18-Jan-2019: India protests to Pakistan against recent order by Supreme Court of Pakistan on so-called ''Gilgit-Baltistan''
The Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan was summoned and a strong protest was lodged on recent order by Supreme Court of Pakistan on the so-called "Gilgit-Baltistan” which is an interference in India’s internal affairs.
It was reiterated that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, which also includes the so-called 'Gilgit-Baltistan' has been, is and shall remain an integral part of India. Pakistan Government or judiciary have no locus standi on territories illegally and forcibly occupied by it. Any action to alter the status of these occupied territories by Pakistan has no legal basis whatsoever.
India rejected such continued attempts by Pakistan to bring material change in these occupied territories and to camouflage grave human rights violations, exploitation and sufferings of the people living there. Pakistan was asked to immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation.
15-Mar-2017: Pakistan plans to declare Gilgit-Baltistan as its fifth Province.
Pakistan is planning to declare the strategic Gilgit-Baltistan region as its fifth Province, a move that may raise concerns in India as it borders the disputed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Pakistan’s Minister for inter-provincial coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada had told that a committee headed by Advisor of Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz has proposed giving the status of a Province to Gilgit-Baltistan. He also said that a constitutional amendment would be made to change the status of the region, through which the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor passes.
Gilgit-Baltistan is treated as a separate geographical entity by Pakistan. It has a regional Assembly and an elected Chief Minister. It is believed that China’s concerns about its unsettled status prompted the move, which could signal a historic shift in the country’s position on the future of the wider Kashmir region.
Migingo is a 2,000-square-metre (0.49-acre; 0.20-hectare) island in Lake Victoria. The island was the center of a low-level territorial dispute between Kenya and Uganda and is extremely densely populated.
In 2008–2009, the island itself was claimed by both Kenya and Uganda. In July 2009 a survey team found that the island is 510 metres (1,670 ft) east of the Kenya–Uganda border within the lake, a finding supported by openly available Google Earth imagery. Since 1926, territorial ownership of the island has been consistently shown on maps and in language on official documents as Kenyan.
Much, if not most, of the Ugandan protests revolve around the lucrative fishing rights, mostly for valuable Nile perch, and Ugandan waters come within 510 metres (1,670 ft) of the island. In July 2009, the Ugandan government shifted its official position, stating that while Migingo Island was Kenyan, much of the waters near it were Ugandan. The island had been claimed by the Ugandan government in 2008-2009 until 11 May 2009 when Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni conceded that the island is in Kenya, but continued to point out that Kenyan fishermen were illegally fishing in Ugandan waters, which lie to the west of Migingo. The Ugandan flag was lowered, Uganda withdrew its military troops, and agreed that all its police officers would leave the island. A joint re-demarcation line of the border was launched on 2 June 2009 to recover and to place survey markers on land, making delineation of the boundary on the lake more precise, with results released in late July 2009 confirming that the island falls 510 metres (1,670 ft) on the Kenyan side of the line.
22-Oct-2018: Insolvency Law Committee submits its 2nd Report on Cross Border Insolvency
The Insolvency Law Committee (ILC) constituted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to recommend amendments to Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of India, 2016, has submitted its 2nd Report to the Government, which deals with cross border insolvency. The Report was handed over today to Shri Arun Jaitley, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs by Corporate Affairs Secretary, Shri Injeti Srinivas.
The ILC has recommended the adoption of the UNCITRAL Model Law of Cross Border Insolvency, 1997, as it provides for a comprehensive framework to deal with cross border insolvency issues. The Committee has also recommended a few carve outs to ensure that there is no inconsistency between the domestic insolvency framework and the proposed Cross Border Insolvency Framework.
The UNCITRAL Model Law has been adopted in as many as 44 countries and, therefore, forms part of international best practices in dealing with cross border insolvency issues. The advantages of the model law are the precedence given to domestic proceedings and protection of public interest. The other advantages include greater confidence generation among foreign investors, adequate flexibility for seamless integration with the domestic Insolvency Law and a robust mechanism for international cooperation.
The model law deals with four major principles of cross-border insolvency, namely direct access to foreign insolvency professionals and foreign creditors to participate in or commence domestic insolvency proceedings against a defaulting debtor; recognition of foreign proceedings & provision of remedies; cooperation between domestic and foreign courts & domestic and foreign insolvency practitioners; and coordination between two or more concurrent insolvency proceedings in different countries. The main proceeding is determined by the concept of centre of main interest (“COMI”).
The necessity of having Cross Border Insolvency Framework under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code arises from the fact that many Indian companies have a global footprint and many foreign companies have presence in multiple countries including India. Although the proposed Framework for Cross Border Insolvency will enable us to deal with Indian companies having foreign assets and vice versa, it still does not provide for a framework for dealing with enterprise groups, which is still work in progress with UNCITRAL and other international bodies. The inclusion of the Cross Border Insolvency Chapter in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of India, 2016, will be a major step forward and will bring Indian Insolvency Law on a par with that of matured jurisdictions.