SKILL VS CHANCE.

               Even though it is associated with one of the crudest form of gambling, Poker is anything but that. Long back in the case of Commonwealth of Kentucky vs. John Wheeler, a lawyer was able to satisfy a 7 member jury about this by having them play against 7 mathematics professors in the open court hall. The result was that the jury members lost every single time, thus proving that card games like Poker etc is not a game of chance, but a game of skill and bringing about the difference between the two previously confused types.

                 India is a powerhouse of software development. India has a strong online games industry, which includes games developed for computers, tablets, smartphones of all colours and shapes. Some of these are in the nature of gambling or betting games. Many of the Indian online gaming companies operate in the international market. No Indian law prevents them from operating or producing online games which fall in the category of betting or gambling outside of India. The gaming industry catering to international markets from India can be strengthened if minimum safety and integrity standards are set out for manufacturing and supply of gambling software by Indian companies.

               In such cases it should be noted that in May of 2011, the Federal Government of India made it illegal for online gambling in India. The source of this law is the new Federal Internet Technology rules which in short say that anything considered offensive, illegal or taboo was to be against the law.

                  In short for the determination of whether an online game is gambling or not a Test has to be followed. The most reasonable test is to find this out is to find out the amount of “chance” or element of luck present in the game. Any game that depends on the skill of the player to determine the winner cannot be called as gambling and hence cannot be punishable under Indian Laws. Till date there is no case or previous precedent to guide the courts, but legal prudence points towards the fact that as long as there is a clear indication as to what the game is achieving per se or even in its pith and substance is not illegal or violative of the IT Act then the game does not violate any laws.

Read more »

KATHMANDU SCHOOL OF LAW REVIEW (“KSLR”)

Email: kslreview@gmail.com
Ref No. 05/13 23
rd
January, 2013
CALL FOR PAPERS
The Kathmandu School of Law  Review is now accepting submission for its  First Issue
(VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1). We accept articles and papers on legal, social, cultural, political
and international relation academia in the region. The Journal encourages the contribution of
Articles, Essays, Notes and Comments (Case Comments, Book Comments, Legislative
Comments, Policy Comments and Scholarship Comments) from the members of judiciary,
scholars, academicians, researchers, practitioners, policy makers and students of law and
other members of legal fraternity.
GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION
The Kathmandu School of Law Review  requests that the contributors comply with the
following guidelines:
Submissions: The Journal is accepting contributions for Articles, Essays, Notes and
Comments (Case Comments, Book Comments, Legislative Comments, Policy Comments and
Scholarship Comments). Contributions should be mailed only in a soft copy to
kslreview@gmail.com, the subject of the mail being ‘Submission for KSLR’.
All submissions are to be made via e-mail as .docx documents (preferably Microsoft Word
2007 or 2010). All contributions should be original and should not be simultaneously
considered by any other publication and co‐authorship to a maximum of two authors is
permitted. The Journal accepts contribution for publication on a rolling basis throughout the
year and the last date for submission for the First Issue is March 10
th
2013. Submissions
made thereafter shall be considered for publication in the next issue.
Length Limitations: With reference to Articles, contributions should range from 3500-5000
words. Essays, Comments and Notes should range from 1500-2000 words.
Citation Format: Please visit www.ksl.edu.np for KSL style guide for academic writing. In
case of doubt please follow OSCOLA (Oxford Standard for the Citation of legal Authorities
4
th
Edition) at http://www.law.ox.ac.uk/published/OSCOLA_4th_edn.pdf
Plagiarism: All the contributions should be the original work of the contributors and should
not have been submitted for consideration in any other Journal. Any plagiarised work will be
out rightly rejected. The contributions presented to and accepted for publication and the
copyrights therein shall be the intellectual property of the Law Review.
Indemnification: All contributors, by submitting the papers towards the Law Journal, agree
to indemnify the Kathmandu School of Law, Nepal and KSLR from and against all claims,
suits, and damages based on any claim of copyright infringement or plagiarism or
unauthorized use.
GUEST EDITOR: Prof. (Dr.) Yubaraj Sangroula
Contact: For any clarifications, please mail us at  kslreview@gmail.com or contact the
following person:
Asst. Prof. Ravi Prakash Vyas Asst. Prof. Sushila Karki
Editor – in – Chief Executive Editor
Kathmandu School of Law Review Kathamndu School of Law Review
Mobile: +97-9843193807 Mobile : +97 -9841353902
Email ID: rvya1251@uni.sydney.edu.au Email ID: sushilak1@gmail.com

Read more »

‘GUILTY until proven innocent…’

As Law persons we are aware of the principle that an accused is ‘innocent until proven guilty.' It is not up to the defence to show that he is innocent but the Burden of Proof in a Criminal trial is on the prosecution to make out its case. The defence can technically sit down and do nothing. But Law persons cannot, to date, stand as jurors in Mauritius. Members of the Jury are lay persons. There is a stigma amongst lay persons and the general public that once a person is arrested and charged, he is guilty. If the DPP objects to his bail motion, it sends a signal to the society saying: we’ve got the right man. It is then to wonder whether the principle is not in the eyes of the general public “guilty until proven innocent”. This defeats the whole purpose of the Criminal Justice System which serves not only to find the guilty person but to administer justice. This upside-down notion leads to unfortunate miscarriages of justice and the golden rule from Woolmington v DPP [1935] UKHL 1 as we know it is greatly undermined; as is the accused person’s Right to a Fair trial under Article 6 of the ECHR, equivalent to Section 10 of the Constitution of the Republic of Mauritius. Rights do not end with handcuffs. In an era of Human Rights, should these Rights not be guaranteed under all circumstances?  Here is food for thought Learned friends.

Deena Bhoyroo

LLB 2nd Year, Middlesex University (Mauritius Branch Campus)

Read more »

EXPERT SPEAK- THE MUN WAY!!

Having done 3 Model United Nations (MUN) in my life, when people come across me, one of the most frequent questions I am asked is: what does it take to be a good delegate? There is no shortcut winning formula. Each delegate is different. Everyone has his or her own style and this is what makes the experience even more enriching. Nonetheless, there are a few things that every good delegate has, and through this article I will attempt to get you prepared for YOUR MUN.

First of all RESEARCH. Once you have been allocated your country and commission (for instance, I was representing Cambodia in the Economic commission), read EVERYTHING and (I stress on that) that you can find on the topic. Although you have to focus on a particular area (Human Rights, Environment, Education…), make sure you have a reasonable amount of knowledge of the other areas as well. Remember, when you participate in MUN, you are no longer a citizen of your country (so to speak), but a representative, an ambassador, of the country you have been given. The basics would be to know the Capital City, the Currency, the Head of State, and some statistics on population and tourism. If your country is known for something specific, make sure you are acquainted with it. For example, in Cambodia, the Angkor Wat temple is a UNESCO World Heritage site, being the most visited tourist attraction and even finds itself on the national flag! It would have been awkward to miss that! Then go on and filter your research to your commission. If you have been allocated the Economic commission, a starting point would be to know the main source of income of the country, its imports and exports, GDP and inflation. If you have Human Rights commission, look for NGO comments or reports and if you have been allocated the Sports commission, look at any major events, stadium or team that makes the country internationally known; for instance, cricket for India and the Olympic games for England. If you have the Culture commission, focus on an aspect of the country that makes it famous; the Sega dance in Mauritius for example.

Once you have thoroughly researched and know your country at the tips of your fingers, start by looking at the different resolutions (each group in each commission will have prepared one – listing the things it hopes to achieve). After reading all of them, prepare your arguments for and against for each and every one of them. If you want to gain more points, you have no other choice than always having something plausible to say. You will also be asked questions by your fellow colleagues, so be ready for these. Try to anticipate questions you might ask. One advice would be, put yourself in the shoes of your counterparts. If you were to here such and such argument, what question would crop to your mind? What aspect of the debate would you like to have more information on? Then, you will have your answer. Prepare brief replies to these; if the question comes up, you have your answer. If it doesn’t, you know a little bit more. Knowledge is never a waste.  Also, prepare questions you would like to ask your colleagues. You can prepare these beforehand or on the spot.

Lastly, PRACTICE. Be it in front of friends or your mirror, you need to be familiar with public speaking. Use different tones and lay emphasis where needed. Your audience needs to be captivated by what you’re saying. You do not want all of them to fall asleep! If you manage to catch their attention, chances are, they’ll have a question in store for you. If you answer it properly, you have just gained additional marks.

Some final advice would be not to stress. If you have followed these tips, there is no reason why you should be stressed. Good preparation leads to good performance. Besides, MUN is first and foremost a magical experience where you get to be in the skin of diplomats, discuss ideas and find solutions to world problems. Dress smartly, the way you look has an impact on the way you feel and gives a positive image of yourself. I’d recommend suit and tie for guys and a nice suit or dress for girls.

I hope that this little piece of advice has been helpful.
If you are a future MUN delegate, I wish you all the best.

About The Author:-

Deena.

Mauritius Model United Nations - Best Delegation (representing Cambodia) (2009), Chairperson ECOSOC (Economic) Commission (2010) and Coordinator (2011).
LLB Year 2 Student. 

Read more »