FOREIGN LAW FIRMS IN INDIA
1. Context
Five years after the Supreme Court allowed foreign law firms and foreign lawyers to visit India for a temporary period for giving legal advice to their clients, the Bar Council of India (BCI), a statutory body governing legal practice in India, has framed Rules that allowed them to open offices in India.
2. Supreme Court ruling
- On March 13, 2018, a division bench of Justices A. K. Goel and U.U. Lalit had ruled that foreign law firms or foreign lawyers cannot practise law in the country either on the litigation or nonlitigation side.
- However, the court said that there was no bar on foreign law firms or foreign lawyers visiting India for a temporary period for giving legal advice to their clients.
- The court had also asked the BCI to make appropriate rules in this regard.
3. Rules
- On March 10, the BCI notified the Rules for Registration and Regulation of Foreign Lawyers and Foreign Law Firms in India, 2022.
- This will enable foreign lawyers and law firms to practise foreign law, international law, international arbitration, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property matters etc on a reciprocal basis.
- The Rules mention, This would also help to address the concerns expressed about the flow of Foreign Direct Investment into the country and would help make India a hub for international commercial arbitration.
- Foreign lawyers and firms have to submit an undertaking that they shall not practise Indian law in any form or before any court of law, tribunal, board or any other authority legally entitled to record evidence on oath.
- The legal fraternity in India is not likely to suffer any disadvantage in case law practice in India is opened up to foreign lawyers in a restricted and regulated manner.
- This is mainly because the principle of reciprocity in the Rules ensures that it would be mutually beneficial for lawyers from India and abroad.
4. Bar Council of India powers
- For Foreign lawyers and firms to practise in India, a primary qualification is required in the form of a certificate by a competent authority of their country which states that they are entitled to practise law in that country.
- Their registration in India with the BCI is mandatory and must be renewed every five years.
- Moreover, the BCI has the right to refuse to register any foreign lawyer or law firm if it is likely to become disproportionate to the number of Indian lawyers or law firms registered or allowed to practise law in the corresponding foreign country.
5. Implications
- Some clarity is required around what "Reciprocity" means before we see foreign law firms registering in India.
- If foreign law firms to set up, it would be huge for the corporate legal practice in India as competition can only lead to improvement in legal services.
- Foreign law firms will now be allowed to hire Indian lawyers and advocates registered as foreign lawyers, expanding the legal job market.
- This move will bring artificial Intelligence based technology into legal service delivery, pushing Indian law firms to adopt it.
- This is going to add to the "Corporatisation" of law practice. Already students are burdened with the high fees of private colleges and are turning away from litigation and joining corporate firms.
- More Indian lawyers going abroad and deserting the real need in India to defend and fight for the rights of the poor.
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For Prelims: Bar Council of India, Supreme Court, International Arbitration, International law, Foreign Direct Investment,
For Mains:
1. What are the Rules for the Registration and Regulation of Foreign Lawyers and Foreign Law Firms in India, in 2022? Discuss how is this move mutually beneficial to Indian and foreign lawyers. (250 Words)
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Previous year questions1. With reference to Foreign Direct Investment in India, which one of the following is considered its major characteristic? (UPSC 2020)
A. It is the investment through capital instruments essentially in a listed company.
B. It is a largely non-debt-creating capital flow.
C. It is the investment which involves debt-servicing.
D. It is the investment made by foreign institutional investors in Government securities.
Answer: B
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Source: The Hindu
CAN PLASTICS BE RECYCLED?
1.Context
With only 9% of annual plastic waste recycled, the myth that we can recycle our way out of a mounting plastic pollution crisis doesn’t add up. Around 85% of plastic packaging worldwide ends up in landfills.
2.Background
- In the United States, which is by far the world’s biggest plastics polluter, only around 5% of over 50 million tons of plastic waste produced by households in 2021 was recycled, according to Greenpeace
- With plastic production set to triple globally by 2060, plastics made primarily from oil or gas are a growing source of the carbon pollution fuelling climate change. Much is also ending up in oceans and severely impacting marine life
- Promises by major plastics producers like Nestle and Danone to promote recycling and include more recycled plastic in their containers have been mostly broken
- The plastics lobby, along with supermarkets in countries from Austria to Spain, sometimes avoid this responsibility by lobbying against deposit return schemes that include plastic bottles
- New universal plastic regulations are currently being negotiated as part of a global plastics treaty aiming to streamline the production, use and reuse of plastic using a circular economy model
- Circular product design also relies on the myth of recycling, which in its current guise is doing little to ease a mounting plastics crisis
3. Types of Plastics
- Most plastic packaging is produced from seven grades of plastic that are largely incompatible with each other, and are costly to sort for recycling
- Apart from PET, or Polyethylene terephthalate, the world’s most common plastic labelled with a #1, and high-density Polyethylene (HDPE), which carries the #2 symbol, five other plastic types might be collected but are rarely recycled, say Greenpeace
- PET is the most recyclable plastic and there is a strong market for its byproduct used to make drink bottles, food containers or fibers for clothes
- Harder plastics numbered 3-7 have a very small market since the value of the raw material is lower than the cost of recycling.
- The post-consumer plastic resin created from recycled material is being undercut by cheaper prime material, limiting the market for recycled plastics
- Reporting by New York-based market analysts S&P Global, shows demand for raw recycled plastic slowing due, among other factors, to rising transport costs for recycling businesses in Asia and a slowdown in the construction sector that creates plastic building materials
- Ironically, plastic bag bans in Africa and Asia have limited the amount of feed material, which, in addition to low recycling rates globally, is also raising the price of recycled material
- While the price of virgin plastic is at the whim of fluctuating oil and gas prices, these fossil fuels are often subsidized
- According to Sander Defruyt, who leads the New Plastics Economy initiative at the US-based non-profit, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, recycled plastic would be more competitive if fossil fuel subsidies were phased out
- 4. Flexible Packaging
- The lightweight packets that keep food and snacks likes chips or chocolate bars fresh, constitute around 40% of the world’s plastic packaging, according to Defruyt
- The lightweight, multi-layered single-use packets are used to wrap around 215 billion products in the UK alone
- Only around five European countries are currently attempting to recycle these packets, noted DeFruyt
- In the US, flexible packaging made up only 2% of residential recycling in 2020
- Part of the problem is their multi-layered composition that is sometimes lined with foil, making it very expensive to separate into recyclable parts
- Flexible packaging is also often “super-contaminated” with food waste, which also makes it impossible to recycle
- The packaging industry claims that flexible packaging has environmental benefits as it’s lighter than more rigid plastics and causes less transport emissions while also keeping food fresher for longer
- Efforts by the flexible packaging industry to make the packets part of a circular economy are doing little to raise recycling rates
5. Is banning a Solution?
In a 2022 survey of over 23,000 people across 34 countries, nearly 80% would support banning types of plastic that cannot be easily recycled
This would include a global ban on products and materials made from hard-to-recycle plastics
The EU has made some steps in this direction, having banned 10 single-use plastics products that not only blight Europe’s beaches but contravene a circular economy model via which all disposable plastics in the EU will be reusable or recyclable by 2030
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Previous Year Questions:
1.In the context of ecosystem productivity, marine upwelling zones are important as they increase the marine productivity by bringing the: (UPSC 2011)
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? A. 1 and 2 B. 2 only C. 2 and 3 D. 3 only Answer (B) The correct answer is 2 only. Upwelling : The most productive waters of the world are in regions of upwelling. Upwelling in coastal waters brings nutrients toward the surface |
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For Prelims: Plastic Pollution, Micro Plastics, Recycling of Plastics, Carbon Credits
For Mains:
1.Plastic pollution makes reproduction complex, poisons the marine life and starves them to death (250 words)
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Source: indianexpress
ZOONOSES THEORY
1. Context
In the neverending debate about the origin of the virus that set off the COVID19 pandemic, there is now fresh grist for the mill for those who have held out for the zoonotic angle that the infection skipped from animals to humans. Undisclosed genetic data from a food market in Wuhan has been unearthed and is being used to support the zoonoses theory over the lab leak theory. These findings were presented to the Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens, an expert body constituted by the WHO.
2. Key facts about Zoonoses
- A zoonosis is any disease or infection that is naturally transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans.
- There are over 200 known types of Zooneses.
- Zoonoses comprise a large percentage of new and existing diseases in humans.
- Some zoonoses, such as rabies, are 100% preventable through vaccination and other methods.
3. About Zoonoses
- Zoonosis is an infectious disease that has jumped from non-human animals to humans.
- Zoonotic pathogens may be bacterial, viral, or parasitic, or may involve unconventional agents and can spread to humans through direct contact or through food, water, or the environment.
- They represent a major public health problem around the world due to our close relationship with animals in agriculture, as companions, and in the natural environment.
- Zoonoses can also cause disruptions in the production and trade of animal products for food and other uses.
- Zoonoses comprise a large percentage of all newly identified infectious diseases as well as many existing ones.
- Some diseases, such as HIV, begin as a zoonosis but later mutate into human-only strains.
- Other zoonoses can cause recurring disease outbreaks, such as the Ebola virus disease and salmonellosis.
- Still others, such as the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, have the potential to cause global pandemics.
4. Prevention and Control
- Prevention methods for zoonotic diseases differ for each pathogen; however, several practices are recognized as effective in reducing risk at the community and personal levels.
- Safe and appropriate guidelines for animal care in the agricultural sector help to reduce the potential for foodborne zoonotic disease outbreaks through foods such as meat, eggs, dairy, or even some vegetables.
- Standards for clean drinking water and waste removal, as well as protections for surface water in the natural environment, are also important and effective.
- Education campaigns to promote handwashing after contact with animals and other behavioral adjustments can reduce the community's spread of zoonotic diseases when they occur.
- Antimicrobial resistance is a complicating factor in the control and prevention of zoonoses.
- The use of antibiotics in animals raised for food is widespread and increases the potential for drug-resistant strains of zoonotic pathogens capable of spreading quickly in animal and human populations.
5. Who is at risk?
- Zoonotic pathogens can spread to humans through any contact point with domestic, agricultural, or wild animals.
- Markets selling the meat or by-products of wild animals are particularly high risk due to the large number of new or undocumented pathogens known to exist in some wild animal populations.
- Agricultural workers in areas with high use of antibiotics for farm animals may be at increased risk of pathogens resistant to current antimicrobial drugs.
- People living adjacent to wilderness areas or in semi-urban areas with a higher number of wild animals are at risk of disease from animals such as rats, foxes, or raccoons.
- Urbanization and the destruction of natural habitats increase the risk of zoonotic disease by increasing contact between humans and wild animals.
6. WHO Response
- WHO works with national governments, academia, non-governmental and philanthropic organizations, and regional and international partners to prevent and manage zoonotic threats and their public health, social and economic impacts.
- These efforts include fostering cross-sectoral collaboration at the human-animal-environment interface among the different relevant sectors at regional, national, and international levels.
- WHO also works to develop capacity and promote practical, evidence-based, and cost-effective tools and mechanisms for zoonoses prevention, surveillance, and detection through reporting, epidemiological and laboratory investigation, risk assessment and control, and assisting countries in their implementation.
- As part of the One Health approach, the World Health Organization collaborates with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) on the Global Early Warning System for Major Animal Diseases (GLEWS).
- This joint system builds on the added value of combining and coordinating alert mechanisms of the three agencies to assist in early warning, prevention, and control of animal disease threats, including zoonoses, through data sharing and risk assessment.
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For Prelims: Zooneses, Covid-19, World Health Organisation (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and Global Early Warning System for Major Animal Diseases (GLEWS)
For Mains: 1. What is Zoonoses and discuss its preventive measures and control of zoonoses diseases.
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Source: The Hindu
DOCTRINE OF DOUBLE JEOPARDY
1.Context
A Delhi court on Saturday sentenced two former Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials to three years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 5,000 each, in a money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in 2009, against which it filed a complaint after a delay of 11 years, in 2021
If the two offences are distinct then the ban under Section 300 CrPC cannot be invoked, the court stated, while distinguishing between the 2012 CBI case involving “cheating, misappropriation and the criminal misconduct of the public servant while discharging official duty” from the ED’s 2021 money laundering case
2. About Double Jeopardy
- “Double jeopardy” comes from the Latin maxim “Nemo bis punitur pro eodem delicto”, which means that no one can be tried for the same offence twice
- It has existed since the days of the Greeks and Romans, even finding a mention in the Justinian code, Canon law, Common Law, and the Fifth Amendment
- In India, this doctrine existed even before the Constitution came into being
- A case in point would be the now-repealed General Clauses Act, of 1897 and Section 300 of the Criminal Procedure Code of 1973, which says that a person once convicted or acquitted cannot be tried for the same offence
- In its 2022 ruling in ‘T.P. Gopalakrishnan vs. State of Kerala,’ the Supreme Court went so far as to say that Section 300 bars the trial of a person not just for the same offence but also for any other offence on the same facts
- The doctrine of double jeopardy is enshrined in the Indian Constitution under Article 20 (2), which says, “No person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once.”
- It guarantees immunity from double punishment and bars a second prosecution only where the accused has been both prosecuted and punished for the same offence previously, as held by the Supreme Court in its 1954 ruling in ‘Venkataraman SA vs. Union of India’
- However, in its 1996 ruling in ‘AA Mulla vs State of Maharashtra’, the apex court held that Article 20(2) does not bar subsequent trials if the ingredients of the offences in the previous and subsequent trials are distinct
- Moreover, there are certain conditions for the application of Article 20 (2)
3. Conditions for the Application of Article 20 (2)
- There must have been previous proceedings before a court of law or a judicial tribunal of competent jurisdiction
- The person must have been prosecuted in the previous proceedings
- The conviction or acquittal in the previous proceeding must be in force at the time of the second trial
- The “offence” must be an offence as defined in Section 3(38) of the General Clauses Act which defines it as any act or omission made punishable by any law for the time being in force, The prosecution must also be valid and not null, void, or abortive.
- The “offence” must be an offence as defined in Section 3(38) of the General Clauses Act which defines it as any act or omission made punishable by any law for the time being in force. The prosecution must also be valid and not null, void, or abortive
- The subsequent proceeding must be a fresh proceeding where an accused is being prosecuted for the same offence twice. Hence, this clause does not apply when the later proceedings are a continuation of the previous proceedings, nor does it bar a retrial on appeal with a direction to frame charges, provided the retrial is for the same offence or offence as the original trial
4. Way Forward
The Prevention of Money Laundering Act does not provide for a limitation period for money laundering
This indicates that the law laid down in Section 468 of the CrPC, which states that there is no limitation period for offences punishable with three years imprisonment or more, will apply
Source: indianexpress
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
1. Context
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 17, 2023, for the alleged war crime of unlawfully deporting and transferring children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.
2. About International Criminal Court (ICC)
- The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, was established in 1998 under a treaty called the Rome Statute.
- It investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression.
- Presently, 123 countries are party to the Rome Statute, including Britain, Japan, Afghanistan, and Germany.
- However, the USA has kept its distance, maintaining that ICC should not exercise jurisdiction over citizens of countries that are not a party to it.
- Similarly, India and China have also abstained from membership.
- The ICC was established to prosecute the most heinous offenses only when a country’s own legal machinery fails to act, as was the case in former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
- Unlike the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which deals with countries and inter-state disputes, the ICC prosecutes individuals.
- However, the ICC’s jurisdiction is limited to offenses occurring after it came into effect on July 1, 2002.
- Additionally, the offences should be committed either in a country that ratified the agreement or by a national of a ratifying country.
- The ICC can also practice its jurisdiction over cases referred by the UN Security Council to it.
3. Does the ICC have the power to prosecute Russia?
- This is the first time that the ICC has issued an arrest warrant against one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
- Russia found this outrageous and unacceptable because any decision of the court was
null and void due to Russia not being an ICC member. - However, this move creates a situation where Putin risks arrest every time he travels.
- According to The New York Times, this move, along with the existing sanctions in the West, will further deepen his isolation and limit his overseas movements.
- Moreover, if he travels to a state party to the ICC, then that country must arrest him according to its obligations under international law.
4. Does Ukraine recognize ICC's Jurisdiction?
- Ukraine is not a State Party to the Rome Statute, but it has twice exercised its options to accept ICC’s jurisdiction over alleged crimes under the Rome Statute, occurring on its territory, under Article 12(3) of the Statute.
- Article 12(3) states that if the acceptance of a state that is not a party to the statute is required, the state may accept the jurisdiction of the court for a crime concerned, by making a declaration to the Registrar and cooperating without any delay or exception.
- The alleged crimes, including the deportation of children, were detailed in a report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, an UN-mandated investigative body that said some acts may amount to crimes against humanity.
5. How is ICC different from ICJ?
- Unlike the International Court of Justice, the ICC is not part of the United Nations system, with the UN-ICC relationship being governed by a separate agreement.
- The ICJ, which is among the UN’s 6 principal organs, mainly hears disputes between nations. It was established in 1945 and is seated in The Hague (Netherlands).
6. What is the Independent International Commission of Inquiry Report on Ukraine?
- In its report dated March 16, 2023, the commission outlined the body of evidence and how it points to Russian authorities committing a wide range of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in many regions of Ukraine and the Russian Federation.
- Many of these amount to war crimes and include wilful killings, attacks on civilians, unlawful confinement, torture, rape, and forced transfers and deportations of children, the report states.
- Contending that the Russian armed forces carried out attacks with explosives in populated areas with an apparent disregard for civilian harm and suffering, the report documented the indiscriminate, disproportionate attacks and failure to take precautions, thereby violating international humanitarian law.
- The commission also found that the Russian military’s waves of attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure from October 2022 and its use of torture could amount to crimes against humanity.
- It also recommended further investigation to hold the responsible agents comprehensively accountable, in a way that includes both criminal responsibility and the victims’ right to truth, reparation, and non-repetition.
Previous year Question
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1. Which of the following characterizes International Criminal Court (ICC)?(UGC NET 2020)
(A) The Rome statute established ICC as a 'Court of last resort'
(B) ICC can exercise jurisdiction only when national courts are unwilling or unable to investigate or prosecute
(C) It can not prosecute acts of war crimes
(D) ICC is not located in the Hague
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
1. (A) and (B) only
2. (B) and (C) only
3. (C) and (D) only
4. (A) and (D) only
Answer: 1
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For Prelims: International Criminal Court (ICC), The Hague, Netherlands, Rome Statute, UN Security Council, Article 12(3) of the Statute, and International Court of Justice (ICJ).
For Mains: 1. What is the difference between the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
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Source: The Indian Express
WILLOW OIL PROJECT
1. Context
The United States President Joe Biden's administration formally approved a controversial oil drilling project in Alaska known as Willow, drawing fierce criticism from environmentalists and climate change activists.
2. Key points
- The announcement was welcomed by Alaska's lawmakers, who believe that the project would generate thousands of jobs and millions in revenue for their state.
- Although the US Department of the Interior, in a statement, said that it has approved a scaled-down version of the project, opponents claim it would still severely impact the climate and wildlife in the region.
- Previously, the Trump administration had sanctioned the plan to drill oil in Alaska in 2020, but a federal judge vacated development permits, saying initial federal reviews failed to include measures to mitigate the impact on polar bears.
3. About Willow Project
- Led by oil giant ConocoPhillips, the Willow Master Development Plan is an $8 billion proposal to drill oil and gas in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve a 23 million-acre land owned by the federal government of the US.
- According to the New York Times, the Project would yield more than 600 million barrels of oil over 30 years, a volume nearly 1.5 times the current supply in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
- ConocoPhillips claims that the plan could generate up to $17 billion for the federal, state and local governments and create as many as 2,500 jobs.
- Alaska Republican US Senator Dan Sullivan said it could be "one of the biggest, most important resource development projects in our state's history".
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Image Source: The Boston Globe4. Impact on the environment
- Instead of approving the full project, like the President Trump administration, the current dispensation has sanctioned only a part of it.
- This includes three drill sites and less surface infrastructure than originally proposed.
- Initially, ConocoPhillips wanted to construct up to five drill sites, many kilometres of long roads, seven bridges and pipelines.
- Despite a scaled-down version getting the nod, environmentalists are concerned about the health and environmental impact of the drilling plan as it would be constructed on the country's largest swath of undisturbed, undeveloped land.
- They believe it would destroy the region's natural habitat and alter the migration patterns of animals.
| A report published by the NPR noted that the Bureau of Land Management, a US government agency, in February 2023 released a document in which it described the "Proposed site as 'critical' to local wildlife, supporting 'thousands of migratory birds' and serving as a 'primary calving area' for local caribou". |
- Moreover, the project termed a "carbon bomb", would create about 260 million tons of greenhouse gases over its lifespan, the equivalent of developing around 70 new coal-fired power plants.
- This is a huge climate threat and inconsistent with this administration's promises to take on the climate crisis.
- Environmentalists and climate change activists claim that the approval conflicts with President Biden's campaign pledge of not allowing new oil, gas and coal projects and work towards fighting climate change.
5. Reasons for the approval of the project
- Analysts suggest that the formal approval came due to a variety of reasons, including the global energy crisis aggravated by the Russia-Ukraine war, pressure from Alaskan lawmakers (both from the Republican and Democratic parties) who saw the project as an opportunity to usher in prosperity in the state, upcoming Presidental elections and legal complexities.
- While making the final decision, President Biden was "acutely aware" of his campaign promise regarding climate change and the possibility of facing a political backlash from activists and young voters in particular.
- However, his administration felt the need to reach out to the working-class voters, who care about the gasoline price spikes that occurred after Russia invaded Ukraine.
- Apart from this, President Biden wanted to avoid getting into a legal tussle with ConocoPhillips.
- The company behind the project has held leases to the prospective drilling site for more than two decades and the administration attorneys argued that refusing a permit would trigger a lawsuit that could cost the government as much as $ billion.
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For Prelims: Willow oil project, Alaska, USA, Climate Change, Russia Ukraine war
For Mains:
1. What are the reasons for the USA's approval of the oil drilling project in Alaska? Discuss the impact of the Willow oil Project on climate change. (250 Words)
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Source: The Indian Express
