Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) is one the of premier law universities in India. In 2009 GNLU launched the GNLU Annual International Moot Court Competition (GIMC), an event that brings together students from around the world to test their legal acumen and capabilities while exposing them to new and interesting branches of International Trade law. Envisaged as an annual event, GIMC has since gained International recognition and has been organized successfully in 2009 and 2010. In each edition of GIMC, GNLU has set a high scholastic standard and thereafter persevered to surpass it. Preparations are currently underway in earnest for the 3rd Annual GNLU International Moot Court Competition (GIMC ‘11) which is to be held from February 9-13, 2011. The problem of GIMC ’11 features an interesting mix of Space Law, Privacy Laws and International Trade Law. It explores the legal dimensions of satellite surveillance and the repercussions of trade sanctions.

The Online Law Journal Partner for this edition of the event is India Law Journal. ILJ is a global law journal available at www.indialawjournal.com and is a dedicated journal covering topical legal issues, thereby generating a cross current of ideas on emerging matters.

Also partnering GNLU in this endeavor is World Trade Institute (WTI), Bern. Our Resource Partner is Westlaw which provides access to participants to its databases within the duration of the competition. Our official Law Firm Partner for this edition of the event is Luthra & Luthra Law Offices, one of India’s premier law firms, which will also be awarding the members of the Winning team/ Runner’s up and the team winning the Best Memorial award, internships at its offices.. Furthermore, it is a matter of great honor that Hon’ble judges from Supreme Court of India would be judging the final round of the competition. The final round would also have judges from WTI and WTO. Also some of the leading practitioners and academicians in trade law would be judging rounds in GIMC. GNLU consciously and continuously strives toward betterment and progress in all our endeavors. Indeed, from 2009 to the present, GIMC has been story of professional growth and intellectual fulfillment that GNLU with the assistance of Luthra & Luthra will ensure that GIMC 2011 is a legal and academic milestone in the international law calendar.

The SAARCLAW Executive Council (EXCO), the international governing body of SAARCLAW (South Asian Association For Regional Co-operation in Law) on 7th January 2011 unprecedentedly elected its Vice President Hemant Batra, Corporate / FDI Lawyer as the new Secretary General (SG) of SAARCLAW. He has been the incumbent Vice President of SAARCLAW since 2007 & his name was proposed by Pakistan and seconded by Bhutan/India. He takes over from the current incumbent SG Ms. Tania Amir ul Islam, a renowned Barrister and Constitutional Expert from Bangladesh. Hemant Batra the Chairperson of Käden Boriss Legal, a renowned Corporate/Commercial law firm is a connoisseur of international Business Law in FDI, Cross Border Investment Policy & Procedures, Commercial and Transactional Law, Corporate Law including Corporate Management, Corporate Good Governance & Compliances, Corporate Restructuring, Due Diligence, Mergers, Acquisitions, Takeovers, Real Estate Acquisitions & Regularization Consulting and Documentation; he also has expertise in the matters pertaining to Anti-Corruption/Anti-Bribery compliances and enforcement in context of FCPA and related provisions in India and Legal Auditing. He is also - Chairperson of a project IICLAM floated by the National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and National law University of Delhi (NLU); and Advisory Board member of Organization of International Peace, USA. SAARCLAW was established in Colombo on 24th October 1991. In these seventeen years, affiliate Country Chapters have been established in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and also in the Republic of Maldives.
In its seventeen years of journey, the members of SAARCLAW have persistently worked towards the achievement of its objectives of bringing together the legal communities within the region for closer co-operation, development of indulgence, encouragement of exchange of ideas and spreading of information, and to use and develop law as a source and an instrument towards social change for development as well as for building co-operation among the peoples of the region. For viewing the full press release, please click here.

Pallavi S. Shroff, Senior Partner at Amarchand Mangaldas was today awarded with the Leading Woman Consultant Award at Women Leaders Conference 2010. Instituted by X these awards acknowledge women achievers across diverse fields and sectors. This includes public sector, insurance, engineering, agriculture, healthcare, telecommunication, BPO, defense etc to name a few.Speaking on the award she said, “I feel privileged to receive this honour. Such awards encourage women professionals to believe in themselves and realize their strength and power. I thank my family and colleagues for their constant support and motivation and hope that the new generation of women lawyers will take this legacy forward.”

Members of the legal fraternity gathered at the India International Centre on 10th December, 2010 to celebrate the 2010 World Human Rights Day* which on 12th December 2010. Chief Justice of India, hon’ble Mr. Justice S.H. Kapadia was the Chief Guest at the function which was attended by hon’ble judges from the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court and lawyers including leading jurists such as Mr. Soli J. Sorabjee and Mr. K.K. Venugopal. Professor Shimon Shetreet, Professor of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Head of the Sacher Institute of Legislative Research and Comparative Law, Israel as well as a former cabinet minister in the Prime Minister Rabin's cabinet delivered the key note address on human rights. Professor Shetreet will also be delivering the the Chief Guest Address on the topic of the “Terrorism and Human Rights: What about the Rights of Victims while ensuring the Rights of Accused?” which is being jointly organised by Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar and the Gujarat Law Society at Ahmedabad on 12th December, 2010.

In its first significant decision, the Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) has passed an order in a case which alleged that the imposition of pre-payment charges by banks and housing finance companies to be anti-competitive. Passing a majority decision of 4:2, the CCI has found that there has been no infringement of either section 3 or 4 of the Competition Act, 2002 (“Competition Act”). In its decision dated 2 December 2010, the majority of the CCI held that (a) no bank or housing finance company could be deemed to be dominant in the Indian home loans market and hence there was no question of an abuse of dominance under section 4 of the Competition Act; and (b) as there was no agreement nor any uniform practice being followed by the various service providers, there was no breach of section 3 of the Competition Act. It concluded that there is a vibrant and competitive market for retail home loans with consistent and innovative growth and it cannot therefore be inferred that the practice of prepayment charges has caused an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India, in any way. Mrs. Pallavi Shroff, the head of Amarchand Mangaldas’ Competition Practice commented: “This is a important decision not only because it is the first substantive order by the CCI, but because it demonstrates a sound understanding of the principles of competition law on their part. The order shows that the CCI is unafraid to take bold and unpopular decisions that are well-reasoned, founded in competition law and arrived at upon a detailed consideration of the evidence on the record. Moreover, it reflects the CCI’s maturity in being able to separate issues of competition law from regulatory and consumer concerns, in spite of its self-proclaimed pro-consumer focus. This decision therefore sends a positive message to business and industry and will help instill their confidence in the CCI.” Mrs. Shroff also commented that “from a legal perspective, it is pertinent to note that the CCI can and has emphatically overruled the Director General, the investigative limb of the CCI, which in this case had found a contravention of section 3 of the Act. Also importantly, in relation to the interpretation of the term “agreement”, the majority has held that a conscious and congruous act associated to a point in time supported by precise and coherent evidence is needed to establish an agreement for the purposes of the Competition Act and mere conjecture is insufficient.” Amarchand Mangaldas represented Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited, which was one of the parties being investigated by the CCI in this case. The CCI’s decision follows several months of a detailed investigation into the practice of pre-payment charges following an information filed by advocate Neeraj Malhotra in August 2009 under section 19(1) of the Competition Act.

UCL hosted a conference titled “Implementing Competition Law and Policy: Global Perspectives”, on the 19th of November 2010 at the Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi . Amarchand Mangaldas was the exclusive Indian Legal Partner to UCL in organizing the event. The Key Note speakers at the conference were Mr. Veerappa Moily, Hon’ble Minister for Law and Justice Affairs, and Mr Salman Khurshid, Hon’ble Minister of State for Corporate Affairs. In addition, the conference has attracted speakers from the Competition Commission of India, the European Commission, the UK Competition Commission, the US Department of Justice and other regulators. Leading academicians, counsel from multi-national companies as well as lawyers from Amarchand Mangaldas. One of the aims of the conference was to provide Indian practitioners and businesses with a flavor of the workings and impact of competition law in other jurisdictions. According to Ms. Pallavi Shroff, Senior Partner, Amarchand Mangaldas mergers in competition law was a very important issue and that clarity was required on several issues pertaining to the same by the Indian Competition Authorities.

Recently, India Law Journal, had written to the Bar Council of India Chairman and Solicitor General of India, Mr. Gopal Subramaniam proposing the BCI to start ranking law schools in India keeping in mind that ranking law schools in India for the LL.B course have always been the harbingers of controversy. In a recent meeting with Mr. Subramaniam, he appreciated India Law Journal’s proposal and assistance in this regard and has told them that he would contact them during the course of the formulation of the ranking system for which an accreditation agency is also being appointed. For more information on the same, you may read the letter written by Vikrant Pachnanda and Aditya Shivkumar here.

In association with the Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, Mr. Sidharth Luthra, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India will be hosting the VIIth K.K. Luthra Memorial Moot Court, 2011 to be held in the 3rd weekend of January 2011 i.e. between 14th and 16th January 2011. The K.K. Luthra Memorial Moot Court is the only Moot Court held exclusively on Criminal Law in India. The Moot Court was last held between 15th and 17th January 2010 when 43 teams from top Indian and Overseas Universities had participated. This International Moot Court is held in the memory of his late Mr. K.K. Luthra, Senior Advocate, who was a renowned criminal lawyer. The semi-final and final rounds will be held on the 16th of January, 2011 followed by the Prize Distribution at The India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi. For more information kindly visit www.kkluthramoot.org.

Luthra & Luthra Law Offices has once again ranked first in the world in the category 'global PFI/PPP project finance deals' and second in the category ' project finance deals'. For more information on the rankings, please click please click here.

Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co. was recognised for its philanthropic efforts at the first annual Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation Awards, presented during the Lex Mundi 2010 Annual and North America Regional Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. These awards recognize pro bono services of member law firms, which help in strengthening the global social entrepreneurship movement and improving the lives of the world’s poor and disenfranchised. Amarchand Mangaldas has been providing pro bono legal services for the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation for the last two years now. As part of its pro bono services, the Firm assisted ‘Gram Vaani’ which is an initiative to empower rural Indian communities, using low-cost, accessible technology and information delivery platforms. The Firm helped them to restructure the procurement, operational and service delivery aspects of the organization in terms of the taxation incidence to conserve a significant portion of the funding, which has been employed to scale-up the operations and expand their footprint in rural India. The Firm also advised ‘Sustainable Innovations’, a start-up in community health and resource management. Its projects, which include community-driven rainwater harvesting systems and mobile health clinics, have been internationally recognized by such institutions as Lemelson-Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the World Bank Development Marketplace, and the Energy Globe Foundation. The Firm assisted them to set up a hybrid structure that creates a social enterprise that would meet the requirements of both the government and social investors. The other projects of the Firm include providing assistance to Digital Green, a not-for-profit engaged in use of Videos for Agricultural Extension and a large number of Ashoka Foundation fellows in India.
The pro-bono efforts at Amarchand Mangaldas have been coordinated by Mr. Suhaan Mukerji, Partner, who is also Regional Vice-Chair for Lex Mundi’s Government Affairs Practice Group. Delighted at this achievement, Mr. Shardul S. Shroff, Managing Partner, Amarchand Mangaldas, said, “We are proud to partner and support the Lex Mundi Pro-Bono Foundation. The Amarchand team believes that such partnerships can go a long way in nurturing innovation and social responsibility. This award is a great reflection of the commitment of the Firm to help the less fortunate, and we are proud of our collective and individual efforts and the fact that it has been so widely recognized and applauded. This award will also create awareness about the great altruistic work being done by law firms and encourage others to join the league.”

Luthra & Luthra Law Offices have announced the formation of its focused Anti- Piracy & Anti Counterfeiting practice [APAC]. The Practice is joined by specialist enforcement lawyers Jay Bhardwaj, Munish Mehra and Amit Upadhyay. Jay and Munish have joined the firm as Senior Associates while Amit joins as an Associate. The team brings with them niche specialist experience on the Civil & Criminal enforcement / Anti-Piracy side. The three lawyers also combine Industry specific anti- piracy expertise in the areas of IT/software, electronics, luxury brands, FMCG, automobile & garments sectors. The enforcement practice is also joined by IP & civil litigation lawyers Vaishali Kakra, Mihira Sood & Birender Bikram Singh who have joined as Associates. Taking into account three additional Luthra & Luthra lawyers taking the committed strength of the enforcement practice to 8 Lawyers. The practice will be headed by Senior Partner and litigator Vijay K. Sondhi and driven by IP Partner Ameet Datta. According to Rajiv K. Luthra - Managing Partner of Luthra & Luthra said, "Jay, Munish, Amit, Mihira and Vaishali add an amazing strength to the firm's IP expertise. With piracy levels across different industries such as film / music to software ranging between 55% to 65% of legitimate business, an enforcement practice has become an essential part of the firms' efforts to protect client interests. Significantly, Luthra & Luthra, today is the only full service firm with a focused Anti-piracy practice and this is in line with our vision of offering world class expertise areas to our clients." The addition of the new members brings Luthra & Luthra's IP strength to 23 Lawyers.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX) announced that its FedEx Express business unit will acquire the logistics, distribution and express businesses of AFL Private Limited and its affiliate, Unifreight India Private Limited. This acquisition will give FedEx a more robust domestic ground network and added capabilities in India. FedEx expects that this transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, will close in its third fiscal quarter, which ends February 2011. Amarchand Mangaldas is advising FedEx Express business unit on acquisition of the logistics, distribution and express businesses of AFL Private Limited and its affiliate, Unifreight India Private Limited. Partner Ms. Akila Agrawal is leading the transaction along with Shruti Kinra, Principal Associate and Sourav Kanti De Biswas, Senior Associate.

The inquiry committee on the misappropriation of funds by Calcutta High Court judge Justice Soumitra Sen which was headed by Supreme Court judge Justice B Sudershan Reddy. Justice Mukul Mudgal, chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana high court, and jurist Fali.S. Nariman was of the opinion that Sen was "guilty of misbehaviour'' under Article 124(4) read with proviso (b) to Article 217(1) of the Constitution. It said the charges of "misappropriation of large sums of money'', which Sen received in his capacity as receiver appointed by the Calcutta high court, and misrepresenting facts with regard to it were "duly proved''. The committee found Justice Sen guilty of collecting Rs 33.22 lakh from a purchaser of goods, keeping it in a savings bank account and misrepresenting facts to the high court. The report said the oral and documentary evidence had established that two separate accounts were opened by Justice Sen as "receiver'' in his own name and a total sum aggregating to Rs 33,22,800, being the sale proceeds of goods, were brought into the two accounts between March 24, 1993 and May 5, 1995. The report which the panel took note of also laid emphasis on the fact that Justice Sen did not give evidence before the committee, make any statement or even personally attend any of the hearings to enable the committee to be "assured'' by the judge himself as to how the amount was "actually invested and where'' and how it was spent.

The Supreme Court has decided to examine the process of appointment of new Chief Vigilance Commissioner of India, P.J. Thomas. Mr. Thomas’s name has figured in a charge sheet in a criminal case, although his name was later cleared. He is alleged to be involved in covering the 2G spectrum scam. While hearing a petition challenging his appointment, the court wanted to know if eligibility criteria had been followed in his appointment and if there was proper consultation for his selection.

The Supreme Court has asked the Union Finance Ministry and the Central Board of Direct Taxes to amend transfer pricing laws in India if the CBDT wishes to bring domestic transactions within their ambit. Currently, the transfer pricing rules are silent on related party transactions between entities between the country. The apex court’s ruling came in an order last week on an appeal filed by the Income-Tax department in a case relating to pharma major Glaxosmithkline Asia. The issue centred around a transaction between Glaxosmithkline Asia and its service provider. The I-T department claimed the company and its service provider are related parties and asked for records and clarifications from the company. In this case, the I-T department sought to apply the same rules it applies for cross-border transactions between related parties. But the SC concluded that the parties were not related and dismissed the special leave petition filed by the I-T department.

Lawctopus, a website for law students in India, conceptualized and run by Tanuj Kalia, a 3rd year law student at NUJS Kolkata was launched on September 27, 2010. The website has four other co-founders: Dhruv Mairal, Prateek Bhandari, Naman Gupta and Debanshu Khettry, all from NUJS. Lawctopus's tagline "Makes Waves. For Law Students' Surfboards" is bold something which is reflected in many of its features. 'My Internship' is one such section where law students can share their internship experiences in an inhibited manner. The aim is to help law students make informed choices about their internships. CoProM (collaborative project making) is planning to initiate an online mechanism for peer review. Cit-tory, case laws as stories, is another very innovative section. Lawctopus also has a legal internship consultancy wing called 'Intern Smith' which has already received great response from the prospective clients, the student interns. The website can be accessed at www.lawctopus.com. Lawctopus has built a strong online presence through its Facebook Page which is at www.facebook.com/lawctopus.

Recently, the Geographical Indication Registry of India granted Geographical Indication (GI) status to Pashmina yarn under the Geographical Indications Act. When a product is granted a GI status, it ensures that a name can only be used by produce from a particular geography. Example, Darjeeling tea or the recently acquired Tirupati laddu. Pashmina, a kind of cashmere, comes from the pashmina goat in Kashmir. Pakistan had filed an objection to India’s award of GI status to Pashmina claiming that the fine wool is produced in various parts of that country. However, now that the GI status has been awarded by the national registry, it is recognized around the world.

Vodafone International Holdings BV filed a writ petition in the Bombay high court earlier this month seeking to isolate itself from the income-tax department’s attempt to explore an alternate route to impose capital gains tax on the company’s 2007 deal with Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd to buy the latter’s majority stake in Indian telecom company Hutchison Essar Ltd. The tax office is treating Vodafone as an ‘agent’ of the seller. Earlier in May, the tax department sent a report to Vodafone explaining why they had the jurisdiction to deal with this matter. The tax department also sent the company a show-cause notice on why it should not be taxed as Hutchison’s agent as per Section 163 of the Indian Tax Act.

The Indian Copyright Board finally settled the long standing royalty dispute between private FM radio stations and Music companies. The Board passed a landmark order in September this year where it fixed the royalty rate for broadcast of sound recording on FM radio by providing a revenue-sharing model as follows: 2% of net advertisement earnings of each FM radio station to be distributed on a pro rata basis to all music providers. The above order was passed in the matter of Music Broadcast Pvt. Ltd & Ors. vs. Phonographic Performance Ltd, where the Board granted a compulsory license under Section 31(b) of the Copyright Act, 1957 to nine applicants for the repertoire managed by PPLfor a royalty calculated as stated above.

The Union Cabinet of the UPA led government recently cleared the Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010 which is now likely to be tabled in the Parliament during the forthcoming winter session. The Bill’s definition of sexual harassment, based on the 1997 Vishakha judgement, includes any physical contact and advance or demand or request for sexual favour, sexually coloured remarks, showing pornography and any other unwelcome physical, verbal, non-verbal contact of sexual nature. It also recognizes the promise of or threat to a women’s employment and the creation of a hostile work environment as sexual harassment. All public, private and unorganized sector workplaces are included in the Bill. Protection is provided not only to women who are employed but also to those who enter a workplace as a client, customer, apprentice, and daily wage worker or in ad-hoc capacity including students, research scholars in colleges and universities and patients in hospitals. The biggest surprise however, has been leaving out domestic maids, with the cabinet of the opinion that it was difficult for the administration to prove sexual harassment due to lack of witnesses and effectiveness of the local committee of the housing society of the accused.

A French court has found Continental Airlines, Inc. and one of its mechanics guilty of criminal wrongdoing in the crash of an Air France supersonic Concorde jet outside Paris a decade ago that killed 113 people. The Continental Airlines DC-10 airplane dropped titanium debris onto the runway at Charles de Gaulle airport before the Air France Concorde took off resulting in the Concorde skidding off the runaway and then bursting into flames.

On 26th October, 2010, Iraq’s criminal court sentenced former deputy Prime Minister of Iraq Tareq Aziz to death for his role in eliminating political parties. The court also ordered the death sentences of two other aids of Saddam Hussein. All three were held responsible for playing major roles in crackdown on members of the Shia community that followed a 1991 uprising against Saddam Hussein. Tareq was the only Christian out of Saddam’s close aids and his earlier name was Michael Yuhanna. He was sentenced last year by an Iraqi court for 15 years for playing a role along with Saddam’s cousin Chemical Ali in the execution of 42 Baghdad wholesalers in 1992.

According to the Chicago Tribune, one of Baker & Mckenzie’s clients’, S. Lavon Evans Jr. recently won a $103 million malpractice verdict against the premier law firm and one of its Dallas lawyers. Evans claimed in his Mississippi lawsuit that the law firm had represented him at the same time that it represented his partner in an oil-rig drilling business. The suit says that Evans was unaware that his partner was insolvent and was using Evans’ assets to obtain millions of dollars in loans. Evans claims that Baker & Mckenzie and its Dallas lawyer Joel Held drafted legal documents creating subsidiaries of the oil-drilling company in Evans’ name, but controlled by his partner, all without Evans’ knowledge. Baker & McKenzie released a statement to the Tribune it strongly disagreed with the verdict and that the firm acted entirely consistent with their professional obligations causing no harm to Evans.

Five partners at a Louisiana law firm named Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson were reprimanded for placing misleading information on their website. The website stated that former Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster was a partner at the firm Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson even though he did not have a law license. The five reprimanded partners, who were all members of the firm’s management committee, failed to supervise a nonlawyer employee who put the information on the website.

Presently China prevents the vast majority of its population from freely accessing websites outside of the country and from obtaining information on politically sensitive topics, such as the Dalai Lama or the Tiananmen Square Massacre. However, if applying trade law norms, it may be seen that this is a trade barrier that violates China’s obligations under World Trade Organization. However, the United States hasn’t yet decided whether to file a complaint with the WTO about this issue. Source: American Bar Association

A law student recently was diagnosed with "toasted skin syndrome,” a skin condition that is caused by long-term exposure to heat that can also be caused by heating pads after spending about six hours a day working with a laptop on her lap. Toasted skin syndrome can lead to permanent darkening of the skin and possibly skin cancer. Source: American Bar Association

The European Union is planning to implement stronger privacy rules to give Internet users more control over social-networking sites such as Facebook, Orkut and even search engines such as Google with regards to use their personal information. The new rules will be prepared next year following consultations with the public. The reason behind this move is because of worries about web privacy issues since companies such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo .etc. collect more information about their users’ online habits, which they can use to attract advertisers.

Officials of the US patent office will visit India shortly to better understand and effectively use an online data- base on Indian traditional knowledge which is expected to curb instances of multinational companies patenting the country's traditional medicinal knowledge. A patent granted to consumer goods conglomerate Colgate- Palmolive Ltd in the US in June on a red herbal dentifrice has been strongly contested by Indian Ayurvedic companies, which claim it to be an act of biopiracy because it is based on Indian traditional knowledge. India and the US had signed an agreement on traditional knowledge in December to check wrongful issue of patents to US companies, according to an official at India's department of industrial policy and promotion. Various government departments and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) jointly launched an exhaustive online listing of traditional medicinal formulations called the Traditional Knowledge Database Library (TKDL) to help patent officers around the world prevent the grant of frivolous patents. The database contains 223,000 medicinal formulations based on the Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Yoga systems, and is available in English, German, French, Japanese and Spanish. (Source: Livemint)

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. will be facing two foreclosure suits alleging common law fraud and misrepresentation, as well as violations of state consumer fraud statutes. In September, the US banking giant had temporarily halted home seizures after finding glitches in foreclosure documents.