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Role of Directors In Companies In India, USA and UAE

By: Shubham Mathur

INTRODUCTION

For the smooth running of the company, the role and duty of a director is essentially significant. Stipulating and clarifying the roles and obligations of the company’s directors helps to enhance corporate governance and stability, contributing to increased development and prosperity in the corporate sector.

INDIA

In the Companies Act, 2013, the position of director was properly laid down. In this aspect, the former company law of India, i.e. the Companies Act, 1956, was deficient. A groundbreaking piece of legislation in this regard is considered to be the new Companies Act, 2014. The roles and obligations of the directors comprising the independent directors are properly and clearly specified and explained. This guarantees greater and flawless corporate governance and governance. It helps and empowers beneficiaries, regulators and courts to judge and control more critically and efficiently the directors’ activities and obligations.

With updated corporate governance principles, i.e. the Updated and New Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement of the Securities and Exchange Board of India[1], the new Companies Act, 2013 must be read. This will bring the corporate governance requirements of SEBI into near alignment and compliance with the provisions of the Companies Act in relation to the companies listed. The updated provisions of the Act relating to the duties of directors were made effective as of April 1, 2014, but the updated corporate governance principles of the SEBI were made effective as of October 1, 2014.

Directors are considered to be key managers in a business that is of particular interest to the companies mentioned. They may hold several senior and responsible roles in companies, such as Managing Director, Manager, Whole Time Director, or Independent Director.[2] Thus, the effective, flawless, and very progressive management of an organisation, and the desired growth and profitability of its companies, are certainly largely dependent on the competence and trustworthiness of its directors. A director means a director appointed to the board of directors of a corporation, which is the collective body of its directors.

DUTIES OF DIRECTORS UNDER THE COMPANIES ACT, 2013

The roles and duties of directors set out in the Indian Companies Act of 2013 can be broadly divided into the following two categories:

  1. The functions and obligations that promote and encourage the sincere investment of managers’ best efforts in effective and prudent corporate management, the elegant and rapid resolution of various business-related concerns, including those raised by red flags, and the complete sophistication and wisdom of decisions to avoid unnecessary organisational risks.
  2. Trust duties that ensure and ensure that company directors always maintain, over and above their own personal interests, the interests of the company and its stakeholders.

The following duties and obligations have been levied on the directors of companies under Section 166 of the Indian Companies Act of 2013-[3]

  • In accordance with its Articles of Association (AOA), a director of the organisation has to act.
  • A director must always behave in good faith to support the company’s objects, which will support the company’s objects. This will support the business as a whole and protect the best interests of the company’s stakeholders.
  • With proper and fair consideration, ability and diligence, a director must exercise his duties and exercise independent judgement.
  • A director of a corporation shall not be involved in a situation in which he may have a direct or indirect interest that contradicts the interests of the company or may conflict with them.
  • A company director shall not receive or attempt to obtain any undue benefit or profit either for himself or his family, partners or associates and shall be responsible for paying the company an amount equal to that benefit if such director is found guilty of making any undue gain.A business director shall not allocate his office and any appointment so rendered shall be invalid.
  • If the company director violates the provisions of this section, a fine of not less than one Lakh Rupee may be levied on the company director, which may be extended to five Lac Rupees.

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INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS

The CA-2013 liability regime not only imposes on the directors of Indian companies the above-mentioned duties and responsibilities, but also encourages the independence and equity of a company’s board of directors. Therefore, the new Indian Companies Act of 2013 also lays down the roles, duties and responsibilities of independent directors. An Independent Director is a member of the board of directors of a company that does not have a financial agreement (with the exception of sitting fees) with the company or is entitled to own shares in the company. In the earlier Indian Companies Act of 1956, there were no clear provisions for independent directors and only the old clause 49 of the SEBI listing agreement contained requirements for the induction of independent directors to the listed companies.

The new Indian Companies Act of 2013 specifies that, as independent directors, all listed companies must constitute at least one third of the total size of their directors, and also empowers the Government of India to include other categories of companies within the scope of that provision or requirement (Section 149 of the CA-2013).[4] To strictly comply with this mandatory provision, public limited companies composed in compliance with the former CA-1956 shall be granted a grace period of one year. Again, for more than two consecutive terms, independent directors are not eligible to hold office for a period of five years.

Under the current structure, the roles and duties of independent directors have been significantly expanded, and several new areas have been addressed prudently. Broadly, the highly responsible role of arbitrators within the business among various constituencies is intelligently assigned to them. Therefore, the latest rules for independent directors of limited companies are certainly very positive for transparent and sound corporate governance and are highly favourable for the company and all its shareholders. Some of the most relevant functions, duties and liabilities of independent directors are the following (as per Schedule IV of the CA-2013)-

  • An independent director must assist in providing the board with equitable and independent judgement.
  • An independent director needs to protect the interests of all stakeholders and support them. In that direction, all his / her acts should be.
  • An independent director needs to conciliate and reconcile the shareholders’ competing interests.
  • An independent director must attend and participate regularly in the meetings of the committee board.
  • In an objective and unbiased manner, an independent director must report. He should be ethical and not break the code of ethics in the business or commit any fraud.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Directors’ duties and responsibilities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) come from various legislative sources and there is no consolidated legislative structure addressing the duties and responsibilities of directors under the law of the UAE. The terms’ manager ‘and’ director ‘are used interchangeably in UAE law. The rules and regulations affecting directors are taken from different sources in the UAE, including-

  • UAE Federal Law No. 2 of 2015 concerning Commercial Companies (“Company Law“).
  • Federal Law No. 5 of 1985 on Civil Transactions (“Civil Code“).
  • Federal Law No. 3 of 1987 Promulgating the Penal Code (“Penal Code“).
  • UAE Federal Law No. 18 of 1993 on Commercial Transactions (“Commercial Transactions Law“).

DUTIES OF DIRECTORS UNDER UAE COMPANY LAW

In the performance of a prudent person in the performance of his duties, a director must always act. The acts performed by a director must always be in order to promote the mission and powers of the company given to him by the shareholders. There are situations where the director is expected to behave in compliance with the internal regulations and supervision of the company, including the application of particular authorities provided in the sense of the company’s memorandum of association or by internal resolution or by the power of attorney. Accordingly, it is important for the director to understand and operate only within the jurisdiction of the powers bestowed by the organisation.[5] It is important, in view of the above, that managers ensure that the necessary internal approvals have been obtained before any contractual arrangement is reached for the company.

In addition, the Companies Law provides that any scheme seeking to relieve the director of personal responsibility resulting from the mismanagement or unauthorised use by the company of the powers vested on the director by the company shall be void.[6] When read together, the above clauses may be interpreted as meaning that the director will not be relieved of personal liability on the part of the director as a result of any misuse of the powers conferred by the company or of actions performed by the director in violation of the law in force.[7] There is no restriction against a company receiving directors’ liability insurance for a director or compensating a director for actions validly taken by a director in the normal course.

Other duties of the directors’ are-

  • The Director is responsible for the planning and authenticity of the Annual Reports.
  • Conflict of Interest-Unless accepted by the shareholders of the company, a director has to fulfil his duties with the business line of the company.
  • Confidentiality- A director should not disclose the secret of the company or damage the business of the company.
  • Resignation Timing- A director may only resign at a time that does not cause harm to the company, according to the Civil Code.
  • Liability to others- If the director is found to have committed fraudulent actions, a liability claims against him or her can be brought by the corporation and/or the shareholders; the director is therefore liable to third parties.

In the Commercial Transactions Law and Penal Code, there are several provisions as to how courts should treat insolvent companies and their directors. In this regard, Article 882 of the Commercial Transactions Law, which states that directors may be liable to a custodial sentence in the event that they are imprisoned, is of particular importance.

  • They also failed to provide adequate details in the financial books and records of the company to reflect the true financial condition of the company.
  • They do not have information requested by the court or trustee in bankruptcy or whether they are providing false information knowingly.
  • Where the assets of the company have been sold at less than their value in an effort to prolong the suspension of payment of debts or the company’s declaration of bankruptcy, or where any illegal action has been taken by the directors to acquire credit or funds in order to achieve the above.
  • If, at a time when the company is no longer in a position to cover its debts, the director’s bargain with all of the assets of the company in order to retain those assets outside the creditors’ control.

The roles and duties of a director in the UAE were these. The study of the company’s risks requires due consideration.

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

In essence, US public corporations have a unitary board structure, which implies a framework of one tier. This is governed by Section 141 of the DGCL.[8] Section 141(b) of the DGCL specifies that there be one or more members on the board. The number of directors is determined by the certificate of incorporation of the company or by other bylaws. The optimal size of a board is between 9 and 12 directors, and a corporation must have no less than 6 and no more than 15 directors.

DIRECTORS DUTIES AND LIABILITIES

Directors owe the company and its shareholders a fiduciary duty of care and allegiance.

  • Duty of care-The duty of care requires directors to act in a similar role with the degree of care that an ordinarily conscientious person would use in similar circumstances. The duty of care allows directors to act on an informed basis, after fair inquiry and deliberation. Directors are expected to rely on management and experts, where it is reasonable to do so.
  • The duty to act in good faith is a secondary function of the duty of allegiance. Generally speaking, the obligation requires administrators to act fairly and truthfully, in the best interests of the organisation, and in a way that is not knowingly unethical or contrary to public policy. The following are the liabilities of the directors under the US Law-
  • Directors are subject to liability for their acts and inactions, but stringent provisions of liability generally apply. In general, the rule of business judgement may be enforced by the courts, which demands that directors and officers act informedly, in good faith and in the best interest of the corporation. The court would not discuss the merits of the judgement of the underlying board if the presumption is not settled by the complainant.[9]
  • In certain situations (such as the sale of a company), a different standard of judicial review can apply. Document provisions governing protection from liability, compensation and creation of expenses, as well as insurance for directors and officers, are usually covered by directors.

CONCLUSION

Taking into account the people and the world in which they reside, the laws of the three listed countries are created. There are some loopholes in the legislation which can be amended. Given the Indian angle, it is very clear that CA-2013 genuinely seeks to make corporate management and governance in India very successful, fully accountable, transparent and maximally beneficial to all stakeholders and related professionals through this intelligent legislation on the duties and responsibilities of managers in Indian companies.

[1] Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement of the Securities and Exchange Board of India

[2]Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Management And Board Governance http://www.mca.gov.in/MinistryV2/management+and+board+governance.html

[3] Section 166 of Companies Act, 2013

[4] Section 149 of Companies Act, 2013

[5] Douglas G. Smith, Mark Gilligan,Duties and Liabilities of Directors in the United Arab Emirate, Squire Patton, https://www.esquireglobalcrossings.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2016/02/duties-of-directors-in-the-uae-alert.pdf

[6] Ibid

[7] Mojaged Al Sebae, Nadim Al Jisr, Managers’ and directors’ duties and liabilities under the UAE law, https://mena.thomsonreuters.com/content/dam/openweb/documents/pdf/mena/white-paper/managers-and-directors-duties-and%20liabilities-under-the-uae-law.PDF

[8] Section 141 of Delaware General Corporation Law

[9]  Robert Treuhold, Corporate governance and directors’ duties in the United States: overview Stephen Giove, https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/9-502-3346?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)

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Role of Mediation In Resolving International Disputes.

By: Yadav Rohit

MEDIATION can be defined as one of the alternatives for the Dispute Resolution process, which consist of a precise set of procedures. Where a Neutral Third acts as Mediator and assists the parties to discuss the dispute in much appropriate manner in order to reach a satisfactory conclusion and acceptable by both parties. The whole meeting is held in much confidential manners and also provides the opportunity two both parties to put forth their version of disputes and demands in order to resolve their disputes.

Mediation is also known as extended hand of the law because this process provides various ways in order to reach the solution without being constrained by laws and its long procedures. This process is much more effective if this has been chosen by the both parties to resolve their disputes. Mediation, particularly are not that much into trend throughout the globe not because of being ineffective but due to lack of awareness in the masses and they rely more on the lengthy and expensive court proceedings as the only reliable source for justice.

This process is much into consideration in the modern world and throughout the globe in order to resolve the dispute in various different parameters unless its in public interest. Apart from this effective alternative, there are various significant aspects of this process in order to deal with the number of disputes and the following are:

  1. Number of parties can engage over one issue or more.
  2. This can be totally by parties or the courts order.
  3. Unbiased third parties do assist the parties in disputes.
  4. Mediators’ suggestions are not mandatory to bind by the parties in dispute.
  5. Meeting in the process is totally confidential in nature.
  6. Mediation cannot be accessed in case of Penal and other heinous crimes.

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GLOBAL OUTLOOK OF MEDIATION: Mediation is still not the first priority of the people or country in order to resolve their dispute, and International scenario Mediation faces many problems regarding the jurisdiction of Legislation and statutory provisions and rules pertaining to mediation is much constraint due to the bound law of different countries. In order to overcome this obstacle various International Firms took the initiative to collab with various other International forums and make bridge to provide legal assistance to the international clients according to there norms and condition and laws abiding in the respective country. This gave the great break through to the International Trade mediation and authorised forums used to appoint various mediator lushed with skills in order to assist there disputes and provide vital solution to the parties and charge there fees by the parties in disputes to the firms. In order to make mediation as power full alternative in order to resolve various disputes among the parties are achieved by various International Firms are as follows:

  • The International Chamber of Commerce.
  • The Singapore International Arbitration Centre.
  • International Mediation Institute.
  • Indian Institute of Arbitration and Mediation.

It have been noticed that there is tremendous growth of  Mediation  as alternative dispute resolution  in the WIPO (WORLD INTELLACTUAL PROPERTY) according to the recent survey by the authority.

EFFECTIVE MEDIATION STRATEGIES:

There are various strategies used by the mediator in order to provide much efficient advices and suggestions to the Parties in dispute to reach their specific solutions of their issues and the following are some Strategies:

  • Procedural Strategies – The mediator controls the agenda, timings, release of press and other essential arrangements and also control the formality and flexibility of the meet ups and this strategy helps to reduce the stress and anxiety of the parties in dispute and provide better space to resolve the conflicts.

In year 2002 till 2004, the Organization of America States, the United Nations Development program and Jimmy Carter opened a Dialogue between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Fraiz, the Government and the opposition and the mediation was conducted in order to reconcile the divided society and preserve the democracy while preventing aggressive conflict.

  • Communication – Facilitation Strategy helps the mediator to work passively and focusing on facilitating and communication between parties.
  • Directive Strategies – In this form of strategies mediator act bit harsh to the parties in order to accept the discussion or the conclusion either by threatening parties with diplomatic sanctions or incentives while being in humanitarian aid.

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 MEDIATION AT INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORK :

Mediation has played major role in various International conflicts throughout the globe and have rich history in order to resolve the Disputes of various countries like Britain, Nigeria and Peru each nation took benefits of Mediation. The Acta De Brasailia was signed in year 1998 to resolve the dispute between Ecuador and Peru. In which Brazil, Chile, Argentina and the United States played a third part role in order to assist both the parties in disputes. The main purpose of the said agreement was to create peace perks or adjacent zones of ecological protection, on both sides of the border in the said region of Cordillera del Condor. In last 10 years, very great example of the mediation with good faith in order maintain the future consequences of the countries lying in historically politically tense Levant region (Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan and Palestine) have been observed by The International Institute for Sustainable Development {IISD} that there can be future security threat of climate change. This research was conducted by the neutral third party in order to conclude and help the avert and dispute may arise from climate change for example of scarcity of water in this region. The researcher analysis the future dispute and try to avail various suggestion and strategies in order to dodge the potential dispute that might arise in historically volatile region. The third party came with following findings and suggestions in order to provide the proper appropriate advices that can be used and avoid the future threat in much efficient mannered and whole process of the research was conducted in much unbiased and informative manner. Sometimes mediators also plays role in order to reduce the tension among the parties in dispute and try to maintain the situation by providing the correct information to both parties by acting as messenger, that helps the parties in dispute to take sensible steps against each other and try to resolve the said issues without taking any adverse steps that can harm to both parties. The example of Nigerian Civil War that took place in Year 1967-1970. In which various great leaders like Quakers Adam Curle, John Volkmar and Walter Martin acted as Mediators and help to maintain the situation and lower down the tension among the parties in dispute, that worked in much effective manner in order to reach down to effective solution that helped to end the war.

SOME EXAMPLARY MEDIATION IN INTERNATIONAL PLATFORM:

  IN last year, 46 Nations have signed the International Treaty on MEDAITION in which two great power of economies also participated like CHINA and UNITED STATES, alonf with three and four largest economies in  Asia where  China, India and south Korea held there meeting in Singapore and led down the foundation of the International Treaty on Mediation. This treaty will provide overall settlement of the disputes among the signatory countries of the Mediation treaty will resolve there dispute through Mediation process in order to maintain the International relation and keep harmony in the International space and this treaty is also known as SINGAPORE CONVENTION on International Settlement Agreement and has been attended by 70 countries Senior officials in order to show the trust and respect towards each other. Still it remains in doubt weather that Singapore convention will get success or not but the actual essence of the agreement will rely mostly on the enforcement of settlement agreements International framework to make mediation more power full aspect and choice in order resolve the dispute by the parties having issues.

UNCITRAL MODEL LAW ON International commercial mediation and INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENT Agreement resulting from Mediation:

The main purpose of the this designed is to uplift the states and provide them reforming and updated laws in order to make procedure more effective in Mediation and also make provision to standardize the rules and process for reducing the area of doubt during the Mediation. This form will encourage this states in order to take part in this process and ensure to get fair and acceptable solution for the parties in dispute. This model was adopted in year 2002 and was knowing “Model Law on International Commercial Concillation”  and was further it have been interpretated that mediation and conciliation can be used interchangeable and further have been noted that the change in terminology haven’t created any and implication on the conceptions of the model. In order to be aware of the uncertainty in absence of the statutory provision, model provide proper guidelines to the mediator in order to follow the sets of rules which will maintain the process standard and relevant.

STATE TO STATE MEDIATION PERSPECTIVE FROM INDIA:

India have shown positive perspective towards the State to state mediation in order to resolve International dispute more effectively other then the rule and laws laid down by the International dispute resolution. They have adversarial system in order to resolve the system. India have shown always positive aspects in order to uses softer technique in order to solve the International dispute rather then using harsh litigation in which there will be more probability of relation get strained between the parties dispute. While being the original member of the UNITED NATION CHARTER, India have all supported and shown policies of pacific settlement of disputes. This policies are mentioned in the constitution of India and also in the International Diplomacy by possessing the principles of PANCHSHEEL and also shown the support to the alternative dispute settlement institution ASIAN-AFRICO LEAHL CONSULTATIVE ORGAINSATION (AALCO). This values and rules provide them amicable and peaceful settlement and also resembles the India’s perspective towards the trade and investment arena in the global market. This leads to door open by the India in order explore new ideas of providing India as a neutral party in the International disputes mostly in the Asia-Pacific Regional Mediation Organization.

OVER ALL ASPECTS OF MEDIATION IN DIFFERENT PARAMETRES INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS:

 In many countries there is uniform pattern in order to mediating the Industrial Disputes. In case of labour management the conflict does not rely totally on the mentioned agreement but also on the machinery to settle  the capacity, in many instance the the government provides mediator in order to resolve the disputes. In many countries like US federal government , satte or the local government provides various mediator in order to resolve the issues and also rely on the mediation. Now a days western Europe appoint there mediator in all the Industrial Disputes and labour in order to reconcile the issues in much effective mannered. In many instance the government have made mediator agency buy the government, have been embraced with the power in order to intervene in any dispute which have public interest in it.

EXAMPLES ARE FOLLOWS:

Great Britain in 1825 between Portugal and Brazil: of the great powers in 1868-69 between Greece and Turkey were strained over the Crete and the Pope Leo XIII in 1885 between the Germany and the Spain in dispute of Caroline Island.

Further the importance of the Mediation have been realized by the all international countries in order to reach the solution. In making more further impactive steps towards the Mediation they made in the HAGUE CONVENTIONOF 1899 and 1907 and the league of Nations Covenant. This leads to further in to the Charter of United nations that disputes need to be solved in much peace full mannered and maintain the relationship.

There are many disputes which have been referred to the Mediation by discussing the Council or in the Assembly. In May 1948, The General Assembly have appointed a mediator in order to resolve the dispute in region of Palestine.

In the season of spring and winter of 1949 a mediator was chosen to conclude armistice agreements between the Israel and the other four Arabs countries. Later on The General Council have made mandatory for the Mediation for various disputes arisen from the International outlook and also made mandatory function. The following commission are like Indonesia, commission of India – Pakistan, the Palestine Conciliation commission and the commission of Korea.

The men behind the process to become mandatory was secretaries – general, especially Dag Hammaeskjold, have made great efforts in order to deal with the diplomacy that can be rigid.

CONCLUSION:

 As far as Mediation is concerned its been in to practice from several years and played and vital role in order to resolve the dispute and also to provide win -win situation to the both the parties without putting and party unheard and not given opportunity to express their views regarding the issues. The Mediation in international conflicts not only resolve the disputes but also providing of the best way to deal the conflict and global level. Mediation in international have became one of the best way to handle the International diplomacy. This have been encouraged by the all individual, state, nations and other organization to pull out the solution in much efficient mannered and also not allowed any party in strong position to overcome or possessed there dominance in the process.

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Rise of Financial Institutional Arbitration

By: Yamini Daga

INTRODUCTION

Ever since now litigation has been the most used kind of system for the resolution of the disputes. Though nowadays quite many ways are available through which we can seek the resolution of the disputes like Arbitration, Mediation, Litigation, etc. Then also it is difficult for people to decide that which kind of method they want to opt in. And through time all these methods are emerging in their own fields and ways though litigation are believed to be the oldest form and most opted way. As through litigation people go to the court to seek justice and follow the same age old process.

The Arbitration is also one of a kind of dispute resolution process where the parties privately resolve their dispute as when the party faces a dispute in their agreement they seek the help of the arbitrator. Arbitrator is considered as a third party who listen to both the sides of the party and in return try to resolve their dispute by giving their decision in the form of arbitral award. This is the method where party try to resolve their disputes outside of the courtroom which seems less complex then the proper litigation process as less paperwork is required and experienced person are appointed as an Arbitrator.

Mediation is also a part of the dispute resolution process though in India there are no particular laws related to the mediation at present, but it is still opted by many parties though the decision given by a mediator is not binding in nature unlike the arbitral award which has the same binding authority like the decree passed in the court. In the process of mediation, there is a third party who helps in resolving the dispute by guiding them into the right direction through an informal meeting among the parties to the agreement.

And among all of the above mentioned few methods, arbitration has gained more preference over the age old court systems and the informal meetings with the mediator among the financial sector because of the globalization. As of nowadays people don’t have enough time to go to the court to seek remedy or justice they seek a process which is less complex and which is less time consuming. Thus the emergence of Arbitration is rising in the financial sector too.

 

 

ADVANTAGES THAT LED TO WIDENING OF ARBITRATION IN FINANCIAL SECTOR:

Firstly, the procedure of arbitration nowadays require the element of confidentiality. Like whatever is being going on the meetings are not supposed to be seen into the limelight unlike happening in the courtrooms. As there are many mergers & acquisitions cases are coming forward because of the globalization. It is a delicate situation as the sensitive information of the companies can be leaked and be used the competitors to gain an upper hand in the market and use that against the parties of arbitration. Therefore arbitration is a process where the third person who is the decision maker or the arbitrator are bound to maintain the secrecy about the case as they are part of contract to maintain the confidentiality about the parties or about the case.

Secondly, the kind of expertise which is being needed by the arbitrator generally is being lacked by the courts. The Institutional Arbitration have a well-qualified arbitrators with the specific knowledge regarding the subject matter, which in return makes it easier for the parties to seek the justice or solution to their argument.

Additionally, the proceedings of arbitration are generally custom made which provides the level of convenience to the parties by suiting the requirements laid down by the parties and applicability of the arbitral award is easier as compared to the decree or judgment of any court.

 

CUSTOM MADE SOLUTIONS[1]:

As we know, Arbitration is a process which is custom made as in the way it gives option to the parties to decide that how, when, where and in which manner they want to proceed further in the process of arbitration. It provides freedom to parties to decide their method unlike the age old court systems.

  • Parties are free to decide the seat of arbitration, like parties can decide that at which place they would like to hold the meetings and where the whole procedure should take place can be completely decided by the parties. Basically the place of arbitration is decided at the convenience of the parties.
  • Parties are free to determine the way of procedure or procedural rules, the procedural rules are to be decided by the parties in the agreement and if they fails to conclude at a mutual decision than the procedure is being set by the arbitrator themselves.
  • Parties are free to determine the language for arbitration, the language in which they want to hold their proceedings during the process of arbitration.
  • Parties are free to select their arbitrators, parties are free to choose an arbitral institution of their choice like by whom they want their case to be taken care of and the qualifications required by the arbitrator chosen by the parties can also be specified by the party.

 

 GUIDELINES THAT LED TO THE GROWTH OF ARBITRATION IN THE FINANCIAL SECTOR[2]

  1. THE ISDA ARBITRATION GUIDE

The International Swaps & Derivatives Association (ISDA) in the year of 2013 September issued a guide relating to how one can use arbitration in ISDA Master Agreement. Earlier it included sample clause in the agreement, later on an expanded range of model clauses were introduced around the year 2018 for huge number of usage of institutional arbitration all over the world.

 

  1. P.R.I.M.E. FINANCE RULES

When courts were not able to deal with the nexus disputes arose from the financial sector thus this resulted in the creation of international finance center which is known as P.R.I.M.E. Finance. This deals with the cases related to ADR and in return provides resolution by medium if mediation, arbitration and other disputes resolving services. They have their own rules and clauses which was released with this center on 16th January 2012, situated at Hague. The reason behind opening this center was to fulfill the need of arbitration process required in the financial sectors. All the provisions made under this has only one aim that was to encourage the use of arbitration or law in the financial markets also and to provide justice to people who suffered or went through the wrongdoing or scam of others in this area.

 

  • THE ICC COMMISSION REPORT

This report was prepared after conversing with at least more than or about 50 financial institutions around the globe and banking counsels or sectors with various policies, awards from minimum about 13 arbitral institutions were also being examined while preparing this particular report.

This report speaks about arbitration that is being performed in the regulatory method, in international finances matters, the disputes between the banking sectors, disputes relating to trade finances, etc. and quite huge growth sectors of arbitration were also recognized in this report.

This report turns out to be were helpful in determining the rise of financial institutional arbitrations among the world by classifying the types of disputes and by recognizing the strength of arbitration process too.

 

  1. RECENT PROCEDURES

Previously the main purpose behind referring to the national courts over the process of arbitration was to assure speedy resolution of disputes via the judgment given in the format of summary elsewhere, in the process of arbitration the arbitrators are bound by their duty that they have to provide equal, fair and full opportunities to the respective parties of the agreement to set out their cases.

Nonetheless this thought process has been changed now, the institutional arbitration centers around the globe like the Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC), the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center (HKIAC), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and many other institutions now provide the summary disposal of the disputes just like old court system which makes the process of arbitration more applicable option.

RECOGNIZED LIMITATIONS OF ARBITRATION

Though the process of arbitration is gaining its pace and being more frequently used method for resolving dispute in the financial market or sector, there are still some justifications that why sometimes this method of arbitration can be avoided. Like in few cases like the criminal cases arbitration is not possible as because these issues are not arbitrable in nature, as the third person can resolve the dispute where the parties to the agreement enter into an argument not where a person committed a crime and being guilty of murder or anything as those cases needed proper justice with the relevant punishments prescribed under the law.

 

The reason why people opt arbitration may be because of the myth that arbitration process are cost effective process. The Ad-hoc method of arbitration is precisely cheaper and affordable but it lacks experience and some required qualifications too that are being needed by the parties but the institutional arbitration is an expensive method.  As in the financial matters the parties sometimes doesn’t belong to same country which means a matter of cross border agreements are usually being held by the institutional arbitration centers, and it does cost a huge amount of money as the expenditure of procedure and transportation is expensive in nature. The arbitrator might also belong to a different country than any of the party to the agreement which make way for delay in the coordination between the parties to the agreement and the appointed arbitrator which ends up resulting in slow remedies.

 

CONCLUSION

As the P.R.I.M.E. Finance Rules, the ICC report and other initiatives are being encouraged and set as a means for resolution of disputes by the process of arbitration is being more frequently being recognized by the financial institutions or sectors.

The process of arbitration is most favorable as compared to the other methods of ADR and the age old system of litigation. Though there are many advantages and disadvantages of the process of arbitration but it will still be the most favorable option to be considered for resolving the disputes in the financial sector and the demand for arbitration will grow higher only in the near future too.

 

 

 

[1] Allen & Overy, The rise and rise of Arbitration in Banking and Finance Disputes, (2018, 9th February), http://www.allenovery.com/en-gb/global/news-and-insights/publications/the-rise-and-rise-of-arbitration-in-banking-and-finance-disputes

 

[2] Shreya Shrivastava and Sachin Bhatnagar, The Rise of Arbitration in the Financial Sector, (April 11,2020), https://lawcorner.in/the-rise-of-arbitration-in-the-financial-sector/

 

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Role of Digital Forensics in Law

By: Ilakkiya Kamaraj

Introduction:

Technology as rapidly developed in the following decades. The invention of smart phones and the internet has made the lives of people much easier in this fast-moving world. But as once said by the great scientist Albert Einstein, “Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal”. Though technological development acts as an advantage it also gives room for the criminals to come up with different types of cybercrimes. The computer-related crime rates relating to online theft, fraud, child pornography have been increased rapidly. Digital forensics helps to identify these crimes and put these activities in control. This paper concentrates on defining about the digital forensic, the growth of cyber crime and how it is controlled by digital forensics, the role of digital forensic in law and the acts taken by the Indian Government to control cyber crimes through digital forensics.

Digital forensics:

The process of identifying, preserving, extracting and documenting the computer shreds of evidence is referred to as digital forensics or digital forensics science. In short digital forensics means recovering data and the investigation of computer-related crimes or any other digital device. Digital forensic is a very important branch and it is equivalent to performing autopsy in crime scene. Digital forensics can be used to scrutinize all those devices that can store digital data. Digital devices include server, cell phones, computer and network. Most complicated digital-related cases can be solved through the best techniques of digital forensics.

Computer-related crimes were into practice from the year 1970’s itself. This crime was dealt with the existing laws. Later in the year 1915 scientific studies was used to do criminal investigations. But as there was vast technological growth over the decades the crime rate relating to technology also increased drastically. Crimes like happy slapping, cyber bullying, online theft and online predators, child pornography as became very common. Subsequently, many acts were also passed to keep a check on these crime rates. Usually, the forensic investigator uses several techniques to investigate which includes forensic data analysis, disk forensics, network forensics, wireless forensic, email forensic, mobile device forensics, database forensics, memory forensics and malware forensics.

Branches in digital forensics:

As digital devices include not only computer and extend to a mobile device, network, flash drives etc., Retrieving data from these devices is also necessary.

  • Computer forensics means retrieving data from computer and static memory like USB and embedded system.
  • To study the forensic database and their metadata one of the digital forensic branch called database forensics is used.
  • Analyzing and monitoring information and evidence from computer network either local or WAN is known as network forensics.
  • To analyze the pattern of fraudulent activities in the financial crime and to examine the structured data the forensic data analysis can be used.
  • Mobile forensics is also a branch in digital forensics. Recovering digital evidence like SMS or email from a mobile device is known as mobile forensics. The inbuilt communication system like GSM differentiates mobile forensics from computer forensics.

Digital forensics in law:

Digital forensics is applied in various sectors and private investigation. Both national and international legislation covers digital media. But it plays a dominant role in the field of law. This is because the Court of Law uses the pieces of evidence collected through investigation. This evidence is concerned with civil law or criminal law but habitually it is related to the criminal law. Digital forensics is also being used widely in the cases of intellectual property theft, employment disputes, bankruptcy investigation, fraud investigations etc., in recent years. Court of Law:

The evidence collected through investigations is used to uphold or decline a conjecture before the Court. These evidences are of different types which include real evidence, direct evidence, collaborative evidence, hearsay and circumstantial evidence. The Court prefers evidence to be more accurate, relevant and convincing. The collected evidence should be more vital so that its integrity is not questioned. In the cases involving IT secondary evidence documents are considered. Who, when and where the investigation was handled are some common elements concerned with evidence collecting.

Merits of digital forensics in law:

  • Digital forensics can be used as evidence in the Court of Law. With the evidence collected the identification of the culprit becomes much easier.
  • Evidence can be extracted even from the deleted files and partitions through data acquisition and duplication. It helps the investigator in recovering and preserving digital devices related materials.
  • Designing procedures make sure that the corruption of digital evidence is under control.
  • Identifying any malicious activity on the victim can be done very easily.
  • Preserving the evidence can be done for future references.

Steps involved in investigating process:

The person who is collecting evidence is known as a forensic investigator. An investigator while collecting evidence should make sure that the collected evidence is withstanding any legal proceedings. As we discussed earlier digital forensics is all about identifying, acquiring, preserving, analyzing and documenting of digital data. The following steps are followed by the forensic investigators to collect evidence which can be accomplished by the Court.

  1. Identifying:

The first and foremost step in collecting evidence is identification. The scope of the action must be identified before beginning any form of examination in the area of digital forensics. The process of searching and detecting digital evidence is done here. This process also includes what evidence is presented along with where and how it is stored. All the evidence used in the perpetration of crime must be examined by the digital evidence first responder.

In Krenar Lusha case in the year 2009 in the UK, in the investigation process, it came to know that Krenar has downloaded a manual of 4300gm to make explosives[1].

  1. Acquiring:

The process of collecting evidence is known as acquisition. These evidences are collected from electronic media like personal computers, PDAs, mobile phones etc., Investigators perform acquisition of data through the following four methods, disk to disk copy, disk to image file , logical disk to a disk file, sparse data copy of a file or folder.

  1. Preservation:

To prevent digital evidence from being changed or altering, the data should be isolated and should be preserved in a secured physical site. Preservation of digital evidence helps to reduce tampering of evidence. Criminal cases should be examined through the law imposed personnel for the reason for the preservation of evidence. The company officer performs this examination in civil cases.

  1. Analyzing:

Numerous reiteration of analysis takes place to support a crime theory. Based on the evidence found by the investigators a conclusion will be derived by reconstructing the events.

  1. Documenting:

Documenting is the key concept of digital forensics. Recreating of the crime scene is done in this process by documenting the crime scene in proper documentation. Photography, screen scene mapping and sketching can be done in documenting the crime scene for better understanding. At last, the collected documentation will be summarized and explained.

Many cases have been solved with the digital forensic process such as Matt baker case, larry Jo Thomas case, Rose Comptown case, Mikayla Munn case etc.,

Cybercrime:

Cybercrime is a computer-related criminal activity. It also includes other digital devices. Electronic evidence is defined as any information of probative value in electronic form, computer evidence, digital audio and video, cell phones, a digital fax machine that are stored or transmitted[2]. The cybercrime act is not only done by individuals, it is done through organizations too. Cybercrime includes theft of corporate data, financial data, email or internet fraud, invasion of privacy, cyber extortion, phishing, ransomware attacks, hacking, cyberespionage, spamming, cyberstalking etc., These crimes are identified with the help of digital forensics. Under the Information Technology Act, 4231 cybercrimes were recorded according to the National Crimes Record Bureau between the years 2009 to 2011.

Steps taken by the Indian Government:

To keep a check in the crime rate of digital-related crimes the Indian Government as enacted many acts which enables digital forensic to perform its duties with certain rights.

  • Under section 3 of the Evidence Act, 1872 the term ‘evidence’ was amended to ‘electronic evidence’ that can be accepted as evidence in the Court of Law[3].
  • In the case of Sanjay Kumar v State of Haryana[4], the appellant-accused was convicted under section 420, 426, 468, 471 of IPC and for Section 65 and 66 of Information and Technology Act, 2000 for tampering with computer sources document.
  • The respondents were punishable under section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and Section 6 of Indecent Representation of Women’s Act, 1968[5].
  • It was held that section 43(g) of the IT Act, 2000 is declared void which was invoked by the police[6].
  • In the case of SMC Pneumatics Pvt. Ltd .v. Jogesh Kwatra[7], the Delhi Court passed an important ex- parte injunction in India’s first defamation case assuming jurisdiction over the case over the matter where there was defamation passed through e-mails affecting the Corporate company’s reputation.

Conclusion:

Thus digital forensics acts as a primary source to help in preventing cybercrimes by detecting it and acting as evidence in the Court of Law. Hence it plays a major role in the law field. It helps to identify cybercriminals and lead to punish them. It also leads other companies and organizations to protect their important information. There is no doubt that the improvement in digital technologies will increase further. Thus a well thought out strategy in digital forensics helps to prevent cybercrimes in future.

 

 

 

[1] Man Jailed Over Suicide Bomb Book, BBC NEWS, December 15, 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/derbyshire/8414527.stm.

[2] The Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008, Sec 70(a).

[3] The Indian Evidence Act, 1872, sec 3.

[4] CRR No. 65 of 2013.

[5] Fatima Riswana v State Rep., (2005) 1 S.C.C. 582.

[6] Sekar v The Principle General Manager, W.P No. 10208 of 2005.

[7] CS No. 1279 of 2001.

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Ethical Hacking and Cyber security

By: Gaurav Patankar

Introduction:

Ethical hacking in short means organization hires a certified person for hacking their own networks, systems and technologies to discover vulnerabilities and then create patches or security measures. This ensures that there will be no attack from outside which can cause data leakage, systems get compromised and so on. Hacking is ethical when the hackers are hired for particular tasks by permission of the System Owner. The ISMS (Information Security Management System) is used in companies where employees ensure that they have their information secured. They have many policies included in ISMS. The organizations take care of their Information Security by conducting ISMS audits internally or getting it done from vendors. The ISO 27001 stipulates the measures to take care of Cyber Security. Also, there is other certification named SOC. It contains two types – SOC1 and SOC2. SOC1 Certification is for finance system. SOC2 Certification is for Information Security Management System. The other requirement in today’s world is VAPT i.e. Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing.

Ethical Hacking:

Hacking was not a wrongdoing when genuine hacking was connected with contemplating programming dialects and PC frameworks with the expectation of making new developments. It shouldn’t be viewed as wrongdoing if it is lawful, approved, and adequate. To start with, hacking was viewed as a type of fiddling. It was a procedure that included making changes to something to create something new. Notwithstanding individuals’ observation and inspiration about hacking have changed throughout the years, at first, programmers were individuals who sought to find alternative solutions to problems on their PCs. These arrangements and exercises realized advancement and mechanical forward leaps. Programmers were liable for pretty much every development, innovation, and mechanical achievement. They were answerable for the development of PCs and even the World Wide Web.

These exercises don’t violate laws since genuine programmers’ line up with the code of behaviours and guidelines. The inspiration of programmers was basically about remodelling existing project codes and making them increasingly proficient. Thus, not all types of hacking are illicit. For example, you own a car, you have lost ignition key, you try to start the engine by inserting other keys or just pulling out switch wires and connecting them directly to start ignition. Here, intention is not of theft but of trying other solutions.

In simple words, when you are dealing with software and information of your own PC or with PC of other with his/her consent and approval to find new solutions or new gateways, it is ethical hacking. But if you are handling PC or website or devices without permission of the owner and trying unauthorized to extract information or to avail utilities of the system (like withdrawing money from ATM using clone card or hacking pin) it is a crime.

One could likewise compare some hacking procedures for downloading. The web has billions of clients getting to it routinely. There are billions of PCs and systems associated with the web. There is individual online access to a great many sites and a large number of programming.

Everybody online appears to be occupied with one type of downloading or the other. Some type of downloading has been considered as illicit yet that doesn’t imply that downloading ought to be viewed as a wrongdoing. Individuals everywhere throughout the world visit google.com consistently scanning for data. On the off chance that data gathering was wrongdoing, Google would not be in presence today.

Not all type of hacking is violations because not all cases are destructive.  Moral hacking should not to be viewed as wrongdoing since it isn’t hostile. It is completed by moral programmers that don’t utilize their hacking aptitudes for damaging, hostile or destructive purposes. Or maybe they utilize it for cautious purposes like precautions taken by Government or Administration for prevention of crimes or for study of modus operandi of cybercrime. Such programmers are known as white caps. They are not quite the same as dark caps, green caps, blue caps, self-destruction programmers, and content youngsters who are occupied with vindictive assaults. Instead of utilizing their hacking mastery for underhand purposes, they use it to ensure frameworks and clients. They are proficient and moral programmers.

The red cap programmers utilize their hacking aptitudes for rendering consultancy and administration, for example, infiltration tests and weakness evaluations. They are like white cap programmers. They shut down the exercises of dark caps or malignant programmers. Ethical hacking ought not to be viewed as wrongdoing. Moreover moral hacking exercises do exclude unlawful procedures, for example, illicit benefit heightening, unapproved assaulting, illicit extraction of information and unapproved covering track.

Day by day increasing attacks on networks compels organization to make their network secured. They have to remain updated with network security and keep on checking whether network is secured from the attackers. The organizations get themselves ISO certified to ensure about security measures taken from their side are absolute as per norms.

Cyber Security:

Cyber security or information technology security are the techniques of protecting computers, networks, programs and data from unauthorized access or attacks that are aimed for exploitation.

The elements required for organization to ensure the Cyber Security are: [1]

  1. Application Security
  2. Information Security
  3. Disaster Recovery
  4. Network Security
  5. Endpoint Security
  6. Data Security
  7. Identity Management
  8. Database and Infrastructure Security
  9. Cloud Security
  10. Mobile Security

To ensure that all these elements are in order, the organizations need to get the systems certified from authorised bodies. They need to do compliance of their Information Security System. There are certifications as ISO 27001:2013, SOC1, SOC2 and other. Cyber Security is about ensuring CIA (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability) of information assets. SOC1 certification is mainly for financial domains and SOC2 certification covers security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality of the information and privacy of personal information.

These are common types of cyber threats:

  • Malware
  • Ransomware
  • Phishing Attacks
  • Social engineering
  • Advance persistent threat

The pandemic hitting all over the world has evolved chances of occurring cyber threats over the internet to many organisations and individuals as well. These cyber threats include financial losses to company or individual, loss of information by malware or ransomware attacks, etc. People need to remain alert about phishing emails. They must keep their antivirus and machines updated with patches and need to take care about the threats turning up over the internet. Organisation must also ensure that their network is secured from cyber threats.

Application Security:

The application security means to check that applications are running in secured way as required. There are multiple weaknesses in application, viz. Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs), SQL injections, plain text authentications, etc. This is a vast subject and cannot be covered in brief.

Information Security:

Information security, sometimes abbreviated to infosec, is a set of practices intended to keep data secure from unauthorized access or alterations, both when it’s being stored and when it’s being transmitted from one machine or physical location to another. [2]

It works on three principles:

  • Confidentiality
  • Integrity
  • Availability

The CIA is the main ingredient of Information Security. These are carried out in all the organisations. They have ISMS policies in role for covering the CIA. It helps organisation to be safe.

Disaster Recovery:

 It is a process in which the organisation remains ready for any disaster taking place. Disaster can be any, viz. natural calamity, fire, cyber-attacks etc. The Disaster Recovery includes analysing risk assessment, establishing priorities and planning strategies to recover in case of any disaster.

Network Security:

 The components for Network Security are:

  1. Antivirus
  2. Hardware and Software Firewall
  3. IPS (Intrusion Prevention System)
  4. VPN (Virtual Private networks)

These components keep the network secured and free from the cyber threats.

Cloud Security:

 Cloud security is a set of control-based safeguards and technology protection designed to protect resources stored online from leakage, theft, or data loss. [3]

The main security risks in cloud are:

  • Data leakage
  • Unauthorized access
  • Access rights and permissions
  • Malicious attacks (DOS, DDoS or malware)

The key security strategies are:

  • Encryption
  • Identity and access management (IAM)
  • Firewall
  • Security Rules
  • Backups

Conclusion:–

The complexity of internet world and ever expanding cyber threats make it compulsory for every organisation to be vigilant and proactive. There are very few personnel conversant with this branch of knowledge and skills. Hence, this field also can be attractive option for the persons seeking challenging employment or freelance profession. The above discussion and information makes it clear that in the modern world scenario no organisation can do without Ethical Hacking and Cyber Security.

 

 

_______________________________________________________________________________

Resources:–

  1. https://digitalguardian.com/
  2. https://www.csoonline.com/
  3. https://phoenixnap.com/

 

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Can Artificial Intelligence be used in the Legal sector?

By: Vaishali Kohli

At first glance, we may find the idea of Artificial Intelligence and law very unlikely since both the fields are on the opposite sides of the poles but the actual truth is far from it; Artificial Intelligence is transforming the legal profession in many ways. On a basic level, the aim is to develop and find ways to reduce, manage and execute laborious tasks which would otherwise require human inputs.  IBM Watson powered called ROSS is the world’s first AI lawyer who solves research questions by mining data and interpreting trends and patterns.  If we talk about India, then most of the lawyers and the law firms are still little hesitant, but Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas in 2017 became the first Indian firm to deploy software that uses AI named Kira to identify, examine and separate the provisions and other data from legal documents with a high level of accuracy.

APPLICATIONS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN LEGAL SERVICES

There is no doubt that AI has started impacting the legal spheres. Some of the applications that Law firms have found with AI are as follows:

  1. Document discovery and review

Computes have the ability to use the Natural Language Programming (NLP) and other AI tools which allows the understanding of thousands of documents and go through case files and legal briefs in a snap. If this is applied widely, it is quite capable of bringing a revolution in the working of legal sectors. In fact, the famous investment Banking Firm JPMorgan announced COiN for Contract Intelligence in 2017, a program which saves up to 36,000 hours of lawyers time every year by interpreting commercial- loan agreements. A technology developed by Ross Intelligence helps lawyers to find cases and second material using NLP. Some of the firms have adopted AI software that helps to analyse all the documents and then flag the ones that are deemed as relevant.

  1. Predicting Legal outcomes

AI has some remarkable abilities like storing years’ worth of legal data which could actually help to tell the lawyers of their chances of winning relevant cases. It can able to handle a lot of tedious tasks because of which lawyers can spend more time on analysis, counselling and negotiations, even court visits. With the use of AI, legal counsels are able to answer questions relating to the future of the case because of the ability of AI of analysing data which helps to make predictions about the outcomes of the legal proceedings better than humans.

  1. Due Diligence

Due Diligence is a hectic work; the legal professionals are required to perform background checks and uncover information regarding their clients. These facts are then evaluated for better decision making to support the case. It is a tedious task, and because of its comprehensiveness, there is a chance of human error. AI makes the process more efficient and accurate by the elimination of manual errors and providing a better experience for their clients as well.

  1. Contract Review and Management

Law firms review contracts of their clients to identify the risks and issues to avoid any negative impact. AI can and is being used for this purpose which is quicker and with fewer human errors. For example – Kira Systems is a popular tool used by popular companies like Deloitte to review their contracts. iManage RAVN is another such tool, and it increases the effectiveness of an organisation which in turns increases the profitability.

  1. Intellectual property

AI has such tools which can help with various tasks of IP field like search and registration of a trademark, Patents, Copyright, etc.

  1. Electronic Billing

The AI software can actually help the lawyers and the law firms in preparing the invoices for their clients according to work done by them. It is an accurate billing which helps both the lawyers and the clients.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

The use of AI will change the area of intellectual property rights like trademark and the patent law. These machines are growing creative, a result of which has resulted in a transformation in the invention process in ways not easily accommodated with the present system.

  • COPYRIGHT AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Copyright is a legal right which granted to the owner of an original work which in turn allows him/her, the exclusive rights for its use and distribution. Copyright protects the idea and nothing more, and generally, it includes fulfilment of two conditions, the first being that the works should be in tangible form and the second being that it should be original.  Since the creation of literary works is one of the areas where AI is applicable, the study of copyright becomes relevant. The introduction of AI and its development have resulted in some challenges in the world of copyright. Looking at the results, we can all agree that the work which is created by AI is at par with that of human beings, sometimes even better. Department of Computer at Information Science at the University of Konstanz, Germany developed a prodigy robot called E- David. It can create original artwork by autonomously taking pictures with its camera using a complex visual algorithm resulting in the creation  of original paintings from these pictures[1]. If a human being creates such an original artwork, it would be eligible for copyright protection. The Turing test is for the AI systems and Machines which determine whether the system or the machine is exhibiting intelligent behaviour equivalent or indistinguishable from that of human behaviour if the human evaluator is not able to distinguish whether the output is a machine or human-created, then the test is passed. In the recent years, there has been an increase in the number of AI systems passing the Turing test like the creation of Lamus software programmes which creates musical works that were performed at the London Symphony Orchestra[2]. Another famous instance is the poetry writing software, developed by Zackary Scholl in 2011 which produced a poem that got published in a literary journal and the editors could not distinguish that a computer programme had written it[3].

 

AI systems are evolving rapidly, blurring the lines between the original works and mere computer-generated works. AI is challenging the conventional copyright laws in India, and Internationally resulting in legal implications and ambiguities regarding ownership, authorship and accountability in AI-generated works. Section 13 of the Copyright Act, 1957 mentions that for the copyright to exist in the literary, dramatic, musical and artificial work, it should be original. Now the act does not define the word original but in Eastern book co. V D.B. Modak, the Supreme Court adopted ‘modicum of creativity’ as a standard for determining whether the work is authentic or not and therefore be eligible for copyright protection or not. The work should meet a minimum level of creativity and should not only be a mere output of skill and labour. Since the necessary level of creativity is not high, AI-generated work may meet this originality standard and be copyrightable. However, the second definition given by the act is deciding the author of the work. Section 2(d) of the act talks about the author of the literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work which is computer-generated to be a person who causes such work to be created. If we look at this definition, then we can see that AI-generated work can fall under the computer-generated work, but the author of such work will not be the AI system but rather the person who causes the work to be created. This definition implies that only natural persons can be protected as the author under the act. In fact, Practice and Procedural Manual of 2018[4] issues by the Copyright Office, states in the application for the registration of the literary works, only the details of natural persons should be provided, i.e. who has actually created the work. In Amarnath Sehgal v. Union of Delhi[5]the Delhi High Court recognised the author’s moral rights under the Section 57 of the Copyright Act,1957 which includes the right of paternity, the right to maintain purity/integrity and the right of retraction. It was held that these rights originate from the fact the author is uniquely invested in his/her work, and there is a privileged relationship that exists between both, therefore in cases of AI-generated works, such association is difficult to establish.

So AI might be deemed original in the current existing laws and technological landscape, they may not be attributed authorship thereof. There exists ambiguity regarding the identification of the person who caused the work to be created of the AI system. In India, under the copyright law, under certain situations, copyright may be granted to no- natural, legal and juristic persona like companies, organisation and the Government. If in future AI systems are declared as legal or juristic persons then they could be granted the copyright ownership in certain situations however this can result in issues relating to the transfer of the copyright, the commercial aspect and it may have consequences for a party seeking to monetise the works created through AI. The Indian Courts are yet to address some intricate issues surrounding the copyright and ownership of the AI-generated work which were raised when Sophia was granted citizenship in 2017 by Saudi Arabia[6]. AI systems have capabilities which are customary to human intelligence; Thus, challenging the existing notions which are pressuring the existing legal frameworks to evolve. It would be interesting to see how the law will develop and protect the AI developers and users and also the AI systems and their powerful juristic personality.

  • PATENTS AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Artificial Intelligence has created a wave in the entire technology eco-system and has raised some fundamental questions and debates. One needs to understand that any invention related to AI is not a single invention but a combination of several of them. It can be a mathematical method or an algorithm or maybe both. There are no fixed criteria. The question which arises is whether these

combinations can be combined in one single claim and whether doing so, would reduce the scope of their protection. The foundation of AI lies in its algorithms and mathematical models. In India, we have an absolute ban on the patentability of algorithms and computer programmes unless they produce some technical contribution which will be challenging to establish in an AI-related invention. Section 3(k) of the Indian Patents Act, 1970 categorises mathematical and business methods, computer programmes and algorithms as non-patentable matter.  European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) refused two patent applications in January this year that listed AI as its inventor on the application stating that the inventor has to be a human being and not the machine. The two applications were for the Food Container[7] and Devices and Methods for Attracting Enhanced Attention[8]. These applications were filled by ‘Artificial Inventor Project’ that also filed national phase applications under the PCT including the United Kingdom. The UK Patents Office rejected the application stating that no law allows the transfer of ownership from the invention to the owner in this case, as the inventor cannot hold the property.

Making machines and computers as inventors can be tricky and they have no rights, ethics and duties and is it possible to patent a technology which is dynamic and will change and evolve with changing times and attitude of humans? It seems tricky to patent every single change.  There is another question which remains that who will ultimately get the patent? Will it be an inventor who has put all his/her efforts or the programmer who has worked equally hard. Who will be responsible if AI commits a breach? For an invention to be applicable for patent protection, it has to pass the patentability criteria which includes that it possesses novelty, an inventive step and should be capable of industrial application[9]. AI can process a higher level of intelligence and productivity, so there is a likelihood that all innovative steps could be evident to Artificial Intelligence. When it comes to inventive step, it is not easy to make innovations on existing modules or concepts which is not skilled in the art. Courts in some cases have denied patents to programs simply because what they perform is mechanical rather than it being inventive since they primarily run on computer programs[10]. According to the report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Tata   Consultancy Services[11], India will have to bring in new guidelines and policies for the enforcement of patents, intellectual property rights, and intellectual property management in an AI work. The IP and the patent laws in India are outdated in India and with the increasing AI inventions and patent application of the same, it will be interesting to see how the patent offices and regulators revise the existing patent and IP laws that fit in the new emerging technology.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND IMPACT ON THE INDIAN LEGAL SYSTEM

 A computer system can perform tasks which ordinarily require human intelligence is known as Artificial Intelligence. Kerala Police in February 2019 induces a robot for police work. In the same month, Chennai opened its second robot-themed restaurants while the robots not only serve but can interact with the customers in both English and Tamil. All of these examples make us realise the arrival of AI in our daily lives. The capability of AI systems to learn from experience and perform autonomously makes it the most disruptive and self transformative technology. If the regulation of AI is not completed correctly, it can have unmanageable implications. The Indian Legal system is still relying on the methods and solutions designed years ago, and there is very little innovation in technology. If we think about it, AI can play a big part in changing the ways lawyers operate.  For instance, legal research is one such domain where AI can help in a significant way. Indian legal system is vast and dynamic, and with the use of AI, lawyers can get unparallel insight into the legal domain within seconds.

Currently, legal research requires a significant amount of person-hours, reducing the profitability and productivity of a law firm. An AI-based research platform can help in getting quality research within seconds. It can provide lawyers with highly efficient and advancements tools assisting lawyers to become better in advising clients or litigating. Some of the legal startups like CaseMine, Pensieve, SpotDraft our building Natural Language Processing (NLP) based applications resulting in the next generation legal research platforms that help law firms to go beyond simple research making it less time-consuming. AI has tremendous scope for the Indian Legal sector, and a combination of both will witness in immense growth soon.  Some of the fields where the AI  is currently in the legal industry providing to be useful is Due Diligence, prediction technology, legal analytics, Automation on documents, IP and electronic billing.

  • WILL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REPLACE LAWYERS?

A burning question among the lawyers is whether the introduction of AI in the legal sector would replace the Lawyers and the Legal Analyst. The legal industry has seen many new solutions where the technology has improved the efficiency, contract analysis, research, etc. and in the same way, IA based software programme only targets to increase the authenticity, accuracy of the results and improve the products. They do not target to take a Lawyer’s job. The legal profession includes analytical and decision making skills which can not be automated. The AI-based software and programmes can reduce the time and effort and help the firms in giving more authentic and result oriented suggestions. AI  based automated assistant tools are not going to replace the lawyers but would make them more efficient. The evidence from other industries like healthcare and even e-commerce are enough to believe that AI will only help the lawyers and not replace them. Our honourable Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde, said that the Supreme Court has proposed to introduce a system of AI (artificial intelligence) which would help in better administration of justice delivery. However, he also cleared misconception that the AI would never replace the judges.

 

LEGAL CHALLENGES

 

AI and its application are part of our everyday lives, and it has the potential to revolutionalise society in positive ways. However, with any scientific or technological advancement, there is a real risk that it can harm Human Rights, including the Right of Privacy/ Data Protection. The machines are equipped with the ability to sense, process and record the world around them with access to our personal information. We give them access to monitor use, thereby giving them full surveillance autonomy. For instance, Google Duplex with AI-driven voice was designed to help people make an appointment to business over the phone but without any interaction from the user. The Personal Data Protection Bill (Privacy Bill 2018) intends to make the organisation accountable for personal data processed, and it has even given a wider definition of the word ‘personal data’. It has even given the person, whose data is collected the right to have his information erased. In the absence of direct human mind behind any action AI system undertakes, who is supposed to be blamed for the loss of the innocent users? Complete dependency on AI system is risky, and if we go into more in-depth analysis, then the consequences are even severe. What if AI-based driverless care gets into the accident which results in damage to property and harm to human life, who will be held responsible? Can AI also become witnesses, and can they also be used as tools for committing crimes? Challenges also include the inequality wherein the AI systems might be given preference over human beings. Since there is no decision on whether robots are a legal person or not, their legal rights and duties are unjustified. In 2018, NITI Aayog, the policy think tank of the Government of India, released a discussion paper on ‘National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence’. It is the first significant step towards the regulation of AI in India. However, the innovation is so fast-paced that the regulatory system is not able to keep pace with the developments. Thus, the need of the hour is to develop a regulatory framework.

 

CONCLUSION

 

Artificial Intelligence is part of our lives which will evolve with the changing times.  The time is not far when it will become an integral part of the legal sector. Many may argue that manually reviewing documents can prove to be accurate, but one cannot compete with the speed of AI systems. They get done work in hours which would otherwise take a team of legal experts or paralegal to perform in days. There are several advantages of using AI in the legal section, and as compared to the western world, it is still a new concept in India.  A robot or AI cannot replace lawyers, and in the future, the popularity and use of AI in the legal sector will only go up

 

[1]  Shlomit Yanisky-Ravid, “Generating Rembrandt: Artificial Intelligence, Copyright, and Accountability in the 3A Era – The Human-Like Authors are Already Here – A New Model”, Michigan State Law Review, 659 (2017).

 

[2] Robert Denicola, “Ex Machina: Copyright Protection for Computer-Generated Works”, Rutgers University Law Review, 251 (2016).

[3] Brian Merchant, The Poem that Passed the Thring Test, VICE Motherboard, available at: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/vvbxxd/the-poem-that-passed-the-turing-test  (Last visited 9th May 2020)

[4] Practice and Procedure Manual (2018), Copyright Office, Government of India, available at: http://copyright.gov.in/Documents/Public_Notice_inviting_reviews_and_comments_of_stakeholders_on_draft_guidelines/Literary_Work.pdf ( Last visited 10th May, 2020)

[5] 2005 (30) PTC 253 Del.

[6] In 2017 Saudi Arabia granted an AI humanoid (‘Sophia’) citizenship, which raised questions as to the copyright ownership and accountability of AI systems.

 

[7] Patent Application # EP3564144.

[8] Patent Application # EP3563896.

[9] The Patents Act, § 2(I), 1970 (India); The Patents Act, § 2(ja), 1970 (India); The Patents Act, § 2(ac), 1970 (India).

[10] Bilsk v. Kappos, 561 U.S. 593 (2010).

[11] https://www.mycii.in/KmResourceApplication/64684.CIITCSReportUnderstandingtheDynam.pdf

Categories
Blog

Role of Intellectual Property in the Fashion Industry

By: Diya Mehta

“Fashion is very important. It is life-enhancing, and, like everything that gives pleasure, it is worth doing well.” – Vivienne Westwood[i]

Indeed! But what is the fashion of the day? The task of defining it has become exhausting as ever, owing to the speed with which what’s in the trend and what’s not changes- a process called “fast fashion”. One may now be able to relate as to why the ‘culottes’ that were so trendy when you went shopping last month are now suddenly old-fashioned and why the racks in the stores are now filled with the ‘boot-cut’ jeans.

The giant industry, however, is not free from the rampant practices of ‘imitating’ and ‘counterfeiting’-the terms having larger legal and moral implications than a common man might be able to accentuate. Therefore, to combat this evil, most legal systems have intellectual property law in place. Intellectual property law helps protect the creative and inventive creations of human intellect.[ii] The technological advancements and digitalization have made it necessary to extend protection to the creative minds that have nurtured the fashion industry and made it a billion-dollar industry.

 

Trademark

Trademark is a type of intellectual property right that helps the consumer to identify the source of the goods. That interlocking GG of Gucci, YSL letters of Yves Saint Laurent’s, raises eyebrows of the masses for the twofold reasons-the instant association of the goods with their source (a well-known luxury brand) and the whooping price that a person in the possession of such goods might have paid. Trademark, therefore, acts as an effective source of protection for the designers who incorporate trademark protected symbols and logos in their designs.[iii]

The ongoing battle between Kanye West and a fragrance company for their respective “YZY” trademarks is one such trademark issue that adumbrates how two companies are forbidden from having identical marks that might confuse or deceive the consumers concerning the source of the goods.[iv]

 

Trade Dress

Trade dress is a kind of protection extended to a product when it is distinctive or acquires a secondary meaning. The robin blue color of tiffany’s packaging or the infamous red sole heels of Christian Louboutin’s, helps the consumers to directly link it to the source. What’s new is Valentino’s quest for acquiring trade dress protection for its “three-dimensional configuration of a shoe with a single ankle strap and T-strap and collar which are adorned with pyramid shaped studs”.[v]

 

Patent

Patent law protects the novel, useful and non-obvious innovations. Applicable to both design and utility patents, patent protection even though watertight, hardly comes handy to the fashion industry because of time-consuming procedure of patent applications and frequent changes in fashion trends.[vi] However, there are still some designers that hold successful patents. One such patent is Virgil Abloh’s Off White patent for paperclip jewelry. The patent is not for the paperclip shaped jewelry which has nothing novel in it but for the jewelry pieces with elements shaped like paperclips and which are studded with small jewels or rhinestones.[vii]

 

Copyright and Designs Act

There has been a lot of dilemmas and back and forth with respect to the protection granted, under the two Acts, to the designers in India. Copyright Act, 1957 protects the ‘artistic work’ and the Designs Act, 2000 on the other hand extend protection to the ‘original designs’ including the shapes, configurations, pattern, ornament, and composition of lines or colors.[viii] However, the line between permissible copying and design piracy is blurry due to the difficulty in defining the originality of the designs.[ix] Also, the mandatory provision of getting your designs registered which entails a lengthy procedure further adds to the hardships faced by the designers due to fast-changing nature of the fashion industry. Additionally, the sanctions imposed against the infringer is of minuscule amount of Rs. 25000.[x]

 

The Ripple Effect

The intellectual property available to the fashion designers, though varied, is still deficient. The claim stands because of the lack of a proper mechanism to protect the designers and their creativity, the failure to fight against the prevalent organized crime of counterfeiting, rampant copying of designs and selling it for cheap, and its domino effect on sustainability.[xi]

As asserted above, there are some legal, social, and moral impacts associated with the practices of counterfeiting and knocking-off.

 

Effect on the Environment

The thirst to be up-to-date with the latest fashion trends come at an enormous cost. The fast-fashion era though quenches this thirst of people belonging to different economic cadres, it leaves a catastrophic impact on the environment. There are only so many resources available on the earth and keeping up with the ever-increasing demand has thus become a daunting task. Cotton production requires land masses and water for irrigation which in turn leads to water, air, and land pollution.[xii] Manufacturing a piece of clothing also requires a ginormous amount of water. What further adds to the environmental concerns associated with fast-fashion is the chemicals and dyes used for the production of clothes. These harmful substances are dumped into water bodies leading to hazardous implications. Adding even further is the mountainous land-fills, overfilled due to discarded clothes that were once the ‘new thing we had our eyes on’.

 

Crushing Human Rights

How fast is too fast? The question will hold relevance when instead of turning blind eye to what goes behind the veils of the gigantic fashion industry is known to the general people. The very same designs introduced by a designer on a fashion show which might take him around 6 months to make it available for sale, takes less than 2 weeks to hit the stores of the participants and promoters of the fast-fashion race. The impossible becomes possible only because of the labor law violations involved in the process. The British fast-fashion giant ‘Boohoo’ has been accused of cramped high-density conditions, with wages falling below the standard basic wages.[xiii]. Brands like GAP, Zara, and Forever 21 have been as guilty as Boohoo for employing underaged children and paying them by the system of per-piece, forcing them to put in longer hours at work under inhumane conditions and for the payment of the size of a peanut. What’s required is to ponder whether paying cheap prices for knock-offs is even worth it when the plight of children employed in the garment factories with filthy conditions and poor wage system is on the rope. After all, Lucy Siegle (journalist and author) puts it correctly, “Fast fashion isn’t free. Someone, somewhere is paying.”[xiv]

 

Drug Trafficking and Terrorism

Better technology has made it effortless to manufacture counterfeit products that look convincingly real.[xv] With counterfeit products, the wrongdoing does not stop at trademark infringements but it also abets crimes like drug trafficking, human trafficking, and terrorism. In 1993, when law enforcement officials raided a warehouse in Manhattan full of counterfeit products they found drugs sewn in the lining of the handbags.[xvi]It is also believed that Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations fund themselves through the sale and trafficking of counterfeit goods.[xvii] What is even scarier is obtaining the goods legally by producing knock-offs and adding labels of known brands like Prada, Chanel, Gucci, only after the goods have cleared the customs.[xviii]

 

But how is it possible that the practices of counterfeiting and piracy are still flourishing when there is law in place? The design piracy and counterfeiting are possible because of the lack of globally synced intellectual property law available for the industry and shortcomings of the existing laws. Ironically, there is an ongoing debate on whether or not the scope of intellectual property protection available to the fashion industry should be widened. The reason for debating on what should have a black and white answer is because of what people call- piracy paradox. It is believed that faster the cycle of fashion, greater will be the incentive for top tier fashion designers to innovate, only to be copied once again, giving a push to keep the wheel of fast-fashion rolling.[xix] The advocators and believers of this so-called conundrum fail to recognize the domino effect that lack of intellectual property rights sets. This onset a vicious cycle of which a common man becomes not only a part but also a major contributor. Apart from policy reasons there are moral arguments as well for granting larger protections to the creativity of the designers.

 

Prisoner’s dilemma

Application of the theory of prisoner’s dilemma to content creation, access, and copying that goes excessively in the fashion industry portrays a greater need to have intellectual protection[xx]. According to the theory, it will be prudent for an individual to copy the designs and creations belonging to others. However, its sub-optimal outcome will be demotivation for the designers to come up with new designs. Moore advocates on the premise of ‘self-interest and prudence’ and asserts that we should have a system that provides a scope for the designers to be creative and in which they can realize the investments made in the research and development.[xxi] According to him, copying ubiquitously will only lead to oppression of the will of designers to innovate.

 

Aristotelian-Randian approach

In Aristotle’s political-philosophical work The Politics, he states that “when everyone has a distinct interest, men will not complain of one another, and they will make more progress because everyone will be attending to his own business.”[xxii] He believed that property rights create a socially inducive society. Rand on the other hand believed that every man should have a right on the product of his mind. The designs and creativity of the fashion designers are the product of their mind and their property, which deserves protection by granting them legal rights. A legal system that induces greater creativity, provide an environment where society values the product of a human mind and its efforts, is the key to an ideal framework. The greater protection combined with legal sanction will only help break the chain of woes of illicit activities that go behind the smokescreen of fast-fashion and provide a safer environment to the creative minds to come forward with their creativity.

 

Conclusion

Keeping up with the fashion trends is indeed a drill of the 21st century that is followed religiously. However, what is worrisome is the ignorance of what it takes to make the latest trend available at a cheap price. There are the efforts of designers that go uncompensated for, the sustainability of the environment and undervalued life of human beings on the line, behind that dress worth just Rs. 900 in a Forever 21 store that brought a spark in your eyes and you had your heart set on ever since you spotted its look-alike while turning over those glossy pages of the latest issue of Vogue. Ignorance in this case is, therefore, anything but bliss. Stringent and uniform intellectual property law tailored for the fashion industry, educating the public, making brands more responsible and accountable for their actions by bringing them closer to the supply chain, are some of the measures that need to be adopted for detoxing the fashion industry that is though worth billions today, is highly contaminated. The circularity and concatenation of events, whose starting point is a lack of effective intellectual property regime for the fashion industry, needs to be broken and the designers need to be rewarded for their hard work. What’s required is to give serious consideration to Andrew Morgan’s (filmmaker and director of ‘The True Cost’) words, “What if we started by slowing down and not consuming so much stuff, just because it’s there and cheap and available. It’s amazing how that process makes sense financially, it makes sense ethically, it makes sense environmentally.” [xxiii]

 

 

[i] Siegle, Lucy. To Die for: Is Fashion Wearing out the World ? Fourth Estate, 2011.

[ii] “What Is Intellectual Property (IP)?” WIPO, www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/.

[iii] Elrod, Cassandra. “The Domino Effect: How Inadequate Intellectual Property Rights in the Fashion Industry Affect Global Sustainability.” Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, vol. 24, no. 2, 2017, p. 575., doi:10.2979/indjglolegstu.24.2.0575.

 

[iv] “Kanye West Is Fighting with a Fragrance Company Over Their Respective ‘YZY’ Trademarks.” The Fashion Law, 22 July 2020, www.thefashionlaw.com/amid-the-impending-yeezy-gap-tie-up-kanye-west-is-fighting-with-a-fragrance-co-over-their-respective-yzy-trademarks/.

[v] “In New Trademark Filing, Valentino Says Rockstud Pump Is Just as Famous as Louboutin’s Red Sole.” The Fashion Law, 11 Aug. 2020, www.thefashionlaw.com/valentino-says-rockstud-pump-is-just-as-famous-as-louboutins-red-sole/.

[vi] Elrod, Cassandra. “The Domino Effect: How Inadequate Intellectual Property Rights in the Fashion Industry Affect Global Sustainability.” Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, vol. 24, no. 2, 2017, p. 575., doi:10.2979/indjglolegstu.24.2.0575.

[vii] “Virgil Abloh’s Off-White Adds New Design Patents to Its Growing Arsenal of Interesting IP: Paperclip Jewelry.” The Fashion Law, 24 July 2020, www.thefashionlaw.com/virgil-ablohs-off-white-adds-new-design-patents-to-its-growing-arsenal-of-interesting-ip-paperclip-jewelry/.

 

[viii] “Fashion in IPR Mode: Rohit Bal, Anju Modi, Anita Dongre Copyright Designs as Plagiarism Spreads – Business News , Firstpost.” Firstpost, 1 Sept. 2017, www.firstpost.com/business/fashion-in-ipr-mode-rohit-bal-anju-modi-anita-dongre-copyright-designs-as-plagiarism-spreads-3996807.html.

[ix] “Fashion in IPR Mode: Rohit Bal, Anju Modi, Anita Dongre Copyright Designs as Plagiarism Spreads – Business News , Firstpost.” Firstpost, 1 Sept. 2017, www.firstpost.com/business/fashion-in-ipr-mode-rohit-bal-anju-modi-anita-dongre-copyright-designs-as-plagiarism-spreads-3996807.html.

[x] Borkar, Shubham. “Fashion Law In India – Intellectual Property – India.” Welcome to Mondaq, Khurana and Khurana, 19 Dec. 2018, www.mondaq.com/india/copyright/765358/fashion-law-in-india.

[xi] Elrod, Cassandra. “The Domino Effect: How Inadequate Intellectual Property Rights in the Fashion Industry Affect Global Sustainability.” Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, vol. 24, no. 2, 2017, p. 575., doi:10.2979/indjglolegstu.24.2.0575.

 

[xii] Elrod, Cassandra. “The Domino Effect: How Inadequate Intellectual Property Rights in the Fashion Industry Affect Global Sustainability.” Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, vol. 24, no. 2, 2017, p. 575., doi:10.2979/indjglolegstu.24.2.0575.

[xiii] “Fashion Industry Giants Keep Failing to Fix Labor Exploitation.” The Fashion Law, 28 July 2020, www.thefashionlaw.com/why-does-the-fashion-industry-keep-failing-to-fix-labor-exploitation-its-simple/.

[xiv] Nini, Jennifer. “32 Thought-Provoking Quotes About Ethical, Sustainable and Fast Fashion.” Eco Warrior Princess, 13 June 2019, ecowarriorprincess.net/2018/10/brilliant-quotes-about-ethical-sustainable-and-fast-fashion/.

[xv] Giambarrese, Nicole. “The Look for Less: A Survey of Intellectual Property Protections in the Fashion Industry.” Touro Law Review, vol. 26, no. 1, 2010, p.243-286. HeinOnline.

[xvi] Giambarrese, Nicole. “The Look for Less: A Survey of Intellectual Property Protections in the Fashion Industry.” Touro Law Review ,vol. 26, no. 1, 2010, p.243-286. HeinOnline.

[xvii] Giambarrese, Nicole. “The Look for Less: A Survey of Intellectual Property Protections in the Fashion Industry.” Touro Law Review ,vol. 26, no. 1, 2010, p.243-286. HeinOnline.

[xviii] Felice, Katherine B. “Fashioning a Solution for Design Piracy: Considering Intellectual Property Law in the Global Context of Fast Fashion.” Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce, vol. 39, no. 1, Fall 2011, p. 219-[ii]. HeinOnline.

[xix] Raustiala, Kal, and Christopher Sprigman. “The Piracy and Paradox: Innovation and Intellectual Property in Fashion Design.” Virginia Law Review, vol. 92, no. 8, December 2006, p. 1687-1778. HeinOnline.

[xx]   Moore, Adam and Ken Himma, “Intellectual Property”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2018/entries/intellectual-property/>.

[xxi] Moore, Adam and Ken Himma, “Intellectual Property”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2018/entries/intellectual-property/>.

[xxii] Pytlak, Kaitlyn N. “The Devil Wears Fraud-a: An Aristotelian- Randian Approach to Intellectual Property Law in the Fashion Industry.” VIRGINIA SPORTS AND ENTERTAfNMENT LAW JOURNAL, vol. 15:2, no. Spring, 2016, pp. 273–305

[xxiii] Nini, Jennifer. “32 Thought-Provoking Quotes About Ethical, Sustainable and Fast Fashion.” Eco Warrior Princess, 13 June 2019, ecowarriorprincess.net/2018/10/brilliant-quotes-about-ethical-sustainable-and-fast-fashion/.

 

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What is the difference between IPC and CrPC?

What is the difference between IPC[1] and CrPC[2]?

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, in 2018, India registered more than 50 lakh criminal cases. It is vital for the citizens of any country to know the laws and understand the differences between their applications. The maxim: Ignorantia Juris Non-excusat (Ignorance of the law is not an excuse) is embedded in the Indian Penal Code. Ignorance of Law or lack of knowledge does not stand as a defence in the court of law. India, as a country has more than 1200 laws in existence. However, crimes in India are regulated by:

  1. Indian Penal Code, 1862
  2. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973
  3. Indian Evidence Act, 1872

 

The criminal justice system in India is divided into two parts:

  1. First Part: Substantive Criminal Laws

These laws provide for the punishments for the offenders by the extent of the crime committed.

 

  1. Second Part: Procedural Law

This law provides a process for establishing the offenders’ guilt and imposing the punishment prescribed under the substantive criminal laws.

  • The Indian Penal Code, 1862

The Code is the country’s primary criminal Code and was drafted during the British Raj in the year 1850 and was presented to the then Legislative Council in the year 1856. It came into force on 01st January 1862.

The Code covers various offences (divided into multiple categories) and the related punishments for the said crimes. For instance, Crimes against the body (Murder, kidnapping, Culpable homicide, etc.), Crimes against property (theft, dacoity, etc.), Economic crimes (Cheating and Counterfeiting) and various other crimes.

  • Criminal Procedure Code, 1973

The Code is the procedural law which provides a detailed procedure for punishments under the penal laws. It thereby enforces and administers the Indian Penal Code and various other substantive criminal laws. The Parliament enacted the Code on 25th January 1974 to consolidate and amend the law relating to Criminal Procedure.

The Criminal Procedure Code is read along with the Indian Penal Code, 1862 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. There often exists a state of perplexity concerning the difference between the Indian Penal Code, 1862 and the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. Let us now look at the differences between the two legislations.

 

Difference between the Indian Penal Code, 1862 and Criminal Procedure Code, 1973

  1. The Indian Penal Code is a substantive law[3], whereas the Criminal Procedure Code is procedural law.[4]
  2. The Indian Penal Code states various crimes and classifies them into multiple categories. The Code also prescribes the penalties and the punishment for the respective offences. On the other hand, the Criminal Procedure Code defines the procedure that the police take to investigate any violation after having committed any crime mentioned under the penal laws.
  3. The Indian Penal Code aims to provide a primary penal code in the country for giving punishment to the wrongdoers. On the other hand, the Criminal Procedure Code’s main motive is to provide for binding procedures that must be enacted during the administration of a criminal trial.
  4. The Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 provides for the courts and Magistrate’s powers, while the Indian Penal Code does not.

Let us now take an example to understand the difference between the legislations better.

Izzie to kill Mathew enters his house and murders him by hitting him with a hammer and slitting his throat. Section 300 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 defines ‘Murder.’ And Section 302 of the Code prescribes the punishment for the said crime. The section specifies that any person who commits the act will be punished with death or life imprisonment.

How will Izzie be punished for the crime committed?

Murder is a non-bailable and cognizable offence. The Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 thus specifies a procedure to be followed to determine the offender’s guilt, whether or not bail will be granted, evidence to be taken into account, trial, investigation and impose the individual penalty.

CONCLUSION

The three primary legislation governing criminal law in India: Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act continue to play an essential role in the courts of law for the effective execution and justice administration. Due to the rise in crimes and criminals, it becomes vital for all citizens to learn the country’s primary criminal laws’ fundamental differences.

[1]The full form of IPC is Indian Penal Code

[2] The full form of CrPC is Criminal Procedure Code

[3] Substantive laws refer to those laws that define individuals’ rights and duties and the respective punishment and organizations.

[4] Procedural Laws include those rules that govern the process of determining individuals and organizations’ duties and rights.

 

 

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This diploma course goes beyond our popular certificate course on Fashion Law elaborately discusses the concepts of IP protection in the fashion industry, negotiations in the fashion industry, the supply chain issues, crimes in the fashion industry as well as the redressal mechanism.

The diploma also focuses on various Fashion Agreements as well as leading international legal disputes involving famous fashion brands like Christian Louboutin, Tarun Tahiliani, Gigi Hadid, Biba and the like.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Legal Eye Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mrs. Sapna Malik] shall be signing the certificate on behalf of the law firm]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start and complete as per your convenience]
  • Book: Each student shall receive a book written by Mrs. Sapna Malik on ‘Fashion Law’ free of cost, published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com [A world-renowned publisher, headquartered at London, the United Kingdom].
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well [submit a good and well-researched project assignment], shall receive an internship opportunity with Legal Eye Advocates and Legal Consultants.
2. DIPLOMA IN CONTRACT DRAFTING  – CLICK HERE – FREE BOOK INCLUDED

Limited Seats on offer.

Leading Law firm Scriboard launches a carefully crafted Diploma on Contract Drafting in association with Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants. Contract Drafting is a very important and essential skill for any lawyer or law student.

This course will teach students to know the basics of contract drafting, how they are formed and how important contracts are in day to day functions for any business. The course is designed in a very systematic manner by the renowned corporate lawyer and author Mr. Rodney D Ryder and his associates.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr. Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate on behalf of the law firm]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start and complete as per your convenience]
  • Book: Each student shall receive a book written by Mr. Ashwin Madhavan and Mr. Rodney D Ryder on ‘Legal Writing and Contract Drafting’ free of cost, published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com [A world-renowned publisher, headquartered at London, the United Kingdom].
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well [submit a good and well-researched project assignment] shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Rodney D Ryder’s law firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants.
3. DIPLOMA IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: LAW AND MANAGEMENT – CLICK HERE –  TWO FREE BOOKS INCLUDED.

Limited seats are on offer.

Leading law firm SCRIBOARD – Advocates and Legal Consultants in association with Enhelion, has launched a Diploma programme on Intellectual Property: Law and Management for the students and professionals of India. This is a self-paced programme, and the access to the course will be provided to all the registered participants for “Life”.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr. Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate on behalf of the law firm].
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start and complete as per your convenience]
  • Books: Each student shall receive two books written by Mr. Ashwin Madhavan and Mr. Rodney D Ryder on ‘Intellectual Property: Law and Management’ [free of cost], published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com [A world-renowned publisher, headquartered at London, the United Kingdom] AND book titled ‘Intellectual Property and Business – The Power of the Intangible Asset’, published by Sage Publications – www.sagepub.in.
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well [submit a good and well-researched project assignment] shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Rodney D Ryder’s law firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants
4. DIPLOMA IN AIR AND SPACE LAW – CLICK HERE – TWO FREE BOOKS

Limited seats are on offer.

Enhelion is proud of launch an online diploma course on Air and Space Law with Vikrant Pachnanda Chambers. The aviation industry, as well as the space industry across the globe, is booming.

With private airlines expanding operations throughout the globe and with the opening up of the space sector to private companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin and many others, a lot of interest has been generated in the legal sector vis a vis Aviation and Space regulations.

The future looks extremely bright for both these nascent career prospects and more and more lawyers will be needed to help companies and governments deal with the complex legal issues involving both air and space. Keeping this in mind, we have launched this diploma course.

This course has been developed by Mr. Vikrant Pachnanda, an alumnus of Cornell Law School and the Leiden University. He practices aviation and space law in India and has extensive experience.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Vikrant Pachnanda Chambers [Mr. Vikrant Pachnanda shall be signing the certificate]
    Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • Books: Each student shall receive two books written by Mr. Vikrant Pachnanda [free of cost], published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com on Aviation and Space Law respectively
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well [submit a good and well-researched project assignment] shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Vikrant Pachnanda’s Law firm
5. DIPLOMA IN CYBER LAWS – CLICK HERE – FREE BOOK 

Limited seats are on offer.

Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants proudly announces the launch of the one-year Diploma programme in Cyber Laws.

The world of cyberspace is changing and with it, the law that governs the cyberspace is also changing. This Diploma programme will be taught by leading in house experts in the field of Cyber Law who deal with legal issues pertaining to the Internet on a daily basis.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr. Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate on behalf of the law firm]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start and complete as per your convenience]
  • Book: Each student shall receive a book written by Mr. Ashwin Madhavan and Mr. Rodney D Ryder on – “Internet Law and Policy” [free of cost], published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com [A world-renowned publisher, headquartered at London, the United Kingdom]
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well [submit a good and well-researched project assignment] shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Rodney D Ryder’s law firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants
6. DIPLOMA IN MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS – CLICK HERE – FREE BOOK

Limited seats are on offer.

Corp Comm Legal in association with Enhelion has launched an online diploma programme on Mergers & Acquisitions. Mergers and Acquisitions is an area that fascinates young students and professionals.

Corp Comm Legal specialises in Mergers and Acquisitions and has been part of several M&A transactions in the past. M&A’s play an important part in the growth of the corporate sector of any country.

Many business managers/young lawyers and law students are not aware of some of the important nuances of this highly lucrative subject of Corporate Law.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Corp Comm Legal [Mr. Bhumesh Verma shall be signing the certificate on behalf of the law firm]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start and complete as per your convenience]
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well [submit a good and well-researched project assignment] shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Bhumesh Verma’s law firm: Corp Comm Legal
  • Book: Each student shall receive a book written by Bhumesh Verma on – “Mergers and Acquisitions” [free of cost], published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com [A world-renowned publisher, headquartered at London, the United Kingdom]
7. DIPLOMA IN MARITIME LAW – CLICK HERE

Limited seats are on offer.

Enhelion has launched India’s first online diploma in Maritime Law. Those who are interested to join the programme, please go through the content on this page. This programme is dedicated to the Indian and global audience.

With the advent of globalization and also with the growth of the world’s economy, we have witnessed significant growth in trade, both land-based and ocean-based.

It is important to note that a majority of international trade is conducted through the seas and oceans of our planet. Maritime law that governs trade-related aspects on the high seas has gained significant importance in the past few years.

The subject has not been given due importance in India, although India having a vast coastline and having almost all of its trade through the seas and oceans.

Maritime law practice has seen significant growth in the past few years, which has made law universities to take note of this vital practice of law. Unfortunately, not a single law university, be it a national law university or a traditional law university, has launched high-quality diploma programmes on Maritime Law.

Enhelion is the first online education institute to have launched such a unique course.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr. Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate on behalf of the law firm].
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start and complete as per your convenience]
  • Internship Opportunity:  Those students who do well [submit a good and well-researched project assignment] shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Rodney D Ryder’s law firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants.
8. DIPLOMA IN SPORTS LAW – CLICK HERE – FREE BOOK INCLUDED

Limited seats are on offer.

Enhelion in collaboration with the Sports Law division of Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants has launched a unique online diploma course on Sports Law.   It is one of its kind course developed by learned academicians and lawyers.

The diploma covers practical issues of Sports Law and it covers topics that are both domestically and internationally relevant.

Modules covered in this diploma include Governance of Sports, the relationship of sports with business. Special focus is given to Sports regulating authorities including the International Olympic Association, the World Anti Doping Agency, the Indian – Anti Doping Agency and others.

A specific chapter on the IP and Media related issues concerning Sports Law are also included. With the advent of Information Technology, a special section on Data Protection also forms a part of this unique online programme.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr. Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate on behalf of the law firm]
  • Duration: Self Paced – You can start the course as per your convenience and complete the course as per your convenience
  • Access to the course content: For Life [even after the course ends]
  • Book: Each student shall receive a book written by Mr. Ashwin Madhavan and Mr. Rodney D Ryder on – “Sports Law” [free of cost], published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com [A world-renowned publisher, headquartered at London, the United Kingdom]
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well [submit a good and well-researched project assignment] shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Rodney D Ryder’s law firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants
9. DIPLOMA IN TECHNOLOGY LAW AND IP LAW – CLICK HERE – TWO FREE BOOKS INCLUDED

Limited seats are on offer.

Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants proudly announces the launch of the one-year Diploma programme in Technology Law and Intellectual Property.

With the way we are witnessing the penetration of technology in our daily lives, more and more companies are looking towards having an online presence for promoting and selling their valuable products and services.

Many young law students and professionals are not aware of the technology laws, rules, and regulations that govern Intellectual Property.

This online diploma course is a one-stop solution for anyone to get a broad understanding of not only the IP Laws that govern intangible assets but also how Intellectual Property is looked upon in the Internet age and how to protect vital IP assets on the Internet, which include domain names. The world of cyberspace is changing and with it the law that governs the cyberspace is also changing.

This Diploma programme will be taught by leading in house experts in the field of Cyber Law who deal with legal issues pertaining to the Internet on a daily basis. Through the Diploma programme you will also get an insight into the legal issues related to domain names and Cyber Squatting, UDRP principles, INDRP principles and much more.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr. Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate on behalf of the law firm]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start anytime and complete as per your convenience]
  • Access to the course content: For Life [even after the course ends]
  • Books: Each student shall receive two books written by Mr Ashwin Madhavan and Mr Rodney D Ryder on – “Internet Law and Policy” [free of cost] and Intellectual Property: Law and Management”, written by Mr. Ashwin Madhavan and Mr. Rodney D Ryder, published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com [A world-renowned publisher, headquartered at London, the United Kingdom]
  • Allotment of Course:  Two days after you enroll.
  • You can start the course any time and complete the course anytime – as per your convenience
  • Internship Opportunity:  Those students who do well [submit a good and well-researched project assignment] shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Rodney D Ryder’s law firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants
10. DIPLOMA IN CORPORATE LAWS

Limited seats are on offer.

Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants launches the registration process of the Diploma in Corporate Law launched with Enhelion. In an environment where the world’s progress and development are decided by trade, it is no surprise that business knowledge forms a cornerstone for any professional’s path to success.

Right from understanding the basic concepts to knowing what to do in business, the nuances of entrepreneurship, for making a successful business agreement, you as participants of this programme would get it all.

This advanced diploma programme would help the participants build on the knowledge/skill set that would stay with them and help them enhance their existing skill sets in their chosen career path.

Augmenting the same is the irreplaceable ability of the teachers/faculty teaching the course, who have been some of the most successful lawyers in the business world and have worked for many of the TOP fortune 500 companies.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr. Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate on behalf of the law firm]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start anytime and complete as per your convenience]
  • Access to the course content: For Life [even after the course ends]
  • Allotment of Course:  Two days after you enroll
  • You can start the course any time and complete the course anytime – as per your convenience
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well [submit a good and well-researched project assignment] shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Rodney D Ryder’s law firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants
Contact

If you have any questions, please email us at info@enhelion.com.

Note: This is a sponsored post.

 

Categories
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Law Firm Certificate Courses on Contract drafting, Drone, Aviation Law, Trade Law, IPR, Cyber Law, White Collar Crimes, Fashion Law and More: Apply by July 17th

Enhelion is delighted to launch new certificate courses on Public International Law, Energy Laws, International Humanitarian Law and Trade Law certified by Atharva Legal – Click Here for more details

Enhelion is also delighted to announce the next registration round of its popular courses below:

1. Certificate in White Collar Crimes and Financial Frauds

2. Certificate in Transportation Laws

3. Certificate on Civil Procedure Code

4. Certificate on Corporate Governance

5. Certificate in Legal Due Diligence

6. Certificate in Blockchain and the Law

7. Certificate in Intellectual Property Contracts

8. Certificate in Technology Contracts

9. Certificate in Legal Aspects of Business

10. Certificate in Competition Law

11. Certificate in Medical Negligence

12. Certificate in Capital Markets

Join any one online certificate course certified by a leading law firm and get the second certificate course absolutely free. You can select any certificate course of your choice from our website.

We have also launched online certificate courses on  Fashion Law, International Commercial Arbitration, Sports Law launched by Enhelion with leading law firms SU Shah and AssociatesCorp Comm LegalScriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants and Vikrant Pachnanda Chambers [Aviation Lawyer], Legal Eye Advocates and Legal Consultants

Please note that these courses are self-paced – which means that you can start the course anytime and complete the course as per your wish.

The new courses that we have launched along with the older popular courses are:

  1. Blockchain and the Law
  2. Intellectual Property Contracts
  3. Technology Contracts
  4. Mergers and Acquisitions [with Free book by Bloomsbury]
  5. Legal Writing and Contract Drafting [with Free book by Bloomsbury]
  6. Aviation Law [with Free book by Bloomsbury]
  7. Intellectual Property Law and Management [with Free book by Bloomsbury]
  8. Cyber Laws [Internet Law] [with Free book by Bloomsbury]
  9. Sports Law [with Free Book by Bloomsbury]
  10. International Commercial Arbitration
  11. RERA
  12. Fashion Law [with Free book by Bloomsbury]
  13. Competition Law
  14. Space Law
  15. Drone Law

Please find below the details of these certificate courses.

The last date to register is July 17th 2019 [at 2500/2750 per certificate course]

1. Certificate Course in White Collar Crimes and Financial Frauds [Click Here]

The course titled “White Collar Crimes and Financial Frauds” by Enhelion in association with Atharva Legal LLP  addresses the exact nuances any law student /lawyer should be apprised of and equipped with in order to understand the legal parameters involved in issues dealing with financial frauds , economic offences, scams and white collar crimes.

Professionally,  this domain area dominates all sectors of legal practice including offences by the lawyers and law firms themselves. The course content is structured in a manner to simply the salient features and concepts and to equip the learners with the acumen to understand and deal with the subject area efficiently as a legal professional.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Atharva Legal LLP [Mr. Siddharth Nayak shall be signing the certificate]
  • Course Fee: INR 2500 [inclusive of GST]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well, shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Siddharth Nayak’s Law firm – Atharva Legal LLP
2. Certificate Course on Transportation Laws – [Click Here]

Enhelion in association with Jurist and Jurist International Advocates, a leading law firm from Delhi, has launched a unique online certificate course on Transportation Law. In this course, Jurist and Jurist International outline the various aspects of Transportation systems and applicable laws in India.

It will give you a broad understanding of regulations and regulatory authorities that are applicable to transportation systems in India.

This self-paced course covers: Overview of the Transportation system, classification of transportation, regulatory authorities of different transportation modes and last but not the least, the very important Motor Vehicles Act of 1988.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Jurist and Jurist International Advocates [Mr. Jatin Sharma shall be signing the certificate]
  • Course Fee: INR 2500 [inclusive of GST]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well, shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Jatin Sharma’s Law firm – Jurist and Jurist International Advocates
3. Certificate Course on Advanced Contract Drafting and Legal Writing [Click Here] – FREE BOOK [CLICK ON THE JOIN NOW BUTTON]

This is a programme dedicated to the Indian audience. Contract drafting is the most important skill that a lawyer should have in today’s day and age.

Contracts are very vital for any long term business relationship. An excellent written contract always fills an organization with tremendous confidence in dealing with business relationships. 

All corporate professionals, business managers, lawyers, law students, entrepreneurs need to understand the nuances of a legal contract and should also know how to write a good contract.

This three month certificate programme looks at contract drafting in a completely different light. Practicing lawyers whose main job is to draft contracts on a daily basis, would be teaching this programme.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate]
  • Course Fee: INR 2500 [inclusive of GST]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • Book: Each student shall receive a book written by Mr Ashwin Madhavan and Mr Rodney D Ryder on – “Legal Writing and Contract Drafting” [free of cost], published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com [A world renowned publisher, headquartered at London, the United Kingdom]
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well, shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr Rodney D Ryder’s law firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants
4. Certificate in Intellectual Property: Law and Management – [Click Here] FREE BOOK BY BLOOMSBURY [CLICK ON THE JOIN NOW BUTTON]

Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants in association with Enhelion Knowledge Ventures Pvt Ltd, bring to you a unique online certificate course on Intellectual Property and Management.

There are many courses and certificate programmes offered on Intellectual Property, but this is a first of its kind in India. This certificate course aims to provide an introduction to the law and management of Intellectual Property (IP) and innovation for those whose future career may involve the management of IP and innovation.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr. Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate]
  • Course Fee: INR 2500 [inclusive of GST]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • Book: Each student shall receive a book written by Mr. Ashwin Madhavan and Mr. Rodney D Ryder on – “Intellectual Property: Law and Management” [free of cost], published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com [A world renowned publisher, headquartered at London, the United Kingdom]
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well, shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Rodney D Ryder’s law firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants
5. Certificate in Cyber Laws [Click here] FREE BOOK BY BLOOMSBURY [CLICK ON THE JOIN NOW BUTTON]
  • Faculty from Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants including Mr. Rodney D Ryder: He has been involved for almost 20 years in the field of Internet Law and Intellectual Property. He advices some of the world’s largest social networking companies on Internet Law matters. He is one of the few, who has written a book on Internet Law, that was published right after the IT Act came into being. He is an authority on Internet Law in India.
  • Free book on Internet Law [Cyber Law] – published by Bloomsbury
  • Fees: INR 2500
  • Duration: Self Paced course. You can start any time and end anytime
  • Mode: Online through our virtual classroom technology
  • Legal Experience of the faculty: 25 years
  • Law Firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants
  • Certified by: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants and Enhelion Knowledge Ventures Pvt Ltd
  • The top three students will also receive a recommendation letter from Mr. Rodney D Ryder
6. Certificate Course on Mergers and Acquisitions [Click Here] – FREE BOOK BY BLOOMSBURY [CLICK ON THE JOIN NOW BUTTON]

Mergers and Acquisitions are an exciting area of specialisation and many young law students and law graduates dream of becoming M&A lawyers. But what does it take to become a good M&A lawyer? Does it require an understanding and involvement of company law or does it require a robust understanding of many laws? 

The answer is that it requires an understanding of several laws that need to be looked at and pages upon pages of legal documentation that need to be read before the actual merger or the acquisition takes place.

Many law students and young lawyers do not understand the concept of M&A and with this in mind, Corp Comm Legal in association with Enhelion Knowledge Ventures, has decided to launch a long duration course Mergers and Acquisitions.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Corp Comm Legal [Mr Bhumesh Verma shall be signing the certificate]
  • Course Fee: INR 2500 [inclusive of GST] 
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well, shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr Bhumesh Verma’s Law firm: Corp Comm Legal]
7. Certificate Course on Aviation Law [Click Here] – FREE Book by Bloomsbury [CLICK ON THE JOIN NOW BUTTON]

Aviation Law is one of the most lucrative areas of law in the 21st century. With the opening up of the Indian skies to many airlines, India requires a large number of lawyers who have knowledge and understanding of this exciting law. This course has been developed by Mr Vikrant Pachnanda, an alumnus of Cornell Law School and the Leiden University. 

He practices aviation law in India and has an extensive experience. The course deals with Introduction to Air Law. It also looks at the most important conventions vis a vis Aviation Law in the world. We have also focussed on the domestic aviation law and the new Anti Hijacking Act as well. 

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Vikrant Pachnanda Chambers [Mr Vikrant Pachnanda shall be signing the certificate]
  • Course Fee: INR 2750 [inclusive of GST] 
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well, shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr Vikrant Pachnanda’s Law firm.
8. Certificate in Sports Law – [Click Here] FREE BOOK BY BLOOMSBURY [CLICK ON THE JOIN NOW BUTTON]

Enhelion in association with Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants, bring to you a unique certificate course on Sports Law. This short course on Sports Law, will cover domestic laws that deal with Sports as well as international legislation.

Sports law as a career option has a tremendous future and students of law and management, will definitely find the contents of this course very useful.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate]
  • Course Fee: INR 2500 [inclusive of GST]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • Fees: INR 2500
  • Mode: Online through our virtual classroom technology
  • Legal Experience of the faculty: 25 years
  • The top three students will also receive a recommendation letter from Mr Rodney D Ryder
9. Certificate Course on RERA [Click Here] [CLICK ON THE JOIN NOW BUTTON]

Enhelion Knowledge Ventures Pvt Ltd has launched a certificate programme in Real Estate Regulatory Act along with the Real Estate Practice of Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants.

This course will provide you with the nitty gritty of this new legislation on Real Estate. In a nutshell, this new legislation has plugged in many loopholes in the real estate sector in India.

This course has been meticulously designed by one of India’s leading practicing corporate commercial lawyers through his law firm Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate]
  • Course Fee: INR 2500 [inclusive of GST] 
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well, shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr Rodney D Ryder’s law firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants
10. Certificate Course on International Commercial Arbitration – [Click on the Join Now Button]

SU Shah and Associates, a leading law firm specialising in International Commercial Arbitration under its Managing Partner – Mr Sameer Shah, a renowned Arbitrator, has launched a self paced online certificate course on International Commercial Arbitration. Arbitration has gained popularity amongst corporate houses as an economical way of resolving disputes.

Mr Shah who has almost two and a half decades of experience in Arbitration, has carefully developed this online course for the benefit of the young lawyers, business managers and young law students.

The course content deals with Introduction to Arbitration and has separate modules on Arbitral Awards, Emerging issues in International Commercial Arbitration and Recent trends.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: SU SHAH And Associates [Mr. Sameer Shah, Partner SU Shah and Associates shall be signing the certificate on behalf of SU Shah and Associates]
  • Course Fee: INR 2500 [inclusive of GST] 
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well, shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Sameer Shah’s law firm: SU Shah and Associates
11. Certificate Course in Fashion Law [Click on the Join Now Button]

Fashion law, as can otherwise be referred to as ‘apparel law’, is indeed an emerging arena of legal specialty, encompassing the legal issues with regard to every aspect of a garment.

Right from the conception of the idea to design a particular garment, to getting it stitched into clothing materials, styling and publishing it and obtaining brand protection on it, legal assistance is needful at every step in order to ensure smooth flow of the work and avoid undesirable complications for the future.

This course elaborately discusses the concepts of IP protection in the fashion industry, negotiations in the fashion industry, the supply chain issues, crimes in the fashion industry as well as the redressal mechanism for the same.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Legal Eyes Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mrs. Sapna Malik shall be signing the certificate on behalf of Legal Eye Advocates and Legal Consultants]
  • Course Fee: INR 2750 [inclusive of GST] 
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well, shall receive an internship opportunity with Mrs. Sapna Malik’s law firm: Legal Eye Advocates and Legal Consultants
12. Certificate in Competition Law – [Click on the Join Now Button]

Dhuparr and Associates in association with Enhelion have launched a unique certificate course on Competition Law.

Competition can be defined as a process of economic rivalry between market players to attract customers. Free and fair competition is one of the most important pillars of an efficient business environment. Since the past few decades, the Indian economy has been one of the best performers and is on a high growth trajectory.

In the interest of consumers as well as the economy as a whole, it becomes imperative to promote an environment that facilitates fair competition outcomes in the market, restrains anti-competitive behavior and discourages market players from adopting unfair trade practices. This is where the Competition law comes into the picture.

This course elaborately discusses the evolution of the Competition law in India, the prohibition of anti-competitive agreements under the Competition Act, 2002 and the authorities established under the Act. It also discusses the concepts of abuse of dominant position as well as inquiry and investigation.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Dhuparr and Associates [Ms. Khyati Dhuparr shall be signing the certificate on behalf of Dhuparr and Associates]
  • Course Fee: INR 2500 [inclusive of GST] 
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well, shall receive an internship opportunity with Ms Khyati Dhuparr’s law firm: Dhuparr and Associates

OTHER CERTIFICATE COURSES ON OFFER [Join One Get One Free]

SPACE LAW | FOOD AND BEVERAGES LAW | INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION LAW | NEW MEDIA LAWSDRAFTING TECHNIQUES IN COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS | ART LAW | SOCIAL MEDIA LAW | GST LAW | IP and the INTERNETBANKING AND INVESTMENT LAWS | INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY LAWS | BANKING AND INSURANCE LAWS |  FDI LAWS | MARITIME LAWS | PREVENTING SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT THE WORKPLACE | RTI LAW | INFORMATION SECURITY DATA PRIVACY LAWBLOCKCHAIN AND THE LAW | INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CONTRACTSTECHNOLOGY CONTRACTS| DRONE LAW

OUR DIPLOMA COURSES ON OFFER [JOIN ONE GET TWO CERTIFICATE COURSES FREE]

AIR AND SPACE LAW | INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: LAW AND MANAGEMENT  | CYBER LAWS | CORPORATE LAWS | MARITIME LAW | SPORTS LAW | MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS | TECHNOLOGY LAW AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY | CONTRACT DRAFTING | FASHION LAW

If you have any questions then please email us at info@enhelion.com

Contact

If you have any questions, please email us at info@enhelion.com or visit our website.