Public International Law

Armenia institutes proceedings against the Azerbaijan in the ICJ

Armenia has instituted proceedings against Azerbaijan in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) relating to the violation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Armenia has contended that Azerbaijan for years has subjected Armenians to racial discrimination and the same has led to systematic abuse, mass killing and more. To read more, click here and here. 

International Trade Law

India accepts the G-33 proposal on MSP

After a month-long deliberation, India has decided to co-sponsor a proposal made by the G-33 group of developing countries on a permanent solution for allowing public stockholding subsidies without limits at the WTO. According to experts, this has added significant weight to the proposal and that it was the right decision to take as India has benefited majorly from the G-33 alliance over the past several years. To read more, click here. 

Algeria prepares new laws to increase FDI

Algeria has planned to bring in new investment laws to boost the country’s business climate and bring in foreign investors. The country’s income as of now relies upon Oil and the government wishes to change the same but has failed to do the same several times. This time, they will try to boost the non-energy sector by bringing banking reforms and creating a stock exchange for the country. The new law will be ready within a few weeks to be submitted to legislators for debate. To read more, click here and here. 

International Commercial Arbitration 

IFSCA to set up International Arbitration Centre in Gujarat GIFT IFSC

The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) is in the process of setting up an International Arbitration Centre in the GIFT IFSC for speedy resolution of any dispute. The IFSCA is a unified authority for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in India. At present, the GIFT IFSC is the maiden international financial services centre in the country. Injeti Srinivas will be its chairperson. To know more about the story, click here and here.

Human Rights

UN calls for action needed over artificial intelligence risks to human rights

The United Nations’ (UN) head of human rights has called for all member states to put a moratorium on the sale and use of artificial intelligence systems. UN high commissioner for human rights Michelle Bachelet acknowledged that AI can be a “force for good” but that it could also have “negative, even catastrophic, effects” if the risks It poses are not addressed. Bachelet’s comments come alongside a new report from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The report analyses how AI affects people’s rights to privacy, health, education, freedom of movement, amongst other things. “Artificial intelligence now reaches into almost every corner of our physical and mental lives and even emotional states. AI systems are used to determine who gets public services, decide who has a chance to be recruited for a job, and of course they affect what information people see and can share online,” Bachelet said. Both the report and Bachelet’s comments follow the July revelations surrounding Pegasus spyware, which the UN rights chief described as part of the “unprecedented level of surveillance” being seen across the globe currently. To know more, click here and here.

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Curated by Kirti Vardhan Singh and Aryaman Kapoor.