The President of India promulgated the ordinance to bring into force The Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Bill, 2015 (“Ordinance”) on October 23, 2015, which would enable the expeditious settlement of commercial disputes that would give impetus to the ease of doing business in India. With the ordinance coming into force "at once", all pending suits and applications relating to commercial disputes involving claims of Rs.1,00,00,000 (Rs. One Crore only) or more in the high courts and civil courts will be transferred to the relevant commercial division (“Commercial Division”) or commercial court (“Commercial Court”) as the case may be. However, a suit will not be transferred if a final judgment on the matter has been reserved prior to the constitution of the relevant Commercial Division or Commercial Court.
Employee’s Compensation Act: An overview
The Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923, was enacted as a social security measure to provide relief to employees for injury caused by industrial accidents. In 2009, the Workmen's Compensation Act was amended to “Employees' Compensation Act.” The substitution of the term 'workman' with 'employee' was made in order to make the law gender neutral. Under this Act, an employer is liable to compensate, in... Continue Reading →
Employment Bonds / Indemnity Bonds: Can one truly lock-in their key employees?
Employers undertake various approaches to secure themselves from any harm caused by the acts of their employees. Requiring an employee to execute an indemnity bond, inclusion of negative covenants in the employment agreement and confidentiality clauses is some of the practices generally adopted by employers as measures to protect from employee attrition. Whereas confidentiality clauses... Continue Reading →
Employee Retention Strategies: Are ESOPs different from Sweat Equity?
Amongst start-ups particularly the question of employee retention and reward (for working with a start-up) is asked very frequently. This blog post seeks to identify and discuss the legal parameters surrounding both mechanisms arming promoters with answering the question of whether ESOP or Sweat Equity. What is an ESOP? An ESOP is a type of employee... Continue Reading →
Private Company – Exemptions
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has notified yesterday exemptions for private companies, nidhi companies, government companies and Section 8 companies. The much awaited relief for private companies, we would say is almost here – as the notification issued is yet to published in Gazette of India. The following are some of the key changes that... Continue Reading →
E-Contracts in India
Along with traditional agreements the Indian Contract Act, 1872 has also accorded recognition to oral contracts provided they are made by the free consent of parties competent to contract, for a lawful consideration and with a lawful object, and are not expressly declared to be void. Thus, nothing in the Indian Contract Act prohibits the enforceability of electronic agreements if such agreements possess all the essentials of a valid contract.
COMMERCIAL LAW BLOG 