A Guided Tour Through India'S Legal Maze

First came the smooth-talking diplomats, then the multinational companies with deep pockets prospecting for the pot of gold at the end of the Indian rainbow, now is the turn of glib lawyers.

They are coming to debate and understand India-specific issues like the hundi and the hawala banking systems, civil crimes like the dowry system, the plight of the wife, the fallout of the Bhopal gas tragedy and sundry other issues.

The increasing pace of business activities in the country has thrown up a plethora of legal complexities bringing together international law firms and solicitors in a conference under the aegis of the International Bar Association (IBA) for its annual meet on business law and general practice in India this year.

 

The six-day conference, which starts on November 2 at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi, returns to the country after a gap of 15 years.

The last conference was held in 1982, when India was transfixed in its policies on mixed economy, much before the current era of economic reforms changed the political, corporate and legal face of the country.The spotlight is now on India.

The importance accorded to India by the international legal fraternity can also be gauged from the fact that the two annual sessions in the year of IBA's 50th birthday are being held in India because the country, too, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of independence.

This year's conference will bring together over 2,500 lawyers from all over the world. Experts in the twists and turns of transnational law will be here to absorb the legal framework of the country