Legal Notes - August 2019

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The last budget session of Parliament was one of its most productive sessions in a quarter century. The passage of a huge number of bills, long hours of debate and the participation of almost 80 per cent of MPs was, by all accounts reason for a celebration. That, however, was miles away from what happened on ground. A curfew in a state while passing a bill, shoving activists in vans protesting against an amendment, recurrent walkouts by the opposition, none of this really stopped the ruling government from getting its bills passed. Legal Notes in its cover story has reviewed six such bills that are expected to set the course for a 'new India.' On the international front we have Russia's agonizing about the 'I didn't want to die' movement, the Palestine and the Israel crisis that has engulfed travel portal Airbnb in its dispute and a bill becoming popular in Europe, setting "moral" boundaries for social media sites.

Article 370 - The Albatross Around The Neck

Considered an ‘albatross around the neck’ by the present BJP government at the centre, the sudden and surprising abrogation of Article 370 has opened the doors to a flood of emotions. The abrogation will be debated and tested in the Supreme Court, but it seems that the move has already won in the peoples’ court.

9 mins

UAPA Amendment: Need Of The Hour

The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2019, which has received the Presidential assent after being passed in both the Houses of Parliament in the just-concluded session, empowers the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to designate an individual as a “terrorist”.

6 mins

Another Toothless Commission!

There was a walkout by the opposition, protests were staged across the capital, activists were shoved into police vans, letters were written to the President urging him to not sign the amendment and yet the central government was finally able to hit a six in its second attempt this year to amend the RTI (Right to Information) Act!

3 mins

NMC - A Reform Vehicle

The gazette notification of August 8, 2019 has established the National Medical Commission (NMC). NMC has now become law and will regulate medical education and practices in India.

3 mins

MV Bill Some Good News And Bad…

Nitin Gadkari retains his portfolio as Minister for Road Transport and Highways and that is good news for Road Safety lovers.

4 mins

Labour's “Decent Life” Dreams Continue

“Every moving The Code on Wages Bill, 2019 made it a point to inform the Members of the Rajya Sabha that the government had accepted 17 out of the 24 recommendations made by the Standing Committee which had scrutinised a similar bill introduced in the previous Lok Sabha.

3 mins

Tourism Of A Different Kind

Is settlement tourism making the situation worse in the disputed West Bank region? That is a question that remains to be answered. Despite Airbnb changing course on its earlier decision to ban listings for Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the legal battle continues.

7 mins

India Continues To Dither On Marital Rape Issue

India’s highest temple of justice, it seems, is not keen to deal with marital rape - a sensitive issue in our social context. Activists are demanding that it should be declared a criminal offence.

4 mins

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Legal Notes Magazine Description:

Legal Notes, the latest addition in the Newsline Publications group, proposes to bring a fresh perspective to legal issues.
On any given day, there could be 40 different items in the news with respect to courts – right down from the Supreme Court to the district court on a range of issues from Blue Whale to NEET to Love Jihad and Blackberry messages. It’s as bewildering as it is exhilarating. In fact, it’s liberating that in this democracy of ours we have the ability to debate agree or dissent as we continue our march onwards.
Legal Notes will seek to assess, analyse, debate and dissect how the business of law impacts our lives in a hundred different ways. LN hopes to record the business of law each month for your reading pleasure.