E-Judiciary And ODR In India

Electronic courts and online disputes resolution (ODR) in India are two areas that require immediate attention of union ministry of law and justices, India. E-courts have been ignored for more than nine years and till March 2012 we are still waiting for the first e-courts of India. The ground reality is that e-courts and ODR in India are still ignored by the legal and judicial system of India.

So for a majority of purposes electronic delivery of justice in India has failed. There are many reasons why e-delivery of justice in India has failed but the main reason is lack of techno legal expertise to manage e-courts in India. For instance, we have a single techno legal e-courts training and consultancy centre of India managed by Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB). There is no second firm or company in India that deals in techno legal e-courts related issues except the one managed by PTLB.

Even there is little connection between international commercial arbitration in India and ODR. For instance, online commercial arbitration in India is still a dream. While western countries are resolving e-commerce disputes through technological mediation, e-commerce disputes resolution in India is still dependent upon traditional litigation methods.

Similarly, corporate disputes and online disputes resolution in India are also unrelated. Corporates in India prefer to use alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms to resolve their disputes. But these corporates are shying away from using ODR for their disputes resolution. Perhaps lack of expertise and lack of trust are the reasons for limited growth of e-courts and ODR in India.

Electronic Commerce Laws In India

Electronic commerce is the buzz word these days. Many national and international players are exploring e-commerce field. While e-commerce is well known and widely used in western countries, it is still at the infancy stage in India. Further, we have no dedicated electronic commerce laws in India.

E-commerce regulations and laws in India can be found under the information technology act (IT Act 2000) that is the cyber law of India. It prescribes basic level legal requirements for undertaking e-commerce in India. However, besides the IT Act, 2000 we have no dedicated e-commerce laws in India.

So what does techno legal experts of India think about e-commerce environment and regulatory aspects of the same? According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based ICT law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of Asia, E-Commerce in India requires compliance with various Statutory Laws of India. The chief among them are the Cyber Law of India, Indian Contract Act, Privacy and Data Protection Regulations, Cyber Security Regulations, Foreign Investments Regulations, etc.

Although E-Commerce in India has great potentials yet Legal Aspects of E-Commerce in India must be taken care of before launching an E-Commerce Project or Website, suggests Praveen Dalal.

With growing establishment of e-commerce websites and platforms in India, disputes are also bound to arise. E-commerce lawyers and law firms in India have been suggesting active use of information technology for e-commerce dispute resolution in India. For instance, online dispute resolution (ODR) in India can be used for resolving transborder e-commerce disputes. Similarly, e-courts and ODR in India can also be used for resolving various e-commerce related disputes in India.

Perry4Law and Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) have been providing the exclusive techno legal ODR services in India for resolving e-commerce and various technology related dispute resolutions in India.

Keeping in mind the future and growth of e-commerce in India, it would be a good idea to formulate a dedicated e-commerce law for India. It may cover all the abovementioned aspects to make it holistic and comprehensive.

News, Blogs And Websites Censorship By Google

Most of you may aware that Google often removes offensive contents on valid legal requests. However, Google also refuses to remove an alleged offending content if it feels that the content accused to be offensive or violative is not violating Google’s terms and conditions and its policies.

However, what about those contents, blog posts, news articles and websites searches those are clandestinely manipulated, removed or demoted by Google? There is no account of such contents that are removed by Google in its sole discretion and without any justification.

I just came across a very good blog titled Websites, Blogs and News Censorship by Google and India that is providing first hand information and unique information about censorship and results manipulation aspects of Google. Although Google gives an idea about the number of governmental requests for blocking of websites and removal of objectionable contents yet Google does not make it public. This Blog would fill that gap, at least regarding some controversial topics of India.

Some of the areas that are covered by the blog are Aadhar project, central monitoring system (CMS), e-surveillance, human rights in cyberspace, international organisations, internet censorship, national cyber coordination centre (NCCC), national intelligence grid (Natgrid), national counter terrorism centre (NCTC), news, phone tapping, websites blocking, others, etc.

Blogs, news and websites manipulations by Google in these areas have been covered by these categories that are frequently updated. This blog is one place stop for all censorship and contents manipulation and removal exercises of Google. Some of the posts covered by the blog so far are:

(1) Methods that Google uses to Filter, Manipulate and Censor Contents

(2) Posts, News and Articles that Appeared and Disappeared at Google

(3) Google Defeated by Splogs, Content Farms and National Censorships

(4) News Results Censorship by Google in India

(5) Websites, Blogs and News Censorship and Results Manipulation by Google

Unfortunately, the blog itself seems to have been censored and filtered by Google so you have to bookmark the same for regular updates. Additionally you may like to subscribe the feeds of the blog. If you have your own experiences to share, contact the blog with your experiences.