India: Court Proceedings: Live-streaming Can Be Introduced As Pilot Project, Government Tells Supreme Court

The government on Friday suggested to the Supreme Court that live-streaming of proceedings could be introduced as a pilot project for matters of constitutional significance but not on issues which could arouse passion, affect national security or concerned matrimonial disputes or juveniles. The country’s Attorney General, KK Venugopal, conveyed the government position to the Supreme Court. Venugopal said the success of the pilot project will determine whether to sustain live streaming or not.

India: Does Great-Grandson Of IAS Officer Need Quota In Promotion, Supreme Court Queried

The Supreme Court on Thursday queried whether great-grandson of AIS officer was entitled to promotion. The court proposed adding the ‘creamy layer’ qualifier for the communities as well. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra posed the query as to why the ‘creamy layer’ principle, used to exclude affluent other backward classes (OBCs) people from availing reservation, cannot be made applicable to deny quota benefits in promotion to those affluent among the SCs and STs.

India: Supreme Court Issues Notice To West Bengal Govt For CBI Probe Into The Murder Of BJP Workers

The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice for CIB probe into the murder of some BJP workers to the West Bengal Government. The court sought to know why the probe shouldn’t be handed over to the Central agency. Agreeing to hear a plea of BJP leader and advocate, Gaurav Bhatia, who alleged that workers of his political party were being targeted by the ruling party in the state, a bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan issued a notice to the state government and asked it to file a response.

India: Mirchpur Dalit Killings: High Court Convicts 33, Sentences 12 To Life Imprisonment

A High Court sitting in Delhi on Friday overturned the acquittal of 20 people accused in a case of burning alive a 70-year-old Dalit man and his physically-challenged daughter at Mirchpur village in Haryana’s Hisar district in 2010 while upholding the conviction of 13 others. The court also enhanced the punishment of the nine convicts, taking to 12 the number of convicts who have sentenced to life imprisonment. The court delivered this ruling by a bench of Justices S Muralidhar and IS Mehta.

India; You Cannot Throw Out Students, High Court Cautions Delhi Government

A High Court sitting in Delta has cautioned the State government against throwing out 42,503 students who failed the class XCBSE examinations this year. The court decision was made by a bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice VK Rao. The Justices asked the counsel for the Delhi government to seek instructions on the matter and inform it on August 28. The court was hearing an application filed by an NGO, Social Jurist, in a pending petition highlighting the denial of admission to students in government schools in the national capital.

India: Pre-Import Rules For Tax Sops Cannot Be Relevant In Exports, Madras High Court Declares

A High Court sitting in Madras on Friday declared that pre-import conditions could lead to absurdity and were not relevant when the petitioner had already exported the goods. The Madurai bench gave the ruling on Friday. The issue pertains to the tax treatment of transactions where exporters ship the finished products before the import of raw material and then claim the benefits. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, India’s primary anti-smuggling intelligence agency, had started issuing show-cause notices to exporters for wrongfully availing of exemptions in cases where exports preceded imports.

India: Madras High Court Allows Passive Euthanasia For a Nine-Year-Old Child

A High Court sitting in Madras on Friday allowed what could become the first recorded instance of passive euthanasia for a minor child. The court admitted this plea earlier this week. On Friday, the Bench of Justices N Kirubakaran and S Baskaran also directed a three-member panel comprising of Dr Reginald (Neurosurgeon), Dr P Ramachandran (retired Paediatrician) and Uma Maheshwari (CMO, Central Government Health Scheme, Chennai) to nominate three experts to examine the child within two weeks.

Canada: Laws To Halve Poverty Rate Underway, Canadian Government Declares

The Canadian government on Friday took steps to curb the poverty rate in the country. The government is introducing a national ‘poverty line’ for the first time and will enshrine in law a goal to halve the number of people living in poverty by 2030. The strategy, released by the government earlier this week, christened Opportunity for All, also set out its definition of ‘poverty’ in the document and what the ‘poverty line’ – the minimum level of income considered to be adequate – will be

Canada: University of Windsor: First Year Law Students To Take Indigenous Law

The University of Windsor’s law school on Friday declared that all first-year students will henceforth starting from September complete a course in Indigenous legal traditions. The was made known by the Dean of law, Christopher Waters. He said it’s the first time the university will require first-year students to take the course along with their common law subjects. He added that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission charged to law schools that they have to do a better job.

Canada: Richard Scott Remembered For His Contribution To The Law Community

Richard Scott, an erudite legal ruminary and president-elect of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, has died at the age of 65. Scott, who died Monday, was a lawyer in the capital for more than 40 years and was active in legal research, writing and appellate advocacy, according to a tribute from the federation. A lawyer at Mclnnis Cooper, Jeffrey Callaghan, said in his tribute that Scott was an extremely competent, bright, well-respected lawyer.

UK: Electronic Signatures are valid, Law Commission Declares

The Law Commission of the United Kingdom on Friday declared that electronic signatures are valid just like the handwriting ones. The Law Commission further states that the electronic signature can even be valid when it is just a typed name or a single click of a button to authorize a legal document. A consultation has been opened on whether new legislation is required to reinforce the validity of e-signatures, but the Commission said: “Our provisional view is that the combination of EU law, statute, and case law means that, under the current law, an electronic signature is capable of meeting a statutory requirement for a signature if an authenticating intention can be demonstrated.”

UK: Europe’s New GDPR Data Law Jeopardises Global Online Advertising

Europe’s new data privacy law has put several tech firms that usually track people online in jeopardy and is strengthening the hand of giants such as Google and Facebook in the $200 billion global digital advertising industry. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) brought in by the European Union in May is designed to protect personal information in the age of the internet and requires websites to seek consent to use personal data, among other measures

US: Michael Cohen Sets Up GoFundMe Page For Legal Costs

Michael Cohen is currently seeking financial aid from members of the public with a view to settling his legal fees, and one anonymous donor already has ponied up $50,000. This was made known through his lawyer, Donald Trump’s former “fixer.” The lawyer said collecting contributions through a GoFundMe page set up after his client’s guilty plea this week is the only way to ensure the truth comes out about the president. It’s also the latest sign that Cohen is broke.