Daily Current Affairs September 4, 2024

1. DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 4 SEPTEMBER 2024 Polity and Governance (Mains) ●The secretary of the Department of Legal Affairs and the Secretary of the Legislative Department will 23rd Law Commission be its ex-officio members of the law commission. ●The notification further stated that there could not Context be more than five part-time members. ●Full-Time Members: The chairperson/members Recently, the Centre notified the constitution of the “who are serving judges of the Supreme Court/High 23rd Law Commission for a period of three years. Court shall perform their functions on a whole-time About basis up to the date of retirement from the Supreme Court/High Court or expiry of the term of the Commission, whichever be earlier. ●Actual Service: The notification stated that the time spent by the members in the performance of such functions as chairperson/ member of the Commission will be treated as “actual service”. ●Compensation and Salary: According to the notification, the chairperson will be entitled a pay of ₹2.50 lakh (fixed) per month and members will receive a pay of ₹2.25 lakh (fixed) per month will ●After the end of the period of the 22nd Law be admissible. Commission which ended on 31st August, the central government constituted the 23rd Law Law Commission Commission. Historical Perspective ●According to the gazette notification, the panel will have a full-time chairperson and four full-time ●Charter Act, 1833: Law Reform in India has been members including a member-secretary. a continuing process for more than 300 years in

2. ●The Terms of Reference of the Law Commission India. The Charter Act, of 1833 was enacted by the British Parliament. It vested for the first time include: ❖Review/Repeal Of Obsolete Laws, legislative power in the Governor-General in Council. ❖To examine the Laws which affect the poor and ●Governor General’s Legislative Council: The carry out post-audit for socio-economic Legislative Council consisted of the Governor- legislation, General and four members out of whom one is a law ❖To keep under review the system of judicial member. It was granted powers of legislation. administration to ensure that it is responsive to ●First Indian Law Commission: The Charter Act of the reasonable demands of the times and in 1833 enabled the Governor-General in Council to particular to secure, appoint a commission to be called as Indian Law ❖To examine the existing laws in the light of Commission. Directive Principles of State Policy and to ●The commission was constituted for enquiring into suggest ways of improvement and reform and the nature and operation of all laws, written or ❖To suggest such legislation as necessary to customary prevailing or in force in any part of implement the Directive Principles and attain the British India to which any inhabitant of this country objectives set out in the Preamble to the was then subject, to prepare a report thereof and Constitution. advise the Legislative Council on matters of law. ❖It also examines the existing laws to promote ●The First Law Commission consisted of Lord gender equality and suggests amendments Thomas Babington Macaulay as the First Law thereto, Member and three other members. ❖To revise the Central Acts of general importance ●The Indian Code of Civil Procedure, the Indian to simplify them and to remove anomalies, Contract Act, the Indian Evidence Act, and the ambiguities and inequities, Transfer of Property Act. etc. are products of the ❖To examine the impact of globalization on food labour of the first four Law Commissions. security, and unemployment and recommend Nature of the Law Commission measures for the protection of the interests of the marginalized. ●Statutory Body: The Law Commission of India is a non-statutory body constituted by a notification of Sources: Law Commission of India, The Hindu the Government of India, Ministry of Law & Justice, Department of Legal Affairs. ●Terms of Reference: The Law Commission of Mains India is constituted with a definite term of reference to carry out research in the field of law.

3. International Relations Bengal, and the remaining 140 Kms lie in Bangladesh. Bangladesh to Restart Talks with India over Importance of Teesta in Bangladesh Teesta Water Dispute ●The river’s floodplain covers an area of 2,750 square Context kilometres in Bangladesh. ●Its catchment area supports 8.5 percent of its Recently, the newly constituted interim government population which roughly counts 10 million people. indicated to restart the talks about the Teesta Water It also supports 14 per cent of the crop production of Dispute. the country. About The Core Issue ●Bangladesh’s interim government indicated that it ●Over one lakh hectares of land across five districts wanted to restart the talks on Teesta Water Dispute. of Bangladesh are severely impacted by upstream ●The Water Resource advisor of the interim withdrawals of the Teesta’s waters in India and government asserted that upper-riparian and lower- face acute shortages during the dry season. riparian countries should adhere to international ●Thus, Bangladesh wants 50 percent of the river’s principles on the distribution of water. water supply during the dry season especially in the ●The Teesta Water Dispute is a major bone contention months between December and May annually. At between India and Bangladesh. the same time, India claims a share of 55 per cent of Teesta River water. ●Source: Teesta River originates from the Tso Lhamo Preliminary Arrangement, 1983 Lake in the Himalayas in Sikkim. The lake is fed by ●Of the total Teesta’s catchment area, 83 percent lies the waters of the Khangse and Zemu glaciers. in India while the remaining 17 percent lies in ●The most important tributary of the Teesta River is Bangladesh. the Rangeet River. ●There have been many negotiations since 1983 ●The Teesta River crosses the Indo-Bangladesh when a preliminary arrangement had allocated 39 international border in Mekhligunj in north Bengal’s per cent for India and 36 per cent for Bangladesh. Cooch Behar district. ●A lesser share for Bangladesh takes into account a ●It enters Bangladesh and meets the Brahmaputra groundwater recharge that takes place between the which later flows into the Bay of Bengal. two barrages on the Teesta located at Gazaldoba in ●The Teesta River is 414 kilometers in length of which 150 km are in Sikkim, 123 Km in West

4. Jalpaiguri on the Indian side and at Dalia in which drains into a catchment area of Lalmonirhat in Bangladesh. approximately 1.7 million square kilometers. ●The remaining 25 per cent was left unallocated for ●It is spread over India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, of which only seven per cent lies in a later decision. It was because the regular flow of a small quantity of water (in the case of the Teesta, Bangladesh. ●The Brahmaputra River enters Bangladesh from 450 cu secs) is imperative for the life of a river. ●However, the first arrangement was not acceptable the north, the Ganges from the east and the to either party and hence there was no framework Meghna from the southeast. ●Meghna is called Barak in India and enters for a water-sharing arrangement over 30 years later and negotiations were stuck. Bangladesh after traversing the hills of Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya. Second Arrangement, 2011 Conclusion ●In 2011 when Delhi and Dhaka reached another agreement which was essentially an interim Water is a key issue in the India-Bangladesh arrangement for 15 years. relationship. Bangladesh is heavily dependent on India ●According to this arrangement, India would get for a steady supply of river water. It is because out of 42.5 per cent and Bangladesh, 37.5 per cent of the 230 rivers flowing in Bangladesh, over 57 are Teesta's waters during the dry season. transboundary and 54 of those flow through India. ●Further, the deal also included the setting up of a According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of joint hydrological observation station to gather the United Nations (FAO),the ratio of Bangladesh’s accurate data for the future. external dependency on water is over 90 per cent out of ●This arrangement was opposed by the West Bengal which a fair amount of that water comes through India. government in 2011 and the plans were stalled. Hence, the Teesta water dispute must be resolved to adjust Bangladesh’s needs. Bangladesh and River Systems in the Indian Sub- Continent Sources: Observer Research Foundation, The Hindu ●Most of the part of Bangladesh lies within the Mains Questions international river basins of the Ganges, the 1. What is a law Commission? Discuss the historical Brahmaputra (called the Jamuna in perspective of the first law commission of India and its Bangladesh) and the Meghna rivers. functions. ●The waters of this river system make up the third largest international river system in the world 2. Discuss the Teesta Water Treaty and the importance of Teesta Water for India and Bangladesh.