16 Feb 2020: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

E. Editorials

Category: POLITY

1. When can a judge opt out of a case?

Context

• Justice Mohan M Shantanagoudar, Supreme Court judge, recused from hearing the petition filed by Sarah Abdullah Pilot, sister of former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, challenging his detention under the J&K Public Safety Act. 
• The case was finally heard by another bench. 

Definition

• Recusal is to remove oneself as a judge in a particular proceeding, usually because of conflict of interest or has a prior association with the parties in the case.

What are the rules on recusals?

• There are no written rules on the recusal of judges from hearing cases listed before them in constitutional courts. It is left to the discretion of a judge. The reasons for recusal are not disclosed in an order of the court. 
  • Some judges orally convey to the lawyers involved in the case their reasons for recusal, many do not. 
  • Some explain the reasons in their order. 
• The decision rests on the conscience of the judge. 

When can the Judge recuse?

• Bias of prejudice

• • It typically means the judge has acted/ taken a stand or publicly spoken in a way that prevents him or her from treating the party in a fair and impartial manner.
• Where a judge has appeared for one of the litigants at some stage in the same dispute. 
  • A judge’s fairness and impartiality may be compromised when he or she has had a business or professional relationship with a party. 
  • In cases where the judge was a party’s business partner or attorney, as well as in cases where the judge was a member of a law firm representing a party, the potential for bias or prejudice is almost always too great to permit the judge to preside over the case.
• In disputes where a judge has a financial interest in the litigation, where a judge owns shares in a company which is party to the case, the judge can recuse. 
• Judge’s family member’s economic interest in the case.
  • The judge is related to a party or spouse of either party (usually) within three degrees of kinship.
  • Sometimes a judge or one of his or her immediate family members will have an economic interest in the subject matter of the case, one that could be significantly impacted by the outcome of the proceedings

Judges who excused oneself from hearing a case

• Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi disqualified himself, purportedly because he was set to be a part of the selection committee tasked with choosing a new CBI Director. He then assigned a bench presided by Justice A.K. Sikri to hear the case.
• Justice U.U. Lalit recused himself from hearing the dispute over land in Ayodhya after senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan pointed out that the judge had appeared for former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh in a related contest.

Recusal can harm rule of law 

• Refusing to recuse himself from the Constitution Bench hearing a question of law on the Indore Development Authority v. Manohar Lal (the issues involved in the case related to a reading of Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013), Justice Arun Mishra said acquiescing to the wishes of parties to recuse himself would sound the death-knell for judicial independence.

• • The petitioners had objected to Justice Mishra leading the Constitution Bench which was hearing a question of law challenging his own earlier judgment in the case.

• In 2019, in the middle of a hearing of a PIL filed by activist Harsh Mander about the plight of inmates in Assam’s detention centres, the then-Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi was asked to recuse himself. In an order, Justice Gogoi said a litigant cannot seek recusal of the judge. 
  • “Judicial functions, sometimes, involve performance of unpleasant and difficult tasks, which require asking questions and soliciting answers to arrive at a just and fair decision. If the assertions of bias as stated are to be accepted, it would become impossible for a judge to seek clarifications and answers,” the court observed.
• In the Judge loya Case, Recusal, the court observed, would mean abdication of duty. 
• Judiciary should not allow recusals to be used as a tool to manoeuvre justice, where parties decide the benches ultimately evading judicial work.
  • To withdraw from a case merely because a party suggests that a judge do so impairs judicial fairness. It allows parties to cherry-pick a bench of their choice.

Should the reasons be put on record?

• • In his separate opinion in the National Judicial Appointments Commission judgment in 2015, Justice Kurian Joseph, who was a member of the Constitution Bench, highlighted the need for judges to give reasons for recusal as a measure to build transparency.
    •  “It is the constitutional duty, as reflected in one’s oath, to be transparent and accountable, and hence, a judge is required to indicate reasons for his recusal from a particular case,”
• In Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association v. Union of India (2015), Justice Chelameswar said “Where a judge has a pecuniary interest, no further inquiry as to whether there was a ‘real danger’ or ‘reasonable suspicion’ of bias is required to be undertaken, but in other cases, such an inquiry is required, and the relevant test is the ‘real danger’ test.”

Conclusion

• Judicial impartiality is a significant element of justice. Judges should decide legal disputes free of any personal bias or prejudice. As a result of a conflict of interest, a judge may be unable to maintain impartiality in a case and thus should be disqualified. 
• Even where a judge is impartial, but appears not to be, recusal is necessary and this should be structured.

Category: ECONOMY

1. What does ‘developed’ tag mean for India?

Context

• The office of the United States Trade Representatives (USTR) has updated its list of developing and least-developed countries, removing India from the list of countries that are designated as developing.
• These countries will now be classified as “developed” economies, thus stripping them of various trade benefits.

Background 

• In the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), the US Congress had amended the Counter Vailing Duty (CVD) law in order to confirm US obligations under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM). 
  • Under this SCM agreement, countries that had not yet reached the status of a developed country were entitled to special treatment for purposes of countervailing measures. 
• This meant that imports from the member countries included in the list by USTR were subject to different thresholds for determining if countervailing subsidies are “de minimis” and whether import volumes are negligible.
• Further, as per the Tariff Act of 1930, Congress delegated the responsibility to designate those WTO members whose imports would be subject to these special thresholds to the USTR. 

What is the USTR list of Developed, Developing and least-developed countries?

• The office of USTR maintains a list of countries that it classifies as “developing”, “developed”, and “least-developed”. 
  • Countries that are classified as “developing” are allowed to export certain goods to the U.S. without being hit by punitive tariffs that are usually imposed on goods from “developed” countries. 
• USTR is required to publish this list of designations and update it if necessary in the Federal Register.
• To determine these designations, the USTR relies on data such as World Bank’s data on Gross National Income (GNI) and trade data obtained from the Trade Data Monitor. 
• This also contains official data from national statistical bureaus, customs authorities, central banks and other such government agencies.

Is such a classification justified?

• Any classification of whether a country is “developing” or not is bound to be arbitrary. While the economic progress that India and China have achieved over the last few decades is seen by some as reason enough to get rid of their special status, others point to the various development indicators in which India and China still lag behind the rich world. 
• The global community is further divided on its opinion on whether such a classification is required in the first place.

Why is India being stripped of this status?

• The U.S. administration under President Trump has repeatedly accused fast-growing countries such as India and China of wrongly claiming trade benefits that are reserved only for the truly developing countries. 
• In support of its actions, the Trump administration has argued that countries like India and China have witnessed significant growth in the last few decades. This, it believes, is enough reason to scale back the various trade benefits. 
• It has further cited the share of global trade enjoyed by India and China and their membership in the G20 club to argue that they enjoy significant economic power. 
• Moreover, many developed countries also classify themselves as “developing” in order to escape tariffs.
• Therefore, Mr. Trump has sought to renegotiate trade deals with countries like China, essentially trying to make these deals more “fair” to the interests of the U.S. 

The revocation of India’s developing country status does not mean we have moved up the development ladder but it defines India’s future trade relationship with the US. 

How does the revocation of developing nation status impact India?

• India has traditionally been one of the largest beneficiaries under the GSP, with over 2,000 goods having been exempted from import tariffs. The GSP status was suspended in 2019. With the current change in India’s status under the USTR’s classification, the task of reclaiming the lost GSP benefits now becomes even harder. 
• Indian export has remained under pressure due to increasing competition from other countries. With this move the exports might decrease. 
• Apart from that, the CVD laws also allow the US to hold an investigation into the trade policies of other countries to determine whether they are harming the US trade. With India no longer in the list of beneficiaries, the US can now hold an investigation. 
  • If the investigation finds that India’s policies allow exporters to sell their products in the US at a lower rate and consequently harm the domestic traders there, the US can impose counter-vailing duty, a form of import tax, to make the Indian goods more expensive in the US markets.

How will the U.S. decision affect global trade?

• Any move to end duty-free access for foreign goods into the U.S., which becomes more likely after the change in trade status, will increase the overall tax burden on goods crossing international borders. 
• This will add further pressure on the global economy, which has already witnessed a slowing of growth. 
• Tariff war could rise further if countries that are stripped of their “developing” economy status decide to retaliate by imposing tariffs on goods that they import from the U.S.

Conclusion

• Thus India won’t get special preference from US leading to drop in the exports and the global economy could witness tensions of trade war.

2. Why have LPG prices seen a sharp rise?

Context

• Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) prices have been substantially raised 

What influences LPG prices in India?

• Domestic prices of LPG are based on a formula — the Import Parity Price (IPP), which is based on international LPG prices. 
  • IPP represents the price that importers would pay in case of actual import of product at the respective Indian ports and includes the elements of Free on Board (FOB) price + Ocean Freight + Insurance + Custom Duties + Port Dues, etc.
  • Saudi Aramco’s LPG price acts as the benchmark for the IPP 
  • This dollar-denominated figure is converted into rupees before local costs — such as local freight, bottling charges, marketing costs, margins for oil marketing firms and dealer commissions and the Goods and Services Tax — are added. 
• This helps the government arrive at the retail selling price for LPG.
• The government resets the LPG price every month, the decision being influenced by international prices and how the rupee has behaved against the dollar in the immediately preceding weeks.
• International LPG prices tend to move in tandem with the price of crude oil, the key raw material.

What are the implications for the broader economy?

• At a time when consumer demand, in general, for goods and services in the country has slumped, more cash in the hands of the retail consumer may have helped spur demand. It is ironic that the government has raised LPG prices now.
• It takes away disposable income from those consumers who pay market rates for LPG. As a result, household budgets are bound to go up, especially for those not availing the subsidy.
• The increase in LPG price could spur headline inflation even further.

What is the outlook?

• With international crude prices on the downtrend, it is plausible the LPG prices too would see a slump.

Q1. Consider the following statements about the 
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights:

Q2. Bimal Jalan committee was primarily set up:

Q3. Which of the following statement/s is/are correct?

Q4. Which of the following rivers flow into the Black sea?