International Journal of Contemporary Laws

Volume 1 issue 2 of the International Journal of Contemporary Laws has been published. Access it at http://www.ijcl.co.in/current-issue.html (Copy and paste this link in your browser)

Chandigarh gets Asia’s first RTI library

If you wish to see, possess or deposit papers related to the Right to Information (RTI) Act, then here is good news for you. A library of RTI documents, touted as Asia's first, was inaugurated at Dwarka Das Library, Lala Lajpat Rai Bhawan on Friday. The library has been formed by Servants of People's Society in association with the Citizens' Voice and RTI Users' Association.

Interestingly, it was also the seventh anniversary of the RTI Act in the country. A large number of RTI documents were deposited with the library on the inaugural day. Onkar Chand, chairman of the Servants of the People's Society, said, "Making documents public will help those who want to refer them for litigation or research purposes. The process to collect documents from RTI users is on and we will upload the whole collection online within a few months, making it possible for anybody to access the information from anywhere in the world."

Hemant Goswami, chairman of the Citizens' Voice, said the library would ensure that documents procured by RTI users are put to further use. The library is an open source depository of information collected under the RTI Act. Anybody can become a member of this library free of cost and can also contribute to information available. The documents will be catalogued according to subject matter, ministry/department and whether they relate to the central or state government, making it easy for anybody to navigate through the collection.

"We call upon all RTI users to share the documents that are of no use to them now," said Goswami.

Source | Times of India | 16 June 2012

World Book and Copyright Day

 23rd April is celebrated as The World Book and Copyright Day

23rd April is a symbolic date for world literature, since 23 April 1616 was the date of death of Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. 23rd April is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors such as Maurice Druon, K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo.

This is why UNESCO chose this date to pay a worldwide tribute to books and their authors on this date, encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and to gain a renewed respect for the extraordinary contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity.

The idea for this celebration originated in Catalonia (Spain) where it has become a tradition to give a rose as a gift for each book purchased.

By celebrating this Day throughout the world, UNESCO seeks to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright.



 

Inaugural issue of "International Journal of Contemporary Laws"

The library has subscribed to the online journal - "International Journal of Contemporary Laws". The inaugural issue has been launched. For access and other details contact the Librarian.