Prelim Bits 24-05-2023 | UPSC Daily Current Affairs

Forum Shopping

The Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud condemns ‘forum shopping’.

• Forum shopping as the practice of choosing the court which is likely to provide the most favourable outcome.
• Litigants or lawyers attempt to deliberately move their case to a particular judge or Court where they think the judgment could be more favourable.
• In 2017 ruling of ‘Union of India & Ors. Vs. Cipla Ltd.’ case, the court condemned forum shopping.
• It laid down a ‘functional test’ to be adopted to determine whether a litigant is indulging in forum shopping or not.
• Test - If there is any functional similarity in the proceedings between one court and another or there is some sort of subterfuge on the part of a litigant, then it is considered forum shopping.
• Prevention - Most common law countries use the ‘forum non-conveniens’ principle to prevent forum shopping.
• It is the discretionary powers of a court to refuse to exercise its jurisdiction over a matter where another court, or forum, may more conveniently hear a case.
• Using this power, the court can dismiss a case in the interests of justice and the parties while allocating it to the appropriate bench.

‘Bench hunting’ refers to petitioners managing to get their cases heard by a particular judge or court to ensure a favourable order.

References

1. IE - CJI Chandrachud condemns ‘forum shopping’

Leatherback Turtles

The nesting site of leatherback turtles is threatened by a massive infrastructure plan of great Nicobar Island.

• Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) are marine turtles found worldwide.
• Leatherback turtles are named for their shell, which is leather-like.
• Leatherback turtles are the largest turtles on Earth. They can grow up to 2 meters long and weigh as much as 700 kilograms.
• Diet - They feed almost exclusively on jellyfish.
• Distribution - Leatherbacks are distributed circumglobally.
• Nesting Sites - Tropical sandy beaches
• Forage Sites - Temperate coastal waters and sub-polar latitudes.
• In India - The Great Nicobar Island is a globally important nesting site of leatherback turtles in India.
• The turtles nests at Galathea Bay in the Great Nicobar Island.
• Threats - Fisheries bycatch, marine pollution, habitat loss due to climate change, egg collection and coastal development affecting critical turtle habitat.

References

1. The Hindu - A mega port in India threatens Leatherback Turtles
2. IUCN - Leatherback Turtles
3. Sea Turtle Conservancy - Leatherback Turtle

Kutch Harappan Graveyard

A Kutch Harappan graveyard unravels the mystery of the life and times of those buried.

• Khatiya village is located in the outskirts of Gujarat’s Kutch district.
• A pre-urban Harappan cemetery was discovered in this village.
• The burial site is found in the dry, arid soiled outskirts of the village which spreads over 16 hectares.
• This site is considered to be the largest pre-urban Harappan cemetery.
• Since 2018, a multi-disciplinary team of archaeologists has discovered 500 graves and excavated 197 of those.
• The site demonstrates the transition from earth-mound burials to stone graves.
• The rectangular graves were made of shale and sandstone.
• A shell bangle, pottery shards, stones blades are also found in this site.
• So far, the findings at the burial site are consistent with its pre-urban Harappan status.

• Another Harappan site Dholavira is 150 kilometres away from Khatiya village.
• Dholavira is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the biggest metropolises of the Harappan civilisation.
• Desalpar and Khirsara, Kotda Bhadli and Nadapa are the other well-known Harappan sites in western Kutch.
• All these sites are located more than 50 km away from Khatiya and belong to urban and post-urban periods of the Harappan civilisation.

References

1. IE - At a Kutch Harappan graveyard, team works to unlock a mystery
2. TOI - Gujarat’s Harappan necropolis reveal 5000 year old death rituals

Global Polio Eradication Initiative

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) observes its 35^th Anniversary in 2023.

• GPEI held a high-level influencer briefing with polio experts from around the world in which over 200 attendees from 63 countries took part.
• The leaders of the G7 countries urged for global support to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) during the G7 summit.
• GPEI was launched in 1988 after the World Health Assembly passed a resolution to eradicate polio.
• Its goal is to eradicate polio worldwide.
• The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is a public-private partnership led by national governments with 6 core partners -
  1. World Health Organization (WHO),
  2. Rotary International,
  3. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
  4. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF),
  5. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and
  6. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
• In 2020, the GPEI launched a revision of the strategy for polio eradication called ‘Polio Eradication Strategy 2022-2026: Delivering on a Promise’
• Polio Endemic countries - Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only countries where indigenous wild poliovirus subtype-1 transmission continues uninterrupted.
• Polio Status - When the World Health Assembly established GPEI, wild poliovirus subtype-2 and subtype-3 have been successfully eradicated.
• According to a recent report in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 859 cases of circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPVs) have been reported last year.
• cVDPVs have been reported from countries where poliovirus transmission had long been eliminated such as Canada, Israel, the U.K. and the U.S.

References

1. The Hindu - Global polio targets set for this year unlikely to be met
2. GPEI - 35th Anniversary

Animal health emergency in Brazil

Brazil has declared 180-day animal health emergency for the first time amid avian flu cases in wild birds.

• Brazil has so far confirmed 8 cases of the H5N1 in wild birds.
• Brazil is the world's biggest chicken meat exporter.
• Infection by the H5N1 subtype of avian flu in wild birds does not trigger trade bans, based on guidelines of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH).
• Avian influenza (AI) is a highly contagious viral disease that affects both domestic and wild birds.
• It is a viral disease and the viruses are divided into multiple subtypes (i.e. H5N1, H5N3, H5N8 etc.)

References

1. The Hindu - Brazil declares 180-day animal health emergency
2. WHOA - Avian Influenza