The “doctrine of frustration” and “force majeure” have become crucial facets of law in the time of the global pandemic, COVID-19, and have become crucial facets of contracts and accountability. Section 32 and section 56 of Indian Contract Act, 1872 play an important role in this. Introduction: The spread of Coronavirus had an enigmatic repercussion [...]
Legal Commentary
Students in our National Security Law course quickly learn that this area of the law is governed primarily by abstract constitutional rules, specific statutory grants of authority, and relatively little useful caselaw. Indeed, perhaps in no other area of the law has the Supreme Court deferred so explicitly to the perceived advantages and competence of [...]
Earlier this month, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that he was extending the “NYS on Pause” restrictions until May 15th, halting all non-essential business in the state. Though the governor’s actions will ensure the health and safety of New Yorkers as the state continues battling the novel Coronavirus, “NYS on Pause” restrictions have tremendously [...]
Introduction December 2019 witnessed the outbreak of one of the deadliest viruses ever when China reported some cases of unusual pneumonia to the World Health Organization (WHO). The virus remained unknown for a brief period of time, but it spread rampantly across Europe and Asia in the months of January and February. Slowly it moved [...]
As COVID-19 spreads in different parts of the world, many countries have resorted to “national quarantine” or lockdown. Travel bans and closure of activities has resulted in a complete halt of society. Different countries are using their own set of domestic laws for planning action against the spread of Coronavirus. After declaring it a “pandemic”, [...]
Introduction Amid the ongoing situation in India due to the spread of the SARS-CoV-19 virus, there have been a few instances where medical practitioners were attacked by an unruly mob. To counter extraordinary situations, extraordinary steps need to be taken, in furtherance of which the Uttar Pradesh Government and the Madhya Pradesh government have subsequently [...]
Interpreting the word games at play in workplace safety guidelines, President Trump’s recent executive order on the food supply chain, and company motives is something like unpacking a Russian doll. The name of these Russian nesting dolls is Matryoshka or Babushka. Babushka means grandmother or old woman. This name is ironic because a lot of [...]
“It is my aspiration that health finally will be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for.” -United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan Human rights are defined as those rights which are inherently possessed by a human being. The principal contemporary articulation of human rights, the [...]
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the world with unprecedented consequences. People all around the globe are suffering, and yet at the same time are battling against it with equanimity. All professions are playing the role of a servitor to help the world escape this perilous situation. Lawyers have among all occupations (with the exception of [...]
The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned. –Bryan Stevenson “This book is important. But it is a candle in a hurricane.” This is a statement from one of the participants in the prison reading group I lead each month. In the [...]