Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 14 September 2016
:: National ::
Law commission chairman differs from SC Judge
In a view different from the highest judiciary’s call for
more judges to trim pendency, Law Commission of India Chairman and former
Supreme Court judge Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan said “working judges”, and
not increasing strength of judges.
“Increasing the sanctioned strength of judges will not
solve the problem. We need working judges. Liberty has become more
important. Workload has increased because of an increase in awareness among
the public and education.” He said
There has been an expansion of liberty and courts are
bound by the public’s faith in the judiciary,” Justice Chauhan, Chairman of
the 21st Law Commission said.
His view comes at a time when the Supreme Court has
directed the Law Commission to file a report within a year on whether it is
permissible to rid the apex court of routine appeals crowding the court.
Justice Chauhan’s views come at a time when Chief Justice
of India T.S. Thakur has called for over 70,000 more judges to be appointed
to courts all over the country to clear the backlog.
This is when the present vacancies in the High Courts
number over 480 when the sanctioned strength is 1079. The Supreme Court has
itself three vacancies in a total sanctioned strength of 31 judges.
Asked whether an amended Bill of the National Judicial
Appointments Commission (NJAC) may be a way out of the current impasse
perceived between the highest judiciary and the government over the drafting
of the Memorandum of Procedure.
“Democracy is a collective opinion. Nobody has primacy.
There should be a collective opinion, a collective effort. You cannot say we
are the most important,” he said.
The October 16, 2015 judgment, which revived the
Collegium, was based on ‘primacy of judiciary’ in judicial appointments.
On the Supreme Court’s reference in July 2016 to review
provisions of the Advocates Act to curb misconduct among lawyers, he said
the judiciary wants “more teeth” to control lawyers’ misconduct.
M.H. govt decided to make loans on projects run by WSHGs
interest-free
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:: International ::
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is generating a
vigorous internal debate
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is generating
a vigorous internal debate, pitting those who advocate a less reliance on
the project against who view the undertaking as a cornerstone of security of
the ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative.
The Pakistani media also underscored the difficulties
that are being encountered in ensuring the CPEC’s unhindered take-off.
Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported that the Chinese side has said Islamabad
should formally rope in the Army to ensure smooth execution of the project.
It added that China wanted the establishment of a
separate ministry or authority that would focus exclusively on the CPEC.
Some say that China was now deeply enmeshed in Pakistan’s
internal dynamics to shore up the CPEC project.
:: India and World ::
India said Terrorism is the grossest violation of Human
Rights
Terrorism is the “grossest” violation of human rights,
said India, lashing out at the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
ZeidRa’ad Al Hussein for his criticism of action by Indian forces in Jammu
and Kashmir.
In his opening statement at the Human Rights Council in
Geneva’s annual session,. Zeid Al Hussein called for an “independent,
impartial and international mission” into reports of use of excessive force
against the civilian population.
He also said that while Pakistan had responded to the
HRC’s request to send the team, agreeing to its visit to Pakistan Occupied
Kashmir “in tandem” with a mission to Jammu and Kashmir, India had yet to
respond formally.
The Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir is part of a
pluralistic and secular democracy, where freedoms are guaranteed by an
independent judiciary, an active media and a vibrant civil society.
In contrast, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is administered by
a ‘deep state’ and has become a hub for the global export of terror,” MEA
spokesperson said.
UN body in Geneva and India to spill over into the UN
General Assembly in New York later this month, where External Affairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj hopes to make a tough intervention on terrorism on
September 26.
Meanwhile, welcoming the statement by the High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs (MOFA)
also “urged” India to make a formal response to the UN body.
Pakistan has escalated the diplomatic war over Kashmir
since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander BurhanWani sparked a series
of protests and violence in the valley, that has left more than 76 dead and
hundreds injured.
However, India said the demand for an “external mission”
had been dismissed by the all-party conference that sent a delegation to
Jammu and Kashmir.