Ans 1 (a) The ICCPR is a key international human rights treaty, providing a range

of protections for civil and political rights. The ICCPR, together with the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic Social
and Cultural Rights, are considered the International Bill of Human Rights. The
ICCPR obligates countries that have ratified the treaty to protect and preserve basic
human rights, such as: the right to life and human dignity; equality before the law;
freedom of speech, assembly, and association; religious freedom and privacy;
freedom from torture, ill-treatment, and arbitrary detention; gender equality; the
right to a fair trial, and; minority rights. The Covenant compels governments to take
administrative, judicial, and legislative measures in order to protect the rights
enshrined in the treaty and to provide an effective remedy. The Covenant was
adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 1966 and came into force in 1976. As of
December 2013, 167 countries have ratified the Covenant.
The Covenant in general
The ICCPR ensures the protection of civil and political rights. The Covenant includes
two over-arching non-discrimination rights: article 2 guarantees to all individuals,
within a State partys territory and subject to its jurisdiction, that the rights
enshrined in the ICCPR will be respected and ensured without distinction of any kind
such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or
social origin, property, birth or other status; and article 3 guarantees the equal right
of men and women to enjoy all the civil and political rights contained in the
Covenant. The rights enshrined in the ICCPR include: the right to life (article 6);
freedom from torture (article 7); the right to liberty and security of person (article
9); the rights of detainees (article 10); the right to a fair trial (article 14); the right to
privacy (article 17); freedom of religion (article 18); freedom of expression (article
19); the right to political participation (article 25); equality before the law (article
26); and the protection of minorities (article 27). Moreover, if any of the rights or
freedoms recognized within the ICCPR are violated a person must have access to an
effective remedy (article 2[3][a]).
Ans. 1 (b), (c) The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (ICESCR) is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General
Assembly on 16 December 1966, and in force from 3 January 1976.[1]It commits its
parties to work toward the granting of economic, social, and cultural rights (ESCR)
to the Non-Self-Governing and Trust Territories and individuals, including labour
rights and the right to health, the right to education, and the right to an adequate
standard of living. As of 2015, the Covenant has 164 parties.[3] A further six
countries, including the United States, have signed but not ratified the Covenant.
The ICESCR is part of the International Bill of Human Rights, along with
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant
on
Civil
and
Political
Rights (ICCPR),[4] including
the
latter'sfirst and second Optional Protocols.[5]
Summary for (b) and (c)

The Covenant follows the structure of the UDHR and the ICCPR, with a preamble and
thirty-one articles, divided into five parts. [13]
Part 1 (Article 1) recognises the right of all peoples to self-determination, including
the right to "freely determine their political status", [14] pursue their economic, social
and cultural goals, and manage and dispose of their own resources. It recognises
a negative right of a people not to be deprived of its means of subsistence, [15] and
imposes an obligation on those parties still responsible for non-self governing and
trust territories (colonies) to encourage and respect their self-determination. [16]
Part 2 (Articles 25) establishes the principle of "progressive realisation" see
below. It also requires the rights be recognised "without discrimination of any kind
as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or
social origin, property, birth or other status". [17] The rights can only be limited by
law, in a manner compatible with the nature of the rights, and only for the purpose
of "promoting the general welfare in a democratic society". [18]
Part 3 (Articles 615) lists the rights themselves. These include rights to

work, under "just and favourable conditions", [19] with the right to form and join
trade unions (Articles 6, 7, and 8);

social security, including social insurance (Article 9);

family life, including paid parental leave and the protection of children (Article
10);

an

adequate

standard

of

living,

including

adequate food,

clothing

and housing, and the "continuous improvement of living conditions" (Article 11);

health, specifically "the highest attainable standard of physical and mental

health" (Article 12);

education, including free universal primary education, generally available

secondary education and equally accessible higher education. This should be
directed to "the full development of the human personality and the sense of its
dignity",[20] and enable all persons to participate effectively in society (Articles 13
and 14);

participation in cultural life (Article 15).

Many of these rights include specific actions which must be undertaken to realise
them.
Part 4 (Articles 1625) governs reporting and monitoring of the Covenant and the
steps taken by the parties to implement it. It also allows the monitoring body
originally theUnited Nations Economic and Social Council now the Committee on
Economic,

Social

and

Cultural

Rights

see

below

to

make

general

recommendations to the UN General Assembly on appropriate measures to realise

the rights (Article 21)
Part 5 (Articles 2631) governs ratification, entry into force, and amendment of the
Covenant.

Ans. 2 (a)
Collective bargaining is the negotiation process that takes place between an
employer and a group of employees when certain issues arise. The employees rely
on a union member to represent them during the bargaining process, and the
negotiations often relate to regulating such issues as working conditions, employee
safety, training, wages, and layoffs. When an agreement is reached, the resulting
collective bargaining agreement, or CBA, becomes the contract governing
employment issues. To explore this concept, consider the following collective
bargaining definition.
Noun
Negotiation of issues or conditions of employment by an organized body of
employees and the employer.
Collective Bargaining Process
The collective bargaining process involves five core steps:
1.

Preparation Choosing a negotiation team and representatives of both the

union and employer. Both parties should be skilled in negotiation and labor
laws, and both examine available information to determine whether they have
a strong standing for negotiation.

2.

Discussion Both parties meet to set ground rules for the collective
bargaining negotiation process.

3.

Proposal Both representatives make opening statements, outlining options

and possible solutions to the issue at hand.

4.

Bargaining Following proposals, the parties discuss potential compromises,

bargaining to create an agreement that is acceptable to both parties. This
becomes a draft agreement, which is not legally binding, but a stepping stone
to coming to a final collective bargaining agreement.

5.

Final Agreement Once an agreement is made between the parties, it must

be put in writing, signed by the parties, and put into effect.

Ans. 2 (b)
Attached pdf
Ans. 3 (a) The Official Secrets Act 1923 is India's anti espionage (Spy" and "Secret
agent") act held over from British colonisation. It states clearly that any action
which involves helping an enemy state against India. It also states that one cannot
approach, inspect, or even pass over a prohibited government site or area.
According to this Act, helping the enemy state can be in the form of communicating
a sketch, plan, model of an official secret, or of official codes or passwords, to the
enemy. The disclosure of any information that is likely to affect the sovereignty and
integrity of India, the security of the State, or friendly relations with foreign States,
is punishable by this act.
Prosecution and penalties
Punishments under the Act range from three to fourteen years imprisonment. A
person prosecuted under this Act can be charged with the crime even if the action
was unintentional and not intended to endanger the security of the state. The Act
only empowers persons in positions of authority to handle official secrets, and
others who handle it in prohibited areas or outside them are liable for punishment.
In any proceedings against a person for an offence under this Act, the fact that he
has been in communication with, or attempted to communicate with a foreign
agent, whether within or without India is relevant and enough to necessitate
prosecution. Journalists also have to help members of the police forces above the
rank of the sub-Inspector and members of the Armed forces with investigation
regarding an offence, up to and including revealing his sources of information (If
required).
Under the Act, search warrants may be issued at any time if the magistrate feels
that based on the evidence in front of them there is enough danger to the security
of the state.

Uninterested members of the public may be excluded from court proceedings if the
prosecutions feels that any information which is going to be passed on during the
proceedings is sensitive. This also includes media; so the journalists will not be
allowed to cover that particular case.
When a company is seen as the offender under this Act, everyone involved with the
management of the company including the board of directors can be liable for
punishment. In the case of a newspaper everyone including the editor, publisher
and the proprietor can be jailed for an offence. OSA is controversial to the modern
RTI act 2005.
Ans. 4 The Copyright Act, 1957 (as amended by the Copyright Amendment Act
2012) governs the subject of copyright law in India. The history of copyright law in
India can be traced back to its colonial era under the British Empire. The Copyright
Act 1957 was the first post-independence copyright legislation in India and the law
has been amended six times since 1957. The most recent amendment was in the
year 2012, through the Copyright (Amendment) Act 2012.
India is a member of most of the important international conventions governing the
area of copyright law, including the Berne Convention of 1886 (as modified at Paris
in 1971), the Universal Copyright Convention of 1951, the Rome Convention of 1961
and the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
[5] But India is not a member of the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO
Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT).
Definition of Copyright
Copyright is a bundle of rights given by the law to the creators of literary, dramatic,
musical and artistic works and the producers of cinematograph films and sound
recordings. The rights provided under Copyright law include the rights of
reproduction of the work, communication of the work to the public, adaptation of
the work and translation of the work. The scope and duration of protection provided
under copyright law varies with the nature of the protected work.