Proposed Labour Law Changes: Foundation For Global Manufacturing Hub

Labour laws in India have often been accused of being onerous. The concomitant permit or license Raj, which mandates the companies to obtain licenses and permits for every step, often leads to delays, enhances the compliance burden and also leaves new businesses at the mercy of a regulatory maze. In a bid to simplify the labour laws, in July 2019, the Government had proposed to consolidate about 44 Labour Laws under 4 codes. Relating to Social Security, Wages, Industrial Relations and...

Arbitration During And Post Covid-19: A Perspective

In a short period of a few months, the coronavirus pandemic has spread through the globe, completely disrupting life as we know it. It is a disaster very few people had foreseen, and even fewer had prepared for. The freedom of movement and gathering has been greatly curtailed, and the same has had a very real effect on the functioning of the legal system and the arbitration mechanism in our country. Faced with complete lockdowns and social distancing, the legal system has rapidly adapted...

Courts & Contracts – Equity & Enforcement In The Current Situation

Over the past few weeks, the Indian Contract Act, 1872 (hereinafter referred to as the "Act") has been discussed exhaustively and many have attempted to clarify the legal intricacies surrounding the impact of COVID-19 on 'performance of contracts'. Non-performance of a contract due to a force majeure event is governed by the provisions of Section 32 and Section 56 of the Act. We discuss how the courts are interpreting these statutes during the ongoing pandemic including the hardships faced...

Can Supreme Court Of India Fix The Period Of Limitation For Filing Of Appeal Under The Arbitration And Conciliation Act, 1996

In a recent judgment passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the matter of N.V. International Vs. State of Assam[1]; the Hon'ble Court while refusing to condone the delay of 189 days, beyond the permissible 90 days, held as under: "4. We may only add that what we have done in the aforesaid judgment is to add to the period of 90 days, which is provided by statute for filing of appeal under Section 37 of the Arbitration Act, a grace period of 30 days under Section...

The COVID-19 Pandemic: Learnings From A Climate Action Perspective

The world needs to demonstrate the same unity and commitment to climate action and cutting greenhouse gas emissions as to containing the Coronavirus pandemic. Failure in climate change mitigation could lead to greater human life and economic losses during the coming decades. ~ Petteri Taalas, Secretary General, World Meteorological Organisation In the wake of COVID-19 as the world comes to a halt, we see pictures of the environment cleaning itself up – from clear blue skies in Beijing,...

COVID-19, Lockdowns And Rising Incidences Of Domestic Abuse

The Covid-19 pandemic, which had its' origins in the Hubei province of China has now spread across the globe with the World Health Organisation deeming it as a pandemic. As the numbers of infected people continue to rise at an alarming pace, governments across the globe are faced with an unprecedented situation. Guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation and researches by the American Medical Association after observing and analysing the situation across the globe have come to a...

Striking A Balance Between Bail And Jail

The Central as well as the State Governments have been very swift in their response to the Pandemic and have issued various advisories, directions, orders and guidelines to ensure safety and wellbeing of the citizens. The Supreme Court of India has not been too far behind in COVID activism. On March 16, 2020, IN RE: CONTAGION OF COVID 19 VIRUS IN PRISONS[1], the bench consisting of the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India Justice SA Bobde and Hon'ble Justice L Nageswar Rao directed the...

Concept Of Accord Of Sanction

Statute puts a mandate on the Prosecuting agency to acquire a Sanction order, from an Authority competent to issue the said Order, so as to initiate prosecution against Public Servants. When and how did the concept of Sanction ascended? What Change did it bring?

Why Should Legal And Policy Professionals Learn The Data Language?

Data has always informed and influenced governments and businesses in making decisions, but this is not a modern trend. This type of decision-making can be traced back to 6CE, where the Herodus Census (Quirinius) was used as a narrative means to establish the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Since then, tables of data have been used to make economic and military decisions. Daniel Bernoulli developed the first mathematical model—which he described as a 'new province into the body of...

The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2020: Decriminalizing Offences Under The Companies Act, 2013

Since the advent of the Companies Act, 2013 (the "Act"), the governmental authorities in India have often adopted a proactive approach, and proposed and implemented various measures to facilitate ease of doing business for companies operating in India. An onerous vestige of its predecessor legislation which continues in the Act are criminal sanctions that can be imposed in case of minor, technical or procedural non-compliances under the Act. Therefore, with an objective to rationalise...

Disputes & Resolutions, Post Lockdown Implications – Outline On Manufacturing Industry

Covid19 lockdown in India and across the world has already caused unforeseen effects to every industry, distinctive complications and unpredicted circumstances to the businesses, the supply and demand demography, other operational impediments are at large. It is evident that the elasticity of demand and termination of contracts already reflecting on the businesses' financials. Under these circumstances, this article aims to outline the lockdown situation in manufacturing businesses and...

COVID 19 And Economic Package: A Future Enabler Or An Immediate Relief?

The announcements made on 16.05.2020, being the 4th tranche of the special economic package, will surely provide yet another feather in the cap that our Hon'ble Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has on. The schemes and opportunities laid down in this announcement will surely go down in history. It changes our way of looking at, and approaching, the infrastructure industry. For the sake of relevance, I will be sticking to the policies provided for mining, aviation, power and viability...