In this article, Antony Moses discusses the Development Of Common Law In England From 1066 to the 19th Century.

Development Of Common Law In England

Common Law is the legal system, based upon the judicial decisions and embodied in reports of decided cases, that has been administered by the common-law courts of England since the Middle Ages and it has evolved into the legal system that we find in many of the Commonwealth countries and the United States. The common law provides a common set of rules that are used to solve problems. Being mainly based on a history of judges’ decisions rather than relying on statutes and codes[ii], it stands in perfect contrast to the legal system derived from civil law, now widespread in Continental Europe and elsewhere.

Though the United Kingdom, from the standpoint of international law, is a unitary state, it comprises of three other legal systems followed in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland with the latter two also being influenced by the common law system in England(Wales started following the system from 1536).[iii] For the sake of simplicity and the other two derivative systems being negligently insignificant to the topic of this paper, apart from a historical standpoint, this paper shall solely concentrate on the development of the common law system in England.

The common law system in England began to develop after the Norman Conquest in 1066. Prior to the invasion, the island had been following the law of the Anglo-Saxons, who had their presence in the island since in the 5^th Century AD. The Anglo-Saxon law, especially after the accession of Alfred the Great in 871 AD, consisted of a developed body of rules resembling those being used by the Germanic peoples of northern Europe.

By the Anglo-Saxon law, local customs governed most matters while the church played a large part in government. Crimes, which were often based upon blood feud, were treated as wrongs for which compensation was made to the victim. The Anglo-Saxon law was relatively free of the Roman influence found in continental laws and its influence was only exerted indirectly and primarily through the church and only with the Norman Conquest did the Roman law make its influence on the development of the laws of England. And thus with the Norman conquest began with the development of the common law system

EFFECTS OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST

The Norman conquest of 1066 is one of the turning points in the legal history of the English common law. William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy successfully invaded and killed the then King of England, Harold II, and therefore, William became the King of England by the right of conquest.

The Norman Conquest led to immense changes in the political, economic, social and legal scenario of the country. The invasion brought to the island a class of several capable administrators in the service of the King, many of whom has joined the conquest with this reward in mind and each of these feudal vassals were allotted land. And thus, with these feudal vassals owing allegiance to one lord, government was centralized under King William’s rule. The English Kings went on establish a number of centralized institutions. One among the important centralized institutions was the King’s Court or the Regis Curia. A bureaucracy, consisting majorly of Normans, was built up and the practice of maintaining records begun

The Normans had a developed customary law in Normandy. They had no professional lawyers or judges; instead, literate clergymen acted as administrators. Some of the clergy were familiar with Roman law and the Canon Law of the Christian Church, which was developed in the universities of the 12^th century and therefore, Canon Law was applied in the English church courts.[iv] Roman law, which had already been preserved in the Canon Law by way of cultural influences, thus, made its influence on the development of the English Common law system.

Crimes, before the advent of the Normans, were based upon blood feud and the extraction of vengeance by the offendee over the offender and the culpable state of mind of the offender was not taken into consideration. The theology of the Canon law was based on the foundation that offences are committed with ‘moral guilt’ and thus, with its widespread administration in the legal system, these crimes were regarded as public crimes rather than as personal matters and the perpetrators were punished by death and forfeiture of property.

Though the Norman Conquest produced change in various scenarios, it did not bring an immediate end to the Anglo- Saxon law. Some elements of the Anglo- Saxon system such as juries, ordeals and the practice of outlawry survived. The revived Roman law was less influential in England than elsewhere, despite the Norman dominance in government. This was because the Anglo-Norman system had attained sophistication quite early. Thus, Norman custom was not simply transplanted to England but rather a new body of rules, based on local conditions, started emerging.[v]

CHANGE IN LAND LAWS IN ENGLAND

In the early years, the English economy mainly depended on agriculture. Thus, Land was the most important form of wealth. Political power was largely based on landownership. The feudal system was followed and the King was the lord of the land. Under the King came the aristocratic tenants in chief or intermediate tenants or mesne and under them came the tenant “in demesne” who actually occupied the property.

Succession to tenancies was regulated by a system of different “estates” or right in land, which determined the duration of the tenant’s interest. Mostly three types of tenancies existed ie. “fee simple” tenancies, “ fee tail” tenancies and Life estates. Land held in “fee simple” meant that any heir could inherit, such as the land of one’s uncle can be inherited by him whereas land held in “fee tail” could pass only to direct descendants. Life estates were tenancies that lasted only for one person’s lifetime. Title to land was transferred by a formal ritual rather than by deed; this provided publicity for such transactions.[vi]

Most of the rules governing the terms by which land was held were developed in local lord’s courts, which were held to manage the estates of the lord’s immediate tenants. Improved remedies emerged in the King’s Court during the late 12^th century led to the elaboration and standardization of these rules which marked the effective origin of the common law

This change picked up pace in the 13^th century and statutes were passed to this end to regulate matters of detail. For example, during the 13^th century, the life tenant was forbidden to use the property in such a way as to damage it or to cause it to deteriorate unless the grant specifically allowed it. A significant proportion of disputed in the common-law courts were related to the occupation of land and thus, the land law was the earliest area of law to elaborate a detailed set of substantive rules, eventually summarized in the first “textbook” of English law, Littleton’s Tenures, written by Sir Thomas Littleton and originally published in 1481.

ESTABLISHMENT OF A CENTRALIZED JUDICIARY

The consistent development of the common law was promoted by the early dominant position acquired by the royal courts. Whereas the early Saxon Witenagemot, or king’s council, dealt only with affairs of the state, the new Norman Court of Curia Regis assumes wide judicial powers as well. The Normans, upon bringing in a centralized administration system over the land, brought in several centralized institutions. One among the important centralized institutions was the Curia Regis or the King’s Court. The council of Curia Regis existed in two forms.

William insisted that he took England lawfully rather than by conquest[vii] and thus, the basis for the law remained the laws of Edward the Confessor. The powers of the sheriffs were retained as well as those of the communal courts ( Hundred Courts and Shire Courts). The curia regis attempted to maintain continuity with its predecessor as the Norman Kings wanted to be seen as the lawful successors of Edward the Confessor.[viii]

The first was the great curia regis or Magnum Concillum, composed of the tenants-in-chief, the great officers of the king’s court, and those ecclesiastics who held lands of the king. When not in session it was replaced by a smaller council which itself was in continuous session called the lesser or small curia regis made up of the king’s officers of state and those magnates who were at court. The lesser curia regis was in essence the king’s royal court and it followed the king in all his travels. The king, when travelling throughout his realm and as an integral part of the court, often heard suitors in person.[ix]

But, William himself did not make major changes to the actual law itself. Rather, Henry I and particularly Henry II were the main developers of common law. The very first judges, back in the 12th century, were court officials who had particular experience in advising the King on the settlement of disputes. From that group evolved the justices in eyre, who possessed a mixed administrative and judicial jurisdiction. These judges in ‘Eyre’, created by Henry II, were travelling judges going around investigating places at regular intervals. They would examine sheriff’s accounts, coroner’s activities, payment of taxes etc, as well as judicial work. Residents dreaded the Eyres, and even hid from them.[x] After the number of complaints, in 1178, Henry II chose five members of his personal household- two clergy and three lay-“to hear all the complaints of the realm and to do right”[xi] and made them stay at Westminster to hear complaints. Thus, the royal justice system was given consistency by the fact that sae judges acted as judges who went on Eyre. Therefore a consistent set of principles and procedures such as Common Law was able to develop.[xii]

Meanwhile, the curiae soon became so loaded down with judicial work that the work gradually came to be delegated to special group of judges, later known as the Court of King’s Bench. These judges went to provincial towns “on circuit” and took the law of Westminster  (the location of the king’s court) everywhere with them, both in civil and in criminal cases. The King’s bench usually heard matters like trespass and felonies that affected the King’s peace.[xiii] Local customs received lip service but the royal courts controlled them and often rejected them as unreasonable or unproved. Thus, Common law was presumed to apply everywhere until a local custom could be proved.[xiv] The Curia similarly turned over the growing burden of financial affairs to a body , later known as the English Exchequer or the Court of Exchequer.[xv] The members of the court were known as ‘justices’ and in the king’s absence the justiciar presided over the court. A further step was taken by Henry II. In 1178 he appointed five Curia members to form a special court of justice which came to be known as the Court of Common Pleas. Initially, this court’s justices like the other members of the Curia, followed the king’s court from place to place, but Magna Carta (1215) provided for the court’s establishment in one place and it thus became a stationary judicial body. Similarly, the Court of King’s Bench also developed out of the Curia Regis. This court continues to move about with the monarch until the 14^th Century, at which time it too lost its close connections with the King and became one of the Superior Courts of Common law in England.[xvi]

By the 13^th Century, gradually, the curia regis began to branch off into entities which formed into other institutions and three central courts- Exchequer, Common Pleas and the King’s Bench applied the common law. Although the same law was applied in each court, they vied in offering better remedies to litigants in order to increase their fees.

The court machinery for civil cases was built around the writ system. Each writ was a written order in the king’s name issued from the king’s writing office, or chancery, at the instance of the complainant and ordering the defendant to appear in the royal courts or ordering some inferior court to see justice done. It was based on a form of action and the right writ had to be selected to suit that form. Royal writs had to be used for all actions concerning title to land.

About the time of Edward I (reigned 1272–1307), the executive and advising duties of the Curia Regis came to be handled by a select group, the king’s secret council, which later came to be called the Privy Council. From the Privy Council there later developed the Cabinet[xvii] and the great curia regis after taking on representative elements formed into Parliament.[xviii]

This early centralization also diminished the reception of Roman law in England, in contrast to most other countries of Europe after the decline of feudalism. The expression “common law,” devised to distinguish the general law from local or group customs and privileges, came to suggest to citizens a universal law, founded on reason and superior in type.[xix]

BRACTON AND THE INFLUENCE OF ROMAN LAW

Under Henry III (1216–72), an unknown royal official prepared an ambitious treatise, De legibus et consuetudinibus Angliae (“On the Laws and Customs of England”). The text was later associated with the royal judge Henry de Bracton, a well-known legal scholar and clergyman and he was assumed to be its author.[xx] The text is one of the oldest systematic treatises on the common law and his scholarly work contributed to the development of common law after the 12^th and 13^th Century.

It was modelled on the Institutiones (Institutes), the 6^th Century Roman Legal Classic by Justinian I and shows some knowledge of Roman Law.[xxi] The book exhibits a structural similarity to Justinian’s Institutes  in that Books I, II and III to folio 104a are divided into the law of persons, things and actions.[xxii] However, its character was English. Bracton enlarged the common law with principles derived from both Roman law and Canon law. His work also made use of the Roman concept of natural law and regarded the King as subject to law. He did not suggest any effective remedy for a breach of law by the King but he argued that “counts and barons are the King’s masters, who must restrain him if he breaks the law”.[xxiii]

Bracton’s work became a powerful compilation of case law which came at the end of a period of rapid growth. Bracton abstracted several thousand cases from Court records (plea rolls) as the raw material for his book. The plea rolls formed an almost unbroken series from 1189 and included the writ, pleadings, verdict and judgement of each civil action.[xxiv] His work cited about five hundred decisions and resulted in forty to fifty manuscripts. His work was also memorable because it displayed much more than the facts and the decision often incorporated the arguments of the parties. It gave English law one authority upon many matters which were outside the routine of the practising lawyers of the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th centuries.[xxv]

Bracton introduced the common law approach of Mens Rea, the intention to commit the crime in English Law. His work was strongly filled with canonist concepts and in his book,  On the Laws and Customs of England,  he greatly emphasized on the culpable state of mind while fixing criminal responsibility.

Bracton had an impact on judges as well as lawyers in his time. He stressed the king’s need to choose capable men to be judges since they were acting in his place. Bracton chose the words of Ulpian (Pandects 1.1.1) to describe the legal profession: \”Ius dicitur ars boni et aequi, cuius merito quis nos sacerdotes appellat: iusticiam namque colimus et sacra iura ministramus.\” (Law is called the good and just art, whose priests we are deservedly called: for we worship Justice and minister the sacred laws.)[xxvi]

EARLY STATUTE LAW

The Magnum Concilium or the greater curia regis was the platform where, the King sought consultation and consent from the nobility and the senior clergy in major decision. Eventually this system of consultation and consent broke down and it often became impossible for the government to function effectively. John, who was king from 1199 to 1216, aroused such hostility from many leading noblemen that they forced him to agree to Magna Carta in 1225. The Magna Carta promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown. John’s refusal to adhere to this charter led to civil war (First Barons’ War).[xxvii]

The Magnum Concilium evolved into the Parliament of England. Initially, parliaments were mostly summoned when the King needed to raise money through taxes. Following the Magna Carta this became a convention. But once again, Henry III refused to abide by this tradition and faced severe rebellion from the English noblemen, particularly from one Simon de Montfort, Earl of Lanchester and in 1258, Henry was forced to swear and uphold the Provisions of Oxford, superseded, the following year, by the Provisions of Westminster. This effectively abolished the absolutist Anglo-Norman monarchy, giving power to a council of 15 barons, and providing for a thrice-yearly meeting of Parliament to monitor their performance.

Henry obtained a papal bull in 1263 exempting him from his oath and both sides began to raise armies and in 1264, Henry and his son Prince Edward were defeated and taken prisoner by Montfort’s army. Following Edward’s escape from captivity, Montfort was defeated and killed at the Battle of Evesham in 1265.[xxviii]

Edward I (1272-1307), successor of Henry III, the roles of the Parliament in the government of the English kingdom increased, as Henry was keen to unite his subjects in order to restore his authority and not face rebellion as was his father’s fate.[xxix] Edward I has been called the English Justinian because his enactments had such an important influence on the law of the Middle Ages. Edward’s civil legislation amended the unwritten common law and it remained as the basic statute law for centuries.

Four of Edward’s statutes revolutionized the existing legal system in England. The first Statute of Westminster (1275) made jury trial compulsory in criminal cases and altered land law. The Statute of Gloucester (1278) limited the jurisdiction of local courts and extended the scope of action for damages. The second Statute of Westminster, a very long enactment, instituted four main changes:

• It confirmed the estate tail in land
• It made land an asset for purpose of paying of paying judgement debts ( i.e. those debts judged to exist by a court)
• It liberalized appeals to high circuit courts and
• It improved the law of administration of assets on death.

The statute of 1920 barred the granting of new feudal rights, except by the crown, and made all land held in fee simple (land inherited) freely transferable by denying interference any relatives or feudal lords.

The statutes issued prior to the statute of 1290 are sometimes treated as common law rather than statute law. These laws tended to restate the existing law or give it a more detailed expression. Thus, a new law was never made. The judges of those times did not always adhere closely to the words of the statute but tried to interpret it as how they would interpret the general law on that subject. Some statutes were passed but never put into force, while other seem to have been quietly ignored. But, it is clear that, well into the 14^th century, the royal council was able to dictate new remedies and to preserve existing remedies.[xxx]

EMERGENCE OF LAWS OF EQUITY

The laws of equity developed because legal rules cannot be formulated to deal adequately with every possible contingency and their mechanical application can sometimes result in injustice. Until the end of the 14^th century, the law in England was relatively fluid and informal. But as the law became firmly established, strict rules of proof began to cause hardship. Visible factors of proof, such as the open possession of land and the use of wax seals on documents were stressed and thus, secret trusts and informal contracts were not recognized.

The parties who had lost a suit on one of these grounds or who could not obtain an appropriate writ petitioned the king for an order compelling his to do as morality and good conscience. The King used to transmit such petitions to his highest administrative official, the Chancellor. The Chancellor dealt personally with petitions for relief, probably as early as the reign of Richard II (1372-99).

The Chancellor’s special procedure for dealing with these petitions was fundamentally different from that of the royal courts. Proceedings began with bills being presented by the plaintiff in the vernacular language, not Latin; the defendant was then summoned by a writ of subpoena to appear for personal questioning by the Chancellor. Refusal to appear or to satisfy a decree was punished by imprisonment. Because the defendant could file an answer, a system of written pleadings developed.[xxxi] The defendant had to make a sworn statement to the chancellor about the whole affair and give answers under oath to his questions. The Chancellor decided all matters of fact and law by himself without a jury, and the decision he eventually reached was executed by a process involving heavy penalties.

The Chancellor decided each case on its merits and had the right to grant or refuse relief without giving reasons. Common grounds for relief, however, came to be recognized. They included fraud, breach of confidence, attempts to obtain payment twice, and unjust retention of property. After 1529, the first secular Lord Chancellor, Thomas Moore, was appointed, equity began to follow the model of the Common Law and developed rules and doctrines, originally in a very fluid and uncertain form, to which the Chancellor had recourse when similar fact situations arose. Regular publication of the Chancellor’s decisions began towards the end of the 16^th Century and before long he felt almost as bound by precedent as the judges of the Common Law courts.

Gradually, his activity came to be seen as being more and more judicial and his office became separate Court of Chancery. After 1730, he was accompanied by his immediate subordinate, the Master of the Rolls. In the 18^th Century it was beyond doubt that ‘equity’ was as much fixed by decisions and made itself part of the Common Law.[xxxii]

INNS OF COURT AND THE YEARBOOKS

During Edward I ‘s reign , the office of judge was transformed from a clerical position into a full-time career. Admission to the bar was made conditional on the legal knowledge of the applicant. Law thus began to emerge as a profession, which required permanent institutions and some kind organized legal education.

As the legal profession grew, the more experienced barristers were admitted to the dignity of serjeant-at-law and later banded together with the judges, who were appointed from their ranks, at Serjeants’ Inns in London. There, burning legal problems were informally discussed, and guidance was given to all concerning the decisions of actual or likely cases. The four Inns of Court (Gray’s Inn, Lincoln’s Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple) evolved from the residential halls of junior barristers to become the bodies of officially recognized as having the right to admit persons to the bar. Education consisted of attending court, participating in simulated legal disputes (moots), and attending lectures (readings) given by senior lawyers.

Bar students, therefore, had to make notes in court of actual legal arguments in order to keep abreast of current law practices. These notes varied widely in quality, depending on the ability of the notetaker and the regularity of his attendance, and starting in about 1280 they seem to have been copied and circulated. In the 16th century they began to be printed and arranged by regnal year, coming to be referred to as the Year Books.

The Year Book reports were usually written in highly abbreviated law French. They did not always distinguish between the judges and barristers and often simply referred to them by name. The actual judgment also was often omitted, the interest centring rather upon the arguments presented by barristers in court. Although previous decisions were not generally binding, great attention was paid to them, and it appears that the judges and barristers referred to earlier Year Books in preparing their cases. Thus, case law became the typical form of English common law.[xxxiii]

RISE OF PREROGATIVE COURTS

The accession of Henry VII in 1485 was followed by the creation of a number of courts that stood outside the common law system. This act mirrored developments in Europe where Renaissance had begun a new era of learning amongst the people, which promoted the growth of bureaucratic written process as opposed to oral proceedings of the customary common law. The newer courts were described as prerogative courts because they were identified with the royal executive power (though some had statutory origin). [xxxiv]In other words, a prerogative court is a court through which the discretionary powers, privileges and legal immunities reserved to the sovereign were exercised.

By the time of the Reformation in the 16^th Century, the crown’s prerogative powers had grown considerably. Certain courts had developed out of the king’s council (Curia Regis) to give the king’s relief in those cases in which the common law courts had failed to provide adequate remedy or in those areas which the court did not deal. Those courts became permanent specialized institutions, such as the Court of Star Chamber, which dealt with offences against public order; the Court of High Commission, which was established to enforce the Reformation settlement; the Court of Requests, a poor-man’s court that handled small-claims cases; and the Court of Chancery, which was essentially a court of equity.[xxxv]

The Council of the North at York was set up by statute in 1537, and the Council of Wales and the Marches at Ludlow were confirmed by statute in 1543. The Court of Requests was given regular status by an administrative action in 1493. The Court of Star Chamber, once thought to have been given its authority by a statute of 1487, is now believed to have evolved from the royal council, which began acting as a judicial committee in the early 16th century.The High Court of Admiralty developed under royal prerogative in the 14 the Century and by the statute of 1391, it was confined to cases that arose at sea. All these courts competed for business with the existing common-law courts, which led the latter to develop new remedies that proved more effective and expeditious than those previously available, particularly with regard to the action of trespass.[xxxvi]

The costs of procedure were lower than in common-law proceedings and it was designed to accommodate small civil claims by the poor and fines and sentences of imprisonment were the usual punishment.[xxxvii]

By the early 17^th Century, the prerogative courts had provoked oppositions from the common-law courts, as they had made the common law courts lose business and the common law courts saw any further extension of their jurisdiction as a threat to the survival of common law. This opposition reached its zenith at the time when the parliamentary forces were enraged at the determination of Charles I (reigned 1625–49) to govern without Parliament and at his use of the prerogative courts to enforce his religious and social policies. Consequently, with the exception of the Chancery, which had developed important procedures in the areas of trust with which the common-law courts refused to deal, most prerogative courts were either abolished by the Parliament or ceased to exist after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660. The sole prerogative court to survive the Restoration in some form was the Court of Requests, which was itself abolished by the end of the 17th century.

CONTRIBUTIONS OF SIR EDWARD COKE

An account of the development of common law would be incomplete without mention of Sir Edward Coke. Sir Edward Coke was an English Barrister, judge and later, opposition politician and is considered to be the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean Eras. As a barrister he took part in several notable cases, including Slade’s Case, a precedent in the law of contract, before earning enough political favour to be elected to Parliament, where he served first as Solicitor General and then as Speaker of the House of Commons.[xxxviii]

As Chief Justice, Coke restricted the use of the ex officio (Star Chamber) oath and, in the Case of Proclamations and Dr. Bonham\’s Case, declared the King to be subject to the law, and the laws of Parliament to be void if in violation of \”common right and reason\”.[xxxix] He disapproved of legislation by proclamation, of dispensation from the law in individual cases, and of the mushrooming jurisdictions of the prerogative courts. He helped draft the Petition of Right in 1628.[xl] His works were used to justify the right to silence.

During his time as a Member of Parliament, he campaigned for the Statute of Monopolies. The Statute restricted the ability of the monarch to grant patents. Coke is best known in modern times for his Institutes and his Reports. The Institutes of the Laws of England, published between 1628 and 1644 dealt with the law of real property, medieval statutes, criminal law( pleas of the crown) and jurisdiction of the courts.[xli] The series of legal treatises are recognized as a foundational document of the common law and they have been cited in cases decided by the Supreme Court of United States[xlii], such as Roe v Wade[xliii] and United States v. E.C. Knight Co.[xliv]Coke’s Institutes are quoted at some length for their definition of monopolies.

Coke’s 11 volumes of Reports were published between 1600 and 1615 and two posthumous volumes followed.[xlv]  The Reports were an archive of judgements from cases he had participated in, watched or heard of.[xlvi] Coke commented rather than reported and the volumes supply a copy of the court record of each case.  It was the only formal series of collected law cases available at the time and his reports formed the main source for the citation of cases for many years. Thus, his greatest works restated the common law in acceptable form and did much to preserve it.

FURTHER GROWTH OF STATUTE LAW

In the latter part of the 16^th Century, the king exercised his power to issue proclamations to invoke emergency measures, to establish detailed regulations, especially on economic matters and to grant royal charters to trading companies. The Parliament, by virtue of its lawmaking powers, established the king’s supremacy over the Church of England. Statutes also regulated exports and imports, controlled farming, and defined unfair competition.

Other important statutory innovations during these years were the Statute of Monopolies (1623), which made monopolies contrary to the law and a statute of 1601 became the basis of the privileges enjoyed by charitable trusts. The passing of the Poor Laws in the late 16^th Century remedied the neglect of the poor caused by the dissolution of the monasteries.

In 1623-24, the principle of limitation of actions by lapse of time was introduced into the law of contract and tort. During the time of Commonwealth (1649-60), many reform projects were drafted. These reforms included supplying counsel to prisoners, modernizing the land and law procedure and permitting civil marriages. These reforms were carried out into action during the 19^th century.

An another outstanding enactment was the Statute of Frauds in 1677. Passed in the later Stuart period, the statute was the result of the response to the growth of literacy and the prevalence of perjury and fraud. The Statute required wills and contracts for the sale of goods and lands (of more than a certain amount) to be in writing. Thus, these statutes, though in their unrefined jurisprudence, are the predecessors to the modern contract and tort laws.[xlvii]

DEVELOPMENT OF THE LAW OF TRUSTS

The main development in the latter part of the 17^th Century was in the law of trusts. It was a common practice in the English feudal society for a vassal to transfer his land to a ‘trustee’. This system was usually followed to evade feudal taxation, but it also enabled wills of land to be made. “Death Duties” were also to be paid by a man’s heirs if he died while he was the legal proprietor. However, this could be avoided if the land was transferred to another person prior to that person’s death. The use of the land was transferable as long as the transferee of such a use or ‘trust’ observed the owner’s wishes regarding the land while the vassal lived. The beneficiary of such use usually stayed on the land as the apparent owner, though the trustee held the legal title. The common law courts recognized the trustee as the only owner, so the beneficiary had to go to the Court of Chancery to remedy this situation and thus, slowly the Chancellor refined this principle into very detailed rules and came to be utilized extensively.

Gradually, in the reign of Richard III (1483-85), a statute was passed which allowed the beneficiary to transfer the property and in 1536, the statute of Uses revested the legal title in the beneficiary. After the passing of this statute, the beneficiary was considered to be the legal owner of the land and thus, became liable to feudal dues and ultimately, this maximized the crown’s income from feudal taxation.

Following the statute, old-style uses could not be created. But it was revived from the late 16^th century as the modern law of trust in the Court of Chancery, first for trusts involving money and leases and finally for trusts of land itself. It aimed to separate the legal and beneficiary titles but it was adapted to many other ends, such as giving property to clubs and other incorporated bodies and to churches. In modern times, the law of trusts can be described as one of the most important features to the style of Common Law.[xlviii]

INFLUENCE OF BLACKSTONE

Sir William Blackstone had an extraordinary influence in the development of common law. Born in 1723, he became the first person to lecture on English Law at an English University. His most influential work, the Commentaries on the Laws of England, published between 1765 and 1769, is considered to the leading work on the development of English Law. It was the first methodical treatise on the common law suitable for a lay readership since at least the Middle Ages. It was an explanation to an obscure law and Blackstone sought to make it seem rational, just, inevitable that things should be how they were. The work is divided into four volumes, on the rights of persons, the right of things, of private wrongs and of public wrongs.

Of the Rights of Persons dealt with family and public law; Of the Rights of Things gave a brilliant outline of real-property law; Of Private Wrongs covered civil liability, courts and procedure; and Of Public Wrongs was an excellent study of criminal law.

The shortcomings of the Commentaries were offset by its style and intelligibility and lawyers and laymen alike came to regard it as an authoritative exposition of the law. In the following century, the fame of Blackstone was even greater in the United States than in his native land. After the American Declaration of Independence, the Commentaries became the chief source of knowledge of English Law in the New World.[xlix]

INFLUENCE OF JEREMY BENTHAM

Following the social turmoil of the French Revolution (1789) and the economic upheaval of the Industrial Revolution, there were many demands for reforms to modernize the law. Jeremy Bentham spearheaded this reform movement and was determined to reform the whole law along radical lines. Bentham disliked the picture of the law that he had heard presented in Blackstone’s lectures and he worked to make law less technical and more accessible to the people.

Bentham is best known for his work, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, published in 1789. By virtue of his utilitarian analysis, he advocated two basic changes in the legal system: 1) In order to achieve the greatest happiness for the greatest number, he advocated that legislators, rather than courts, should make the law; and 2) He advocated that the aims of law should vary with time and place. He said that mankind was governed by two sovereign motives, pain and pleasure; and the principle of utility recognized this state of affairs. He deduced from the principle that, since all punishment involves pain and is therefore evil, it ought only to be used “ so far as it promises to exclude some greater evil”.

The fame of the Principles spread widely and rapidly. Bentham was made a French citizen in 1792, and his advice was respectfully received in most of the countries of Europe and in the United States. Although he wanted most of all to be allowed to draw up a legal code for his own or some foreign country, his practical influence was far more indirect and derived largely from the diffusion of utilitarian ideas during the 19th century.[l]

THE JUDICATURE ACT

The Judicature Act of 1873 was an act of Parliament that created the Supreme Court of Judicature and also enhanced the role of the House of Lords to act as a court of appeal. The Act was a bold attempt to reduce the confusion and the consequent inefficiency of the courts that had specific powers of jurisdiction throughout England.[li]

By the Act of 1873, the Court of Chancery, the Court of the King’s or Queen’s Bench, the Court of Common Pleas, the Court of Exchequer, the High Court of Admiralty, the Court of Probate and the Court of Divorce and Matrimonial Causes were consolidated into the Supreme Court of Judicature. It was subdivided into two courts: the “High Court of Justice” with original jurisdiction and the “Court of Appeal”.

The objects of the act were threefold:

• To combine the historically separate courts of common law and equity;
• To establish for all divisions of the new Supreme Court a uniform system of pleading and procedure; and
• To provide for the enforcement of the same rule of law in those cases where equity and common law recognised different rules.

Many legal historians today point to the act of 1873 as the first step toward the modernization of the courts of England and Wales. The Courts Act of 1971 continued the modernization with the abolition of quarter sessions and assizes.

CONCLUSION

There is no doubt that the invasion of the Normans in 1066 was indeed a game changer in the field of law.  New customs and new systems evolved by virtue of the invasion. The establishment of an early centralized judiciary and the unification of the court system by reforms resulted in the growth of a law common to the entire realm. The Common law system developed gradually and new rules and techniques were introduced every century. The establishment of the Inns of Court and the English Bar further established law as a profession. These advancements further rooted the development of the common law system in England and thus, England was inoculated against the Continental Law.

The legal system, propagated to the world by the British Empire, now is widespread throughout the world. About one-third of the world’s population live in common-law jurisdiction or in systems mixed with civil war including the United Kingdom, India, the United States (both the federal system and 49 of its 50 states), Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Canada (both the federal system and all its provinces except Quebec), Malaysia, Ghana, Australia, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Singapore, Burma, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Cyprus, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Namibia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Botswana, Guyana, and Fiji.

[i] 2^nd year Student at the National University for Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS) Kochi.

[ii] Origins of Common Law, US Legal, available at  https://commonlaw.uslegal.com/origins-of-common-law/england/, last seen on 10/07/2017.

[iii] Common Law, Britannica, available at  https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law ,last seen on 10/07/2017.

[iv] Common Law, Britannica, available at  https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law ,last seen on 10/07/2017.

[v] Common Law, Britannica, available at  https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law ,last seen on 10/07/2017.

[vi]Common Law, Britannica, available at  https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law ,last seen on 10/07/2017.

[vii]Courts and the Development of the Common Law, Uni study guides, available at http://www.unistudyguides.com/wiki/Courts_and_the_development_of_the_common_law ,last seen 09/07/2017.

[viii] Curia Regis, Wikipedia, available at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curia_regis ,last seen on 10/07/2017.

[ix] Curia Regis, Wikipedia, available at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curia_regis ,last seen on 10/07/2017.

[x] Courts and the Development of the Common Law, Uni study guides, available at http://www.unistudyguides.com/wiki/Courts_and_the_development_of_the_common_law ,last seen 09/07/2017.

[xi] History of the Judiciary, UK Judiciary, https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/about-the-judiciary/history-of-the-judiciary/ ,last seen on 10/07/2017.

[xii] Courts and the Development of the Common Law, Uni study guides, available at http://www.unistudyguides.com/wiki/Courts_and_the_development_of_the_common_law ,last seen 09/07/2017.

[xiii] Courts and the Development of the Common Law, Uni study guides, available at http://www.unistudyguides.com/wiki/Courts_and_the_development_of_the_common_law ,last seen 09/07/2017.

[xiv] Common Law, Britannica, available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law#toc40227, last seen on 10/07/2017.

[xv] Curia, Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/curia-medieval-European-court#ref257275 , last seen on 10/07/2017.

[xvi] Curia, Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/curia-medieval-European-court#ref257275 , last seen on 10/07/2017.

[xvii] Curia, Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/curia-medieval-European-court#ref257275 , last seen on 10/07/2017.

[xviii] Curia Regis, Wikipedia, available at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curia_regis ,last seen on 10/07/2017.

[xix] Common Law, Britannica, available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law#toc40227, last seen on 12/07/2017.

[xx] Common Law, Britannica, available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law#toc40227, last seen on 10/07/2017.

[xxi] Common Law, Britannica, available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law#toc40227, last seen on 12/07/2017.

[xxii] Damien Freeman, Influence of Roman Law in English Courts, Damienfreeman.com, available at http://damienfreeman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/PDF38-Influence-of-Roman-Law-in-English-Courts.pdf ,last seen on 12/07/2017.

[xxiii] Paul McWilliams, English Common Law : Embodiment of the Natural law, 1 The Western Australian Jurist (2010), available at  http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/WAJurist/2010/7.pdf , last seen on 12/07/2017.

[xxiv] Common Law, Britannica, available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law#toc40227, last seen on 12/07/2017.

[xxv] Paul McWilliams, English Common Law : Embodiment of the Natural law, 1 The Western Australian Jurist (2010), available at  http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/WAJurist/2010/7.pdf , last seen on 12/07/2017.

[xxvi] Henry de Bracton, Britannica, available at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_de_Bracton , last seen 13/07/2017.

[xxvii] Parliament of England, Britannica, available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_England , last seen 14/07/2017.

[xxviii] Parliament of England, Britannica, available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_England , last seen 14/07/2017.

[xxix] Parliament of England, Britannica, available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_England , last seen 14/07/2017.

[xxx] Common Law, Britannica, available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law#toc40227, last seen on 13/07/2017.

[xxxi] Common Law, Britannica, available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law#toc40227, last seen on 13/07/2017.

[xxxii]  K. Zweigert & H. Kotz, An Introduction to Comparative Law, 187 (3^rd  ed., 1998 ).

[xxxiii] Common Law, Britannica, available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law#toc40227, last seen on 14/07/2017.

[xxxiv] Common Law, Britannica, available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law#toc40227, last seen on 15/07/2017.

[xxxv] Prerogative Court, Britannica, available at  https://www.britannica.com/topic/prerogative-court , last seen on 15/07/2017.

[xxxvi] Common Law, Britannica, available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law#toc40227, last seen on 16/07/2017.

[xxxvii] Common Law, Britannica, available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law#toc40227, last seen on 16/07/2017.

[xxxviii] Edward Coke, Britannica, available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Coke , last seen on 15/07/2017.

[xxxix] Edward Coke, Britannica, available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Coke , last seen on 15/07/2017.

[xl] Common Law, Britannica, available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law#toc40227, last seen on 16/07/2017.

[xli] Common Law, Britannica, available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law#toc40227, last seen on 16/07/2017.

[xliii] 410 U.S 113, 134 (1973).

[xliv] 156 U.S. 1, 10 (1895).

[xlv] Common Law, Britannica, available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law#toc40227, last seen on 16/07/2017.

[xlvi] Edward Coke, Britannica, available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Coke , last seen on 15/07/2017.

[xlvii] Common Law, Britannica, available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law#toc40227, last seen on 16/07/2017.

[xlviii] Common Law, Britannica, available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law#toc40227, last seen on 16/07/2017.

[xlix] The Modernization of Common Law in Great Britain ,Britannica https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law/The-modernization-of-common-law-in-Great-Britain , last seen on 16/07/2017.

[l] Jeremy Bentham, Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jeremy-Bentham , last seen on 16/07/2017.

[li] Judicature Act, Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/event/Judicature-Act-of-1873 last seen on 16/07/2017.

This article is written by Martin William.

Every businessperson is well accustomed to failures. Most of the successful businessmen face a lot of failures before becoming successful. The ability to get back and try again is the attribute of many businessmen who are very successful today.

Facing the failure is not easy. Nobody wants to face the failure in the business. You should always keep that in mind that your business isn’t the end of the road. It might be a bump after which success must be waiting. There are few things that you can do to stay stable in difficult time

1. Don’t Take the Failure Personally

It should always be kept in mind that even though your business failed, it doesn’t mean that you are failed. Your confidence and self-esteem never be lowered by negative thoughts.

You can have met up with your friends, family and also do such things that can encourage you mentally. Many people also get esa dog for their mental and emotional support.

2. Surround Yourself with Positive People

No matter how emotionally unstable you feel, you should always motivate yourself for continuing the learning process. The learning will help you in searching for more opportunities. Surrounding positive people, you are very important.

If you have a team of positive people around you, you will have more value of yourself. The more you value yourself, the more you will be successful. Your failure in the business is a part of life not the end of the world.

You must always learn to bounce back no matter what happens to you. Always learn to move forward. This can be possible if you have to support and to encourage people around you who are always there to help you out

3. Strengthen Yourself Financially

If you have failed in your business and you are motivated enough to start a new business, it is important for you to evaluate your performance and determine whether it is suitable for you to start a new business right now or not.

If you have a big family depending on your income, you should understand that a new business will not make you earn immediately. In such a situation, you should prefer taking a full-time job which can be considered as the best course of action in such a situation.

You should keep that in mind that this full-time job is not forever. Many successful entrepreneurs have worked as an employee at the early business failures.

During your job, you can rebuild your savings and also gain some more experience so you will be able to build a relationship with the advisors, clients and different people who you will need in future.

It should be kept in mind that you should not let your failure to diminish your self-confidence and your ambitions. You should always be capable enough to learn from your mistakes.

Doing a full-time job doesn’t mean to put your all mental abilities in that job. You can search for a few business opportunities while doing the job.

In this Article, Saloni Shah pursuing Diploma in Entrepreneurship Administration and Business Laws from NUJS, Kolkata discusses to convert a Public Company into a Private Company.

A listed company has been defined in section 2(52) of the Companies Act, 2013 as “listed company means a company which has any of its securities listed on any recognized stock exchange.”

Listed companies primarily include any public limited company and other financial institutions and their main objectives are:

1. Provide liquidity to securities;
2. Mobilize savings for economic development; and
3. Protect the interest of investors by ensuring full disclosures.[1]

Listed companies must abide by the regulations in place such as Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 and take necessary approvals from the Listing Department for the listing of their securities. They must also have the prescribed eligibility criteria required for listed companies such as the paid-up capital and other requirements as set out in the regulations/bye-laws and the stock exchange requirements.

Private Company under Companies Act, 2013

The Act also provides for the definition of a private company under section 2(68) as follows:

Private company means a company having a minimum paid-up share capital of one lakh rupees or such higher paid-up share capital as may be prescribed, and which by its articles:

1. Restricts the right to transfer its shares;
2. Except in case of One Person Company, limits the number of its members to two hundred.

Provided that where two or more persons hold one or more shares in a company jointly, they shall, for the purposes of this clause, be treated as a single member:

Provided further that:

1. Persons who are in the employment of the company; and
2. Persons who, having been formerly in the employment of the company, were members of the company while in that employment and have continued to be members after the employment ceased, shall not be included in the number of members; and
3. Prohibits any invitation to the public to subscribe for any securities of the company.

Therefore, in view of the above definitions, the primary difference between the two types of companies is that a private company cannot invite any public to subscribe to its shares and a listed company has its shares listed in a public stock exchange.

Conversion to a Private Company under the Companies Act, 2013

The procedure for conversion from one company to the other is expounded within the Act with certain statutory requirements such as alteration of the Memorandum of Association (MOA) and Articles of Association (AOA) of the company.

The Act sets out regulatory provisions under various sections, i.e., Section 13, 14 and 18, which are required for the purpose of conversion and set out below is a gist of the procedure provided under the Act:

Notice for Board Meeting

A 7-day notice period must be given to the directors of the company to convene a board meeting. A shorter notice may also be given provided at least one independent director is present for the meeting. The board meeting is convened for the purpose of passing a resolution approving the conversion to a private company.

Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to pass the special resolution

A 21-day notice period must be given to call for an EGM. The board decides a time and place for the EGM which is for the purpose of passing a special resolution. Further, the members are informed by way of an explanatory statement of the nature of transaction for which a special resolution is required in order to ensure and generate better understanding amongst the members.

The quorum required for the passing of the resolution and conducting an EGM is specified under the Act, i.e., required to be passed by postal ballot, if the company has more than 200 members as stipulated under section 110 of the Act read with Rule 22 (16)(b) of the Companies (Management and Administration) Rules, 2014.[2]

Forms

• Pursuant to the passing of the resolution for conversion, there are two forms required to be filed.
• The resolution passed is required to be filed with form MGT-14 with the Registrar of Companies (ROC) which comprises of the essential details as required by the Registrar such as, inter alia, the altered MOA, and A0A of the company. This form is required to be filed within 30 days of the special resolution being passed in the company.
• Form INC-27 as prescribed under the Act and under section 33 of the Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014, has to be filed with the ROC with supporting documents in order to complete the conversion process. This form is to be filed within 15 days of the receipt of the order from the National Company Law Tribunal. The attachments to this form include the altered AoA & MoA, the special resolution and most importantly, the order passed.
  

  Certificate of Incorporation

The ROC will verify the documents which have been submitted and subsequently, a new certificate of incorporation is issued to the company for their new status as a private company.

National Company Law Tribunal Rules, 2016 (NCLT Rules)

Requirements for Conversion

• The process is also incomplete without the approval of the new authority constituted, i.e., National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), replacing the Company Law Board as under the old Companies Act, 1956.
• The NCLT has been authorized vide the NCLT Rules, which came into effect on July 21, 2016. The power was transferred to the NCLT from June 1, 2016, vide Notification S.O. 1934(E).[3]
• The order approving the conversion of the company to a private company passed by the NCLT must also be filed with the ROC along with the other requisite documents.
• Pursuant to the passing of the special resolution, a petition must be filed in Form NCLT-1 as provided under Rules 68 of the NCLT Rules not less than 3 months from the passing of the resolution.
• The supporting documents with the petition include copies of the MOA & AOA, documents proving the company is no longer a public company, verification affidavit and the payment of application fees (INR 5000/-).
• The list of creditors along with the amounts due to them is to be submitted to the NCLT as well.

Other Formalities

The other formalities are required to complete before the hearing in the NCLT are:

1. Form NCLT-3A for advertisement of the petition in one vernacular newspaper and one English newspaper.
2. Form NCLT-3B for notice to every creditor about the conversion process. (registered post with acknowledgment due)
3. Notice along with a copy of the petition to other applicable authorities such as the ROC. (registered post with acknowledgment due)

The notice is sent to creditors or other parties for the purpose to enable them to raise objections in the event their interests are affected by the proposed conversion. The objection must be conveyed to the ROC either before the hearing in the NCLT or on the date of the hearing. This measure helps protect the interests of the affected parties who are part of the company.

When NCLT can approve the Conversion?

• The NCLT can only allow/approve the conversion after it is content that no objections are left to be cleared and accordingly should gauge the situation as per the circumstances. It is pertinent to note that the requirements are essential to be fulfilled as per the Act and the NCLT Rules, or the NCLT may not pass an order in favour of the conversion.
• Therefore, the NCLT Rules must be adhered to in respect of the petition for the approval for the conversion, especially notifying the concerned authorities in respect of the proposed conversion.
• The process is completed only on the issuance of a new certificate of incorporation and the newly incorporated private company must comply with other post-conversion steps such as affixation of the new name with “private” included in it outside the offices, filing for a new PAN card and so forth for the company to be a fully functional one as a private company.
• The public listed company must wait for a period of 1 year after its delisting for conversion.

Conclusion

There are various advantages for a public company to convert to a private company. As per statistics of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, there was a substantial increase in the number of public companies to convert to a private company pursuant to the passing of the Act. The new Act provides more exemptions to private companies in respect of aspects such as managerial remuneration, provisions of related party transactions and fewer members required to constitute a quorum for meetings, amongst other exemptions.

Several companies also choose to undergo this conversion due to the better facilitation of operations in the company and also due to lesser compliance requirements for the company. The flexibility which is given to private companies is essential to a smooth functioning of the company.

Therefore, the conversion from a listed company to a private company, though necessitates the completion of a lot of compliance requirements under the new Act and NCLT Rules, the conversion for a company is more beneficial in nature.

LawSikho has created a telegram group for exchanging legal knowledge, referrals and various opportunities. You can click on this link and join:  

https://t.me/joinchat/J_0YrBa4IBSHdpuTfQO_sA

References

[1]http://www.bseindia.com/Static/about/listsec.aspx

[2]https://taxguru.in/company-law/checklist-conversion-public-company-private-company-companies-act-2013.html

[3]http://www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/pdf/Notification_02062016_I.pdf

In this article Aditya Shrivastava, Content Marketing Manager at iPleaders, talks about the five Environment Law Compliance For Business In India which you just cannot ignore.

India is touted as one of the fastest growing economies of the world. As per a report by LiveMint, India could regain its position of the fastest growing economy in the world in 2018. However, in the scripting of its growth, there are certain ink spots which cannot be ignored. While the Indian manufacturing sector has been given the necessary impetus time and again and the National Manufacturing Policy is trying it’s best to reach its objective of increasing the sectoral contribution to the GDP by 25%, the government is also giving more initiatives to foster the ease of doing business in India a significant push.

Initiatives like Make in India, Startup-India-Standup-India, E-Biz Project, Skill Development programmes and other reforms in various sectors are few such examples of the government trying to push in reformative agendas. However, due to this “development,” India is slowly running behind in the sector of environment protection. In fact, while the 2013 amendment to the Companies Act went ahead in carefully bringing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into the regulatory ambit, little or no efforts were put in to accelerate environment protection.

While the capitalists argue that the pre-existing environment laws are sufficient, the truth remains the same. In spite of tribunals like National Green Tribunal being functional, the corporates are non-compliant with environmental permits.

The liability might initially seem to be petite, however, there are numerous examples of cases where companies have suffered massively because of non-compliance to such laws. For example, in the Sterlites Industries case (2013), a penalty of 10% of Profit Before Depreciation, Interest, and Taxes (PBDIT) was imposed on one of the largest copper smelter plants in India for operating without a valid environmental consent permit. The penalty imposed was that of INR 1 Billion.

It is important to note that after the enactment of National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 which seeks to align all other environmental laws to itself, the penalties have been significantly increased. For example, under the Section 26(1) of the Act, the tribunal can award a punishment of 3 years or a fine up to INR 10 Crore for non-compliance with the order of the NGT.

For a business to be absolutely functional and work without any hassle, it is quintessential that it is operated in strict adherence to all the legal compliances. Right from the registration of the company, everyday transactions, labor and employment practices, following safety measures and, last but not the least, environment regulations need to be consciously adhered to. If I start writing about each one of them I will have to prepare a separate course for it. Thankfully this course covers it all and manages to save me from the burden.

Here is a crisp overview of certain aspects of the environmental law that most of the people don’t know about and bear the consequences later:

Regulations And Legislations

There is an enormous list of legislation that you need to look at in order to ensure that you don’t miss out any compliance. I will keep the necessary compliance checklist for the next article. Here is a comprehensive list of legislation you need to abide by:

1. Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 (Water Act)
2. Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 (Air Act).
3. Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (EP Act) – This is the umbrella act which entails the following rules:
   a) E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016;
   b) Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016;
   c) Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016;
   d) Hazardous and Other Waste (Management and
   e) Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016;
   f) Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989;
   g) Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2011; h) Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006; and
   i) Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016).
4. Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972
5. Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980
6. Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991
8. Biological Diversity Act, 2002
9. National Green Tribunal Act, 2010

It is a very tedious job to go through each and every legislation and figure out the necessary compliances. To avoid it you can take this course to ensure that you don’t only have a comprehensive list of environment law compliances but are also aware of other important compliances which are required for the business.

Environmental Permits (Single or Separate)

Beginning March 5th 2016, the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change has adopted a new method of classifying each type of industry. A concept of “white industries” has been introduced for classifying “non-polluting” companies. They do not need a permit or consent and just require to notify the relevant State Pollution Control Board.

For all the others (red, orange and green industries), there are certain environmental permits that are required to be obtained. You might require multiple numbers of permits depending on what kind of activity your business is delving into and the size of the business. Your company will be given a Pollution Index (PI) score, depending on the utilization of the resources, the air emissions, water effluents, and hazardous waste generated. You will be required to obtain consents and permits from the apt board. As per this article, the PI score is allocated in the following manner:

• Red category: PI score of 60 and above. Including but not restricted to asbestos, nuclear power plants, shipbreaking, oil and gas extraction, etc.
• Orange category: PI score of 41 to 59. For example, food processing, printing ink manufacturing, paint blending, and pharmaceutical formulations.

• Green category: PI score of 21 to 40. 63 sectors have been identified under it. For example sawmills, tyres/rube retreating, polythene and plastic products.

• White category: PI score up to 20. For example solar power generation through solar photovoltaic cells, wind power, and mini hydro-electric power less than 25 megawatts. 

Environmental Integrated Permits

In India, there exists an integrated permit system where a single permission suffices for a lot of consents and permits. For example, a combined consent application to the relevant State Pollution Control Board can be submitted to obtain the ‘consent to establish’ and subsequently the ‘consent to operate’ under the Water Act, Air Act and Hazardous and Other Waste Rules, 2016.

Technology has made the process easy. For instance, the recently adopted E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 has introduced only one centralized and pan India application form by the Central Pollution Control Board instead of the State Board in order to get an authorization for the producers.

How Long Does A Permit Last For?

Generally, it is the State Pollution Control Board which has the discretion to determine the duration of consents and permits. In the past decade, efforts have been made to streamline the validity of each industry. Typically, an initial ‘consent to establish’ has a validity for a year which needs to be renewed, but it is dependable on the scale of the project. Other consents and validities such as ‘consent to operate’ under various air and water laws can vary from 3 to 5 years.

In case of renewal is required, an application is generally granted 60 to 120 days before the date of expiry of the ‘consent to operate’. In case there has been any non-compliance, the State Board can also cancel the renewal or only grant consent in case the non-compliance has been rectified.

The latest laws have a provision for longer permits. For example, the E-Waste Rules or Hazardous and Other Waste Rules, 2016 provide a validity up to 5 years. Again, it is extremely dependant on which industry you are operating in.

Restriction On The Transfer Of Permits

If you are is trying to restructure an organization or selling your business to someone else or perhaps acquire a business, this information might be useful for you. Most of the consent orders, licenses, and environmental clearances can be readily transferred if they are obtained under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Here is the standard procedure for it:

• The new acquirer/transferee/buyer needs to submit an application to the relevant regulatory authority with an undertaking that he would comply with all the pre-existing conditions in the consent order/license grant/permit.
• The owner needs to provide a no objection certificate to the relevant regulatory authority.
• A list of supporting documents (explaining the underlying reason for the transfer, change of name, change of management, and so on), as applicable, must be presented.

Needless to say, businesses, big or small, have an equal liability to protect and safeguard the environment. In this case, their liability increases perhaps a little more because their actions are of greater magnitude and have far-reaching consequences. This is exactly why they are more than obligated to ensure that these compliances are adhered to.

There is no denying the fact that such regulations and compliances can be cumbersome and tedious and it might not be possible for everyone to keep a track of them. An easy way to do that is by subscribing to an online course which can provide you with ready checklists and guide you to run your business without any hiccup.

The task might be a rigmarole but it can be easy.

All the luck.

Sample Legal Aptitude Questions : Practice and Prepare. Comment below to know where you stand among the competition.

With CLAT 2018 around the corner, we at iPleaders have made it our mission to help the aspirant community by making you practice and providing you with a little insight into what to expect in the exam.

After the energetic response from the aspirants on How Not To Prepare For CLAT, it was only natural for us to throw some more questions at you and help you take your preparations forward accordingly after self-analysis.

Let’s get started with a few Legal Aptitude questions. Post your answers in the comments to know where you stand. Good luck! 🙂

Question 1:
PRINCIPLE: Nothing is an offence which is done by a person who, at the time of doing it, by reason of unsound state of mind, is incapable of knowing the nature of the act, or something that he is doing is either wrong or contrary to law.

FACTS: X takes his son Y who is three years old, for bathing to the well. He throws his son inside the well so that the son can have a good bath. After 10 minutes he also jumps into the well to take bath and get his son out of the well. Both were rescued by the villagers but his son was found dead.

A) X has committed culpable homicide amounting to murder
B) X has committed murder
C) X has done no offence as he can plead the defense of unsound state of mind
D) None of the above

Question 2:
PRINCIPLE: A minor is liable for torts committed by him.

Explanation: A minor is not liable for the torts committed by him when there is significant mental element to the tort such as defamation etc

FACTS: Tony, a minor, hires a horse from Mr. A for the purpose of riding who expressly mentions that it is not for ‘jumping’. Tony tries to get the horse over a high fence and horse is killed in the process. Mr. A sues Tony.

A) Tony is not liable as he is minor.
B) Tony is not liable as act done by him involved mental thinking.
C) Tony is not liable as jumping is a reasonable thing to do with horse.
D) Tony is liable.

Question 3:
PRINCIPLE (i): Nuisance means an unlawful interference with a person’s enjoyment of land.
PRINCIPLE (ii): Public nuisance is an obstruction to the right of public in general.
PRINCIPLE (iii): Private nuisance is an obstruction to the right of private parties.

FACTS: Zafar runs a scrap metal business. His business generates a great amount of metal waste. Dumping it is a really big problem. He sometimes takes an easy way out and dumps it in some nearby place where he thinks nobody will notice. This however backfires sometimes. For example the one time he tried dumping it on the road adjacent to his business, he ended up blocking it partly thereby causing difficulty to people who used that road.
Only if one person was using the road, then will it be public or private nuisance?

A) Public nuisance.
B) Private nuisance.
C) It depends on whether that person is a private party or public servant.
D) None of the above

Question 4:
PRINCIPLE: Damage without violation of any legal right does not give rise to a tort.

FACTS: Punkita, who owned a mill, had been using water from a rain-fed stream for her mill, for the past 20 years. One fine day, Utkarsh, her neighbour, sunk a well on his land and pumped large quantities of water, thus depriving Punkita of the quantity of water she used to draw. This caused heavy losses to Punkita. Decide.

A) Utkarsh committed a tort. He has caused damage to Punkita in the form of heavy losses which she suffered.
B) Utkarsh‘s behaviour was only unfriendly but not unlawful.
C) Punkita‘s legal right to the usage of water has been violated by Utkarsh. Punkita made him liable.
D) None of these

Question 5:
PRINCIPLE: The actual use of unlawful force against a person without any lawful justification constitutes the tort of battery. In such a case, the use of force has to be intentional.

FACTS: One morning when Sandeep and his friends, Varan and Blair, were hanging out at the McLaren‘s pub. Blair pointed out a very beautiful girl to Sandeep. The girl was sitting alone at the bar. Sandeep, with the intention of flirting with her. He went up to her and introduced himself. Before he could say anything more, the girl threw her drink in his face as she was suffering from heartbreak and did not want to talk to him. Sandeep decides to sue the girl for battery.

A) The girl cannot be blamed as she was suffering from heartbreak. Sandeep got what he deserved.
B) The girl realised that Sandeep was flirting with her and her behaviour can be justified on the grounds of self defence.
C) The girl had a justification to throw the drink in his face. The use of force was completely lawful and hence battery has not been committed.
D) The girl has committed battery as she used unlawful force to ward off Sandeep. Moreover, her act was intentional.

So, how are we doing so far? Making sense of lengthy, multiple-principle questions can be tough and also time consuming. You can visit here to learn from the exam toppers themselves and let go of all your worries regarding legal aptitude.

Question 6:
PRINCIPLE: A master is liable for all the wrongs committed by servant during the course of employment

FACTS: Ishan sends his servant Gopi to pick up his 10 years old bro. From the railway station. While Gopi is waiting on the platform he sees two children fighting and running about. He rushes to intervene but while doing so he knocks off another Mr Dwivedi who is carrying glass plates. The plates fall and get smashed . Mr dwivedi wants to sue Ishan

(A) Ishan would b liable for the wrong committed by Gopi because waiting on the platform was part of his employment. .
(B) Ishan would not b liable for the wrong committed by gopi because he could not have foreseen what gopi would get up to while waiting on the platform. He had authorized him only to wait and not to intervene in children fights

Question 7:
PRINCIPLE: Anyone who brings a dangerous thing onto his land for some non-natural purposes and such escapes, he is liable for strict liability.

FACTS: Meher was passionate for dogs. She bought a small puppy for her house. The puppy grew big in a couple of years. One day while leaving for her tuition class, she forgot to leash the dog. The dog saw a street dog and chased it. While chasing he pounced upon Mrs. Godha. Mrs. Godha was injured. Decide.

A) Meher is liable for nuisance.
B) Meher is not liable for Strict Liability.
C) Meher is liable for Strict Liability.
D) Meher is liable for negligence.

Question 8:
PRINCIPLE: Whoever stores a substance that could potentially cause damage on escape shall be absolutely liable for any damage caused by the escape of the substance from its premises. The person will be liable for the tort of negligence.

FACTS: Jack and Sparrow are two scientists and they develop a pill that has multiple functions, including radioactive properties. However, they are still experimenting on it, and hence, the pill is stored safely in a glass container, which is kept in their lab. Only Jack and Sparrow have access to the lab. One day, there was an earthquake, measuring 7 on the Richter scale. The effects were felt in the Lab as well. As a result of the quake, the glass container falls and breaks, thereby releasing the capsule, which on reacting with the hydrogen in the air, started shooting sparks and bursts into a flame, releasing gases. William, who lives nearby, hears the commotion in the Lab and goes in to see what is happening. Later, he sues the two scientists, holding them responsible for his exposure to the fumes in the Lab, due to the Pill. Will he succeed?

A) Yes, he suffered due to the escape of the Pill
B) No, it was an Act of God
C) Yes, the two scientists should be held guilty for the tort of negligence and should compensate William
D) No, there was no escape of any fume, and hence, no negligence

Question 9:
PRINCIPLE: The occupier of a premise owes a duty of care to all his invitees and visitors.

FACTS: Rohan Agarwal arranged a cocktail for his friends in his farm house. He also arranged it with nice gardens and a swimming pool. The area of the swimming pool was sufficient enclosures. One of the guests, in his inebriated condition, strayed into the area of swimming pool and fell into the pool. He suffered injuries. He filed a suit against Rohan Agarwal for claiming damages.

A) Rohan Agarwal cannot be held liable for the drinking propensities of his friends.
B) Rohan Agarwal as a host would be liable to take care of guests. When they are in his premises.
C) Rohan Agarwal is not liable, because he has invited the guests only for the party and not for the swimming.
D) None of these.

Comment down below to know the correct answers. Subscribe to this course for A-Z of legal aptitude.

Keep watching this space for more on CLAT preparations! Wishing you good luck for the 13th of May.

Increasing outreach of mobile technology and internet is set to change the Financial sector for good. This article by Sarang Khanna, Content Marketing Executive at iPleaders, talks about the massively increasing scope in the FinTech landscape of India.

At a time when all companies are brainstorming whether there is still more innovation left to do in their respective sectors, FinTech and E-commerce continue to be on the horizon setting new trends in delivering innovative products and services. FinTech is the sum of finance and technology, and in the past few years, it has definitely changed the way we use financial  services.

FinTech companies are leveraging technology to provide services usually offered by banks and financial institutions that are more innovative and cheaper. At the end of the day, FinTech will only benefit the consumers who will get lower prices, safer products and overall a better user experience.

At this juncture, India has created an ecosystem that provides start-ups an opportunity to exponentially grow into big businesses. Right from delving into a range of unexplored segments to engaging with foreign markets, FinTech start-ups are delivering innovation that was previously difficult to achieve.

Let us see how this space is making our lives easier every day.

FinTech in Banking Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) Sector

In recent times, a plethora of startups have populated this dynamic space, especially in the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector. Even Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) are not lagging behind in order to enter this field and make the most.

According to the EY FinTech Adoption Index of 2017, India has made a jump to the second place, only behind China, in adoption of FinTech services in the whole world. The adoption, in fact, is so high that in a survey done for the same index it was found that the average customer from the sample had used more than 2 FinTech products just in the last 6 months. Which FinTech services are you using to make life simpler?

The space which is obviously predominantly driven by online payments in India also has a lot of other applications which are soon catching up amongst the high tech Indian youth. Let’s see what all is being powered by this beautiful marriage of finances and technology today.

Peer-to-peer Lending (P2P)

P2P lending has emerged to become the hub of the wheel in the FinTech ecosystem. Many argue that the success of P2P is because it embodies all character traits of what an ideal  financial technology solution must look like – quick, cheap, and meant for the greater good.

After the 2008 crisis, banks became risk-averse, loans got tougher to obtain, and all financial institutions altered their operations. P2P then came as the answer and empowered investors still willing to lend money to individuals and businesses alike. Soon, companies bought in and used alternative credit models to provide consumers and businesses with faster and easier access to capital.

It is an inexpensive and accessible model that runs on a sense of social responsibility and not to feed a bank’s balance sheet. It is here to only stay and grow.

Payments

Payments have been on the forefront of the consumer adoption of FinTech in India. With the spread of smartphones, affordable mobile internet, and with a little additional help from notebandi, apps like PayTM, MobiKwik, Freecharge, etc. have flourished. The advancements in this field have allowed businesses and individuals to make or accept payments without needing merchant accounts.

Mobile wallets are so popular now that all top banks have a digital wallet facility to go with their savings accounts to ease transactions. Initially a cause of worry for the banking sector, but both fintech companies and banks have now realized that it is best to collaborate rather than to compete. To capitalize the most on its increasing applications, both sides cannot operate independently. With more liberalized KYC (Know Your Customer) norms, online payments are on their way to only get easier. You can visit here to learn how your startup or business can create e-wallets and how you can conquer this highly unexplored space.

Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain

I am betting you have heard of Bitcoins by now? I mean, who hasn’t? The underlying technology behind all cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, is blockchain that has incredible potential to change the financial sector for good. Without getting much into the technicalities, blockchain is simply a decentralized ledger which can never be erased or altered once it comes into being. It is called as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).

Data on blockchains is distributed amongst various different sources and does not exist on a single centralized system, which, theoretically, makes it incorruptible. This helps add accountability and proofs in transactions. Other applications of blockchain include smart contracts, digital identities, etc. which can self-execute themselves and in turn accelerate the whole process while making it more secure than ever.

Artificial intelligence in banking is another aspect that demands mention with uses that can transform banking and investment. More is discussed at length on the same in this report by PWC on FinTech Trends in India.

Hindrance, for now, to use blockchains to their highest potential is the collaboration required between FinTech startups and banks. However, with the numerous benefits of DLT, blockchain is poised for rapid growth in India in the years to come.

Personal Finance and Investment Services

Financial planning and investments have also moved with the times and are now catering to more customized needs of everyone. The digital financial advisor is no longer the phone-calling, portfolio-managing, product-selling human being. FinTech has given a level playing field to smaller startups who can provide quality financial advice amidst the bigger financial players.

Young companies like PolicyBazaar, FundsIndia, BankBazaar, etc. are providing personal help to individuals on saving, managing and investing their finances. Revising old business model and reaching out to the new and most prized customer audience – the millennials. Globally, the adoption for financial planning is only 10%, while in India it’s much higher at 20% according to the FinTech Adoption Index.

Similar trends are visible in the investment sector with 20% global adoption rate compared to India’s 39%. With the growth in the do-it-yourself attitude, the consumer today is becoming smart and not shy in investing both time and money in understanding how to manage finances through FinTech.

Government Incentives, Policies, and Regulations for FinTech

Initiatives by both RBI and the government have fostered growth in FinTech. This has created an even playing field and an environment of healthy competition and innovation. Government and regulatory bodies are actively interacting with major players to understand the market and accordingly ease operations. Both online and offline solutions are now working towards creating a safer financial system.

Modiji’s new formula of “IT + IT = IT” (Indian Talent + Information Technology = India Tomorrow) is a clear evidence that the government is attentively working towards promoting digitization in every field, including the financial sector. In an extremely conscious country like India, gaining mass acceptance, especially gaining trust with the consumer’s finances, was a challenge. Although, India is also a country to swear by our beloved Prime Minister’s words and if Modiji is encouraging the use and inclusion of FinTech, it cannot go wrong.

Various incentives and policies have been implemented by the government to promote FinTech and many are known to be in the pipeline. Digital KYC, Aadhaar-Enabled Payment System (AEPS), Bharat Bill Payments Scheme (BBPS) are continuing to ease payments and other transactions for all classes of the Indian society. The government support is only increasing in this dynamic yet fairly new sector and it is arguably the best time to be a key player in this landscape. One can learn more about rules, regulations, government assistance and how to get into the FinTech space here.

As the scope of this industry has increased over time, it now falls under the purview of four regulatory bodies in India, namely the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). Each of these are working together in shaping the future for FinTech through key initiatives.

Watch out this space for more on this!  

In this Article, Sakshi Jain pursuing Diploma in Entrepreneurship Administration and Business Laws from NUJS, Kolkata analyses the Business Structure of Uber.

Introduction

Uber Technologies Inc. is a largest global taxi technology company which operates Uber App. Uber is essentially an On-Demanding taxi hailing services which people with smartphones use to book a trip by third-party private owned vehicle. It is operating in over 633 cities and 60 countries worldwide. Uber was founded by CEO Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp in San Francisco, USA. Uber is private limited liability company incorporated under the laws of the Netherland with the registered office in the Amsterdam. The company has its headquarters in the San Francisco, USA. It is the world largest company which owned no vehicles but have a valuation of more than $ 50 billion and funds of $ 10 billion.

How do Uber works?

Uber is a smartphone app which connects the passengers and taxi cab drivers. It gives on-demand services of cabs. Most taxi drivers use their own car while they can also use it by renting.

• Firstly, the customers have to download the app and register themselves by using their mobile number and email id.
• The Uber App have options to choose, Like Uber X for bigger cars, Uber Go, Uber Micro for smaller cars and Uber Share for sharing the car with the fellow passengers. The passenger can choose the cab as per their requirement.
• The Uber App uses GPS tracking system of passenger’s smartphone for detecting the location or they can also put their location themselves, then UBER App connects with the nearest driver. An Uber driver then dispatched to the passenger’s location and assists the passenger to reach his destination.
• Uber also provide with the performance feedback rating form to passengers to rate the drivers or write any problem they faced with the particular driver. These ratings are also filled by the drivers of the passenger.

Elements of Uber Business Model

The main elements of the Uber Business Model are:

Taxi Drivers

A person having a driving license and a car can apply to Uber for registering himself as Uber driver in cities Uber covers. After screening process, the drivers are enlisted and given an Uber phone for connecting passengers. The taxi cab drivers can use their hard resource to immobilize in the steady income without any major investment.

The Passengers

Registered Uber users use their smartphone app for booking the on-demand services. Now they also provide the name of the driver and the fare you have to pay at your destination. The passengers can also track the taxi on their phone. The details of the driver and the contact number of the driver have also come in the app. This service is convenient, comfortable, cheap and readily available at any time of day. The passengers can also split the fares by help of Uber App.

Fare and Payment

Uber sets the taxi fares and provides the fare before the ride. The fare hikes during the peak hours and charged at the flat rate in the off hours. Passengers can pay by debit card, credit card, wallets like Paytm Wallet in India. They can also pay in cash at the end of the Journey. The fare is determined on the basis of car type, distance and peak hour.

Strength of the Uber Model Structure

1. The model simplifies the process of hailing the taxi services, no need of phoning or searching the taxies. It came directly on the address provided by the passengers. As Uber use only one App for all cities, you can book the drive in any city you are travelling easily.
2. The model also provides choices to passengers for types of cars with their estimated fares. It makes the prices transparent and gives accurate fare estimates for the trip. Important notifications about the ride, fare, cab details etc. are provided on the app as well as on SMS and emails.
3. Uber provides Pool Services where Customers can get the Ride at 50%-70% less cost than that of a Ubergo Ride. They also provide many vouchers and discounts to attract the customers, this makes Uber less costly than simple taxi services.
4. The payment of fare is very easy as you can either pay in cash or e-money like credit cards/debit cards or Mobile e-wallets.
5. Uber have large market share with Ola as an only major competitor in many cities in India. It has established a solid infrastructure, branding and consumer trust.

The weakness of the Uber Model

1. Uber is plagued with many liability and security issues. Like the rape case in Delhi attracted public outburst towards the security policy of the company. This has questioned the security management and screening policy of drivers before appointing them.
2. Many Lawsuits with liability questions and insurance issues have been filed on the company.
3. The security issues and privacy concerns are also weak points in this model.
4. As the competition is increasing in major cities, Uber have to cut out its revenue increasing its overhead cost.

Limitations

1. Drivers Availability at any time;
2. Technological and Capital Infrastructure;
3. User’s Internet availability;
4. User’s Device;
5. User’s willingness to provide their personal information on the internet;
6. Policies and Legislation of the host country.

Revenue Model of Uber

Uber majorly make money through the customer’s trip commission. The company nearly takes 20 percent of the fare charged to the customer and other 80% is given to the driver. It charges 1.5X, 2X, 3X or more based on the surge in a demand-supply ratio from the passengers and then draws its commission. The revenue model of Uber is based on the type of the car, primetime fares and the distance travelled by the passenger.

The trip fare is a combination of:

1. Travel Time (in Minutes): Uber fare includes charges per minute of time travel after initial free X minutes (varies according to the cities and type of cab)
2. Distance Cost: Uber charges per km of travel after an initial fixed fare.( Fixed fare varies as per the country and type of cab)
3. Waiting Minutes: In case any passenger made the driver wait beyond the prescribed time of waiting, additional waiting charges are levied in the fare.
4. Taxes as applicable in every country.
5. When the passenger cancels a booked ride, it charges a cancellation fee from the passenger next ride fare. The company also made revenue by advertising other company’s products on the app.

Benefits for the drivers

Uber works with the corporation of taxi drivers and customers while it plays as a platform for them to reach each other. The benefits Uber Model provides to the drivers can be summarized as below:

• Uber provides jobs to the drivers who do not have any source of income but have hard cash. It also provides an additional source of income for drivers who are associated with other people also.
• Uber provides flexible working schedules. They can work permanently or part-time or simply whenever they like.
• Uber provides easy payment procedure. The drivers do not need to indulge in bargaining process as fares are determined by Uber system.
• Those who love to drive can easily earn money while pursuing their hobby.
• Uber pays drivers to be online, even if they don’t get any request. They also pay for the phone and internet charges of the drivers.
• They also pay the base salary to the permanent drivers in some cities.
• They also give incentives and bonuses to the drivers for completing X number of rides in a month.

Human Resource of Uber

Uber has more than 12000 employees worldwide. Uber appoints drivers on independent contractors basis. For Uber, they can easily obtain the service of lot drivers with very limited restrictions in terms of the kind of people they can hire. So long as the driver has a vehicle, has proper licensure, and has passed their background test, they can work as a driver under the company’s transportation network service.[1]

Improvements Needed

• Uber has faced many lawsuits related to its limited liability, insurance, and security issues. They have spent the large amount in these litigations. They need to resolve these issues.
• Uber have to spend the large amount in the infrastructure and technology with the expanded base. India’s Population is increasing and demand for this demographic will grow in the next years.
• Uber needs to improve the slow working of its customer-service department.
• Uber has improved its security issues by providing the details of the drives and its efficient tracking process but still its need to ensure that the security of passengers remains in its motive. They can improve the screening process for selecting drivers.
• The company needs to develop and implement an anti-surge-pricing policy that prohibits surge pricing from exceeding 10 percent of original fare to compete with other taxi services.
• Educate customers so they can perform their roles and responsibilities in service delivery effectively.[2]

Conclusion

Uber is one of the successful startups which have increased its value proportionately in the last 10 years. Uber have expanded its base in around 60 countries and still counting. With the expansion of the company, it also needs to invest highly in innovation and technology. Still, with an expansion of Uber, it is not one of the profitable companies. The profit margins are even decreasing with the increase in other online taxi cab services which have been the major concern for the company. The company can increase its profit margin by introducing other services with the trip. It has also been recently been questioned on HR policies. The company needs to improve its internal management so that these types of news does not come outside to have the negative impact on the branding of the company. On the positive note, the company is estimated to soon become a profitable start-up.

References

[1] Pullen, J. P. (2014, November 4). Everything You Need to Know About Uber. Retrieved from Time: http://time.com/3556741/uber/

[2] Wirtz, Js., Lovelock, C. H., & Chew, P. (2012). Essentials of services marketing (2nd ed.). Singapore: Prentice Hall.

In this article, Nritika Sangwan pursuing Diploma in Entrepreneurship Administration and Business Laws from NUJS, Kolkata discusses on Arbitration and Blockchains.

Smart Contracts and the Blockchain technology that they use are the focus points in almost every industry. With changing times and fast-growing technology, contracts are no longer executed in person. They are executed online by parties who reside overseas.

Smart Contracts

Before moving on to the understanding of Blockchain Arbitration, it is imperative to understand what smart contracts are and how they work. Smart contracts were first proposed by Nick Szabo, who coined the term, in 1994[1]. Smart Contracts can be defined as a set of promises, specified in the digital form, including the protocols within which the parties comply with these promises[2].Therefore, a smart contract is a computer protocol that digitally facilitates, verifies and enforces the execution of a contract[3]. Smart contracts are irrevocable and irreversible.

Illustration:[4] A vending machine that dispenses snacks, drinks, etc. is an example that incorporates the features of smart contracts. Once the money is inserted into the machine, an irreversible action begins. The money is retained and the snacks are then vended. Such a transaction cannot be revoked or terminated while the process of going on. Therefore, it follows, that the terms that govern and operate the machine are incorporated into the hardware and software of the machine.

Basic Features of a Smart Contract

• Digital: They are in a computer format – code, data and operating programs.
• Embedded: Contractual clauses are embedded in the software in the form of computer code.
• Technology-mediated Performance: Payment release and other actions are enabled by technology-based functions and rules.
• Irrevocable: once started, the result for which the smart contract is encoded cannot usually be terminated (unless the result depends on an unsatisfied condition).

Businesses and financial institutions are developing a wide range of uses, like the issuance and transfer of securities, clearing the derivatives, the tracking of the ownership of goods for commercial financial transactions, the arbitrage of the consumption of energy to the verification of the identity of the passengers and ticketing.

Smart contracts are on a spectrum

• A contract can completely be written in code.
• A hybrid or divided model, for example, a coded contract that incorporates by reference the terms of a natural language master agreement.
• A natural language contract with coded performance, like the payment mechanism.
• A coded contract with a separate language version.

Today’s smart contracts are implemented on platforms based on so-called distributed accounting technology (DLT) or, often, the blockchain. DLT and blockchain allow parties (eg, peers, banks, regulators and/or listeners) to reach a consensus on a set of shared facts. In simpler words, a blockchain works as follows:

1. The exact copies of an accounting database are shared between communities of participating computers. These are known as nodes.
2. When a party wishes to execute or register a new transaction, a request is sent to the network, where the nodes receive it for processing.
3. A consensus algorithm, an administrator, or a subgroup of participants determines the authenticity of the received request.
4. If it is authentic, the ledger automatically gets updated with new “blocks” of data.

Some DLT platforms can run programs on each of the network nodes that use the general ledger data. Smart contracts are implemented with the help of these programs. For example, a blockchain can register ownership of a digital currency, and a smart contract can include a code that automatically transfers an amount of that digital currency to another account on the blockchain when a particular event occurs. ,

Conflicts because of Smart Contracts[5]

Many technologists believe that smart contracts will replace the law of contracts and the courts. There exists a misconception that since the Smart Contracts are executed automatically and their performance cannot be terminated, they eliminate the risk of conflict. This is nothing but an illusion. While smart contracts offer huge benefits in terms of reduced transaction costs and increased security, conflicts may still arise. In fact, the intersection of contract law and the code creates potential areas of conflict. Certain potential areas of conflict are discussed as follows:

• In many Common Law countries, a contract can only be valid if it is carried out by a legal entity (i.e. a natural or legal person such as a corporation). There is also a Common Law Authority (for example, under English law) that a contract cannot be concluded without reasonable certainty about the nature of the contracting parties. Some civil laws set further legal requirements for the formation of a legally binding contract.
• Coding errors can lead to unexpected performance problems.
• There may be inconsistencies in the natural language version and coding of a Smart Contract.
• The parties may wish to repudiate a Smart contract for breach of or delineate it on grounds of mistake, misrepresentation or coercion.
• Subsequent changes to laws or regulations (such as sanctions) may make the smart contract unlawful.
• Smart contracts can work on the basis of inaccurate data flow.

Incapacity of Conventional Courts to try matters relating to Smart Contracts[6]

As the number of online transactions increases, the need for more conflict resolution agencies that can handle cases that arise from this new and unconventional relationship also increases. An answer to the question of whether it is reasonable to introduce new forms of dispute settlement is necessary for the following reasons:

• Some technologies appear and disappear faster than the required laws. Therefore, it makes no sense to use an agency to resolve a dispute in this area for which there is no relevant legislation.
• The conventional legal system with courts that are already stalled cannot meet the needs of a rapidly evolving technology. Imagine the case where you enter into a smart contract with your foreign partner that completely replaces a traditional escrow. Of course, a fight can happen. Conventional courts will have difficulty defining the nature of their transaction since it is limited to the statutory definition of escrow. It’s no hidden fact that reality can go beyond legal thinking.

Need for an Arbitration Clause[7]

It is extremely essential to include an arbitration clause in the Smart Contracts as they give rise to a number of dispute resolution challenges. Some reasons for the same have been mentioned below:

Difficulty in filing a lawsuit

It is very easy to enter into a Smart Contract pseudonymously. In such cases, it is difficult to identify the person against whom the claim should be made. It is also difficult to determine who is responsible for the loss caused by operating system errors, corrupted messages or broken codes.

Uncertainty about jurisdiction and applicable law

Smart contracts operate through distributed nodes. These nodes can be based anywhere around the world. Therefore, it becomes difficult to determine the applicable law and jurisdiction; it also increases the risk of satellite conflicts over these issues.

Problems in enforcement

A key feature of a Smart Contract, and what is usually seen as an advantage, is that they cannot be revoked and that the transaction is permanently inscribed in the blockchain. However, this creates problems when a party has the right to terminate or revoke a transaction. Arbitration is going to be the preferred mode of resolving smart contract disputes for several reasons, and litigation for smart contracts, in turn, will spur innovation in arbitration.

Protection of patented information

Certain Smart Contract disputes may include evidence of proprietary software and proprietary hardware. In cases where the source code and other confidential information when made public may have important commercial ramifications for any of the parties, it is preferable to accept confidential arbitration as the means for dispute resolution.

Need for Blockchain Arbitration[8]

1. It is a known fact that we all move the e-universe in one way or another. There is no denying that the digital world is changing faster than the analog world. And for one reason or another, disputes arising from electronic commerce are rarely taken into account in conventional public courts.
2. In fact, there are strong reasons why courts will not address the challenges of resolving conflicts with new technologies. The reasons for it have been discussed above.
3. More effective approaches to conflict management must be developed. Traditionally, arbitration has been considered the most effective way to solve problems related to business, but its capacity may be insufficient to resolve average transactions quickly and economically. This is where the blockchain should come into play.
4. The potential uses of blockchain technology can go beyond mere currency, as they can give new impetus to the development of new dispute resolution methods. For example, smart contracts can guarantee an unprecedented level of decentralization, which operates autonomously without the use of intermediaries.
5. The combination of two, blockchain-based dispute resolution and smart contracts, has the potential to bring the quality and applicability of conflict resolution to a new level. The good news is that it finds a wide application in real products, which aim to exploit the full potential of Blockchain. Among several applications of this type, special attention must be paid to Confideal.
6. Confideal provides an integrated environment for the creation of legally binding, secure and encrypted contracts, which will be executed automatically at the specified time.
7. The platform offers a wide range of tools to write and manage smart Ethereum contracts without any programming or legal requirements. With the built-in arbitration module, users can solve any problem without having to resort to intermediaries or reveal personal information.
8. It is like a traditional litigation, but without procedural obstacles, where you can file a complaint, choose your judge and manage your procedure by simply pressing a button on your computer.

Conclusion

The time has come for the online community to create new ways of dealing with disputes arising out of Smart Contracts. The resolution of conflicts with the use of blockchain is no longer an option. It is an imperative. In the realities of life, it is the only way to configure the blockchain solution to obtain wide recognition and acceptance. It is clear that in the early stages of massive implementation of such solutions, including smart contracts, some problems may arise. An automated, reliable and cost-effective dispute resolution system will be essential to maintain consumer confidence in such applications.

References

[1] Nick Szabo, (1996). Smart Contracts: Building Blocks for Digital Markets

[2] Nick Szabo, (1996). Smart Contracts: Building Blocks for Digital Markets

[3] Smart Contracts. (2018, February 3). Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_contract

[4]Arbitrating Smart Contract disputes. ( 2017, October). Retrieved from http://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/knowledge/publications/157162/arbitrating-smart-contract-disputes

[5]Arbitrating Smart Contract disputes. ( 2017, October). Retrieved from http://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/knowledge/publications/157162/arbitrating-smart-contract-disputes

[6]Arbitrating Smart Contract disputes. ( 2017, October). Retrieved from http://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/knowledge/publications/157162/arbitrating-smart-contract-disputes

[7] Arbitrating Smart Contract disputes. ( 2017, October). Retrieved from http://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/knowledge/publications/157162/arbitrating-smart-contract-disputes

[8]Why is blockchain-based Arbitration the only future for dispute resolution? ( 2017, October 5). Retrieved from

https://medium.com/@confideal/why-is-blockchain-based-arbitration-the-only-future-for-dispute-resolution-93e34d99ec83

Startup ecosystem in India is a dichotomy in itself. A classic day sees a new startup taking birth but the harsh reality is that one startup dies each day too. In this article, Aditya Shrivastava, Content Marketing Manager at iPleaders analyzes the 2017 startup failures and lessons learnt from them.

The day before yesterday I got a message late in the night, “Hi! I am an aspiring entrepreneur and I saw a post of yours on YourStory. Could you please connect me to some of the entrepreneurs whose startups have failed?” The message (at 03:00 am in the morning) left me baffled. I am a content writer. How could I possibly connect him to people I didn’t know myself?

I politely answered, “Hey, I am sorry, I don’t know any such failed entrepreneurs. Why do you ask?” “I want to learn what not to do when I start my own startup,” he answered.

I have seen people learning from success stories. No one ever looks at the failures. No one tries to understand what might have gone wrong and what shouldn’t be repeated. Everyone just looks at what made it to the headlines and what can one do to achieve it. We all look at success rates, we study the market to succeed. In fact our plans are made to succeed. However, do we look at the failures and see what could go wrong? Not to be pessimistic but to assess whether we have a contingency plan or not?

The Indian startup ecosystem is a masterpiece of dichotomy. While you see stats every day of how a new startup just bloomed, a startup failing everyday is an equal and harsh reality. As per this article, “The FDI norms are clear as dishwater, and the tax regime is still a puzzle to many. In such a scenario, a regular day sees the launch of 2-3 new startups and the winding up of at least one startup.”

A report by CB Insights cites that 42% of the startups that begin enthusiastically thinking they will change the world are actually not needed at all. Thus, they result in shutdowns.

While in the beginning of 2017, the market saw some names such as Eatonomist, Taskbob, FabFurnish and few others with great expectations, given the startups were heavily funded by the investors, even a million dollar funding couldn’t be their saving grace. Not only these giants, but also small and steady startups like Cardback and Prophesee couldn’t maintain a sustainable setup for themselves in spite of receiving consumer interest and reasonable funding.

Every startup story, big or small, is a lesson by itself. You need to observe and learn. If you can’t, then you need to take online courses which can give you insights to ensure that your startup is full proof. It’s not just about what to do and what not to do, it is also about how not to do it. Lessons can be learnt from anywhere. Here is a list of 3 startups that saw an early death and what can we learn from them:

#1 Stayzilla

Launched in 2005 by Yogendra Vasupal, Rupal Yogendra and Sachit Singhi in Bengaluru, Stayzilla was initially launched as an online travel agency for booking hotels under the name Insara. However, in 2010 the platform pivoted to become Stayzilla, a hotel aggregator.

In a glorious span of 3 funding rounds, Stayzilla managed to raise $33.5 million. The first round got them $500,000 in 2012, $20 Mn in 2015 and $13 Mn in 2016. It had big names like Matrix Partners and Nexus Ventures working behind it.

What went wrong?

In a blogpost “Stayzilla will reboot its operations,” Yogi announced a sad shut down of the company. The post seemed extremely emotional and stated how due to the inability of a quick expansion, effect of local area network and high costs resulting in low revenues, Stayzilla had to be shut down. On the other hand, in June 2017, he was arrested on the charges of fraud of about Rs. 1.72 Crores by JigSaw advertising. The complaint had arisen as allegedly Stayzilla failed to clear off its dues. Although the Supreme Court had passed an interim order of maintaining the status quo, still much air needs to be cleared between the parties.

#2 Tolexo

A company with a massive brand name, a sustainable growth model and moderately responsive customers. Tolexo had everything that one could ask for. However, this B2B wing of IndiaMART InterMESH Ltd. suddenly shut down leaving 300 employees jobless.

Backed by industry giants like Intel Capital and Bennett, Coleman and Company, Tolexo was the proud face of the online retail marketplace for IndiaMArt. It was running on both B2B retail and B2B wholesale models simultaneously.

Sadly, the saga lasted only till the FDI policy issued by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) imposed a ceiling of 51 percent FDI in multi-brand retailing. This was subject to government approval and observing relatively complex conditions. The policy gave rise to the ambiguity in the definition of “online marketplace” and also gave a 100% FDI permission in the wholesale market, giving little or no scope for the retail industry.

Demonetization was another fatal blow which ultimately led to the failure and shutdown of this ‘high on cash-on-delivery’ model as it could not survive further.

#3 Cardback

In 2012, Nidhi Gurnani and Nikhil Wason, raised $170,000 in a funding round led by prominent angel investors Rajan Anandan, Sunil Kalra and Alok Mittal in June 2014. With an idea that was ahead of its time, Cardback was a payment recommendation app carefully designed to help various card holders save money every time they made a payment.

A brilliant idea, isn’t it?

What went wrong?

After the first round, the startup failed to raise more funds. Another blow was the fact that there was a lack of demand for the product. In a report by MoneyControl, the founders were of the opinion that Indian market is not mature enough to be able to appreciate the product that Cardback had to offer.

In a country full of millennials where the government is trying to make the economy cashless, it is pretty difficult to digest that a thoughtful startup like Cardback could not gain success.

What can be learnt from these examples?

Stayzilla is a classic example of why things need to be in black and white. Every transaction needs to be on paper so that random claims that come at a later point of time can be avoided. It would have been a comparatively easy dispute to resolve. However, lack of enough paperwork acted like a silent killer.

Tolexo tells us how irregularity in regulations or the dynamic nature of the government control and policies can absolutely give a fatal blow to your startup. First, the FDI circular and then demonetization. Until you are prepared well in advance, there can be no saving grace for your startup.

What can we learn from Cardback? It does not matter if your product is amazing, if you are not able to reach out to the right audience it might fail. Cardback was a wonderful idea. However, in a country where people are still stuck on money orders, doubting the credibility of ATM cards and skeptical of getting loans, an application to guide them to become finance-technology savvy might not be the smartest thing to do.

Ask your lawyer, consult your CA, analyze the market. Just don’t stop there. If you meet and ask successful veterans of the business world, they will tell you that the success of any startup lies in practical knowledge. Limitations due to the legal compliances, laws and the target market. You need to ensure that you educate yourself, and apply the education accordingly. Anyone without the other is incomplete and is capable of leaving you in the middle of nowhere.

Good luck!

In this article Shivangi Sinha discusses, Article 21, Right to life and Personal Liberty”.

Introduction

Article 21 ensures every person right to life and personal liberty. Both the terms, life and personal liberty has been given a very expansive and wide amplitude covering a variety of rights. Its deprivation is only possible through the procedure established by law. The expression “life” has been broadly interpreted by the Supreme Court, which has given it, an expansive scope.

Munn v. Illinois

In the case of Munn v. Illinois, the Court referred to the observation of Justice Field, wherein he stated that by the term ‘life’ as here used something more is meant than a mere animal existence. Thus, it embraces within itself not only the physical existence but also the quality of life.

The expression personal liberty

The expression personal liberty does not only mean freedom from:

• Arrest
• Detention
• False or Wrongful confinement

The Supreme Court of India held that it encompasses those rights and privileges that have long been recognized as being essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men. The expression procedure established by law has also been a subject matter of interpretation. It means the procedure laid down by statute or procedure prescribed by the law of the State.

Expanding Horizon of Article 21

The fundamental right to life and personal liberty which has become an inexhaustible source of many other rights and mentioned under the following subheads:

Right to Live with Human Dignity

1. The Supreme Court in the case of Maneka Gandhi vs. Union of India held that right to life embodied in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, is not merely a physical right but it also includes within its ambit, the right to live with human dignity.
2. In the case of Francis Coralie vs. Union Territory of Delhi it was held that right to live includes the right to live with human dignity with bare necessities of life such as:Adequate nutrition
3. 1. Clothing, and
   2. Shelter over the head and facilities for:Reading
   3. 1. Writing, and
      2. Expressing oneself in diverse form.

Right against sexual harassment at workplace

1. In the case of Vishakha vs. the State of Rajasthan, the court declared that sexual harassment of a working woman workplace amounts to a violation of rights under Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Indian Constitution. The guidelines have been laid down in order to protect the rights of a woman at workplace
2. Following which the Sexual Harassment of woman at Workplace (prevention, prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 was passes

Right to clean environment

1. The Right to life under Article 21 means a life of dignity to live in a proper and healthy environment.
2. The maintenance of various things like:Health
3. 1. Proper sanitation system, and
   2. Preservation of environment comes under the purview of the Article 21.
4. In the case of Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum vs Union of India the Supreme Court held that though industries are vital for the country’s development, having regards to the pollution caused by them, the principle of ‘sustainable development’ has to be adopted as the balancing concept.

Right to know or right to be informed

• It has been recognized by the Courts, in the case of Reliance Petrochemicals Ltd. vs. Proprietors of Indian Express Newspapers that right to know falls under the scope of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution as an essential ingredient of participatory democracy.

Right of prisoners

1. The protection under Article 21 is also available to those who have been convicted of any offense. Even though he is deprived of his other rights, but he is entitled to the rights guaranteed under Article 21.
2. In the case of Sunil Batra vs. Delhi Administration, the petitioner sentenced to death on charges of murder and robbery was held in a solitary confinement since the date of his conviction by the session court, pending his appeal before the High Court.
3. The petitioner filed a writ petition before the Supreme Court, contending that solitary confinement itself is a substantive punishment under the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and only the Courts had the authority to impose such punishments and not the jail authorities, thus, it violates Article 21.
4. The Supreme Court accepted his contentions and held that the conviction of a person for a crime does not reduce him to non-person vulnerable to a major punishment imposed by jail authorities without observance of due procedural safeguards, thus violative of Article 21.

Right against illegal detention

1. In the case of D.K. Basu vs. State of West Bengal, the Supreme Court laid down the guidelines to be followed by the Central and the State investigating authorities in all cases of arrest and detention.
2. The petitioner wrote a letter addressed to the Chief Justice drawing his attention to certain news items published in the Telegraph and the Indian express, regarding deaths in police lockups and custody and this letter was treated as a writ petition by the Court.
3. The court not only issued the guidelines but, also went to the extent that any failure by the officials to comply to such guidelines would not only subject them to departmental actions but would also amount to contempt of Court.

Right to Legal Aid

1. It has been held, in the case of Hussainara Khatoon vs. State of Bihar, that right to free legal aid at the cost of the State to an accused who cannot afford legal services for reasons of poverty, indigence or incommunicado situation is a part of fair, just and reasonable procedure under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.
2. In the case of Khatri vs. the State of Bihar, it has also been held that the trial court is under the obligation to inform the accused of his right to free legal aid.

Right to speedy trial

• The Code of Criminal Procedure does not specifically guarantee speedy trial nor it has the Indian Constitution guaranteed under any of the Fundamental Rights but the Indian Judiciary in the case of Hussianara Khatoon vs. the State of Bihar, has made it settled decision that the right to speedy trial is an inalienable right under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

Right to compensation

1. A new judicial trend has manifested a new trend of providing compensation. In the case of Rudul Shah vs. the State of Bihar, the petitioner was kept in jail for 14 years even after his acquittal.
2. He was released only after a writ of habeas corpus was filed on his behalf.
3. The Supreme Court held that under Article 21, the petitioner is entitled to an award of INR 35,000 as compensation against the State of Bihar as he was kept in the jail for 14 long years after his acquittal.  

Disclosure of dreadful diseases

1. No law has yet been enacted in India defining the rights and duties of HIV infected persons. Therefore, to fill in the legal gap, the Court has laid various decisions.
2. In the case of Mr. X. vs. Hospital Z, the issue in consideration was whether the disclosure made by a doctor to the fiance of a person suffering from HIV positive, amounts to infringement under Article 21? The Court herein opined that the lady proposing to marry such a person is entitled to all human rights, which are available to any human being and the right to be told that person is suffering from a deadly disease which is sexually communicable, is her right to life guaranteed under Article 21.
3. The court also held that when two fundamental rights, namely the right to privacy and that if life clashes the right which would advance the public morality or public interest would alone be enforced through the process of Court.

Right to Privacy

1. In the recent and the most debated case of Justice K.S. Puttuswamy (Retd.) vs. Union of India and Other, the Supreme Court’s 9 judges constitutional bench held privacy to be a fundamental right under the Constitution of India.
2. The Privacy Bench unanimously held that the right to privacy is a fundamental right protected under the Constitution.

Six judgments of Judges

Justice Chandrachud, Chief Justice JS Khehar, Justice Agrawal and Justice Abdul Nazeer (Leading Judgment). Justice Chelameshwar, Justice Bobde, Justice Sapre, Justice Nariman and Justice Kaul have written separate judgments providing their own findings, conclusions, and observations (referred to as Single Judgment(s)). A consolidated order holds that:

• Article 21 and as a part of the freedoms guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution; and
• The earlier judgments of the SC in Kharak Singh and MP Sharma to the extent they held otherwise, are overruled.

Right to die with dignity

1. The Court held that the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution does not include the right to die. But later in Aruna Ramchandra Shanbaug v. Union of India the Supreme Court held that passive euthanasia can be allowed under exceptional circumstances under the strict monitoring of the Court.
2. The difference between active and passive euthanasia is that in active euthanasia something is done to end the patient’s life while in passive euthanasia something is not done that would have preserved the patient’s life.
3. Supreme Court of India held in the case of Common Cause vs. Union of India that right to die with dignity is a fundamental right.
4. The right to life and liberty as envisaged under Article 21 of the Constitution is meaningless unless it encompasses within its sphere individual dignity.

Right to choose a life partner

• In the case of Shakti Vahini vs. Union of India, the petitioner, an NGO, had approached the Apex Court, seeking directions to the State Governments and the Central Government to take preventive steps to combat honor crimes.

Article 21 weaves a string of an endless yarn of welfare legislation. Its scope and interpretation has been time and again defined and redefined, giving it the widest possible amplitude and judiciary has played an important role in lining up the actions of a welfare state.

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