COVID 19 Outbreak And The International Liability Regime: A Legal Perspective On The Class Action Complaint In Texas District Court

Introduction: The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) called as COVID 19 in China and subsequently spread to all over the world is a pandemic and threatening situation for the entire humanity. It has resulted in taking away the life of lakhs of people and is creating hardships to millions of people around the globe. Flights and other means of transport have been suspended; people are stranded in some areas; employment, food and basic needs are...

Struggles Of Getting An Anticipatory Bail Plea Listed In A Delhi Court During Lockdown

The Government of India vide Notification dated 24.03.2020 directed a nationwide lockdown in order to contain the spread of the Coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19); commencing with effect from 25.03.2020. Though this move was anticipated; however, the imposition of lockdown was sudden (as the situation was getting grave by the day). The notification, if read by itself, required the other bearers of responsibility, to take action immediately; including those at the helms of the legal and...

The Best Way Forward Is The Tech Way Forward

When we say that technology is here to stay – we should be looking at designing a system that can eliminate (almost) biases in all form.

[Column] 'Science Leaps : Law Stays Put'. By Justice Anand Venkatesh

This article is an attempt to explore how the burgeoning sophistication of Artificial Intelligence (A.I) and Robots and their widespread deployment everywhere, from homes and hospitals to public spaces and the battlefield, necessitates a rethink of a wide variety of philosophical and public policy issues, and their uneasy interaction with the existing legal regimes thereby impelling a revamp of our existing law and policies. This situation is analogous to how policymakers and lawmakers had...

'All Dressed Up And No Need To Go': A Poem by Senior Advocate KV Viswanathan

Am a Lawyer by calling; And Make a decent living;I had a nagging feeling;Was there a crisis again brewing?That Computer, I had kept ,to flaunt ;Is it back again ,to haunt?First they said try the mail;Just a click and it won't fail !I mustered courage and went along;The mail reached,where it belonged !!My heart was filled with abundant pride;Said I, None can take me for a ride!Hold on Papa!! you have Just sent a Mail,Not launched a nuclear Missile!!!Then the machine went to rest;It did gather a...

Impunity Vs Jeopardy : The Partisan Provisions Of Consumer Protection Act

Introduction Change is the only constant . Keeping in mind the milieu and socio-political affairs of the nation , the constitution makers went on board with "due process of law ''over " procedure established by law ''. The categorization of procedure established was done via two ways – procedural and the substantive procedure. The procedural due process existed from A.K. Gopalan case (1950) till Maneka Gandhi case (1978). It was interpreted to mean that whatever is the procedure...

Enforcing Worldwide Lockdown : Aftermath Of International Obligation To Ensure Right To Health Or Exemplification Of Long Arm Statute

The declaration of the Novel Coronavirus disease or COVID-19 as "pandemic" by the World Health Organisation, given its ubiquitous spread, by the Director-General Mr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in his address on March 11, 2020, was taken punctiliously by each country when he went on to record to state that the "Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to...

COVID19: Lockdown Is A Downside For Victims Of Domestic Violence

"Conditions of lockdown - isolation, social distancing, restrictions on freedom of movement— are the very conditions that feed into the hands of abusers"

COVID-19 Economic Crisis : Time For Retired Persons With Alternate Incomes To Sacrifice Their Pensions

In India, the number of civil servants, who are drawing pension post-retirement from service is higher than the numbers of serving civil servants. A similar situation can be seen among the judiciary, legislators and parliamentarians. In the 2019-20 budget, the Government expected to spend Rs. 48,565 Cr. (4.6% of all expenditures) on civil pensions.1 According to 2015-16 data from the Central Pension Accounting Office, there are around 12 lakh Central Civil Pensioners/Family...

Gauging the Advisory Jurisdiction Of International Court Of Justice vis-à-vis COVID-19

Introduction The COVID-19 outbreak has shocked and deglobalised the international community of states. The World Health Organisation(WHO) has declared the outbreak as a pandemic, several scholars have argued that China has breached International Health Regulations(2005)(IHR) by not preventing the spread of the deadly COVID-19, the IHR aims to aid the international community to prevent and respond to the acute public health risk that has the potential to cross borders and threaten people...

CORONA -: Time To Revisit 'Bail

While striking down the stringent provisions for bail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the Supreme Court speaking through Justice R.F. Nariman traced the historical evolution of the provisions for bail and iterated the golden principle that "Grant of bail is the rule and refusal is the exception. An accused person who enjoys freedom is in a much better position to look after his case and to properly defend himself than if he were in custody. As a presumably innocent person he...

Coronavirus And The Constitution – V: Financial Emergencies

As the novel coronavirus COVID-19 holds the country, its people and its economy to ransom, the Prime Minister has called for a 21-day nation-wide lockdown to curb the unrestrained spread of the pandemic. The Finance Minister has announced a relief package worth INR 1.70 lakh crore, in a bid to alleviate the immediate economic impact of COVID-19 on the financially weaker sections of the society. Various States have also announced a slew of relief packages. The Reserve Bank of India has, on its...