India: Recommend Your Successor, Law Minister Urges Chief Justice Of India

The Indian Law Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, on Tuesday appealed to the CJI, Dipak Misra, to recommend the name of the Supreme Court judge who is likely to succeed him after retirement on October 2. The appeal was made through a letter written by the Law Ministry and personally signed by the Minister. According to the letter, the move was according to the convention laid out in the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), where the law minister at an appropriate time seeks the recommendation of the outgoing CJI for the appointment of the next CJI.

India: Law Infraction: Respond To A Petition Before Us, Supreme Court Asks WhatsApp

The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday requested a response from WhatsApp following a petition that alleges it breaches certain Indian regulations. The petition has created another headache for the Facebook Inc-owned firm already facing pressure in India over the fake news. In a ruling on Tuesday, the Supreme Court asked WhatsApp to respond within four weeks to a petition filed by a Delhi-based think-tank called the Centre For Accountability And Systemic Change (CASC).

India: Rape Cases: India Toughens Rape Laws

In a bid to stem the rampant cases of rape in the country, India has further toughened rape laws by amending its criminal code. In the Parliament session which ended on August 10, the government replaced The Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018 with The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018. The changes involve harsher punishment for rape and will allow the government to double the number of fast-track courts.

India: Missouri Defines What Constitute Meat

The State of Missouri in the US is the first State to define what can be considered as meat. The new state law which went into effect on Tuesday banned manufacturers from marketing lab-grown and plant-based meat substitutes with terms that previously implied meat products. In fact, any burgers made of tofu or sausages made of vegetables that didn’t come from an animal isn’t meat in Missouri, the State declared.

India: Banned Currency Notes: Central Government Resolves Imbroglio

The Central government on Tuesday waded into the imbroglio currently faced by law enforcement agencies like tax department and Enforcement Directorate. These agencies are faced with a unique situation of holding confiscated currency notes beyond specified limits. On Tuesday, the government made changes in the law. A notification in this regard has been issued by the Ministry of Finance allowing agencies such as the Central Board of Direct Taxes, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Enforcement Directorate to hold banned currency notes.

India: India Ranks High On Women Sexual Crisis

India currently ranks high as one of the most dangerous countries for sexual violence against women. This was revealed by the Thomson Reuters Foundation 2018 survey. The survey measured sexual and non-sexual violence, discrimination, cultural traditions, health care and human trafficking. But India barely fares better in other studies that rank its treatment of women. It placed 131st of 152 countries in the Georgetown Institute’s global ranking of women’s inclusion and well-being. The survey suggested that for the country to curb rape, it should elect more women into power.

India: Illicit Drug Use: Sikkim Government Plans To Decriminalise Drug Abuse

The Sikkim government is currently brainstorming on how to decriminalize drug abuse by amending relevant sections of the law. This was made known by the Chief Minister Pawan Chamling. The government also wants to jointly crack down on the drug supply chain from Siliguri and wants to be stricter with those found peddling it into Sikkim. The Chief Minister added that government will decriminalize drug use in the state in order to deal with the issue in a more humanitarian way.

India: Consider Setting Up Training Centres For Prosecutors, High Court Tells Delhi Government

A High Court setting in Delhi on Tuesday told the city government to explore the possibility of setting up training centres for imparting knowledge on prosecutors, and take a cue from other states like Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, where the state governments have such centres. The court was hearing a suo motu plea, in which advocate Ashish Dixit, sought an upward revision in pay scales for over 50 prosecutors, and for equipping them with facilities and infrastructure needed to do their job.

China: Increase In Divorce Rate, China Introduces Delay Tactics

In a bid to tackle China’s soaring divorce rate, the Chinese government on Tuesday introduced a “cooling off” period for splitting couples. The delay tactics seeks to make couples filing for divorce wait for one month before their request can be processed. The delay tactics is one of the new changes included in a new draft of the Civil Code submitted to the National People’s Congress on Monday. The new Civil Code, due to come into effect in 2020, is intended to cover all aspects of private life, including adoption, inheritance and contracts, as well as marriage.

Canada: North American Free Trade Agreement: Tough Intellectual Property Law Underway

The North American Free Trade Agreement reached between the United States and Mexico contains a myriad of rules and tariffs, and among them include tougher rules on copyright and intellectual property. This was made known by the Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister, Chrystia Freeland. She is currently in Washington to negotiate Canada’s part in the agreement, which could be the new form of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Ireland: Irish Abortion Bill, Hospital Shareholders Call For New Abortion Laws

Hospital shareholders in Ireland on Tuesday called for new abortion law to allow those in private hospitals to be bought out at market value if the hospitals carry out abortions, the State media reports. A director of Blackrock Medical, James Sheehan, which holds shares in the Blackrock Clinic and the Galway Clinic, threatened to take legal action if the Regulation of the Termination of Pregnancy Bill did not do enough to “protect” shareholders opposed to abortion.

Saudi Arabia: You Cannot Spy On Your Spouse’s Phone, Saudi Declares.

It is now an offence to spy on your spouse’s phone without their permission. Saudi law has criminalized the act and has listed this act under cybercrimes. Husbands or wives who are caught spying on their spouse’s mobile phone in order to prove dishonest behavior can be imprisoned for up to a year, receive a SR 500,000 fine or receive both forms of punishment.
According to legal sources, the penalty is imposed on people who access their spouse’s mobile phone without their permission. According to the new law, accessing your spouse’s mobile phone becomes illegal when you crack their mobile phone’s password.

Saudi Arabia: Prostest Against Discrimination And Rights Violation: Saudi’s Intend To Execute Female Protester

The Saudi Arabian government has concluded plans to execute Israa al-Ghumgham, a female human rights activist. This is the first time a female campaigner may face execution in the country. She along with her husband, Moussa al-Hashem, are among the five human rights activists facing execution for their peaceful protests, Human Rights Watch reports. They were arrested in 2015 and has been in jail ever since without any access to proper legal help. Both of them are waiting to be tried in Saudi Arabia’s terrorism tribunal.