Updates till 27.01.08

It has been a long time since the last updates came (but that doesn't mean we missed any) and so the title of the post has been rechristened from updates for last week. But then the essence remains the same.

1. Relating to the last week's tardy trip in Sensex, our Law-and-Other-things blog brings a nice post on the role of regulation and relating it back to the turmoil in the market. While putting across the reasons (not just legal ones though) for the dip, it goes on to discuss the ongoing debate on regulation and analyzes the prospects and pitfalls of the proposal in the light of various issues facing the tiding up of the stock markets. A nice read in all. [Click here for the full post]

2. Then this piece from Times of India editorial has been quiet flashy for me to pick it up. Speaking on the culmination of the Republic Day, Swaminathan Aiyar looks back to find that the strengthing pillars of Indian democracy have been the non-democratic institutions (like the Supreme Court, Election Commission, etc.) of the country. In retrospect the article examines the role played (and that too an independent one) by the judiciary (for illustration) in ensuring that the democratic circle goes a full circle. [Click here for the full post] I have my own views on the theme but then this is not the place to put them; will post elsewhere. But, there are interesting comments on the article on other blogs and I liked this one really [theSocialBlog].

3. This nice video posted on The Conglomerate seeks to explain the sub-prime crisis in simplest of terms. A must watch. [click here for the video]

4. And this is good news for all law-schoolites and those aspiring to take law as a career. Taking cue from other professions, joining law associates are now increasingly being offered higher salaries and perquisites by the law firms. As global legal markets find India a leading contributor to their revenues, firms in India have gathered pace and are wooing talent from law schools to match up with the demands which the sector is offering. [To read this full post from LiveMint, click here]

5. Good news coming from international quarters, which India rising up in its commitment to the enforcement of Intellectual Property laws. As SpiceIP reports, India has got the status of 'International Search Authority' which implies that now Indian companies will be able to apply for their patent to be recognized internationally by just filing in India. A considerable development in the light of the Patent-Cooperation Treaty. [click here for the full post on SpiceIP]

6. And then our TaxProfBlog comes up with an interesting compilation of views, research and comments on the role played by 'rebates' in a tax system. Gathering up comments from various interest groups, it comes out to be a nice starting point for any budding researchers to start with their research on this area. [click here for the full compilation]

7. Another interesting compilation comes from LawLibrarianBlog with post on "Should Law Professors require Student Blog Participation?". A very nice topic by itself and a worth look at. The same blog also notifies about a Law Professor for Moritz Collete of Law who has attempted to teach him class through blog. Teaching this paper on Death Penalty, he has hosted a blog for posting all the power-point slides (meant to be illustrated in class) and also as a platform for discussion of the students as well other interested participants. A nice initiative but makes me wonder how he would have convinced the college administration to allow the same. [click here for the blog]

8. This post on digitalizing legal scholarship touches my heart really. I can very well remember the time spent on removing the dirts on all AIRs with journal sections, SCC, Indian Bar Reviews, JILI and all other law journals for research on anything and everything for the matter was not really available for search online. All these journals are published in a manner which are known only to the publishers and almost no online information (most journals do not even have a web-page, forget expecting a table of contents version) about the publications. This post on digitization (though the idea has only half heartedly been pursued) is a worthwhile indication to those calling for legal reforms to look into this direction as well. [click here for the post]

9. For all Indians having a cue on the Harbhajan-Symonds affair in Sydney, this is a must read. Though the technical analysis of the same I expect only from law students, but then this one page document containing the full decision of the statement given by Mr. Mike Proctor, the Match Referee for the Sydney India-Australia Cricket Test Match (the second one in the series) is a worthwhile read. [click here for the full statement]

10. Again post from LawAndOtherThingsBlog (they really cover good ones), the issue at stake is the Supreme Court's decision on co-habitation amounting to marriage. Dealing with the legitimacy of a child born out of a non-married cohabiting couple, the Court's ruling [read here for more] has been critically examined in the light of the existing personal laws in the country. In all a nice comment. [click here for the full post]

11. An important ruling on Doctor-Patient relationship, this newspiece covers the recent decision given by the Supreme Court entailing the responsibility of the doctor to seek content of the patient before any treatment and also to disclose necessary and important information relating thereto. [click here for the full newsitem]

12. As a sequel to the sub-prime mortgage crisis faced by the financial institutions in the contemporary scenario, this interesting piece of thought examines the positioning of the law firms in this crisis. [click here for the full analysis]

13. Then this interesting news-piece of thought makes me feel; better late than never, for the Bar Council of India has proposed raising the norms of legal education in India and also making its implementation stringent, The Hindu reports. [click here for full report]

Then one of our authors, Deva, has become an active contributor to India-Mutiny and has been writing really well on issues facing the country. Also, Raghav's another article posted on SSRN has been recommended by a fellow blogger. His article on Compulsive contracts has been picked up by LegalTheoryBlog. [click here for the full post]

Also, the blog has been listed on IZEA Ranks.