International Law

Following the advertising of the event on facebook by the UoM Student Union:

We are pleased to inform you of the following activities :

The Law Society is organising a Talk By Mr. Milan Meetarbhan on Financial Services Commission
Date: Thursday, September 24, 2009
Time: 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Location: Lecture Theatre 2, University of Mauritius

it was another great pleasure to be on the réduit campus to attend a talk after a looooooong time.

I agree, the talk did not start at 12:00 and we had to wait for the Guest speaker to make appearance.

At around 12:30, finally Morgini, the Master of ceremony welcomed the Guest of UoM Law Society and introduced to us Mr. Meetarbhan, Chief Executive of the Financial Services Commission (FSC). Most of the information on him was found by Googling. I should admit that I was personally waiting to see a ‘live demo’ of  Mr. Meetarbhan, having heard of him so much. I got the confirmation yesterday: He is real professional!

It was a pleasant surprise to witness the presentation skills of Mr. Meetarbhan. The experience of teaching at the UoM for 10 years was evident. He started with the history of the Law Department at the University of Mauritius being set up in 1989. It was also interesting to note the candidate selection procedure for LLB course at the UoM. After applying for the course, one would be called upon for interview and would encounter the traditional question: “Why do you want to study Law??” . After the ‘hollywoodian’ answer of the candidate, he would be put for a 3 months time to get a taste of what Law is about. And the same traditional question would be given to him at the end of the 3 months.

The main topics covered during the talk were:

• The role of FSC
• Global Business/ Offshore
• International Law (treaty)
• Double Taxation Avoidance
• Treaty signed with India

The aim of the FSC as a regulator is:

To ensure that promises are kept.

This was the simple definition of what they do the FSC people.

Milan share with us some very very tasty, unforgetable food for thoughts:

It is not only about qualifications (yes it is important to be qualified, even important to be a specialist) but it is not only about that.  It is also about ETHICS!

Then he elaborated on this magical piece of wisdom by some annecdotes:

Being on time at work: The big problem of working with professionals found worldwide is: at what time will the meeting be held. The ideal time for mauritius is at 4:00 a.m or 6.00 a.m. So at six in the morning, you have to be here, to answer the call and participate in the meeting.

Respecting the deadline: if you have to submit the work by latest x date and at y time, you have to respect it.

another quote of him:

In professionalism, it is about 70% attitude and 30% competence.

Whilst fertilising us with this message, Mr. Meetarbhan was having a look at the Human Resources Manager who was also present in the lecture theatre 2.

The end of the talk was with the usual Part: Questions/ Answers

The interesting question that came from the students: about the job prospects with a Law and Management degree .

In answering this question, we came to know about the Young Graduate Recruitment programme set up by the FSC. That’s interesting for those interested in having a career at the FSC.

For our Foundation in IT Law module, we have studied the ICT Laws in the Mauritian Legal Regime. Amongst them is the Electronic Transaction Act 2000 which has the main purpose of  “To provide  for an appropriate legal framework to facilitate electronic transactions and communications by regulating electronic records and electronic signatures thereof.” The key terms encountered are:

• Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
• Core PKI Services: Authenticity, Integrity, Confidentiality and Non-Repudiation
• Digital Certificate
• Digital Signature
• Public Key
• Private Key
• Root Certification Authority / Controller of Certification Authority

Information concerning the above can be obtained from ICTA website under the menu item Information Security. The shortcut version of understanding the PKI model can be found here, in the very informative flash animation.

Currently, we read that the Mauritian PKI model will be soon implemented and also ICTA benefits assistance from Indian authorities:

Port Louis: The making of a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) in Mauritius a reality is gathering momentum with the arrival of a high level delegation from India. The five- member delegation led by Dr N. Vijayaditya, India’s Controller of Certification Authorities (CCA India), Department of Information Technology, Government of India are here at the invitation of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority.

Since Monday officials from the ICTA have held a number of working sessions; stakeholders from other institutions involved in PKI implementation have also been invited to take part.  These sessions will culminate on Friday with the holding of a workshop organised by the ICT Authority to raise awareness about PKI.

The delegation’s visit follows the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 11 February 2009 between CCA India and the ICT Authority.  The objective of this MoU is to seek the assistance of CCA India, to set up the Mauritian PKI based on the Indian PKI model.

The PKI model seeks to enhance TRUST in the transactions carried electronically. What can we expect if Mauritian PKI is operational?

1) Increased use of E-Filing Centres for filing tax returns electronically.

2) Government bodies providing certified documents assuring Authentication.

3) The Growth of E-Commerce in Mauritius given eSecurity.

Anything else?…

Today, our IT Law class has to do mini-presentation on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). After the presentation that we will start the lectures on this new chapter for semester 2. It a good approach, from unknown to known. Students learning by themselves and then sharing the knowledge before the class to his/her fellow classmates. However we can also run the risk of doing research not completely related to the IT domain, since IPR concerns industrial issues. There we need to focus on IPR concerning IT law in the Mauritian Legislation.

So let me polish and refine the powerpoint, as soon as presentation over, will upload the file and let you have the feedback. Till then, stay connected!

Wednesday 18 March:

Finally after weeks of postponement, the presentation was finally held. Here is the precious:

Posted in Law, Nerd Stuff, Uni Student Life, University of Mauritius Tagged: Computing, Mauritius, University of Mauritius ]]> http://asheshr.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/intellectual-property-rights-in-it-law/feed/ 2 curiousEngine ipr http://asheshr.wordpress.com/2009/02/10/gender-discrimination-at-work/ http://asheshr.wordpress.com/2009/02/10/gender-discrimination-at-work/#comments Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:03:02 +0000 Ashesh http://asheshr.wordpress.com/?p=503 ]]>

Here is our presentation that we made, it was rocking!

more description of the presentation day on Monday 9 feb. is coming as I am waiting for the pictures taken on that day to make a good blog post! Patience is a Virtue.

17 Feb: an update

The presentation was a cool rocking experience. Our group was able to tackle most of the questions successfully. Positive feedback has been received till yet and compliments about our team spirit.

Please view the below video:

something must strike into your mind – What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

According to Wikipedia,

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (10 December 1948 at Palais de Chaillot, Paris). The Guinness Book of Records describes the UDHR as the “Most Translated Document”^[1] in the world. The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled. It consists of 30 articles which have been elaborated in subsequent international treaties, regional human rights instruments, national constitutions and laws

The issues are:

1. Guantanamo Bay. (Article 5 of the declaration: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”)

Amnesty Protest in Nottingham City Centre

2. Wal-martisation of Women’s Jobs

(Article 23, para. 2: “Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.”)

3. The case of Education in Mauritius

(Article 26: (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.)

To conclude, I would strongly advise all Mauritians to read Chapter II – Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedom of the Individual, found in our Constitution.

Thank you for taking your time to read your fundamental rights as a Citizen of Mauritius

An update: To mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Harvard Law School Professor Martha Minow co-chaired a conference at HLS, “Hope, Critique, and Possibility: Universal Rights in Societies of Difference.” View the slideshow by clicking here. An interesting video:

I was reading Gender issues at the workplace, when came to my mind : But what’s the case in Mauritius? So let’s investigate a bit in this burning issue…

Firstly, What is Sexual Harassment?

Sexual harassment refers to “unwanted sexual advances, whether touches, looks, pressures to have sex, or even jokes” (Henslin & Nelson, 1996, p.300). It can be of two forms. The first one, known as quid pro quo harassment occurs when the harassment is linked to the granting of a benefit, for example, a woman is pressured to have sex with her employer in order to get a promotion.

The second type refers to sexual harassment that is not linked to any privilege, but that results in a hostile working environment.

Sexual Harassment Guidelines

(Source: Microsoft Encarta 2008 Student Premium Edition)

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued the following guidelines in 1980 to answer questions about what constitutes illegal sexual harassment. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in a 1986 case (Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson) that sexual harassment is a form of discrimination prohibited by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act

Can I be a victim of Sexual Harassment?

Anybody can be a victim of sexual harassment, be it a man or a woman, heterosexual or homosexual, but women are the ones who are more likely to experience sexual harassment routinely

The issue of Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is not an issue to be taken lightly. It can have disastrous consequences on the victims’ physical as well as mental health and it certainly adversely affects the productivity of the worker who stands as victim. Laws have been passed in many countries to protect workers against the risk of sexual harassment and employers have been included in the fight against this form of discrimination.

The case in Mauritius

Equal Opportunities Bill

This  bill is currently the headlines in the Media in Mauritius and in the Agenda of the National Assembly of Mauritius. Here is some quotes from the article in Lexpress on this bill (they are in french):

Exit donc les discriminations sur les bases de statut, nom, âge, sexe, caste, couleur, croyances, opinion politique ou encore orientation sexuelle. Un projet de loi promettant une île Maurice parfaite, diraient certains.

’Equal Opportunities Bill prévoit la création de deux entités: l’Equal Opportunities Division et un Equal Opportunities Tribunal. Le premier sera rattaché au Human Rights Commission et se verra conférer les responsabilités de promouvoir l’élimination des discriminations, entreprendre des investigations dans des cas de discriminations rapportées, entre autres.

Tout comme les prérogatives de la Human Rights Commission, l’Equal Opportunities Division peut référer tout cas au Directeur des Poursuites Publiques eu vue des actions légales.

Excerpts from the bill:

“The object of this Bill is to ensure that every person has an equal opportunity to attain his objectives in various spheres of activities and that no person is placed, or finds himself, at a disadvantage, by reason of his status, namely, his age, caste, colour, creed, ethnic origin, impairment, marital status, place of origin, political opinion, race, sex or sexual orientation.”

The interesting part related to our blog post is Section V of  the bill: Part V: Sexual Harrassment

(1) A person sexually harasses another person where, in circumstances in which a reasonable person would have foreseen that the other person would be humiliated, offended or intimidated, he –
(a) makes an unwelcome sexual advance, or an unwelcome request for a sexual favour, to another person; or

(b) engages in any other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature towards another person.

Acts of Sexual Harrassment

(1) No employer, or agent of an employer, shall sexually harass an employee or a person seeking employment from the employer.
(2) No job contractor or principal shall sexually harass a contract worker.
(3) No employee shall sexually harass a fellow employee or a person seeking employment from his employer.
(4) No agent of an employment agency shall sexually harass a person in the course of providing, or offering to provide, any of the agency’s services to that person.
(5) No person referred to in section 15, or his employee, shall sexually harass another person in relation to the conferment, renewal, extension, revocation or withdrawal of an authorisation or qualification referred to in that section.
(6) (a) No member of the staff of an educational institution shall sexually harass a student at the institution or a person who is seeking admission as a student.
(b) No student at an educational institution shall sexually harass another student or a member of the staff.
23

(7) No person referred to in section 18 shall sexually harass another person in the course of providing or offering to provide goods, services or facilities to the other person.
(8) No person referred to in section 19 shall sexually harass another person in the course of providing, or offering to provide, accommodation to the other person.
(9) No person shall sexually harass another person in the course of dealing with the other person in connection with –
(a) disposing, or offering to dispose of, any immovable property to the other person; or
(b) acquiring, or offering to acquire, any immovable property from the other person.
(10) No officer or member of a company, partnership, “société”, registered association or club shall sexually harass a member or other member, as the case may be, or a person seeking to become a member.

(11) Any person who contravenes this section shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 100,000 rupees and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years.

Concluding words

Nobody would like to be sexually harassed, not only in the workplace but also at school or university campus. One would naturally like to work for an equal opportunity Employer. The Equal Opportunities bill claim to ensure that every person has an equal opportunity to attain his objectives in various fields of activities. Will this be the case in real? Must Honourable Rama Valayden  congratulated for his courage, boldness and audacity on this issue? lets wait and see…