Hindu Law
by admin on July 28th, 2009
filed under Law
SOURCES OF HINDU LAW
India is a huge country not only in terms of its geography but also its population, which has various religions, customs and practices. However, India has two main personal laws i.e. Hindu law and Muslim Law. Before moving ahead, I would like to define the Law – ‘Law is a large body of rules and regulations based mainly on general principles of justice.’
Hindu Law is a personal Law (Law of Marriage, Divorce, Adoption, inheritance etc) evolved through long period of time from many sources (mentioned below) by Hindu religious community of India. Therefore, I love to call it ‘Sedimentary Law‘ because Laws from various sources Sedimented and consolidated into Hindu Law. The important sources of Hindu Law are:
1) Ancient Source
2) Modern Source
Ancient source is the main source of Hindu Law, which further subdivided into viz -
a) Sruti: the literal meaning is – ‘what was heard’, and it is originated from Vedas i.e. Rig, Yajur, Sama, and Atharva Vedas. Basically, it is praise in the forms of hymns of the earliest Hindu tradition which deals – types of marriage, adoption, partition etc.
b) Smriti: literally means – ‘what is remembered.’ It is also known as ‘Dharma Sutras’ and available in the prose from. The important Smritis are ‘Manu Smriti, Yagnavalkya Smriti, Narada Smriti etc and, it deals the civil and criminal law, procedural law, marriage Law etc.
c) Commentaries: the discrepancy between above two gives rise a third one i.e. ‘Commentaries, which later on beget two schools i.e. Mitakshara (Vijyaneshwara school) and Dayabhaga (Jimuthvahana school) associated with particular areas.
d) Customs: it is a set of rules and norms, practice by particular society for a long period of time. However, ‘customs arise whenever a few human beings come together as no association of human beings can exit permanently without adopting consciously or unconsciously, some definite rules governing reciprocal rights and obligations’ (Vinogradoff, Collected Papers). “Indeed custom is coeval with the very birth of the community itself.” (Jurisprudences).
Modern Source refers to the rules and regulations established through legislation by educated and intellectual people. These laws almost codified laws such as -
a) Hindu Marriage Act (1955),
b) Hindu Succession Act (1956),
c) Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act (1956) and
d) Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (1956)
After independence (15 August 1947), India constituted its own Constitution, where India defines itself as a secular country, like this given space to flourish all religions with its own customs and laws. Therefore, the Indian Legal System is a Common Law-cum-Civil Law. Apparently, Hindu Law is a personal law and applicable to person and family relations only.
Hidden Defects on Personal Watercraft May Lead to Class Action Lawsuits
by admin on July 27th, 2009
filed under Education
Documentary on Jet Ski Safety and possible class action or personal lawsuits against personal watercraft manufacturers. This video outlines the inherit problems in the personal watercraft world including the fact there are no licensing requirements and no training. We offer a course for training, industry statistics and information as well as the ability to testify as an expert witness in court proceedings. This is the short 10 minute version of a 32 minute full version available for …
Personal Bankruptcies
by admin on July 26th, 2009
filed under Finance
Personal Bankruptcies are rare but not unique. Before opting for bankruptcy you should be very clear about its meaning, when to opt for it, the right process for declaring bankruptcy, and what are its implications.
Bankruptcy is not the end of the world (as considered by many) but is a chance to make a new beginning. It is a merciful process by which even a severely indebted person can disentangle himself from all of his obligations. However, before opting for bankruptcy a person should exercise all the options and if there is no other option left then only he should declare the bankruptcy by filling a petition with the help of a qualified bankruptcy attorney with a statement of his assets and liabilities as well as of his creditors. Basically, by filling bankruptcy a person lets the court system take over his finances and appoint someone to make an estimate of his debts and explore different ways to repay them. As soon as a person files for bankruptcy and the court approves the petition, all his transactions would get frozen from then on and all his creditors will be notified to not to make any attempts to recover their money from the debtor. After a certain period of time, when the debt has been satisfactorily resolved under the agreement set forth in the bankruptcy proceedings, a discharge is issued releasing the debt and the debtors are duly ordered to stop collection of discharged debts, including legal action and all communications with the debtor. During this period the bankrupt person can avail limited credit only as the legal system and his financial statement will not allow him to enjoy credits beyond a certain limit. Once the total debt amount estimated by the court has been paid, these limits are withdrawn.
In US one can file either Chapter 7 (for irreversible insolvency) or Chapter 13 (for temporary insolvency) bankruptcy. Under Chapter 7, the bankrupt is permitted to retain exempted assets and property. However, the recent tax obligations and the debts to government units are not exempted. Those having steady source of income can only file chapter 13 bankruptcies. Basically, this kind of bankruptcy indicates that the bankrupt is willing to pay his debts within 5 years. Accordingly, his existing assets are not liquidated. Chapter 12 a variation formulated in 1986 is very similar to Chapter 13 bankruptcy. It is applicable to those people who qualify as ‘family farmers’ (people or families who depend on farming for their livelihood) and has a higher debt ceiling than Chapter 13. The social and corporate stigma attached to filling for insolvency has also been removed by the new amendments in US laws. By making this matter confidential the US government has provided an incentive to the bankrupt party to make another attempt at financial solvency.
While filling for bankruptcy it is essential for anyone to provide full disclosure of his assets and liabilities otherwise the person will be considered as fraud and penalties will be imposed on him. Hence, by being honest one can definitely restructure his finances with the help of bankruptcy.