National Law University Jodhpur

This paper contextualises the ongoing debate in India on menstrual leave and the need to integrate physiological differences into workplace policies. The effort has been to analyse different physiological constitutions in the workforce, various menstruation experiences, and current inequitable workplace policies and legal provisions. Also provided is an explanation of menstruation from the perspectives of Ayurveda and allopathy, as well as a presentation of medico-legal opinions. The impact policies have on workforce participation is examined in addition to the basic arguments associated with the debate. They are supplemented by the responses of employers and employees in the organised and unorganised sectors in India. Based on this analysis, some measures are suggested for inclusion in leave policies in both the organised and the unorganised sectors in India with the aim of achieving gender equity and gender diversity; they may also be appropriate in other countries that have similar cultural contexts and labour laws.

Protection of trademarks through registration under the Trademark Act, 1999, provides a registered proprietor with exclusive rights to use the mark in respect of goods and services for which the mark is registered. The Act provides rights to the registered proprietor of a trademark as well as identifies instances of infringement for which remedy may be sought by an action of infringement. Section 29(5) of the Act identifies a unique form of infringement whereby a registered trademark may be infringed by the use of such trademark as a trade name or business concern in respect of the same classes of goods or services. The authors attempt to examine the implications of the provision as well as its limitations in identifying certain acts as cases of infringement. It is highlighted that the provision does not provide relief in circumstances where a registered trademark is used by another person as his trade name, name of business concern, or a part thereof, in respect of dissimilar classes of goods or services. Further, the authors also explore the possible overlap between the application of Section 29(5) and Section 29(4), if any. An analysis of the judicial response in cases of infringement arising out of the use of trademarks as trade names highlights the limitations emerging due to the literal and narrow interpretation of the provision drawn by the courts. The remedy available under the Companies Act, 2013 with respect to change or rectification in the name of the company has been identified as an appropriate remedy in such cases.

As an entity working towards balancing out diametrically different economic goals, a strong governance mechanism is of utmost importance in a Company. Over the years, there have been some impressive pieces of legislations aimed towards creating an objective, impartial and transparent governance structure for the corporations across global jurisdictions. However, as the looming challenges of climate change grows more significant with the passing days, the role and position of a Company is also witnessing an apparent shift. The growing clarion calls concerning the Corporations to undertake more responsibility in terms of becoming more sustainable in their operations, and hence, accordingly be held accountable for their actions which are not necessarily restricted to the confines of the Board or the Shareholder meetings any longer. In such a scenario, the previously understood notions of governance have been laid bare for critical scrutiny, especially in terms of their loopholes and shortcomings against the new age challenges. The augmented focus on ‘Sustainability’ has forced the Companies and the policy makers to revisit their notions of governance, thus, contributing heavily towards advocating of ‘Environment, Social and Governance’ norms as the ‘new golden standard of governance’ norms for Corporations across jurisdictions. The theoretical assessment of the above proposition although has enough merit to warrant a closer scrutiny. However, the same is not without flaws. While the increased possibility tedious paperwork often linked to the filing requirements under the ESG norms does sufficiently enough to paint a rather unglamorous picture on one hand, the additional concerns relating lack of standardisation of norms, awareness, personal and moral bias in terms of interpreting ESG ratings on the other hand, pose a direct threat to the veracity of the whole concept. In light of the aforementioned context, the present piece is an attempt by the authors, to undertake a critical theoretical assessment of ESG as a concept and in furtherance, attempt to understand its feasibility within the general framework of operations of the Indian companies. In doing so, the authors first attempt to construing a workable definition of the phrase ‘Sustainable Business’. Thereafter, they shall carry out a comparative assessment of ESG norms prevalent in EU and India, before, delving into primary practical roadblocks that could possibly hinder the implementation of the norms in a Company.

Every field of higher education, including the arts, social sciences, physical sciences, technology, and law, as well as every form of education, whether general, professional, or technical, has something to ‘take’ from the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. This is the first time in the history of the National Education Policy that legal education is referenced within the context of higher education. All stand-alone universities, such as National Law Universities, must be turned into multidisciplinary universities under Policy 2020. By 2030, all institutions that provide professional or general education will strive to organically evolve into institutions that provide both fluidly and integrated manner. The Policy called for the complete abolition of the affiliation system and the conversion of affiliated institutions into either constituent colleges of the university under the direct management and control of the university or autonomous multidisciplinary degree conferring colleges, or for a few affiliated colleges to be bundled together through mergers and acquisitions and then converted into either autonomous institutions or universities, and affiliated colleges in phase manner will be converted into autonomous colleges. Under the NEP 2020, there will be a single regulatory structure for all forms of education, with the exception of medical and legal education. However, the Policy did not establish or mention a distinct regulator for law and medicine. Whereas the National Medical Commission (NMC), the successor to the Medical Council of India, was established to regulate medical education, the Bar Council of India (BCI) was established by the Advocates Act solely to establish a professional body for practising advocates (Bar Council of India and States). If the BCI is to function as a regulatory body for legal education, it must walk a mile in order to implement the NEP 2020 for all stages of legal education, undergraduate, postgraduate, and research studies, as well as for all types of education, academic, professional, and clinical skill learning. Assuming that the deadline specified in the NEP 2020 is final and that a new shape of education is required under the NEP, BCI will need to emphasize what needs to be done and then how such changes in all levels can be accomplished within the timeframe!

The meteoric rise of the digital platforms and their increasing dominance can be easily considered the highlight of the latter half of the previous decade. Even though antitrust laws do apply to such online markets, the determination of the competitive strength of in these digital markets was often determined by the quantum of data accumulated by the entities. The article is an attempt by the authors to evaluate the feasibility of applicability of the existing competition law framework to the growing platform economies and the resultant implications of personal data being collected by such entities. For this research, the authors have outlined three specific questions. First, what is the inter-relation between the growing platform economy and merger control regime of a country? Second, what are the possible avenues of concerns that may arise due to collection of personal data? Finally, what are the possible enforcement challenges that would hamper the applicability of existing competition regimes to the digital platforms? The research is doctrinal research, and the authors have adopted a comparative-analytical research methodology for evaluating the above-mentioned research questions. The authors have considered the jurisdictions of the EU and India as the geographical scope for the research. The authors consider the following upon the conclusion of the study. First, the use and access of this data after the merger with companies with low turnover confer the acquiring enterprise a market power by which it can have an edge over its competitors in the market which will ultimately harm the competition in the market. Second, the digital market is data-driven; hence, collection of copious amounts of data places the big-tech players in a position of control, allowing them to indulge in exclusionary and exploitative conduct. Third, the assessment basis of combinations, more specifically in cases of data-based entities within the competition law, needs a serious re-assessment to include data within the scope of assessment as it is the primary asset in such cases.

Climate change emerged as a serious diplomatic concern for India in the early 1990s. India has since been a staunch champion of the developing world in multilateral climate negotiations; from playing a key role in establishing the principle of common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities, to forging alliances with countries with shared developmental concerns. Faced with the growing impact of climate change and changing geopolitics, India’s foreign policy on climate change has undergone significant shifts during two decades of multilateral climate talks: First, India’s willingness to undertake domestic climate action as a result of its changing economic status and, second, the role of the political leadership—since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014—in shaping the climate discourse both in the country and abroad. India has, in recent years, shed its defensive, naysayer strategy at climate negotiations and led several multilateral initiatives for climate action. As India celebrates 75 years of its Independence, it is forging a new, confident leadership on issues of climate change. While there is continuity in India’s traditional stance on finance and technology transfer during negotiations, Indian foreign policy has begun to display a marked change in the strategic use of climate change to assert greater power at the global stage.

The Indian Constitution obligates the Governors to act with the aid and advise of their Council of Ministers except in those matters where discretionary powers have been explicitly conferred upon them. Despite the absence of an explicit power to order a state government to face a floor test before the House, Governors have been using their discretion to make such directions. While defining the ambit of this discretion, several Inter-State Council reports and judicial pronouncements have assented to this practice. This paper argues against this trend and asserts that the process of summoning the assembly for a “floor test” must be driven by the choice of elected legislators rather than the Governors’ subjective satisfaction. Towards this end, this paper proposes a four-level formula, with certain rights for the opposition parties, which must be followed by the Governors when the confidence of the House in the incumbent government is questioned.

Even though water-scarce and mostly a desert, the State of Rajasthan is rich in traditional water wisdom that seeks to save every drop of water from the minimal rains that this State receives throughout the year. This chapter examines the water scenario of the State of Rajasthan and some of these water traditions. It analyzes the critical water issues and challenges that Rajasthan faces and recommends appropriate solutions that can go a long way to render the State water-sufficient to tap its water potential to the fullest and focus on sustainable development. This paper reviews the water policy, law and jurisprudence in the State. It calls for water sector reforms by implementing improved technologies and practices for optimal farm productivity, reviving traditional water harvesting methods, awareness building and infrastructure development through community engagement. Further, this paper views collective action bringing together the public sector, the private sector, civil society and other stakeholders to work together toward an integrated and participatory way for water resources planning and its management.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was an entirely new challenge for the entire nation of India. As black clouds of poverty and unemployment hovered over the marginalized sections of the society, the faulty criminal justice system totally neglected its vulnerable under-trial prisoners. This story is about how one group – Ambedkar Group, endeavored to assist the highly stigmatized and silenced under-trial prisoners, who had been released on bail prior to the pandemic and nationwide lockdown. They had been left on their own with no support system or resources to survive. The Ambedkar Group decided to take up their cause.

Arbitration is premised on parties’ agreement. At times, however, the parties’ agreement fails to provide for a procedure for appointment of the arbitral tribunal, or the parties fail to fulfil the steps contemplated under such procedure. In such cases, parties are constrained to approach the domestic courts to seek appointment of the arbitral tribunal. This Model Law concept of judicial appointment of arbitrators has been adopted in the Indian arbitration law as well. While the law mandates courts to endeavour to appoint arbitrators as expeditiously as possible, Indian courts often indulge in a substantive review of the dispute to find grounds to refuse to appoint arbitrators. This article aims to analyse the causes and effects of this approach of Indian courts and the corresponding response of the Indian legislature. For this, the authors focus on inadequate ‘stamping’, i.e. deficiency in payment of an Indian tax on legal documents, which has emerged as a peculiar ground for courts to refuse to appoint arbitrators.

Religion plays a vital role in the life of people. People are emotionally attached to their religion. But, unfortunately, the devotion and sentiments of people are misused by traders by using the name of God or religious marks as their trademark. Trademark legislations prohibit the use of any such trademark which is likely to hurt the religious sentiments of people. But we can still find a number of goods and services using or registering the religious content as their trademark. Similarly, temples and trusts are commercializing merchandizes by using religious sentiments, symbols, and names. In this study, the researcher will make an attempt to evaluate the issue of the intersection of trademark with religious names and symbols in India in light of section 9(2)(b) of the Indian Trademark Act, 1999. Further, the researcher will analyze the position on the subject matter in different jurisdictions around the world including China, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The research paper will also include the judicial precedents to provide more clarity on the current position on the issue of trademarking religious names and symbols along with principles of legal philosophy.

Crowdfunding is a modern approach to provide real-time financial assistance to those entrepreneurs who are interested in starting seed ventures. This phenomenon is developing slowly and the financial regulators are considering options to put appropriate checks and balances to regulate these activities. Although the experience of crowdfunding may not be satisfying as it ought to be, but there a sense of willingness on the part of the civil society to participate in crowdfunding as it is associated with a good cause. It is important to note that crowdfunding as a system is being based amongst small and mid-sized income group members. The motivation to support the cause of entrepreneurs is growing as the fund lenders are novice and in the threshold stage of supporting such seed ventures. The motivations of fund lender differ depending on their personal and environmental factors, especially in connection to the emerging laws and mandatory disclosures under the financial regulatory regime. In this paper, the focus is on (i) identification of what motivates fund lenders to support entrepreneurs and the impact of the fund movement.

In the age of innovation, social media is the ideal platform for academic bodies to reach out to prospective students, currently enrolled students and alumni. This chapter explains role and significance of social media in keeping students engaged. Student as customer concept is in trend which keeps academic institutions under pressure to improve quality. Prospective students expect academic institutions to be transparent in their governance and promote simple and easy to use social media and digital channels for information. The inevitable role of social media for connecting alumni and current student worldwide for networking is explained in this chapter. Social media is an affordable tool for academic institutions to connect to larger student network, but it is important to learn how to use the social media to influence and engage students and alumni of both online and on campus program. The objective of this chapter is to use various examples to help readers understand the concept well to attract prospective students and retain current students.

This chapter examines the welfare implication of wage revisions for two Indian unorganized sector female workers with opposite preference patterns for income and leisure in drought-prone zone. The female workers here face a gender-based wage gap and the inconveniences caused by water shortage adversely affect their effective incomes since females are the major users of water in the family. This chapter also makes a couple of recommendations for policymakers and legislators. It experiments with alternative utility functions in neoclassical microeconomic behavioural model framework.

In present digital age, we constantly upgrade or replace our numerous electronic devices due to continuous technological advances and short product life cycles. With increasing “market penetration” in developing countries, “replacement market” in developed countries, and “high obsolescence rate,” a large pile of e-waste is generated either internally or it is generated in developed countries and often ends up for recycling in developing countries. The current practices of e-waste management and poor awareness in India is posing a huge challenge to the environment regulators, governments, and policy makers as much work needs to be done at ground level to achieve sustainable results This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of India's current e-waste scenario, analyzes hazardous metals and considers environmental and health risks posed by them, understands existing legal framework and strategic interventions, and explores immediate technical solutions to manage and minimize its impact on all.

Mark David Chong and Abraham P. Francis (eds), Demystifying Criminal Justice Social Work in India. New Delhi: SAGE Publications, 2017, xlix + 297 pp., ₹950 (hardback). ISBN: 978-93-860-6247-5.