C2RM… To Know More
Something Awesome Is In The Work
DAYS
HOURS
MINUTES
SECONDS
Adoni, India
Kolkata, India
Diamond Industry - Loss of jobs About 20% of Surat’s diamond workers — nearly one lakh people — could lose their jobs over the next six months, Economic Times reports. The reasons range from the government’s read more
Diamond Industry - Loss of jobs
About 20% of Surat’s diamond workers — nearly one lakh people — could lose their jobs over the next six months, Economic Times reports. The reasons range from the government’s recent move to raise import duty on diamonds and tighter norms for getting loans to the rupee devaluation. “A lot of diamonds which used to come to India for re-cutting are now being shipped to China and Thailand,” said Colin Shah of Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council. India’s diamond imports fell 32% in the first six months of FY19 to ₹5,289 crore.
The director of the National Research Centre on Litchi confirmed that Bihar’s Shahi Litchi has successfully bagged the Geographical Indication (GI) tag and has added to the glory of Bihar after Katrani read more
The director of the National Research Centre on Litchi confirmed that Bihar’s Shahi Litchi has successfully bagged the Geographical Indication (GI) tag and has added to the glory of Bihar after Katrani rice, Jardalu mango and Magahi paan (betel vine). All these products now have the GI tag which indicates that the product possesses certain qualities and are made using traditional methods, thus adding to its reputation. The victory came a year after the efforts began to get the registration.
The renowned Shahi Litchi of Bihar is known for its mouth-watering taste and distinct flavour all over the country and is grown mostly in Muzaffarpur and neighbouring districts including East Champaran, Vaishali, Samastipur and Begusarai.The GI tag would lead to a boost in the Litchi’s demand and would also allow a particular region to possess an exclusive claim on the product and offer better quality assurance.
Mr. Bachcha Prasad Singh, President of Litchi Growers Association of Bihar said that GI registration was done under the name of Litchi Growers Association of Bihar who had applied for the tag as well. He further stated, “The tag will put an effective check on litchi growers of other states like Bengal, Uttarakhand and Punjab, who have been selling their products as Shahi Litchi. Now, Bihar litchi growers will get exclusive right to market Shahi litchi and it will definitely help them get better a price for their product.” The certificate issued to them read, “Certified that the Geographical Indication has been registered in the register in the name of Litchi Growers Association of Bihar, Muzaffarpur, Bihar,”
Data localization is the prospect of physical data storage and preservation within the borders of a specific country where the data is generated.In an attempt to keep a track of all the data related to read more
Data localization is the prospect of physical data storage and preservation within the borders of a specific country where the data is generated.
In an attempt to keep a track of all the data related to the regional transactions of all companies - the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made it mandatory for the companies conducting business in India to preserve and maintain all the data related to the transactions contemplated in the country via ‘Data Localization’ directive.
However, it seems that the RBI decision of ‘Data Localization’ did not go well with certain national and international companies – accordingly, these companies have raised objections to ‘Data Localization’ directives and are asking for easing these norms.
These companies are of the opinion that the enforcement of ‘Data Localization’ directive will enhance their infrastructure costs, disrupt the global fraud detection analytic platforms and impinge on planned investments in India.
Requests are received by the RBI from certain international payment companies to ease the data storage directive (mandatory local storage within India of all domestic payment transactions).
The RBI is keen on implementing the ‘Data Localization’ directive without extending the existing deadline (October 15, 2018) or permit the data storage both locally and offshore (Data Mirroring).
A team of United States senators’ has urged the central government to soften the ‘Data Localization’ directive to facilitate free flow of data across borders and have expressed concerns over the data protection law and e-commerce policy.
The team is of the opinion that the ‘Data localization’ as a fundamental issue in the digital trade development and crucial prospect in influencing the India-United States economic partnership.
The team has suggested that all the data access, data protection and data security concerns can be resolved without imposing the restriction on the location of the data storage.
Apart from the ‘Data localization’, the central government is focusing on developing and enforcing certain other policies (Overarching data protection law, e-commerce policy and cloud computing polices).
RBI’s tough stand is based on Indian data experts’ views that the proposed measures are crucial for the long-term strategic and economic interest of the country.
Absence of these data laws and directives make it highly difficult for Indian investigation authorities to get first hand information related to the investigation taking place in India as foreign authorities won’t grant access to Indian authorities to data stored on foreign soil.
Given the string of high profile frauds in the country recently, these data laws and directives will facilitate the Indian authorities to gain instant access to the data stored in India in relation to any investigation conducted by the government or regulatory authority.
Following the Facebook's Cambridge Analytic scandal all the major world countries including India are imposing stern data protection rules in relation to regulation of data storage and data protection.
As there is an upsurge in the data breach and fraud/scam cases in India the central government efforts to establish stern data laws and directives is the need of the hour.
Strict enforcement of the data laws and directives will assist the nation to fortify the data storage and security contrivance at the national front to combat the risks and challenges associated with the data breach and facilitate the investigative authorities to have a seamless access to the data relating to frauds.
You want to found an association and become the leader? It is very important to find out about your future liability regime. In certain circumstances, your liability may be incurred and thus read more
You want to found an association and become the
leader? It is very important to find out about your future liability
regime.
In certain circumstances, your liability may be incurred and thus harm your
association and reputation. Find all our explanations.
The
civil liability of association leaders
Association leaders are mandataries within the meaning of Article 1984 of the Civil Code dating from 1804:
"Mandate or Power of Attorney is an act by which one person gives another the power to do something for the principal and on his behalf.
The contract is formed only by the acceptance of the agent. "
As such, they must answer for faults committed during their management and this in accordance with article 1992 of the civil code also dating from the creation of said code in 1804:
"The agent answers not only the fraud, but also the mistakes he makes in his management.
Nevertheless, the responsibility for mistakes is applied less rigorously to those whose mandate is free than to those who receive a salary."
Specifically, the civil liability of an association leader can be engaged by his association, through its members, as long as it is possible to prove a management fault personally attributable to the leader.
The management fault corresponds to any breach of the laws and regulations in force and the statutory provisions of the association. As a reminder, the statutes are a mandatory document to define the main rules of operation and organization of an association.
In the case of third parties, ie persons outside the association: the manager is only personally liable for damage caused by detachable acts of his duties.
In short, any act performed by the manager outside the social object of the association or representing an overrun of its functions is likely to jeopardize its civil liability.
Conversely, where harm is caused by the act of a leader but that act falls within the scope of the associative object or within the limits of its functions, it is the delictual responsibility of the association which can be engaged and not that of the leader.
Criminal liability
of association leaders
Be aware that the criminal liability of association leaders may also be incurred, in particular for all offenses committed in matters of internal administration of the association but also when the leaders have committed acts of an offense and if they are not deemed to have been committed on behalf of the association.
In the case of unintentional misdemeanors or contraventions, the association executive is personally liable in case of misconduct (for example for manifest violation of legal or regulatory security requirements that have resulted in damage, for example).
A distinction must be made between the responsibility of the association and that of its leaders. Thus, if the fault is caused by a member for the purpose of serving the association, the criminal responsibility of the association can be engaged.
However, if the fault is caused by a member for the purpose of serving his personal interest, it is the criminal responsibility of that member that is at stake.
The
financial responsibility of association leaders
If you are an association executive and you want to avoid having your liability incurred, you must scrupulously respect your tax obligations. Thus, if you rent a room, you must pay a housing tax and if you employ employees, you will have to pay a tax on wages.
In principle, association officers are not liable for the debts of their association except in tax matters, in case of reorganization or liquidation or in case of bonding.
Be aware that if you make a bond of one or more obligations of your association and that it is not able to fulfill them, your responsibility can then be committed. Finally, if you are a volunteer association leader, there is no legal difference in your favor; it still remains to the sovereign appreciation of the judges of the bottom, your responsibility may be less rigorously committed.
Towards an
extension of the negligence exception to association leaders?
It should be noted that a law proposal by Sylvain Waserman for associative involvement was tabled on April 4, 2018 for the following reasons:
"In the current state of the law, the financial responsibility of the volunteer leader of an association is likely to be incurred with heavy personal consequences, even in the case of simple negligence. Courts have a discretionary power both on the basis of the conviction and the amount of the sentence. It is therefore the sole power of the judge to consider whether or not the volunteer nature to apply less rigorously responsibility to the volunteer leaders.
The volunteer leader of an association thus incurs liability if he has committed one or more management mistakes that led to the creation of a shortfall of assets. He may have to personally bear all or part of the debts, even though his assets are distinct from those of the association.
The penalty, which is of a pecuniary nature, is the condemnation of the fulfillment of the liabilities governed by Article L. 651-2 of the Commercial Code. The president of an association can not take advantage of the fact that the association is of general interest to exonerate itself of its responsibility within the framework of an action in filling of liabilities.
Moreover, article 146 of the law n ° 2016-1691 of December 9th, 2016 (known as "Loi Sapin 2") frames the fault of management by excluding the cases of simple negligence in "the management of the company". It therefore appears that only the company executive benefits from this "negligence exception", and not the association executive. "
This bill was passed unanimously by the National Assembly on May 17, 2018 and transmitted to the Senate on the same date. If this bill was passed by the Chamber of Deputies, it would thus extend the exception of negligence to association leaders, which since 2016 only exempted the company directors in case of insufficient assets.
The risk of a special fine personally weighing on the leaders of certain associations receiving public subsidies
It is worth remembering that pursuant to the provisions of Article L. 612-4 of the French Commercial Code, any association that has received, annually from public authorities or public establishments of an industrial and commercial nature, one or more cash grants whose overall amount exceeds a threshold set by decree, ie in the state € 153,000, must establish annual accounts including the following documents:
It should be known that the lack of production of these documents makes personally responsible association leaders on their own money. Indeed, paragraph three of Article L. 612-4 of the aforementioned Commercial Code states that the penalties provided for in Article L. 242-8 of the same Code are applicable to the leaders of the associations concerned who do not have prepare the three required documents annually. The penalty provided for and thus able to be imposed thus on the leaders of the association concerned is a fine of 9,000 euros.
Article L. 612-4 of the Commercial Code amended by Articles 60 and 78 of Law No. 2014-856 of 31 July 2014 on the social and solidarity economy:
"Any association which has received annual administrative authorities, within the meaning of Article 1 of the law of 12 April 2000, or public institutions of an industrial and commercial nature one or more cash grants whose total amount exceeds a threshold set by decree, must establish annual accounts including a balance sheet, an account result and an annex, the terms of which are laid down by decree. These associations must ensure, under conditions determined by decree in Council of State, the publicity of their annual accounts and the report of the auditor.
The same associations are required to appoint at least one auditor and a substitute.
The penalties provided for in Article L. 242-8 shall apply to the directors of the associations mentioned in the first paragraph of this article who have not drawn up a balance sheet, an income statement and an appendix each year.
At the request of any interested person, the president of the court, ruling in summary proceedings, may order under penalty of the leaders of any association mentioned in the first paragraph to ensure the publicity of the annual accounts and the report of the auditor. The president may, under the same conditions and for the same purpose, appoint a representative to carry out these formalities."
Article L. 242-8 of the Commercial Code amended by Article 3 of Ordinance No. 2000-916 of 19 September 2000 adjusting the value in euro of certain amounts expressed in francs in the legislative texts:
"Is punished by a fine of 9,000 euros the fact, for the president, the directors or the general managers of a public limited company, not to, for each exercise, draw up the inventory and establish annual accounts and a report of management."
However, even below this threshold of 153,000 euros, we recommend that the association leaders be very vigilant and put in place an internal device demonstrating in a transparent and very clear way the good use made of the public subsidy or subsidies. received.
"Prudence is the mother of securities". This proverb is fully applicable to association leaders, their responsibility being able to go very far and to heavily incur their heritage.
At this level, special attention must be paid by the association leaders at the level of insurance contracts to cover their liability for personal faults likely to cause significant harm to their association or third parties.
By Patrick Lingibé, Lawyer
The grey market consisting of fakes/counterfeits/lookalikes/ infringements, causes major loss in every sector of the industry, and the ripples are widespread to every strata of the economy. The most noticeable read more
The grey market consisting of fakes/counterfeits/lookalikes/
infringements, causes major loss in every sector of the industry, and the
ripples are widespread to every strata of the economy. The most noticeable
effects are centred on two parameters—lost sales of the manufacturer and effect
on public taxes-as most of the manufacturers in the grey zone do not pay the
requisite revenues. The figures that transpire in lieu of these are alarming.
An ICC-INTA study forecasts that the value of trade in
counterfeit and pirated goods could reach $991 Billion by 2022, going by the OECD/EUIPO’s
estimated projection of growth in import volumes and the ratio of customs
seizures to real imports.
While certain segments such as sportswear, fashion and
apparel goods are privileged to what is known as ‘ wilful counterfeiting’ in IP
parlance, the other members of the pie chart such as FMCG and pharmaceuticals stand vulnerable to
sinister grievances.
The luxury goods brands, up to a certain extent, count on
spurious products as a mildly sensational means of free marketing, and
understandably so- as the set of customers buying counterfeits from local
markets is unlikely to overlap with the set that can actually can afford
premium products.
However, the consumables and pharmaceuticals industry cannot
boast of such an advantage. While they are the most sensitive class of
products, they are also the most intruded, because of high mobility in the
market, sheer volume of sales, and a high turnover at relatively low cost.
The high reward- to-
risk ratio, extensive distribution networks and brand familiarity of the
unsuspecting customer, serves as added incentive for the flourishing
resemblances.
A recent study by ASSOCHAM (Associated
Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India) suggests that
fake/counterfeit/comparable drugs constitute US $ 4.25 billion of $ 14-17
billion market in the domestic drugs market in India. Other than the degrading
effect on the health of the population, this could also be a point of contention
for the rivals who resist India’s rise in pharmaceutical export.
In the Indian context, rural pockets are especially victims
of the consequences, where the consumers more often than not, fail to
distinguish the subtle change. The numbers being as high as 1/3 rd of each
category being faked amounting to 10-30% of loss in sales, many manufacturers
such as Hindustan Unilever have started their own faction of IP protection
resources.
However rather than compartmentalised workforces, IP
protection requires an open, integrated and pro-active mechanism.
he solution to this
problem could be CopyKitten. CopyKitten is the world’s first aggregator
platform for potential IP infringements. Though CopyKitten is still at a
nascent stage, currently hosts a growing database of 2000+ listed leads of IPR
violations for over 50 Multinational Brands. The CopyKitten network, active
globally, undertakes the tedious job of finding infringers and infringements
(even those who do not hold presence on the Web) and then bringing them to the
scope of the Internet.
The reports on the leads can be purchased for a nominal
cost, thus helping the brands to channelize their IP economies . The
conversions for every point in action and awareness could be huge, as the ICC-
INTA study suggests that a percentage point reduction in the intensity of
counterfeiting and piracy would reflect as $40-$50 Billion for the 35 OECD
countries.
STARTING /SETTING UP A BUSINESS IN CAMEROON 2018 STARTING UP A BUSINESS A. Forms of Commercial Companies The business climate in Cameroon is governed by the OHADA TREATY, an organization read more
STARTING
/SETTING UP A BUSINESS IN CAMEROON |
2018 |
A.
Forms
of Commercial Companies
The business climate in Cameroon is governed by the
OHADA TREATY, an organization for the harmonization of business law in Africa guaranteeing
legal and judicial security for investors and companies in its 17 member states
namely: Cameroon, Benin, Burkina Faso,
Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Cost, Comoros,
Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Niger,
Senegal, Chad and Togo.
The OHADA Laws and Procedures is the main legal
framework governing business transactions in Cameroon and its member states. It
regulates various aspects of business law ranging from the establishment of commercial
companies, securities, debt recovery etc.
The main text governing the creation of commercial
companies in Cameroon is the Uniform Act on Commercial Companies and Economic
Interest Groups dated January 30th, 2014 which identifies 06 (six)
types of commercial companies’ to wit:
·
Private Company
·
Limited Partnership
·
Private Limited Company
·
Public Limited Company
·
Simplified Joint Stock Company
The most common form of commercial company embraced by
foreigners are private and Public limited companies.
However, there has been a significant increase in the
creation of simplified joint stock companies which was a huge innovation by the
uniform act on commercial companies.
Some of the elements to consider when determining the
most suitable form of commercial company to incorporate are the purpose/objects
of the entity, number of shareholders, managerial structure, share capital and
other statutory regulatory requirements.
1. PRIVATE
LIMITED COMPANIES (LTD)
Minimum Capital
Law N°2016/014 of 14 December 2016 fixing the minimum
registered capital for private limited companies in Cameroon sets the minimum share
capital of a LTD to 100 000FCFA divided into a minimum nominal value of
5000FCFA.
Private Limited Companies with such minimum capital
shall be incorporated before the “ONE STOP SHOP”.
However, where the share capital is above
1 000 000CFA, the company shall be incorporated before a Notary
Public.
Managerial Structure
A private limited company is managed by one or more
persons appointed either in the company’s articles of association or by the
general assembly of shareholders.
In the absence of provisions in the Articles of
Association, the managers shall be appointed for four years.
The appointment of an external auditor in a private
limited company shall be required ONLY where the company meets two of the
following requirement at the end of the fiscal year:
·
Has
a share capital above 125 million CFA Francs;
·
Has
an annual turnover above 250 million CFA Francs;
·
Has
a permanent staff of more than 50 employees.
2. PUBLIC
LIMITED COMPANIES (PLC)
Minimum Capital
The minimum share capital of a public limited company
shall be 10 000 000FCFA with a nominal value freely determined by the
shareholders in the articles of association.
All public limited companies shall be incorporated
before a Notary Public.
Managerial Structure
The management of a public limited company can be done
in two ways:
a. Public limited Company with a Board of Directors or
b. Public limited company with a managing director.
The managerial structure MUST be clearly indicated in
the Articles of Association.
1. Public
Limited Company with a Board of Directors
Where a public
limited is managed by a board of Directors, the board shall comprise of not
less than three and not more than twelve members.
The board shall be
headed either by a chairman and managing director OR by a chairman and a
general manager.
2. Public
Limited Company with a managing Director
A public limited company
with not more than three shareholders may not form a board of director and
chose to be managed by a managing director.
The appointment of
an auditor is compulsory for public limited companies.
3. SIMPLIFIED
JOINT STOCK COMPANY
ADULTERY IS NO LONGER A CRIME ! SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN SECTION 497( ADULTERY) IPC. Section 497 IPC was a criminal offence of adultery which was one biased section. It was only applicable on a man. read more
ADULTERY IS NO LONGER A CRIME ! SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN SECTION 497( ADULTERY) IPC.
The new amendment in 138 NI Act has introduced a new section 143A in the act which has given powers to judges to:1- Grant interim compensation to complainant. 2- Interim compensation has to be paid by read more
The new amendment in 138 NI Act has introduced a new section 143A in the act which has given powers to judges to:
1- Grant interim compensation to complainant.
2- Interim compensation has to be paid by accused within 60 days of order.
3- The amount can be recovered in any manner as per law.
4- The court also have powers by virtue of section 148, that court may order accused to pay 20% of the cheque amount in court and that amount can be released by complainant as per the direction.
It must be noted that in case the accused won the case and comes out clean, the complainant has to return the amount along with the interest as rates prescribed by RBI.
HOW TO CLAIM INTERIM COMPENSATION:
On behalf of the complainant, an application will be filed before Hon'ble Court through their counsel to claim interim compensation.
The court will then decide the application will either:
1- Direct accused person to pay compensation directly to the complainant in his bank account/ DD or:
2- Will order to deposit certain amount not exceeding 20% of the total amount before the Hon'ble Court which can be released by complainant.
THANK YOU
KANIKA BHARDWAJ
ADVOCATE, NEW DELHI
+91-9582000415
MAIL ID- KANIKABHARDWAJLAWFIRM@GMAIL.COM
Lexstreet Advisors LLP, Advocates & Solicitors, Mumbai & Gujarat and NOW New Delhi & Pune.We are growing. We are expanding to Pune city.In July, 2016, I created Whats app Group " Corporate read more
The United Nations has come under increasing scrutiny amid allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and other crimes, including financial fraud and theft committed by United Nations (UN) peacekeeping read more
The United Nations has come under increasing scrutiny amid allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and other crimes, including financial fraud and theft committed by United Nations (UN) peacekeeping personnel. Indeed, allegations of SEA have long plagued the UN and prompted many calls for action, including by the Section of International Law and the ABA more generally in regard to such abuses in the Congo. Last year, the ABA House of Delegates adopted Resolution 105 calling for the UN and its Member States to provide improved accountability for programs and services provided to victims of sexual and gender-based violence in areas of armed conflict.
The latest reports of sexual harassment and assaults of UN employees suggest a UN climate in which SEA is more widely tolerated and which, if true, present an issue that undermines the effectiveness and legitimacy of the UN. See, e.g., Rebecca Ratcliffe, Sexual Harassment and Assault Rife at United Nations, Staff Claim, The Guardian (Jan. 18, 2018 11:00 EST).
These continuing allegations of the failure of the UN to accept accountability in the area of SEA are amplified by past incidences of the UN failing to accept accountability in regard to the failure of the UN to protect the inhabitants of a UN safe haven in Bosnia from armed attack, exposing UN protected refugees from armed hostilities to lead poisoning, and creating an enormous cholera crisis in Haiti.
As litigation in those cases demonstrated, accountability remains complicated by legal aspects of privileges and immunity of the UN and its Members States to step up and accept responsibility, including responsibility they have mandated in regard to SEA and under the special liability regime for harm to third parties arising from peacekeeping activities.
Ensuring timely and conscientious action to follow existing mandates and policies is vital to strengthening accountability, achieving the benefits of peacekeeping, and ensuring justice.
The accountability of the United Nations for injuries to third parties for its activities in the peacekeeping context is not a new issue and is not limited to concealing misconduct.
Accountability has been with the United Nations almost since its inception, dating back to the earliest of those missions in 1948 with the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) and the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP)—both of which continue to this day. Indeed, in all, there have been seventy-one UN peacekeeping operations since 1948, involving more than a million military, police, and civilian personnel, and costing some $70 billion. Today, there are fifteen peacekeeping missions employing some 95,000 uniformed personnel and more than 15,000 international and local civilian personnel and costing annually some $8 billion. See UN Peacekeeping; United Nations Handbook 2017–2018, pp. 110–125.
Until relatively recently, the question of the accountability of the UN for injuries to third parties during peacekeeping operations was not a significant issue for the UN. For most of the history of the UN, peacekeeping missions were relatively small in size with the modest mandate of simply keeping the warring factions separated so as to encourage dialogue that would hopefully result in a lasting resolution of the underlying political issues. As both UNTSO and UNMOGIP demonstrate, the achievement of this ideal has proven in some cases to be elusive.
For the many years leading up to the end of the Cold War, UN peacekeeping missions with their modest mandates to separate the warring factions, generated relatively few claims for injuries to third parties that generally were of a routine nature. Most of these claims were generated by automobile accidents involving UN vehicles or by contractual disputes with those locals who may have been providing premises or other services to the missions.
With the conclusion of the Cold War and the dissolution of the old Soviet Union towards the end of the 20th Century, there was a new approach to peacekeeping based on a new non-Cold War “consensus” of East and West. This period witnessed an expansion of UN peacekeeping activities in what was becoming a more complex world situation involving not simply conflicts between neighboring states, as had been the case in the past, but increasingly internal conflicts within states that threatened the peace and security within those states and also of neighboring states. This period also saw both an increased number of UN peacekeeping missions and the growth of proactive mandates of new missions. Unlike the past where the UN simply separated the warring factions, these new mandates have involved the UN often actively engaging the warring factions to protect civilian populations from being attacked or abused and to permit the distribution of humanitarian assistance to sustain those populations.
Indeed, the UN, for the first time in its history, authorized its peacekeeping forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) in 2013 to proactively seek out and militarily strike armed elements that were threatening civilian populations with human rights abuses and the delivery of humanitarian assistance. The Security Council created, within the overall peacekeeping forces of that mission, a special "Intervention Brigade" with the responsibility "of neutralizing armed groups" for the "protection of civilians from abuses and violations of human rights and violations of humanitarian law, including all forms of sexual and gender-based violence and grave violations against children." SeeS.C. Res. 2098, ¶¶ 9–12 (Mar. 28, 2013).
The increasingly robust mandates of peacekeeping missions to protect civilians, especially the “Intervention Brigade,” has been criticized as placing the neutrality of the members of such missions, particularly members of the military contingents serving in such missions, in question, exposing such personnel to claims by the warring factions to treat such individuals as “enemy combatants” who may be legitimate military targets. See Mona Khalil, Humanitarian Law and Policy in 2014: Peacekeeping Missions as Parties to Conflicts, Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (PHAP, Feb. 13, 2014).
Initially, there is the issue of the generally absolute immunity of the UN from any kind of jurisdiction in the courts of UN Member States. See UN Charter, arts. 1, 105; Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, art. 8, Feb. 13, 1946, 21 U.S.T. 1418. However, the UN has traditionally provided a means for these routine claims to be resolved. Virtually since its inception, the UN has had in place a worldwide insurance policy to deal with automobile claims throughout the world that has dealt with this issue on the ground in the various places where the UN manifests a presence. In addition, the UN has established internal administrative processes within each peacekeeping mission, including local internal claims review boards, to deal with claims against the UN, whether of a contractual or tort basis. These responses of the UN have generally been effective over the years to address claims by third parties in peacekeeping missions. See Bruce Rashkow, Immunity of the United Nations: Practice and Challenges, 10 Int’l Org. L. Rev. 332, 337–339 (2013).
However, with the end of the Cold War and with a dramatic increase in the number of UN peacekeeping missions and an expansion to more robust mandates of such missions, a large increase in the number and nature of third party claims in such operations led the UN to establish a special comprehensive liability regime to deal with those claims. That special regime spells out the extent of UN liability for both tort and contract claims, including personal injury and death and damage to property, arising out of the activities of UN peacekeeping missions. The special regime, which provides for claims to be addressed administratively by the UN principally in the field, as they have always been addressed, excludes certain kinds of claims, e.g., claims arising out of “operational necessity” as well as “military necessity”; and imposes certain temporal and financial limitations on the liability of the UN. See Bruce Rashkow, Above the Law? Innovating Legal Responses to Build a More Accountable UN: Where Is the UN Now?, 23 ILSA J. Int’l & Comp. L. 345, 348–349 (2017).
Notwithstanding the efforts by the UN to responsibly address the changing nature of UN peacekeeping and the third-party claims resulting from such activities, three cases have arisen that have challenged the reputation of the UN as being fundamentally fair in dealing with such claims: Mothers of Srebrenica, Kosovo, and Haiti Cholera victims. The first two cases involve claims arising from the failure of the UN to protect innocent civilians threatened with armed attacks by one of the warring factions while the third case involves the purported negligence of a UN peacekeeping mission to properly maintain waste treatment facilities utilized by its military contingents. In all three cases, the UN declined to accept responsibility for the claims, successfully asserting its immunity in cases brought before the domestic courts in The Netherlands regarding the Mothers of Srebrenica and the United States in the Haiti Cholera case.
The Mothers of Srebrenica case involved the failure of the UN peacekeeping mission in Bosnia to protect civilians under the protection of the UN peacekeeping force in a UN-established “safe area.” The UN abandoned the area and the civilians to Serb forces in the face of a threatened attack on the area by such forces, resulting in the massacre of several thousand Bosnian men and boys. The mothers of the victims sued the UN and the Dutch government in Dutch courts, which ultimately recognized the immunity of the UN. They then appealed that judgment to the European Court of Human Rights, which affirmed the immunity of the UN but not the Dutch government. See Stichting Mothers of Srebrenica and Others v. the Netherlands, App. No. 65542/12, Eur. Ct. H.R. (27 June 2013). In upholding the immunity of the UN in that case, the courts focused on the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission to use force under Chapter VII of the UN Charter to protect the civilians in the safe areas from armed hostilities. See Rashkow, at pp. 349–51.
The Kosovo case also involved the mandate of a UN operation under Chapter VII to use force to protect threatened civilians. However, in that case, the claims against the UN were not based on the failure of the UN to protect people, but on the negligence of the UN in the exercise of that mandate. The Kosovo case involved the actions of the UN in placing internally displaced persons threatened by armed hostilities in protected areas that, because of environmental lead pollution of the areas, resulted in damage to their health. A complicating factor for the claimants was the fact that the UN in that case was not simply acting under its mandate as a UN peacekeeping force but, pursuant to the Security Council mandate, was also acting as the interim or temporary governmental authority in Kosovo pending the resolution of the underlying conflict between the warring factions. Based on these considerations, the UN declined to consider the claims asserting that the claims were not of a private law character that legally would warrant action by the UN. See Letter from UN Under-Secretary-General on Claim for Compensation on Behalf of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Residents of Internally Displaced Person (IDP) Camps in Mitrovica, Kosovo (July 25, 2011).
The Haiti case also involved claims of negligence of a UN peacekeeping mission that the claimants allege resulted in some 10,000 deaths and injury to hundreds of thousands of Haitians. These claims stem from actions by the UN peacekeeping mission beginning in 2010 in allegedly failing to adequately screen peacekeeping troops for cholera prior to deployment in Haiti and failing to properly maintain its waste treatment facilities, thereby allowing the introduction and spread of cholera throughout Haiti. From the outset in 2010, the UN declined to consider these claims arguing that the claims, like those asserted in Kosovo, were not of a private law character that legally would warrant action. Accordingly, when the UN was sued in U.S. courts beginning in 2013, it asserted its immunity. Both the U.S. District Court and the Appellate Court that heard the case upheld that immunity. Only following the decision of the Appellate Court in August of 2016, and a constant stream of criticism from a number of quarters over a long period of its failure to accept legal responsibility, did UN accept moral responsibility for not doing more to help the people of Haiti deal with the Cholera epidemic. SeeRashkow, at pp. 351–57.
In accepting moral responsibility for the UN, the Secretary-General launched a Two Track initiative to respond to the cholera crisis in Haiti. Track I focuses on intensifying existing efforts to reduce and end transmission of cholera, improve care and treatment, and address long-term issues of water sanitation and health systems in Haiti. Track II focuses on the development of proposals to provide material assistance and support to those Haitians most directly affected by cholera, on an individual and community basis.
The Secretary-General identified the goal of raising $400 million for his initiative, $200 million for each track. Both tracks, however, rely on voluntary contributions from Member States and others, which thus far have not been significantly forthcoming, particularly in regard to Track II. Moreover, the “development” of proposals for the critical Track II initiative relating to material assistance to individual Haitian victims is apparently conditioned on the UN receiving funding up front for the implementation of such proposals even before development of the proposals can proceed—a significant obstacle to moving forward on that front depending on how the Secretary-General actually decides to proceed in this regard.
In the end, whether this Two Track initiative succeeds in providing significant relief to the people of Haiti—whether on a national or on a community or individual basis—is largely in the hands of Member States. It is they who will decide on whether to make the financial contributions called for in the initiative and, thus, whether to fund Track I or Track II, both, or neither! See Rashkow, at pp. 357–60.
Any discussion these days on the accountability of the UN for harm caused to third parties injured in connection with UN peacekeeping operations must take into account the many and continuing allegations of SEA of the vulnerable civilian populations for whose benefit these missions were established by UN staff and members of the military contingents that make up these missions. This became an issue in the early 1990s, and the UN has been dealing with the problem since. Since the 1990s, the UN has enacted a series of policies intended both to prevent such abuses in the first instance and, failing that, to bring to justice those UN staffers and military personnel who engage in SEA, ratcheting up in each instance its efforts to deal with this issue. See Rashkow, at pp. 360–70. Although the UN has succeeded in significantly reducing the number of SEA incidents, the problem remains.
On the accountability front, it is important to note at the outset, that the UN does not, in principle, view itself as responsible for SEA committed by its civilian staff or military contingent members of its peacekeeping operations. The UN has in place a number of programs that seek to assist the victims of SEA both in responding to the immediate medical and material needs of those victims and in seeking justice after the fact for those victims. However, these acts of SEA, which are forbidden by UN policy and regulation, are viewed as criminal acts by the individuals involved, and are not viewed as the responsibility of the UN for which it might be held legally liable by the victims. See Rashkow, at pp. 363–64.
The efforts of the UN to hold its civilian staff accountable for SEA are complicated by the fact that, while the UN can administratively act to dismiss or sanction such individuals for serious misconduct, it does not have the power to institute criminal proceedings against them. In such cases, the UN routinely refers the matter to the appropriate Member State’s authorities to institute criminal actions, and relies on such authorities to follow up. Unfortunately, there are often issues of which Member State, if any, has jurisdiction over the matter under its own legislation, and, in any event, whether and how they may choose to proceed. The Secretary-General has made a number of suggestions to Member States for addressing this problem through domestic legislation or through multilateral action.
With respect to members of military contingents serving with peacekeeping operations, the matter is even more complicated because, as a matter of UN policy, these members are subject to the exclusive authority of the authorities of the Member States that have provided such contingents. The UN has adopted a number of policies to enhance cooperation between the UN and those Member States in the training to prevent SEA, the investigation of SEA incidents, and the follow up by those states regarding military contingent members who are accused of SEA. However, in light of continuing problems with SEA, the Secretary-General has recently made a number of additional far-reaching proposals to the General Assembly to reform the system for dealing with SEA generally to better ensure that allegations of SEA are effectively pursued and justice for the victims is achieved. SeeRashkow, at pp. 364–70.
It remains to be seen whether and to what extent the General Assembly, and in particular the Member States who provide military contingents to UN peacekeeping operations, will accept and act on proposals to strengthen the accountability for SEA within UN peacekeeping operations and more generally throughout the UN system, and whether and to what extent it will implement its special regime for harms caused to third parties in the peacekeeping context.
The UN needs to correct its past failures and must act in a timely and conscientious manner to implement existing policies and enact new policies to end a culture of impunity. It is clear that further concrete actions will be needed to achieve accountability and justice.
By; Bruce Rashkow
Bruce is an ABA Representative to the United Nations, a member of the Council of the Section of International Law, and a lecturer at Columbia Law School in New York. He previously worked at the UN Office of Legal Affairs.
Noida, India
New Delhi, India
Secunderabad, India
Bengaluru, India
Bengaluru, India
Patiala, India
Patiala, India
Kolkata, India
DAYS
HOURS
MINUTES
SECONDS
In adherence to the rules and regulations of Bar Council of India, this website has been designed only for the purposes of circulation of information and not for the purpose of advertising.
Your use of SoOLEGAL service is completely at your own risk. Readers and Subscribers should seek proper advice from an expert before acting on the information mentioned herein. The content on this website is general information and none of the information contained on the website is in the nature of a legal opinion or otherwise amounts to any legal advice. User is requested to use his or her judgment and exchange of any such information shall be solely at the user’s risk.
SoOLEGAL does not take responsibility for actions of any member registered on the site and is not accountable for any decision taken by the reader on the basis of information/commitment provided by the registered member(s).By clicking on ‘ENTER’, the visitor acknowledges that the information provided in the website (a) does not amount to advertising or solicitation and (b) is meant only for his/her understanding about our activities and who we are.
Resource centre is one stop destination for users who are seeking for latest updates and information related to the law. takes the privilege to bring every single legal resource to your knowledge in a hassle free way. Legal Content in resource centre to help you understand your case, legal requirements. More than 3000 Documents are available for Reading and Download which are listed in below categories:
SoOLEGAL Transaction Services Agreement :
By registering yourself with SoOLEGAL, it is understood and agreed by you that the Terms and Conditions under the Transaction Services Terms shall be binding on you at all times during the period of registration and notwithstanding cessation of your registration with SoOLEGAL certain Terms and Conditions shall survive.
"Your Transaction" means any Transaction of Documents/ Advices(s), advice and/ or solution in the form of any written communication to your Client made by you arising out of any advice/ solution sought from you through the SoOLEGAL Site.
Transacting on SoOLEGAL Service Terms:
The SoOLEGAL Payment System Service ("Transacting on SoOLEGAL") is a Service that allows you to list Documents/ Advices which comprise of advice/ solution in the form of written communication to your Client who seeks your advice/ solution via SoOLEGAL Site and such Documents/ Advices being for Transaction directly via the SoOLEGAL Site. SoOLEGAL Payment Service is operated by Sun Integrated Technologies and Applications . TheSoOLEGAL Payment System Service Terms are part of the Terms & Conditions of SoOLEGAL Services Transaction Terms and Conditionsbut unless specifically provided otherwise, concern and apply only to your participation in Transacting on SoOLEGAL. BY REGISTERING FOR OR USING SoOLEGAL PAYMENT SYSTEM , YOU (ON BEHALF OF YOURSELF OR THE FIRM YOU REPRESENT) AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TRANSACTIONS TRANSACTION TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
Unless otherwise defined in this Documents/ Advice or Terms & Conditions which being the guiding Documents/ Advice to this Documents/ Advice, all capitalized terms have the meanings given them in the Transactions Transaction Terms and Conditions.
S-1. Your Documents/ Advice Listings and Orders
S-1.1 Documents/ Advices Information. You will, in accordance with applicable Program Policies, provide in the format we require. Documents/ Advices intended to be sold should be accurate and complete and thereafter posted through the SoOLEGAL Site and promptly update such information as necessary to ensure it at all times that such Documents/ Advices remain accurate and complete. You will also ensure that Your Materials, Your Documents/ Advices (including comments) and your offer and subsequent Transaction of any ancillary Documents/ Advice pertaining to the previous Documents/ Advices on the SoOLEGAL Site comply with all applicable Laws (including all marking and labeling requirements) and do not contain any sexually explicit, defamatory or obscene materials or any unlawful materials. You may not provide any information for, or otherwise seek to list for Transaction on the SoOLEGAL Site, any Excluded Documents/ Advices; or provide any URL Marks for use, or request that any URL Marks be used, on the SoOLEGAL Site. In any event of unlawful Documents/ Advices made available for Transaction by you on SoOLEGAL site, it is understood that liabilities limited or unlimited shall be yours exclusively to which SoOLEGAL officers, administrators, Affiliates among other authorized personnel shall not be held responsible and you shall be liable to appropriate action under applicable laws.
S-1.2 Documents/ Advices Listing; Merchandising; Order Processing. We will list Your Documents/ Advices for Transaction on the SoOLEGAL Site in the applicable Documents/ Advices categories which are supported for third party REGISTERED USERs generally on the SoOLEGAL Site on the applicable Transacting Associated Properties or any other functions, features, advertising, or programs on or in connection with the SoOLEGAL Site). SoOLEGAL reserves its right to restrict at any time in its sole discretion the access to list in any or all categories on the SoOLEGAL Site. We may use mechanisms that rate, or allow users to rate, Your Documents/ Advices and/or your performance as a REGISTERED USER on the SoOLEGAL Site and SoOLEGAL may make these ratings and feedback publicly available. We will provide Order Information to you for each of Your Transactions. Transactions Proceeds will be paid to you only in accordance with Section S-6.
S-1.3 a. It is mandatory to secure an advance amount from Client where SoOLEGAL Registered Consultant will raise an invoice asking for a 25% advance payment for the work that is committed to be performed for the Client of such SoOLEGAL Registered Consultant. The amount will be refunded to the client if the work is not done and uploaded to SoOLEGAL Repository within the stipulated timeline stated by SoOLEGAL Registered Consultant.
b. SoOLEGAL Consultant will be informed immediately on receipt of advance payment from Client which will be held by SoOLegal and will not be released to either Party and an email requesting the Registered Consultant will be sent to initiate the assignment.
c. The Registered Consultant will be asked on the timeline for completion of the assignment which will be intimated to Client.
d. Once the work is completed by the consultant the document/ advice note will be in SoOLEGAL repository and once Client makes rest of the payment, the full amount will be remitted to the consultant in the next payment cycle and the document access will be given to the client.
e. In the event where the Client fails to make payment of the balance amount within 30 days from the date of upload , the Registered Consultant shall receive the advance amount paid by the Client without any interest in the next time cycle after the lapse of 30 days.
S-1.4 Credit Card Fraud.
We will not bear the risk of credit card fraud (i.e. a fraudulent purchase arising from the theft and unauthorised use of a third party's credit card information) occurring in connection with Your Transactions. We may in our sole discretion withhold for investigation, refuse to process, restrict download for, stop and/or cancel any of Your Transactions. You will stop and/or cancel orders of Your Documents/ Advices if we ask you to do so. You will refund any customer (in accordance with Section S-2.2) that has been charged for an order that we stop or cancel.
S-2. Transaction and Fulfilment, Refunds and Returns
S-2.1 Transaction and Fulfilment:
Fulfilment – Fulfilment is categorised under the following heads:
1. Fulfilment by Registered User/ Consultant - In the event of Client seeking consultation, Registered User/ Consultant has to ensure the quality of the product and as per the requirement of the Client and if its not as per client, it will not be SoOLEGAL’s responsibility and it will be assumed that the Registered User/ Consultant and the Client have had correspondence before assigning the work to the Registered User/ Consultant.
2. Fulfilment by SoOLEGAL - If the Registered User/ Consultant has uploaded the Documents/ Advice in SoOLEGAL Site, SoOLEGAL Authorised personnel does not access such Documents/ Advice and privacy of the Client’s Documents/ Advice and information is confidential and will be encrypted and upon payment by Client, the Documents/ Advice is emailed by SoOLEGAL to them. Client’s information including email id will be furnished to SoOLEGAL by Registered User/ Consultant.
If Documents/ Advice is not sent to Client, SoOLEGAL will refund any amount paid to such Client’s account without interest within 60 days.
3. SoOLEGAL will charge 5% of the transaction value which is subject to change with time due to various economic and financial factors including inflation among other things, which will be as per SoOLEGAL’s discretion and will be informed to Registered Users about the same from time to time. Any tax applicable on Registered User/ Consultant is payable by such Registered User/ Consultant and not by SoOLEGAL.
4. SoOLEGAL will remit the fees (without any interest) to its Registered User/ Consultant every 15 (fifteen) days. If there is any discrepancy in such payment, it should be reported to Accounts Head of SoOLEGAL (accounts@soolegal.com) with all relevant account statement within fifteen days from receipt of that last cycle payment. Any discrepancy will be addressed in the next fifteen days cycle. If any discrepancy is not reported within 15 days of receipt of payment, such payment shall be deemed accepted and SoOLEGAL shall not entertain any such reports thereafter.
5. Any Registered User/ Consultant wishes to discontinue with this, such Registered User/ Consultant shall send email to SoOLEGAL and such account will be closed and all credits will be refunded to such Registered User/ Consultant after deducation of all taxes and applicable fees within 30 days. Other than as described in the Fulfilment by SoOLEGAL Terms & Conditions (if applicable to you), for the SoOLEGAL Site for which you register or use the Transacting on SoOLEGAL Service, you will: (a) source, fulfil and transact with your Documents/ Advices, in each case in accordance with the terms of the applicable Order Information, these Transaction Terms & Conditions, and all terms provided by you and displayed on the SoOLEGAL Site at the time of the order and be solely responsible for and bear all risk for such activities; (a) not cancel any of Your Transactions except as may be permitted pursuant to your Terms & Conditions appearing on the SoOLEGAL Site at the time of the applicable order (which Terms & Conditions will be in accordance with Transaction Terms & Conditions) or as may be required Transaction Terms & Conditions per the terms laid in this Documents/ Advice; in each case as requested by us using the processes designated by us, and we may make any of this information publicly available notwithstanding any other provision of the Terms mentioned herein, ensure that you are the REGISTERED USER of all Documents/ Advices made available for listing for Transaction hereunder; identify yourself as the REGISTERED USER of the Documents/ Advices on all downloads or other information included with Your Documents/ Advices and as the Person to which a customer may return the applicable Documents/ Advices; and
S-2.2 Returns and Refunds. For all of Your Documents/ Advices that are not fulfilled using Fulfilment by SoOLEGAL, you will accept and process returns, refunds and adjustments in accordance with these Transaction Terms & Conditions and the SoOLEGAL Refund Policies published at the time of the applicable order, and we may inform customers that these policies apply to Your Documents/ Advices. You will determine and calculate the amount of all refunds and adjustments (including any taxes, shipping of any hard copy and handling or other charges) or other amounts to be paid by you to customers in connection with Your Transactions, using a functionality we enable for Your Account. This functionality may be modified or discontinued by us at any time without notice and is subject to the Program Policies and the terms of thisTransaction Terms & Conditions Documents/ Advice. You will route all such payments through SoOLEGAL We will provide any such payments to the customer (which may be in the same payment form originally used to purchase Your Documents/ Advices), and you will reimburse us for all amounts so paid. For all of Your Documents/ Advices that are fulfilled using Fulfilment by SoOLEGAL, the SoOLEGAL Refund Policies published at the time of the applicable order will apply and you will comply with them. You will promptly provide refunds and adjustments that you are obligated to provide under the applicable SoOLEGAL Refund Policies and as required by Law, and in no case later than thirty (30) calendar days following after the obligation arises. For the purposes of making payments to the customer (which may be in the same payment form originally used to purchase Your Documents/ Advices), you authorize us to make such payments or disbursements from your available balance in the Nodal Account (as defined in Section S-6). In the event your balance in the Nodal Account is insufficient to process the refund request, we will process such amounts due to the customer on your behalf, and you will reimburse us for all such amount so paid.
S-5. Compensation
You will pay us: (a) the applicable Referral Fee; (b) any applicable Closing Fees; and (c) if applicable, the non-refundable Transacting on SoOLEGAL Subscription Fee in advance for each month (or for each transaction, if applicable) during the Term of this Transaction Terms & Conditions. "Transacting on SoOLEGAL Subscription Fee" means the fee specified as such on the Transacting on SoOLEGALSoOLEGAL Fee Schedule for the SoOLEGAL Site at the time such fee is payable. With respect to each of Your Transactions: (x) "Transactions Proceeds" has the meaning set out in the Transaction Terms & Conditions; (y) "Closing Fees" means the applicable fee, if any, as specified in the Transacting on SoOLEGAL Fee Schedule for the SoOLEGAL Site; and (z) "Referral Fee" means the applicable percentage of the Transactions Proceeds from Your Transaction through the SoOLEGAL Site specified on the Transacting on SoOLEGAL Fee Schedule for the SoOLEGAL Site at the time of Your Transaction, based on the categorization by SoOLEGAL of the type of Documents/ Advices that is the subject of Your Transaction; provided, however, that Transactions Proceeds will not include any shipping charge set by us in the case of Your Transactions that consist solely of SoOLEGAL-Fulfilled Documents/ Advices. Except as provided otherwise, all monetary amounts contemplated in these Service Terms will be expressed and provided in the Local Currency, and all payments contemplated by this Transaction Terms & Conditions will be made in the Local Currency.
All taxes or surcharges imposed on fees payable by you to SoOLEGAL will be your responsibility.
S-6 Transactions Proceeds & Refunds.
S-6.1.Nodal Account. Remittances to you for Your Transactions will be made through a nodal account (the "Nodal Account") in accordance with the directions issued by Reserve Bank of India for the opening and operation of accounts and settlement of payments for electronic payment transactions involving intermediaries vide its notification RBI/2009-10/231 DPSS.CO.PD.No.1102 / 02.14.08/ 2009-10 dated November 24, 2009. You hereby agree and authorize us to collect payments on your behalf from customers for any Transactions. You authorize and permit us to collect and disclose any information (which may include personal or sensitive information such as Your Bank Account information) made available to us in connection with the Transaction Terms & Conditions mentioned hereunder to a bank, auditor, processing agency, or third party contracted by us in connection with this Transaction Terms & Conditions.
Subject to and without limiting any of the rights described in Section 2 of the General Terms, we may hold back a portion or your Transaction Proceeds as a separate reserve ("Reserve"). The Reserve will be in an amount as determined by us and the Reserve will be used only for the purpose of settling the future claims of customers in the event of non-fulfillment of delivery to the customers of your Documents/ Advices keeping in mind the period for refunds and chargebacks.
S-6.2. Except as otherwise stated in this Transaction Terms & Conditions Documents/ Advice (including without limitation Section 2 of the General Terms), you authorize us and we will remit the Settlement Amount to Your Bank Account on the Payment Date in respect of an Eligible Transaction. When you either initially provide or later change Your Bank Account information, the Payment Date will be deferred for a period of up to 14 calendar days. You will not have the ability to initiate or cause payments to be made to you. If you refund money to a customer in connection with one of Your Transactions in accordance with Section S-2.2, on the next available Designated Day for SoOLEGAL Site, we will credit you with the amount to us attributable to the amount of the customer refund, less the Refund Administration Fee for each refund, which amount we may retain as an administrative fee.
"Eligible Transaction" means Your Transaction against which the actual shipment date has been confirmed by you.
"Designated Day" means any particular Day of the week designated by SoOLEGAL on a weekly basis, in its sole discretion, for making remittances to you.
"Payment Date" means the Designated Day falling immediately after 14 calendar days (or less in our sole discretion) of the Eligible Transaction.
"Settlement Amount" means Invoices raised through SoOLEGAL Platform (which you will accept as payment in full for the Transaction and shipping and handling of Your Documents/ Advices), less: (a) the Referral Fees due for such sums; (b) any Transacting on SoOLEGAL Subscription Fees due; (c) taxes required to be charged by us on our fees; (d) any refunds due to customers in connection with the SoOLEGAL Site; (e) Reserves, as may be applicable, as per this Transaction Terms & Conditions; (f) Closing Fees, if applicable; and (g) any other applicable fee prescribed under the Program Policies. SoOLEGAL shall not be responsible for
S-6.3. In the event that we elect not to recover from you a customer's chargeback, failed payment, or other payment reversal (a "Payment Failure"), you irrevocably assign to us all your rights, title and interest in and associated with that Payment Failure.
S-7. Control of Site
Notwithstanding any provision of this Transaction Terms & Conditions, we will have the right in our sole discretion to determine the content, appearance, design, functionality and all other aspects of the SoOLEGAL Site and the Transacting on SoOLEGAL Service (including the right to re-design, modify, remove and alter the content, appearance, design, functionality, and other aspects of, and prevent or restrict access to any of the SoOLEGAL Site and the Transacting on SoOLEGAL Service and any element, aspect, portion or feature thereof (including any listings), from time to time) and to delay or suspend listing of, or to refuse to list, or to de-list, or require you not to list any or all Documents/ Advices on the SoOLEGAL Site in our sole discretion.
S-8. Effect of Termination
Upon termination of this Contract, the Transaction Terms & Conditions automatiocally stands terminated and in connection with the SoOLEGAL Site, all rights and obligations of the parties under these Service Terms with regard to the SoOLEGAL Site will be extinguished, except that the rights and obligations of the parties with respect to Your Transactions occurring during the Term will survive the termination or expiration of the Term.
"SoOLEGAL Refund Policies" means the return and refund policies published on the SoOLEGAL Site.
"Required Documents/ Advices Information" means, with respect to each of Your Documents/ Advices in connection with the SoOLEGAL Site, the following (except to the extent expressly not required under the applicable Policies) categorization within each SoOLEGAL Documents/ Advices category and browse structure as prescribed by SoOLEGAL from time to time, Purchase Price; Documents/ Advice Usage, any text, disclaimers, warnings, notices, labels or other content required by applicable Law to be displayed in connection with the offer, merchandising, advertising or Transaction of Your Documents/ Advices, requirements, fees or other terms and conditions applicable to such Documents/ Advices that a customer should be aware of prior to purchasing the Documents/ Advices;
"Transacting on SoOLEGAL Launch Date" means the date on which we first list one of Your Documents/ Advices for Transaction on the SoOLEGAL Site.
"URL Marks" means any Trademark, or any other logo, name, phrase, identifier or character string, that contains or incorporates any top level domain (e.g., .com, co.in, co.uk, .in, .de, .es, .edu, .fr, .jp) or any variation thereof (e.g., dot com, dotcom, net, or com).
"Your Transaction" is defined in the Transaction Terms & Conditions; however, as used in Terms & Conditions, it shall mean any and all such transactions whereby you conduct Transacting of Documents/ Advices or advice sought from you by clients/ customers in writing or by any other mode which is in coherence with SoOLEGAL policy on SoOLEGAL site only.
Taxes on Fees Payable to SoOLEGAL. In regard to these Service Terms you can provide a PAN registration number or any other Registration/ Enrolment number that reflects your Professional capacity by virtue of various enactments in place. If you are PAN registered, or any professional Firm but not PAN registered, you give the following warranties and representations:
(a) all services provided by SoOLEGAL to you are being received by your establishment under your designated PAN registration number; and
SoOLEGAL reserves the right to request additional information and to confirm the validity of any your account information (including without limitation your PAN registration number) from you or government authorities and agencies as permitted by Law and you hereby irrevocably authorize SoOLEGAL to request and obtain such information from such government authorities and agencies. Further, you agree to provide any such information to SoOLEGAL upon request. SoOLEGAL reserves the right to charge you any applicable unbilled PAN if you provide a PAN registration number, or evidence of being in a Professional Firm, that is determined to be invalid. PAN registered REGISTERED USERs and REGISTERED USERs who provide evidence of being in Law Firm agree to accept electronic PAN invoices in a format and method of delivery as determined by SoOLEGAL.
All payments by SoOLEGAL to you shall be made subject to any applicable withholding taxes under the applicable Law. SoOLEGAL will retain, in addition to its net Fees, an amount equal to the legally applicable withholding taxes at the applicable rate. You are responsible for deducting and depositing the legally applicable taxes and deliver to SoOLEGAL sufficient Documents/ Advice evidencing the deposit of tax. Upon receipt of the evidence of deduction of tax, SoOLEGAL will remit the amount evidenced in the certificate to you. Upon your failure to duly deposit these taxes and providing evidence to that effect within 5 days from the end of the relevant month, SoOLEGAL shall have the right to utilize the retained amount for discharging its tax liability.
Where you have deposited the taxes, you will issue an appropriate tax withholding certificate for such amount to SoOLEGAL and SoOLEGAL shall provide necessary support and Documents/ Adviceation as may be required by you for discharging your obligations.
SoOLEGAL has the option to obtain an order for lower or NIL withholding tax from the Indian Revenue authorities. In case SoOLEGAL successfully procures such an order, it will communicate the same to you. In that case, the amounts retained, shall be in accordance with the directions contained in the order as in force at the point in time when tax is required to be deducted at source.
Any taxes applicable in addition to the fee payable to SoOLEGAL shall be added to the invoiced amount as per applicable Law at the invoicing date which shall be paid by you.F.11. Indemnity
|
Category and Documents/ Advice RestrictionsCertain Documents/ Advices cannot be listed or sold on SoOLEGAL site as a matter of compliance with legal or regulatory restrictions (for example, prescription drugs) or in accordance with SoOLEGAL policy (for example, crime scene photos). SoOLEGAL's policies also prohibit specific types of Documents/ Advice content. For guidelines on prohibited content and copyright violations, see our Prohibited Content list. For some Documents/ Advice categories, REGISTERED USERS may not create Documents/ Advice listings without prior approval from SoOLEGAL. |
In addition to your obligations under Section 6 of the Transaction Terms & Conditions, you also agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless us, our Affiliates and their and our respective officers, directors, employees, representatives and agents against any Claim that arises out of or relates to: (a) the Units (whether or not title has transferred to us, and including any Unit that we identify as yours pursuant to Section F-4 regardless of whether such Unit is the actual item you originally sent to us), including any personal injury, death or property damage; and b) any of Your Taxes or the collection, payment or failure to collect or pay Your Taxes.
Registered Users must at all times adhere to the following rules for the Documents/ Advices they intend to put on Transaction:
The "Add a Documents/ Advice" feature allows REGISTERED USERS to create Documents/ Advice details pages for Documents/ Advices.
The following rules and restrictions apply to REGISTERED USERS who use the SoOLEGAL.in "Add a Documents/ Advice" feature.
Using this feature for any purpose other than creating Documents/ Advice details pages is prohibited.
Any Documents/ Advice already in the SoOLEGAL.in catalogue which is not novel and/ or unique or has already been provided by any other Registered User which may give rise to Intellectual Property infringement of any other Registered User is prohibited.
Detail pages may not feature or contain Prohibited Content or .
The inclusion of any of the following information in detail page titles, descriptions, bullet points, or images is prohibited:
Information which is grossly harmful, harassing, blasphemous, defamatory, pedophilic, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically objectionable, disparaging, relating or encouraging money laundering or gambling, pornographic, obscene or offensive content or otherwise unlawful in any manner whatever.
Availability, price, condition, alternative ordering information (such as links to other websites for placing orders).
Reviews, quotes or testimonials.
Solicitations for positive customer reviews.
Advertisements, promotional material, or watermarks on images, photos or videos.
Time-sensitive information
Information which belongs to another person and to which the REGISTERED USER does not have any right to.
Information which infringes any patent, trademark, copyright or other proprietary rights.
Information which deceives or misleads the addressee about the origin of the messages or communicates any information which is grossly offensive or menacing in nature.
Information which threatens the unity, integrity, defence, security or sovereignty of India, friendly relations with foreign states, or public order or causes incitement to the commission of any cognizable offence or prevents investigation of any offence or is insulting any other nation.
Information containing software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer resource.
Information violating any law for the time being in force.
All Documents/ Advices should be appropriately and accurately classified to the most specific location available. Incorrectly classifying Documents/ Advices is prohibited.
Documents/ Advice titles, Documents/ Advice descriptions, and bullets must be clearly written and should assist the customer in understanding the Documents/ Advice. .
All Documents/ Advice images must meet SoOLEGAL general standards as well as any applicable category-specific image guidelines.
Using bad data (HTML, special characters */? etc.) in titles, descriptions, bullets and for any other attribute is prohibited.
Do not include HTML, DHTML, Java, scripts or other types of executables in your detail pages.
Prohibited REGISTERED USER Activities and Actions
SoOLEGAL.com REGISTERED USER Rules are established to maintain a transacting platform that is safe for buyers and fair for REGISTERED USERS. Failure to comply with the terms of the REGISTERED USER Rules can result in cancellation of listings, suspension from use of SoOLEGAL.in tools and reports, or the removal of transacting privileges.
Attempts to divert transactions or buyers: Any attempt to circumvent the established SoOLEGAL Transactions process or to divert SoOLEGAL users to another website or Transactions process is prohibited. Specifically, any advertisements, marketing messages (special offers) or "calls to action" that lead, prompt, or encourage SoOLEGALusers to leave the SoOLEGAL website are prohibited. Prohibited activities include the following:
The use of e-mail intended to divert customers away from the SoOLEGAL.com Transactions process.
Unauthorised & improper "Names": A REGISTERED USER's Name (identifying the REGISTERED USER's entity on SoOLEGAL.com) must be a name that: accurately identifies the REGISTERED USER; is not misleading: and the REGISTERED USER has the right to use (that is, the name cannot include the trademark of, or otherwise infringe on, any trademark or other intellectual property right of any person). Furthermore, a REGISTERED USER cannot use a name that contains an e-mail suffix such as .com, .net, .biz, and so on.
Unauthorised & improper invoicing: REGISTERED USERS must ensure that the tax invoice is raised in the name of the end customer who has placed an order with them through SoOLEGAL Payment Systems platform . The tax invoice should not mention SoOLEGAL as either a REGISTERED USER or a customer/buyer. Please note that all Documents/ Advices listed on SoOLEGAL.com are sold by the respective REGISTERED USERS to the end customers and SoOLEGAL is neither a buyer nor a REGISTERED USER in the transaction. REGISTERED USERS need to include the PAN/ Service Tax registration number in the invoice.
Inappropriate e-mail communications: All REGISTERED USER e-mail communications with buyers must be courteous, relevant and appropriate. Unsolicited e-mail communications with SoOLEGAL , e-mail communications other than as necessary and related customer service, and e-mails containing marketing communications of any kind (including within otherwise permitted communications) are prohibited.
Operating multiple REGISTERED USER accounts: Operating and maintaining multiple REGISTERED USER accounts is prohibited.
In your request, please provide an explanation of the legitimate business need for a second account.
Misuse of Search and Browse: When customers use SoOLEGAL's search engine and browse structure, they expect to find relevant and accurate results. To protect the customer experience, all Documents/ Advice-related information, including keywords and search terms, must comply with the guidelines provided under . Any attempt to manipulate the search and browse experience is prohibited.
Misuse
of the ratings, feedback or Documents/ Advice reviews: REGISTERED
USERS cannot submit abusive or inappropriate feedback entries,
coerce or threaten buyers into submitting feedback, submit
transaction feedback regarding them, or include personal information
about a transaction partner within a feedback entry. Furthermore,
any attempt to manipulate ratings of any REGISTERED USER is
prohibited. Any attempt to manipulate ratings, feedback, or
Documents/ Advice reviews is prohibited.
Reviews: Reviews
are important to the SoOLEGAL Platform, providing a forum for
feedback about Documents/ Advice and service details and reviewers'
experiences with Documents/ Advices and services –
positive
or negative. You may not write reviews for Documents/ Advices or
services that you have a financial interest in, including reviews
for Documents/ Advices or services that you or your competitors deal
with. Additionally, you may not provide compensation for a review
(including free or discounted Documents/ Advices). Review
solicitations that ask for only positive reviews or that offer
compensation are prohibited. You may not ask buyers to modify or
remove reviews.
Prohibited Content
REGISTERED USERS are expected to conduct proper research to ensure that the items posted to our website are in compliance with all applicable laws. If we determine that the content of a Documents/ Advice detail page or listing is prohibited, potentially illegal, or inappropriate, we may remove or alter it without prior notice. SoOLEGAL reserves the right to make judgments about whether or not content is appropriate.
The
following list of prohibited Documents/ Advices comprises two
sections: Prohibited Content and Intellectual Property
Violations.
Listing
prohibited content may result in the cancellation of your listings,
or the suspension or removal of your transacting privileges.
REGISTERED USERS are responsible for ensuring that the Documents/
Advices they offer are legal and authorised for Transaction or
re-Transaction.
If
we determine that the content of a Documents/ Advice detail page or
listing is prohibited, potentially illegal, or inappropriate, we may
remove or alter it without prior notice. SoOLEGAL reserves the right
to make judgments about whether or not content is appropriate.
Illegal and potentially illegal Documents/ Advices: Documents/ Advices sold on SoOLEGAL.in must adhere to all applicable laws. As REGISTERED USERS are legally liable for their actions and transactions, they must know the legal parameters surrounding any Documents/ Advice they display on our website.
Offensive material: SoOLEGAL reserves the right to determine the appropriateness of listings posted to our website.
Nudity: In general, images that portray nudity in a gratuitous or graphic manner are prohibited.
Items that infringe upon an individual's privacy. SoOLEGAL holds personal privacy in the highest regard. Therefore, items that infringe upon, or have potential to infringe upon, an individual's privacy are prohibited.
Intellectual Property Violations
Counterfeit merchandise: Documents/ Advices displayed on our website must be authentic. Any Documents/ Advice that has been illegally replicated, reproduced or manufactured is prohibited.
Books - Unauthorised copies of books are prohibited.
Movies - Unauthorised copies of movies in any format are prohibited. Unreleased/prereleased movies, screeners, trailers, unpublished and unauthorized film scripts (no ISBN number), electronic press kits, and unauthorised props are also prohibited.
Photos - Unauthorised copies of photos are prohibited.
Television Programs - Unauthorised copies of television Programs (including pay-per-view events), Programs never broadcast, unauthorised scripts, unauthorised props, and screeners are prohibited.
Transferred media. Media transferred from one format to another is prohibited. This includes but is not limited to: films converted from NTSC to Pal and Pal to NTSC, laserdisc to video, television to video, CD-ROM to cassette tape, from the Internet to any digital format, etc.
Promotional media: Promotional versions of media Documents/ Advices, including books (advance reading copies and uncorrected proofs), music, and videos (screeners) are prohibited. These Documents/ Advices are distributed for promotional consideration and generally are not authorized for Transaction.
Rights of Publicity: Celebrity images and/or the use of celebrity names cannot be used for commercial purposes without permission of a celebrity or their management. This includes Documents/ Advice endorsements and use of a celebrity's likeness on merchandise such as posters, mouse pads, clocks, image collections in digital format, and so on.
YOU HAVE AGREED TO THIS TRANSACTION TERMS BY CLICKING THE AGREE BUTTON