Law at crossroads:16 Years Of Right To Information Act

12th October 2021 marked 16 years since the implementation of the Right to Information Act, 2005. The foundations of the law were laid by various Supreme court judgements which held that the right to information form an integral aspect of the Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression under Art.19. An equal strong impetus for statutory recognition was the strong grassroots campaign for Right to Information in rural Rajasthan. In 16 years since its implementation, the law has empowered the...

The Provisional Application Of Treaties

In 2012, during its sixty-fourth session, UN's International Law Commission adopted the provisional application of a treaty, following the recommendation of its Working group on the Long-Term Programme of Work. The main objective behind this inclusion was to cast light on a provision contained in Article 25 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) and to clarify its legal effects and the different modalities through which this provision can be resorted to. Mr. Manuel...

In Defence Of The Canadian Supreme Court's Majority Judgment

Recently, the Canadian Supreme Court delivered a significant verdict on the issue of whether unwritten principles of the Constitution can be used to strike down legislations [Toronto (City) v. Ontario (Attorney General), 2021 SCC 34]. While the dissent ruled in the affirmative, the majority in a close 5:4 verdict held to the contrary. In a recent post, Senior Advocate Arvind Datar and Advocate Rahul Unnikrishnan have supported the dissenting judgment (authored by Abella J.). In this...

Uthra Murder: How the Trial Court Didn't Succumb to 'Collective Conscience'

By not awarding the death sentence to the convict in the case, the trial court firmly resisted pressures from civil society.

Can Ordinary Legislation Be Struck Down For Violating 'Basic Structure' Of Constitution? Canada Supreme Court Judgment Revives The Debate

Recently, the Supreme Court of Canada (by majority 5:4) held that 'unwritten constitutional principles' like democracy, though are part of Constitution, cannot be used as bases for invalidating legislation. The dissent, referring also to Indian judgment in Kesavananda Bharati case, noted that many Parliamentary system have recognized that unwritten constitutional principles have full legal force. This judgment, in my view, is the Canadian counter part of Indian Supreme Court judgment in Indira...

Munsiff-Magistrate Selection : On Filling Up All Existing Vacancies From A Rank List

After five year long strenuous efforts by the Full Court and the Registry of the High Court of Kerala, comprehensive amendments were brought about in the Kerala Judicial Service Rules,1991. The amended Act 2018 was implemented with a view to bring in quality in the subordinate judiciary by ensuring timely filling up of vacancies with qualified candidates. The poor quality and performance issues of the umpteen number of "Temporary Munsiff-Magistrates" appointed all these years from among...

Centre Splitting Up Collegium Resolutions : Exception Becoming A Norm?

Unilateral and arbitrary segregation of names impinge on judicial supremacy in judges appointments and demoralize judgeship aspirants.

Drug Policy Reform: Shifting Focus From Criminalisation To Harm Reduction

In 1971, when the United States of America called for a war on drugs, most of the countries were quick to jump on the bandwagon. By putting their faith in the concept of retribution and deterrence, the policy adopted by all and sundry was to enact stringent laws to combat drugs. Later, Government officials confirmed that President Richard Nixon's warcry was a racist and antiquated political tool against the 'antiwar left' and the African Americans.[1] A campaign strategy turned global...

Recent Important Judgments On Arbitration

The Supreme Court of India and various High Courts of the Country have pronounced numerous judgments in the matters related to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, recently. In this write-up, the important pronouncements are briefly discussed. Garg Builders v. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Civil Appeal No. 6216 of 2021 (Decided on 04/10/2021). A Bench of Justices S. Abdul Nazeer and Krishna Murari held that if the contract contains a specific clause that expressly bars...

Community Service Not A Valid Bail Condition

It has now become a trend in the court of justice to impose the community service as a bail condition upon the accused. Recently, a local court in Bihar directed a person accused of outraging the modesty of woman and attempt to rape to wash and iron the clothes of all women of the village free of cost for six months. Even during the first wave of Covid-19 when everyone was under the threat of contracting this highly transmissible disease, one of the High Courts imposed a necessary bail...

Corrective Rape: Inside India's Obsession With Heterosexuality

Imagine your parents getting you raped to cure you! Done under the meticulous façade of love and family. It would be so painful to feel invisible and drowning, only to realize in hindsight that people knew and talked about it, just not with you. Abuse is often considered a private issue to be gossiped about; not something to acknowledge in the light of day. Around the world, LGBTQ people face discrimination in almost all aspects of their lives. Family enacted violence and lack of acceptance,...

Insolvency Law In Review- August 2021

A round-up of significant rulings on the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 in the month of August.