About the Expert’s Corner
With the growing importance that Policy as a field is gaining, inviting experts and luminaries from a plethora of fields to contribute to the policy making process with their valuable insights, the Expert’s Corner was created to promote appraising people of the different issues our Country and the International sphere is currently facing. Our contributors come with years of expertise and applied knowledge which they weave into their pieces to truly explain the hidden loopholes with a wide variety of legislations, draft bills, policies and “accepted” practices. Other than that, our pieces also suggest better reforms that the country could consider to improve the overall legal system. We hope to further pioneer research and academic scholarship through our publications and your contributions on any topic relating to Law and Policy will be welcome. This affiliation with educators, researchers, and other experts will help us provide resources for people working in all stages of legal development. Since our Expert’s Corner has a broad topic of Law & Policy, it invariably invites a diverse set of written submissions which will go a long way in promoting legal research.
Articles
Cross-border ESOP Structures by Daksha Baxi & Pooja Patel
Employee stock options (“ESOPs”) have been used as an effective retention tool globally. Cross-border ESOP structures can be considered by a variety of global businesses with existing Indian presence and by investors that propose to set up greenfield presence or acquire operating businesses in India. Moreover, Indian companies can also issue ESOPs to employees of their foreign holding, subsidiary or joint venture companies. This article discusses various cross-border ESOP structures and identifies key considerations arising under Indian corporate, foreign exchange and taxation laws.
Defamation Against The Statements Made Before The Courts: An Unsolved Issue by Adv. Lalit Ajmani (Founding & Managing Partner – Ajmani & Law Partners)
In Indian law, defamation causes two kinds of liabilities – one in the form of damages under the purview of civil law, and the other one calls for punishment under criminal law. Civil defamation is not codified and being governed by judgments, whereas, the criminal branch of defamation is succinctly codified under the IPC (chapter XXI) along with various exceptions. It is a trite law that the following three ingredients are sine qua non to constitute a case for defamation. Absence of any of the following may not amount to defamation as per law- (1) The statement must be defamatory, and (2) The statement must be made against the aggrieved party i.e. identify him; and (3) The statement must be published. The first two ingredients often remain undisputed or at least can easily be gathered from the evidence. But it is the ‘publication’ clause that brings discretion and interpretation of courts more often than not. Moreover, the issue becomes complex when the derogatory statement is being made in a court of law either by written submissions (plaint/ complaint, written statements, replications, interim applications, etc), or during examination/ cross examination of witnesses or merely while furnishing arguments before a court of law. The law is not so very clear on this aspect and the endeavour of this piece of writing is to throw some light on this unsolved issue i.e., can a person be sued for defamation qua statements made/ submitted before a court of law.
Neo Banks: The future of banking by Anu Singh (Assistant Professor, Invertis University, Bareilly)
Banking is an evolving concept, we started with the barter system which evolved and concluded in the currency system. With the technological revolution, changes in the banking system were also required. The combination of finance and technology gave birth to financial technology, which is a billion-dollar industry. Even Fintech also keep broadening its horizons and now we see a new kind of banking system introduced known as the neo banking system. In this article, we will discuss the neo banking system, its function and its future in the Indian subcontinent.
Is ADR a Viable Alternative in the Realm of Consumer Disputes? by Adv. Tariq Khan (Registrar of the International Arbitration and Mediation Centre | Former Partner, Advani Law LLP) & Aishvarya Rajesh
India today, suffers largely from the backlog of cases that suffocate the courts and their effective functioning. A simpler, faster and more effective mode of dispute resolution in the form of ADR is thus the need of the hour. Increasingly, gaining importance in the international sphere, ADR is not only cost and time effective but also allows for a simpler and comparatively less formal process which is more suitable for a layperson.
SC/ST Granted Lands: Conversion & Consequences by Sammith S (Principal Attorney, Sanctum Law) & Vinudeep R (Associate, Sanctum Law)
A Full Bench of the Karnataka High Court recently answered a reference made regarding the status of ‘granted lands’ under the Karnataka Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands) Act, 1978 that are converted for purposed other than for which they were granted. In short, the nature of the land subsequent to its conversion from agricultural purpose to non-agricultural purpose was established in this judgement. This article shall discuss the judgement in detail. Finally, this article shall conclude with the significance of the judgement.
LAABh Foundation 