Comparative Law – Law and Other Things

WCL Short-Term Research Scholarships for Emerging Legal Scholars from India (Fall 2020)

On March 6, 2020 By Law and Other Things In Announcements, Comparative Law, Scholarships

The Chair for Public and Comparative Law at Humboldt University Berlin (Prof. Dr. Philipp Dann) in collaboration with the journal VRÜ / WCL offers two short-term research scholarships for emerging legal scholars from India. Scholarship …

Foreigners Tribunals, Refugee Status Determination and the ‘Surveillance of Authenticity’

On January 4, 2020 By Douglas McDonald-Norman In Comparative Law

A woman in Assam is determined not to be a citizen of India by the NRC. She seeks review by a Foreigners Tribunal. She faces a formidable task. She bears the burden of proving that …

The Citizenship Amendment Act and ‘Persons Belonging to Minority Communities’

On December 28, 2019 By Douglas McDonald-Norman In Comparative Law, Constitutional Law, Discrimination, Equality, Fundamental Rights

The Citizenship Amendment Act alters the definition of ‘illegal immigrant’ for the purposes of the Citizenship Act 1955. It provides that ‘persons belonging to minority communities, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from …

The Criminalization of PUBG in Gujarat: A Frivolous Affair?

On October 18, 2019 By Tanishk Goyal In Comparative Law, Constitutional Interpretation, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Fundamental Rights, Madras High Court, Supreme Court of India

In our latest piece, the author highlights the criminalization of PUBG in Gujarat with special focus on Section 37(3) of the Gujarat Police Act, 1951. The author discusses this in the light of the Blue Whale precedent, while further drawing parallels between the deontological and consequentialist approaches to free speech.

Life without Remission: An Irreviewable and Unconstitutional Punishment

On September 4, 2019 By Himanshu Agarwal and Amartya Kanjilal In Comparative Law, Constitutional Law, Death Penalty, Editor's Choice, European Court of Human Rights, Fundamental Rights, Madras High Court, Supreme Court of India

In this piece, the authors look at the new trend in the Indian judicial system, of remitting death sentences to life sentences, but without the option of further remission under any circumstances.

“Rubber-band” Secularism: How Islamic and Hindu majoritarianism repurpose colonial legal governance

On August 12, 2019 By Julia Stephens In Book Review, Comparative Law, Constitutional Law, Editor's Choice, Governance, Religion, Supreme Court of India, Women's Rights

In the conclusive post of the round-table book discussion, Professor Julia Stephens writes a response to the reviews for “Governing Islam: Law, Empire and Secularism in South Asia”. While analyzing the responses to her book, she simultaneously traces the paradigm of colonial secularism in the contemporary world

Governing Islam by Julia Stephens: A Response from Dr. Geetanjali Srikantan

On August 12, 2019 By Geetanjali Srikantan In Book Review, Comparative Law, Constitutional Law, Editor's Choice, Governance, Religion

In this piece, the author analyses Julia Stephens’ book through the lens of theories of numerous thinkers. The author discusses the British perception of Mughal law, the philosophy driving the differentiation of Islamic and Hindu law among other themes.