Corporate Law

It has been well established that consent from parties is a prerequisite to an arbitration.This characteristic of an arbitration ensures that it is only the parties to an arbitration agreement that would be the parties between who arbitration shall commence against. However, over time we have seen different doctrines or legal theories developed such as the group of companies’doctrine, the concept of agency, the reliance theory, that have been used to make a non-signatory a party to an arbitration....

In the past few years, 'panama' and 'paradise', rather than signalling sunshine and rainbows, have been frequently evoked in the context of the 'shell corporations' which were incorporated in various off-shore tax havens. 'Shell companies' are simply an 'outer cover', 'a protective layer' that frequently have only a paper existence with no real assets, liabilities or operations. They therefore generate no economic activity but do impart separate corporate legal personality to the structure. Various news reports and ministry circulars emphasize the efforts being undertaken to curb the sprouting up and regulating of shell companies in India. However, despite the pro-active measures taken by the Government, sizeable issues remain in the operation, implementation and harmonisation of the same. ...

On 31^st July, 2019, the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2019 ("Amendment Act") received assent of the President of India with a view to bring a robust framework through which the Companies Act, 2013 ("Act") can be implemented. Amongst the various provisions of the Act that have been amended, one such amendment has been made to the Section 135. Section 135, along with other ancillary sections,  Schedule VII of the Act (containing the list of activities that may be included in CSR policies) and the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014 mandate the scope of corporate social responsibility ("CSR") under Indian law....

Monday, July 29th, 2019, marked the earliest Earth Overshoot Day that mankind has seen. 209 days into the calendar year and we have used up all the resources the Earth could regenerate in 365 days. Earth Overshoot Day is the date when humanity's annual demand on nature exceeds what Earth's ecosystems can regenerate in that year. This date has crept up by two months over the last 20 years. At this rate, it would take 1.75 Earths to sustainably meet the current demands of humanity, according to the available data....

External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) are commercial loans raised by eligible resident entities from recognised non-resident entities which should always conform to the parameters prescribed by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) such as minimum maturity, permitted and non-permitted end-uses, maximum all-in-cost ceiling etc.The ECB framework is governed by the regulations of the RBI framed under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 ("FEMA"), and the Master Direction – External Commercial Borrowings, Trade Credits and Structured Obligations (the "MasterDirection")....

On July 03, 2019, the Ministry of Home Affairs through a written statement informed the Rajya Sabha that the present Government has no plans on amending the laws on sedition in the country so as to ensure that the Government has effective means to combat anti-national, secessionist and terrorist elements. In an election, where national security was a huge factor for the political parties, a stance that was taken by certain political parties was that they would like to amend the present sedition laws in our country^[1], whereas, the ruling party’s stand was that they would like to toughen the existing sedition laws.^[2]...

In recent years, there has been increasing clamour and debate around implementing a framework for enabling issuance of shares with Differential Voting Rights (“DVRs”) where listed companies are concerned. In a move that is bound to significantly change the way certain transactions are structured, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) approved the Framework for Issuance of Differential Voting Rights Shares (“Framework”) on June 27, 2019....

The advent of globalization, technological advancements, transborder transactions, frequent employment shifts and increased competitionbetween businesses have necessitated increased complexity in the relationship between an employer and an employee calling for adetailedemploymentcontract to be executed between both these parties....

In India, contract labourers are protected by the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition Act), 1970. A contract labourer is defined as one who is hired in connection with the work of an establishment by a principal employer through a contractor. While a contractor is the supplier of contract labour for the organization, a principal employer is the person responsible for the control of the establishment....