Contemporary Issues in International Law

The Banaras Hindu University established by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, the great son of India occupies a prominent place in the history of Indian freedom struggle.

I thank you all for giving me this opportunity to be among you in this international Conference on topics of great contemporary relevance.

This International Conference has been organized to discuss the issues relating to international environmental, trade, and information technology law.

Twenty years down the line since the Earth Summit held in 1992, international community met again at Rio de Janeiro and reviewed the progress of time-bound commitments made under the United Nations Agenda for the 21st century (Agenda 21).

Between 5 and 14 June 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) or first Earth Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Environment is a common concern of all human being in the world. The formal development of environmental law is the result of several international initiatives. It goes back to 1980s when first universal step was taken by the international community because of being worried about environment.

Climate change due to global warming is a challenge that is yet unmet. Despite the long held understanding that global warming is more due to human activities than the natural causes and hence the solution to the problem also lies in a great part in rectifying our plans and actions, nothing remarkable has happened so far and the global warmingGlobal warming is continuing unabated.

Let us first define environmental law (EL). As part of international law, EL is a creative discipline for progress of humankind. It is not concerned merely with prohibitions and permissions. EL consists of human expectations that may vary as per ecological needs. Yet, EL is concerned with the overall unity in the diversity of global environment, because the planet earth is one large ecological inter-dependent unit.

India is an abode of rich environmental resources that not only offers variant climatic conditions, sacred places of worship, habitat for millions of tribes but also caters to the fast growing development.

ForNational water policy the present work, the four cardinal principles suggested by the International Conference on Water and Environment 1992 at Dublin may be worth quoting.

In December, 2012 came a surprising report that it is very likely that the Arctic Ocean may become ice free in the summer months, if the global temperature continues to rise by more than 2 °C over the current level.

We recognize that poverty eradication, changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production and protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development are the overarching objectives.

Starting from 1980s, the current wave of ‘globalization’ began to engulf the world economy first as a result of liberalization of trade in the developing countries under the leadership of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in terms of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) and then because of the necessary impetus being provided by tariff reduction negotiations under several rounds of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

Until 1 year from the date of enforcement of World Trade OrganizationWorld Trade Organization (WTO), the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), which intends to provide level-playing field for the national intellectual property rights (IPR) domains, did not apply to any one of its members, including the developed countries.

Tertiary education provided by private higher learning institutions (PHEIs) is one of the sectors that have been included in trade liberalization negotiations.

International Trade Law has been an aggregate of legal rules of ‘international legislation’ and usages among merchants, based on bilateral relations.

The concept of copyright and its emergence are trite . (See Uvieghara Egerton E., Essays on Copyright Law and Administration in Nigeria (Y- Books, Nig. Ltd, 1992); David Bainbridge, Intellectual Property (Pitman Publishing, 4th ed., 1992); Torremans Paul & Jon Holyoak, Intellectual Property Law (Butterworths, London, 1996); Jeremy J. Phillips, Robyn Durie, and Ian Karet, Whales on Copyright (London Sweet & Maxwell, 5th ed., 1997); Ilechukwu Magnus Olueze, Nigerian Copyright Law (Magnapress Ltd., 1998); J.O. Asein, The Nigerian Copyright Act with Introduction and Notes (Ibadan Sam Bookman Publishers, 1998); J.O. Asein & E.S. Nwauche (eds.), A Decade of Copyright Law in Nigeria (Nigerian Copyright Commission, 2002); Shyllon Folarin, Intellectual Property Law in Nigeria, (The Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property, Competition and Tax Law, Munich, Vol. 21, 2003); Cornish, William, and Llewelyn, Intellectual Property: Patents, Copyright, Trade Marks and Allied Rights, (Thomas, Sweet & Maxwell, 5th Ed., 2003); F.O. Babafemi, Intellectual Property: The Law & Practice of Copyright, Trade Marks, Patent & Industrial Designs in Nigeria, (Justinian Books Limited, 1st ed., 2006).) Thus, it suffices to say that copyright law is a branch of the law that deals with rights of intellectual creators (There are also Laws in respect of Patents and Designs—CAP P2, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004; Trade Marks—CAP T13, LFN 2004; etc., all in respect of intellectual creations.); which deals with particular forms of creativity pertaining mostly, but not limited, to matters of mass communication.

Intellectual property (IP) has become more important in modern times both nationally and internationally. The extensive advertising and persuasive salesmanship of modern business has made increasingly valuable such forms of property as copyrights, patents and property in designs.

The expansive legal terrain of copyrights is mired in controversies and complexities on the recognition and enforcement of rights granted therein. The ambit of this category of Intellectual Property has always been open ended.

Man as a creature has the capacity to invent new things and create new idea needs to get the fruits of his labour. Such protection should be ensured by some legal provisions.

The mainInformation and communication aim of copyright is dissemination of knowledge or information to the public. (Even the first copyright legislation of the world, i.e. Statute of Anne had been titled as ‘An act for the Encouragement of Learning, by vesting the copies of printed books in the Authors or purchasers of such copies, during the time therein mentioned’. The Act was enacted in order to encourage the people to gain knowledge by way of regulating printing industry.) In earlier days, copyright was only available to the literary works. Therefore, the only way to communicate the work to the public was by issuing copies of work to public. When the dramatic works and musical works were included for the copyright protection, new mode of dissemination of works including public performance was envisaged. It is the nature of these new subject matters which caused the changes to happen. For enjoying these works, people had to come together where the works were intended to be performed. Communication by way of public performance was widely known as ‘Communication for the public’ or ‘Communication in the Public’. The concept of communication to public was replaced by technological advancements, such as, music sheets and radio broadcast. These technological developments enabled the public to enjoy the copyrighted works without joining or assembling at a place.

Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR)Alternate dispute resolution and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) form the subject matter of the present chapterIntellectual property disputes. In contemporary international trade and commerce an individual, a private firm or an incorporated firm, national or multinational, extensively participates in transnational commercial activities.(See Gus van Harten, “The Public-Private Distinction in the International Arbitration of Individual Claims against the State”, 56(2) International and Comparative Corporate Law Quarterly, 2007, pp. 371–394; James R. Markusen, “Integrating Multinational Firms into International Economics”, NBER Reporter, Winter 2001/2002.) Such a transnational commercial transaction may be either with another sovereign State, its agencies or instrument or a national, natural or juristic person of another state. During the past few decades, international trade and commerce has resulted in internationalization of the market which induces greater potentialities for generating international trade disputes.(K.I. Vibhute, “Settlement of International Trade Disputes Through Litigation and Arbitration: A Comparative Evaluation”, Arbitration, 1998 at 125.)

Most ofParallel trade the countries have implemented common basic standards of intellectual property (IP) protection based on the widely adopted Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs Agreement) of the World Trade OrganizationWorld Trade Organization (WTO).

Property has always fascinated human beings. The greater property, a man possessed, the mightier he is in the eyes of the society. All the property is either corporeal or incorporeal. Corporeal property is the right of ownership in the material things; incorporeal property is any other property in rem. [P.J. Fitzgerald, Salmond on Jurisprudence (Universal Law Publishing House, New Delhi, 2004) at 413.]

‘Information asset’Information asset has not been perceived only as a jargon of the information age we are living today. Rather, it has increasingly become the reality, where people and society attach more values on business information and information system. The contemporary ‘information age’ is, therefore, not merely about a change of gadgets, but more so about a change of a whole environment. It is an arena where information becomes the main asset of business and the most valuable property of its owner.

RuleData protectionofPolicy factorlawPublic trust, smart, efficient, and effective corruption free administration, decentralization, transparent financial system, and effective management of public services and resources are basic norms for good governance.

Nepal needs to base its national information technology strategy on a much greater consideration of local cultural and social issues. The government has a major role to play if the country wants to stand in the information arena, although information technology covers a wide range of technologies in general. Information technology as a tool of social and economic development is a significant issue for developing countries like Nepal.

ScienceCybercrime, technology, and law share unique relationship. Technological advancement has tendency to alter human relations and social ethos, posing new challenges to the existing laws in the context of society. As the function of law is to regulate social conflicts and deliver justice, law must be restructured to meet the exigencies and suit itself to cater to the new issues that have science and technological derivatives.

Information technology today touches every aspect of life, irrespective of location on the globe.

Globalization argues for free market economy. It has increased, on the one hand, interdependence between different people and different regions of the world and technology has, on the other hand, reduced the geographical, social and cultural distance. Globalization is viewed as a product of political factor expanding and strengthening capitalism. Though the globalization has given many people access to knowledge but it has not made the life better. Globalization could not bring promised economic benefit; instead of bringing unprecedented prosperity it brought unprecedented poverty.

Taxes are of two kinds: Direct Taxes and Indirect Taxes. In the area of e-commerce, problems arise in Taxation of Income in the field of Direct Taxes and imposition of Customs Duty and Sales Taxes in the area of Indirect Taxes. In India, Income Tax and Customs Duty are imposed by the Central legislature whereas Sales Tax on sales that take place inside the state is levied by respective State legislatures. Central Sales tax is imposed by the Central legislature in the cases of sales taking place in the course of inter-state trade or commerce but the tax is collected and appropriated by the State from where the goods are sold. Where the sale takes place in the course of import into India, or export out of India, no tax is levied under the Central Sales Tax Act or under the Sales Tax laws of the States.

The purpose of this chapter is first to examine and to comment on the basic issues related to domain names; secondly to look at the trends in the case law in the US and to highlight a number of the issues that flow from them; thirdly to explain the policies of the regulatory bodies and deficiencies regarding the same; fourthly to discuss the policy structure of the Indian counterpart and lastly the need for legislation for the domain name is emphasised.

TheCyber obscenity dawn of the third millennium imbibing the sprit of techno-scientific culture witnesses an exponential acceleration of information revolution after the agricultural and industrial revolutions.

How does one assess research excellence in legal education? Is it the extent to which ideas attract external funding, that is, the approval and sanction of moneyed interests, be they governmental or non-governmental? Is it through the recognition of one’s peers? If so, which peers “matter”? Is it the sheer number of citations in peer-reviewed publications, reports of advocacy groups, and court judgments, domestic and international? Is it a combination of these? Research can influence the law and social change in ugly and unpleasant ways, and one can certainly imagine that establishment forces would have a vested interest in demonizing threats to their authority.

Education is a means by which knowledge is transmitted and skills developed. Beneath what appears to be a relatively simple statement exist a complex matrix of pedagogic and cultural practices that inform, shape and give effect to what information is chosen and how it is understood, transmitted and received. University education in its widest sense is a whole-person process, where the focus is not so much in the teaching and learning of specific skills or training as it is on the cultivation of personal autonomy, intellectual independence and the development of life-long critical perspectives.

Teachers, whether of law or other subjects, are saddled with the responsibility of systematic presentation of facts, ideas, skills and techniques to students. In ancient times, this responsibility was considered sacred; and to the teacher, it was a rare privilege.

The evolution of the legal profession in the context of globalization presents a very exciting research frontier and opens newer opportunities for legal education and research institutions.

In the era of globalization, legal education requires highly qualified, trained and well-equipped human resource as a lawyers, judges and academicians having considerable knowledge of law with the sense of humanity. Legal education is an instrument which trains law professionals to contribute to the all-round development of the society.

Law is that flexible instrument of social order, which influences every human activity in a civilized society.

Law has unarguably been one of the most fundamental as well as distinguished feature of any civilized society since the inception of the civilization itself.

Education is one of the most critical factors responsible for the development of human being. It emancipates the human beings and also liberates him from ignorance. It plays a vital role in shaping and molding the future of the country. The need of the legal education cannot be over emphasized; it is directly responsible for the effective realization of individual’s right thus can affect the quality of civil life of the citizens in a State.

Education plays an important role in the process of social change. It is a very powerful medium of bringing changes in the society. The law influences almost every human activity in a civilized society. Sometimes it appears that law follows social change and sometimes it leads.

I askedDonut style my students to draw a tree, they did and with ease. Then, I asked my students to draw a right or a duty or law.

The modern legal education which is prevalent and imparted in the contemporary India has been transplanted by the Britishers.