balloons for the opening and closing in ceremony of the Commonwealth Games will be exempted from customs duty. The Finance Ministry has withdrawn customs duty on the balloons, technically known as Aerostats, along with equipment used for their deployment, sources said. Aerostats will be deployed at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for the upcoming Commonwealth Games. The exemption is part of the government's move to remove customs duty on sports goods and equipment imported for the Commonwealth Games. However, to avail the exemptions, these balloons will have to be imported by suppliers, contractors, vendors or sub-vendors of the Organising Committee of the Commonwealth Games, they said. Earlier, in February this year, the government removed customs duty on various sports goods like arms and ammunition for shooting events, broadcasting equipment imported by Prasar Bharti for telecasting the spectacle and doping control equipment.

SEBI directs brokers to collect income proofs every year

SEBI has given directions to brokers to collect income proofs like salary slips,tax returns and bank account statements from the investors in stocks,every year.The directive is an attempt by SEBI to check the investment of black money in the market.

India readies to ratify UN Convention against transnational organised crime

The ratification will enable the govt. to sign mutual agreements with other member countries for legal assistance to combat crimes like human trafficking,money laundering,drugs arms smuggling.India signed it in 2002 and the cabinet approval for ratification is likely by next week.

RBI plans to introduce system using XBRL.

RBI sternly directed public sector banks to use the centrallised IT system technology properly to enable RBI to introduce a new system using XBRL(Extensible Business Reporting Language).It will enable RBIs computers to directly communicate with the servers of banks and pull out desired information.

IT Depts plea against AARs order admitted by Supreme Court

IT depts plea against an order of Authority of Advance Ruling(AAR) in case of exemptions given to a french firm related to long term capital gains has been admitted by the SC.The AAR had allowed the foreign firm to pay capital gains tax at 10% which according to the IT dept is 20% for foreign firms.

Opposition to Nuclear liability Bill

he BJP has decided to oppose the Nuclear liability bill alledging that the scope of clause 17(b) pertaining to suppliers liability has been diluted and the indian operators right to recourse againt the supplier has been practically erased by the govt. by rewritting the provision.

Consumer Affairs ministry okay with FDI in multi brand retail

The consumer affairs ministry has recommended the commerce ministry favouring the latters decision to allow FDI in multi -brand retail.However,it has suggested a cap of 49% and enacting of a model law at the state level to protect the interests of small retailers.

Transgenders as separate gender category

The Technical Advisory Committee,formed by registrar general,has recommended the inclusion of transgenders in the 2011 census as a separate gender category.Accordingly the current practice of clubbing them as males shall be discontinued.

Mutual funds listing might become mandatory

SEBI is planning to make the listing of all mutual fund schemes,including debt,equity,all open ended and close ended schemes,mandatory.A meeting with the bankers was held last week in this regard.

Delhi to get 6th District court

Saket court complex will become operational from 28.08.2010.It will be delhi's sixth district court and will cater to south and south east districts.It is supposedly the biggest court complex in Asia.

The Mines & Minerals (Development) & Regulation (Amendment) Bill,2010 passed

The Mines and Minerals (Development)and Regulation (amendment)Bill,2008 has been passed by the houses on August 21.The bill allows companies engaged in steel,power and iron to bid for coal mining blocks.It seeks to promote transparency in the bidding process.

Swiss banks may be asked to reveal account information

The swiss authorities have agreed to share information of account details of suspected money launderers on the condition of fulfilling 4 conditions which include a written request from the tax authority of the country seeking the information,along with the details of the alledged offence

CBDT and Financial Intelligence Unit sign MOU

CBDT(Central board of direct taxes) and Financial Intelligence Unit (India) have signed a MOU to exchange information on tracking unaccounted funds.It has been done with an aim to track black money of indians stashed away in foreign countries.

Service of notice through email and sms

A delegation of Women Lawyers Association submitted a memorandum to the CJ of Madras HC on August 21,putting forward a suggestion to also consider service of notice through email and sms,through an agent duly appointed by the High Court.

Health Ministry plans to frame common treatment standards

In the wake of all major healthcare insurance firms withdrawing the cashless payment facility for treatment at hospitals,alledging over charging by hospitals,the health ministry has ordered a panel to frame rules for standardisation of rates for treatment of diseases across a region.

• INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Kittitian reappointed to the CARICOM Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission

St. Kitts - Prominent Kittitian-born jurist, Dr. Joseph S. Archibald QC has been re-appointed for a second three-year term as a Member of the CARICOM Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission.Chief Justice of the Caribbean Court of Justice, The Right Honourable Mr. Justice de la Bastide TC, QC in his capacity as Chairman of the Commission, pursuant to the provisions of the CARICOM Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice and the Commission made the appointment with effect from 20.08.10. The Commission appoints the Judges, and recommends the appointment of the Chief Justice, of the Caribbean Court of Justice. Members of the Commission, when travelling in the Caricom Region on Commission business, are granted privileges and immunities similar to those granted to Supreme Court Judges.

To the Montgomery elections board, your legal signature isn't good enough Maryland 29.08.2010

The Montgomery County office of the Maryland Board of Elections, following dictates from the state board, has rejected a petition signed by 50,000 Montgomery County residents to place the county's recently enacted ambulance fee law on the November ballot for a vote. The standards the board used should disturb all who care about democracy. The board disqualified thousands of legal signatures -- the signatures that people use when signing checks, wills and contracts -- because they didn't include a middle initial or because they didn't match the format of the person's printed name on the petition or because the signature wasn't a readable cursive version of the printed name. Something is seriously wrong when the legal signatures of voters are thrown out in the name of preventing fraud.

Municipalities to Indemnify Firm From Legal Action on Ratings asked by .Moody's Investors Service

Moody's Investors Service asked local governments to indemnify the bond-rating company and its executives from legal action connected to its ratings except for instances of fraud or willful misconduct. New York-based Moody's, whose founder John Moody created credit ratings in 1909, included the language in an application and fee waiver in July, said Tim Firestine, the chief administration officer of Montgomery County, Maryland, which has the highest-possible bond rating. He said the bond rater also hiked fees to $98,400 from $61,000.

No legal aid for bomber's widow

LONDON. On 28.08.2010 Britain's High Court has rejected an appeal from the widow of one of the London Transport bombers for legal representation at an inquest on the victims.

Hasina Patel's husband, Mohammad Sidique Khan, was the alleged ringleader among the four suicide bombers responsible for explosions on three Underground trains and a bus that killed 52 people 0n 07.07 2005.

The court said Patel's lawyers claimed she wanted to understand her British-born husband's motives. But two judges said she has refused to provide information that might help investigators, The Guardian reported.

UN - Secretary-General Appoints Jack Lang of France Special Adviser on Legal Issues Related to Piracy off Coast of Somalia

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Jack Lang of France as Special Adviser on Legal Issues related to Piracy off the Coast of Somalia.

Mr. Lang has been elected as a deputy of the National Assembly of France and as a member of the European Parliament. He was the special envoy of the President of France to Cuba in February 2009 and to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in November 2009. He has previously served as Minister of Culture and Education and as President of the foreign affairs committee of the National Assembly. In addition to his political career, Mr. Lang has also served in a number of academic legal posts. He holds a degree from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris [Paris Institute of Political Studies] and a postgraduate degree in public law. Mr. Lang was born on 02.09. 1939.

The international community, including the Security Council, has clearly emphasized the need to achieve and sustain substantive results in combating the scourge of piracy. The human, commercial and security threats posed by piracy are enormous and widespread.

Insurer Fights Stanford Legal Fees : HOUSTON

Texas financier R. Allen Stanford is in danger of losing the multimillion-dollar funding stream that has financed his defense against charges that he operated an international Ponzi scheme.

A federal judge in Houston is hearing testimony this week to decide whether Lloyd's of London can refuse to pay legal fees in the civil and criminal cases against Mr. Stanford and his former lieutenants Gilbert Lopez Jr. and Mark Kuhrt, who also are accused of perpetrating a $7 billion fraud.

Legal challenge succeeds in changing Palo Alto ballot measure argument

Spate of San Jose fires reignite debate over budget cutsA judge ordered changes on 27.08.2010 to language in a Palo Alto ballot argument written by proponents of a measure that seeks to establish minimum staffing levels for the city's fire department.

"The language in the ballot has been changed to be truthful instead of misleading," Dena Mossar, a former Palo Alto mayor who filed a lawsuit Monday seeking the revision, said after Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Kevin J. Murphy ordered the change. Mossar, who is chairwoman of a coalition of former mayors and council members against the firefighters union-backed Measure R, called the revision a victory for the city and its residents.

If passed by voters in November, Measure R would prevent the city council from reducing the fire department's staff below 2009-10 levels or closing stations without first holding public hearings and an election.