Opposition hiccup for judges’ retirement bill

The Hindustan Times has reported on how Opposition parties on Wednesday appeared reluctant to provide unconditional support to the government move to raise the retirement age of High Court judges from 62 to 65 years. A bill seeking to make the retirement age of Supreme Court and High Court judges uniform at 65 years, introduced in the Lok Sabha by Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily on Wednesday, is likely to be referred to a parliamentary committee for scrutiny.

“We have no objection to raising the retirement age of high court judges, but related issues need to be looked into. Raise the retirement age, fill up the judges’ vacancies and ban retired judges from being appointed to commission and tribunals,” said an Opposition leader

Drug makers drag PMO into dispute over IPR changes

Live Mint has reported on how the prime minister’s office (PMO) has been dragged into a dispute between foreign and local drug makers over changes to the intellectual property rights (IPR) regime.

The domestic industry, represented by the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), is critical of an intervention by the PMO that it says seeks amendments to the patent law and other legislation on the basis of a submission by the foreign drug makers’ lobby, the Organization of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI).

The local drug makers say the PMO’s actions will have an adverse impact on the direction of IPR law enforcement, since some of these issues are currently in court and being considered by government committees.

Sebi move to hike arbitration fees may reduce complaints

Live Mint has also reported on how arbitration proceedings to settle disputes between brokers and investors are set to become more expensive starting next month.

Investors say a new mechanism being put in place by capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) pushes up arbitration fees by up to three times, especially for big-ticket transactions, and encourages out-of-court settlements.

At present, an investor taking up a dispute over an amount of less than Rs.10 lakh ($21,340) does not have to pay any fee to the arbitrator on the National Stock Exchange if the application is filed within six months of a transaction. Arbitration claims are not allowed six months after a deal.

Under the new mechanism, if a complaint needs to be taken up six months after a transaction, the investor has to pay Rs.33,390-43,000 ($712-917) for claims below Rs.10 lakh.