Daily News Mail - News of 10/02/2015

Today Civil Services Junction is celebrating the birthday of its CEO - Santosh Kumar Singh. Happy Birthday sir......with love and regards(Civil Services Junction Team).

India's Ricky Rej grabs Grammy Award

• Ricky Rej's album "Winds Of Samsara" bagged the 'Best New Age Album' trophy at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.
• Another Indian Neela Vaswani has won the Grammy Award 2015 in the Best Children's Album category for "I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up For Education And Changed The World (Malala Yousafzai)".

CSO forecasts the growth of 7.4% in 2014-15

• The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said that India is set to grow 7.4 % and cross the $2.1-trillion mark this year against 6.9 % in 2013-14.
• According to the estimates released, India grew 7.5 % in the October-December quarter overtaking China’s 7.3 % growth in the same quarter, to become the fastest growing major economy in the world.
• Capital formation, an indicator for the investment growth in the economy, dropped to 29.8 % during April-December 2014 from 30.7 % in April-December 2013.
• The manufacturing sector grew 10.1 % in the October-December quarter, against 8.7 % in the previous quarter.

Fast-tracking resolution of commercial disputes

• The Law Commission of India (LCI) in its recent 253rd Report has recommended recommended the establishment of a commercial division in the High Courts to ensure speedy disposal of high-value commercial suits. This reform can support the economic growth of the country from a legal perspective These are much-needed reforms in a growing economy where commercial disputes are often complex and of high value.
•  It has proposed a bill, titled The Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts and Commercial Courts Bill, 2015, and substantive procedural changes in the form of amendments to the Civil Procedure Code, 1908. 
• The bill will define ‘commercial disputes’ so as to include ordinary transactions of merchants, bankers, financiers, joint ventures, partnerships, insurance companies and so on. These courts will have jurisdiction to hear only those disputes valued at Rs.1 crore or more.
• The LCI’s recommendations are undoubtedly timely and need to be taken up without undue delay.

History Of Law Commission of India :

Law Reform has been a continuing process particularly during the last 300 years or more in Indian history. In the ancient period, when religious and customary law occupied the field, reform process had been ad hoc and not institutionalised through duly constituted law reform agencies. However, since the third decade of the nineteenth century, Law Commissions were constituted by the Government from time to time and were empowered to recommend legislative reforms with a view to clarify, consolidate and codify particular branches of law where the Government felt the necessity for it. The first such Commission was established in 1834 under the Charter Act of 1833 under the Chairmanship of Lord Macaulay which recommended codification of the Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code and a few other matters. Thereafter, the second, third and fourth Law Commissions were constituted in 1853, 1861 and 1879 respectively which, during a span of fifty years contributed a great deal to enrich the Indian Statute Book with a large variety of legislations on the pattern of the then prevailing English Laws adapted to Indian conditions. The Indian Code of Civil Procedure, the Indian Contract Act, the Indian Evidence Act, the Transfer of Property Act. etc. are products of the labour of the first four Law Commissions.

POST-INDEPENDENCE DEVELOPMENTS :

After independence, the Constitution of India with its Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy gave a new direction to law reform geared to the needs of a democratic legal order in a plural society. Though the Constitution stipulated the continuation of pre-Constitution Laws (Article 372) till they are amended or repealed, there had been demands in Parliament and outside for establishing a Central Law Commission to recommend revision and updating of the inherited laws to serve the changing needs of the country. The Government of India reacted favourably and established the First Law Commission of Independent India in 1955 with the then Attorney-General of India, Mr. M. C. Setalvad, as its Chairman. 

Twentieth Law Commission :

Chairman Mr. Justice D. K. Jain, (25.01.2013 - 05.10.2013)

Chairman Mr. Justice A. P. Shah, w. e. f. 21.11.2013

The Twentieth Law Commission was constituted through a Government Order with effect from 1st September, 2012. It has a three-year term, ending on 31st August, 2015.