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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Cabinet approves bill setting up courts for commercial disputes
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Cabinet approves bill setting up courts for commercial disputes

The move will ensure speedy disposal of commercial disputes, making it easier to do business in India

The bill proposes to set up commercial dispute divisions in high courts such as those in Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Himachal Pradesh, which already have civil jurisdiction. Photo: Arvind Yadav/Hindustan TimesPremium
The bill proposes to set up commercial dispute divisions in high courts such as those in Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Himachal Pradesh, which already have civil jurisdiction. Photo: Arvind Yadav/Hindustan Times

New Delhi: The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved the introduction of a new law to set up courts that will deal exclusively with commercial disputes, ensuring their speedy disposal and making it easier to do business in India.

The Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts and Commercial Courts Bill, 2015, will be introduced in the current session of Parliament.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley had proposed setting up such courts for the quick resolution of commercial disputes, based on the recommendations of the 253rd report of the Law Commission. The commission had sought to revamp the commercial dispute resolution mechanism system by separating it from other civil disputes.

“The establishment of commercial courts in India is a stepping stone to bring about reform in the civil justice system," the government said in a press statement.

A commercial dispute has been defined as a dispute arising out of ordinary transactions of merchants, bankers, financiers and traders. These include disputes relating to mercantile documents; joint venture and partnership agreements; intellectual property rights; insurance; and other areas.

The bill proposes to set up commercial divisions in high courts such as those in Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, and Himachal Pradesh, which already have civil jurisdiction. These courts will handle cases with claims above 1 crore and all existing cases in various courts will be transferred to these courts. The courts, which will be equivalent to district courts, will exercise jurisdiction over all cases and applications relating to commercial disputes.

The commercial courts shall, however, not have jurisdiction in matters relating to commercial disputes where the jurisdiction of the civil court has been either expressly or implicitly barred under law, the government said.

The number of pending commercial cases in five high courts—Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Himachal Pradesh—stood at 16,884, which was 51.7% of all civil cases pending in these courts, the commission, which submitted its report in January this year, had said.

Juvenile justice

The cabinet also approved the introduction of amendments to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014. The proposed bill provides that “in case a heinous crime has been committed by a person in the age group of 16-18 years, it will be examined by the Juvenile Justice Board to assess if the crime was committed as a ‘child’ or as an ‘adult’".

The assessment will be done by the board, which will include psychologists and social experts to ensure that the rights of the juvenile are duly protected if she has committed the crime as a child. The trial of the case will accordingly take place as a juvenile or as an adult on the basis of this assessment.

The new legislation also proposes to streamline adoption procedures for orphaned, abandoned and surrendered children by establishing a statutory status for the Child Adoption Resources Authority (CARA).

It further proposed several rehabilitation and social integration measures for institutional and non-institutional children, in addition to providing new measures for sponsorship and foster care. This is in addition to making it mandatory to register all institutions engaged in providing child care, while incorporating new offences, including illegal adoption, corporal punishment in child care institutions, the use of children by militant groups, and offences against disabled children.

In August, the ministry of women and child development had introduced the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014, in the Lok Sabha. The proposed legislation, which would replace the existing Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, defined and classified offences as petty, serious and heinous, and defined differentiated processes for each category. The government then cleared a proposal to empower the Juvenile Justice Board to decide whether a juvenile above 16 years involved in heinous crimes such as rape is to be sent to an observation home or tried in a regular court.

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Published: 23 Apr 2015, 12:20 AM IST
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