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In the traditional copyright regime, performers had no specific rights as those granted to an author or a creator of a work, since they were considered only as intermediaries between the author and the communication of his work to the public and hence not capable of possessing rights like an author or a copyright owner. With the advent of copying technology in the 20th century, the copyright system was at stake, and performers could not protect themselves from exploitation of their works. However, subsequent protection against unauthorized exploitation was granted to performers under 'neighboring rights' or 'related rights'. Only economic rights were granted to them initially under the international agreements, and subsequently, moral rights were granted for the first time at the international level through World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) in 1996. Though the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 recognized the performers' economic rights in 1994, it did not provide for any moral rights until the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 came into effect. This paper attempts to analyze the development of law relating to the performers' rights in the Indian copyright regime under the influence of different international agreements, and how far the provisions of the Copyright Amendment Act 2012 in India with respect to performers' rights have made the Indian Law compatible with different international instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Judiciary can be a powerful agent of social change when it works without gender bias and supports gender equality, as its pronouncements carry the backing of the State and may thus be enforced or become a norm across a broad range of citizens through established channels of state-citizen engagement. In India, the judiciary has made immense contribution by acting as a change agent for gender equality. The Supreme Court of India has responded to the issue of gender justice in a positive manner. Through Public Interest Litigation (PIL) mechanism, the Indian Supreme Court is well poised in terms of its constitutional and procedural powers to redress violations against women who would otherwise have little or no access to the justice system. Some of the recent decisions given by the apex court significantly advance the cause and the dignity of women. However, there are significant limitations to the PIL mechanism and some broader challenges in enforcing gender equality in a patriarchal society in which women are not sufficiently politically mobilized. Against this background, this paper attempts to examine the performance of Indian judiciary's PIL mechanism as a catalyst of change for gender justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes are inevitable and are bound to happen. Changes in the society are complementary to various law reforms. There have been many changes in criminal investigation system wherein new technology and new gadgets are used by the investigating personnel to arrive at a conclusion. Many mysterious cases have been resolved based on the scientific/forensic reports. Depending on the gravity of such evidence, gradually the courts, with proper justification, started to rely on such reports. Keeping this in view, the paper deals with the pros and cons of the admissibility of scientific/forensic evidence. The ongoing judicial trends in India have been compared with the trends in the United States and the United Kingdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ever since the pre-independence era, India has had separate laws to govern the communications' chaos and confusion as different laws prescribe different procedures of regulation and control of communications services. In case of violation of the existing laws, different categories of punishments are laid down simultaneously for the same kind of offences, thereby making it difficult for the Indian judiciary to administer the laws and prescribe varied penalties in case of the differing nature of offences. The Communications Convergence Bill, 2001 was tabled in the Parliament with the intention of bringing legal regulation of all forms of communication including the Internet and other modern communication media under one big umbrella. This was aimed at clearing the air of uncertainty caused by different authorities and stakeholders working simultaneously in various fields without proper supervision and guidance. This paper critically analyzes the main features of this bill and tries to suggest that rapid enactment of this law will be a major breakthrough in the communications sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Justice and protection are basic rights of every human being irrespective of age, sex, religion, color, caste, place of birth, and educational and economic background. This paper attempts to put together almost all the legal measures provided especially in India to children. Children require special protection and security because they are placed in the vulnerable class of the society which includes women, disabled and aged. Distinct thoughtfulness is required with regard to children because they are the future representatives of a nation and can be shaped as good citizens of a nation, and the world at large. While protecting and providing access to justice to children, the adoption and implementation of legal measures is very important. In addition to the aforesaid, the role of non-governmental organizations and other organizations, in fact law schools, is relevant in making justice and protection accessible to children as enshrined in the Indian Constitution as well as in various legislations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women across all ages, regions, religions, classes and political affiliations are vulnerable. Their safety is neither guaranteed in public spheres, nor at home. Women have been the subject of trauma, harassment and victimization. Sexual harassment at workplace is not new to a majority of working women around the world who face it in some form or the other. Against this backdrop, this paper examines the implementation and enforcement of international laws relating to women's rights in India. Finally, it discusses the various recommendations made by human rights scholars and calls for a campaign from government, NGOs and people, to eradicate all kinds of violence and discrimination against women and to make them a part of the nation building process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate over capital punishment has surfaced once again on public domain due to the recent executions and decisions of the Supreme Court. This has been the bone of contention between the retentionists and abolitionists of capital punishment for a long time. Capital punishment has prevailed since the existence of humanity. The opponents argue that ultimate punishment is inhumane and it is nothing but killing by an authority. They further argue that capital punishment is irreversible and uncorrectable and human judgment is fallible. The retentionists argue that capital punishment should stay as it deters crime. There is truth in both the contentions. This paper analyzes the position of law on capital punishment in India and across the globe and the recent decisions of the Apex court in this regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Banking and financial institutions and the securities market are two broad platforms for institutional intermediation of the flow of capital in the economy. Investment banking mainly deals with the primary function of assisting the securities market in the movement of financial resources from the investors to the issuers. Investment banks are actually the counterparts of commercial banks in financial markets. They perform the function of intermediation in the area of resource allocation. Regulatory authorities require promotion of quality issues, integrity and maintenance of compliance with the law on behalf of the banks as well as the issuers. Advising corporations on how best to configure their balance sheets constitutes the very heart of investment banking. This paper focuses on investment banking industry and related laws, with special reference to India and SEBI's active role in the development of a powerful regulatory structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vedas, Upanishads, Smritis, etc. are evidence of the society's respect for plants, trees, earth, sky, air, water and every form of life in India. People worship trees; rivers and seas are treated as replica of God and belong to all living creatures. The Apex Court stressed the need for peoples' participation in environmental management for sustainable development. The Constitutional obligation is to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wild life in the country. In pursuance of the Millennium Development Goals, various schemes in India are being implemented to prevent undesirable climate change. The Judiciary, while enforcing the environmental protection laws, adopts an eco-friendly attitude, reflecting the legislative intent. But unfortunately, felling of trees without compensatory planting of saplings is going on unabated. The author stresses the need for preventing cutting of trees for development activities, including building of infrastructure, industrial development and construction of airports, etc. Construction industry and other tree cutting industries, besides paying compensation, may be required to grow plants extensively on a large scale based on real impact assessments. It is desirable that the trees may as well be displaced adopting advanced technology, or compensatory plantation shall be taken up to ensure prevention of climate changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Constitution of India contains provisions combining both the individual freedoms and social welfare. Individual freedoms are represented in Part III as Fundamental Rights (FR) and social welfare in Part IV as Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP). There have been curious developments as to their relationship or so to say the predominance of one over the other. The Supreme Court of India was initially reluctant to give any value to Directive Principles (DP) vis-à-vis FR. Compelled by such a situation, the Parliament brought successive amendments to further the goal of welfarism. This led to an unpleasant situation of virtual tussle between legislature and judiciary. Of late, the judiciary has woken up to the reality of socioeconomic justice and interpreted both, i.e., FR and DP as integrated ones. They constitute the negative and positive aspects of human rights, respectively. This development has helped in the growth of the ambit of FR and specifically Article 21. The integrative approach has enriched the growth of constitutional jurisprudence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the liberalization of the Indian economy, it is increasingly believed that adequate protection of intellectual property is a necessary element in encouraging foreign investment. With a weak patent law, the protection of trade secrets assumes great importance. The development of the law based on cases brought before the court on a particular point has created a certain understanding of how information is classified and why and the circumstances in which it is protected. Information can be classified as being confidential or public. Confidential information can be further classified as being a trade, government (for example, the Spy Catcher cases in England), or personal secret (as between a husband and wife), or as know-how depending upon the number and the class of people who have access to such information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]