The Law and Economics of Force Majeure Litigation The Case of COVID 19

• Full Volume

In 2023, the Delhi High Court disposed of more than 87,000 cases, a recordbreaking figure. Yet its backlog grew. Across India, governments have doubled judicial strength in some states, built stateoftheart ecourts, and implemented case management software. Still, over 5.1 crore cases remain pending. The standard explanation treats this as a resource problem: too few judges chasing too many litigants. But what if the real answer is more uncomfortable What if delay is not a bug in the system, but a feature, a currency that judges spend, save, and strategically deploy This paper advances a heretical proposition: that for the Indian High Court judge, disposing of cases is not always the rational choice. In a system where the government is simultaneously the largest litigant and the arbiter of judicial careers, where a controversial judgment can trigger a punitive transfer while a safe adjournment goes unnoticed, and where forty dismissals at the admission stage count the same as one laboriously reasoned final verdict, delay emerges as the equilibrium strategy. The crisis of pending cases is not an accident of overload; it is the predictable outcome of incentives working exactly as designed. Employing a political economy framework, we model the High Court judge as a strategic actor maximizing a utility function comprised of reputation (professional prestige), leisure (workload aversion), promotion prospects (chances of elevation or postretirement appointment), and the cost of dissent (risk of punitive transfer or career backlash). The paper proposes an empirical model to test whether judicial delays correlate with political cycles and the identity of the litigant (State vs. Citizen), suggesting that strategic delay is a rational response to the institutional constraints of the Indian judiciary.

• Tathagat Sharma

This case analysis aims to investigate the pros and cons of the Nari Ko Naman scheme launched by the Himachal Pradesh government offering subsidised bus transport to women across the state against which a petition was filed in Ramesh Kamal v. State of H.P (2022). This case studys primary goal will be to critically analyse whether offering subsidised bus transport for women is a case of freebies or if it is a policy that is working towards empowering women and increasing their participation in the economy by incentivising them to pursue education and employment. This case study utilises primary data collected through an online questionnaire and secondary data such as research papers, government reports and news articles. Both qualitative and quantitative data were analysed in the process. This data is critically evaluated by employing various micro and macroeconomic tools, analysing the various features of the scheme brought into question before the court, similar global and Indian practices, and analysing substitutes to the existingscheme.

• Suha K , Ashita Sai Manohar & Nehal Verma

Internal migration constitutes a key mechanism shaping the demographic structure and regional economic dynamics of a country. Migration flows may generate productivity gains and agglomeration advantages in certain regions, while simultaneously imposing socioeconomic pressures on others. Through its influence on labour allocation, human capital distribution, regional demand patterns, and investment behaviour, internal migration plays a decisive role in longterm growth trajectories. This study empirically investigates the relationship between internal migration and economic growth across Turkish provinces at theNUTS3 level for the period 20082020. Given the pronounced spatial interdependencies inherent in migration processes, the analysis employs spatial panel data models and extends the SolowSwan framework by incorporating internal migration as an additional factor. The findings reveal significant spatial dependence in migration patterns and demonstrate that the effects of internal migration on provincial growth vary systematically across regions. While the direct impact of internal migration on economic growth is negative and statistically insignificant, its indirect (spillover) and total effects are positive and statistically significant. These results highlight that the growth implications of internal migration materialize primarily through spatial interaction mechanisms. Accordingly, effective evaluation of migrationgrowthlinkages require policy approaches that account for regional interconnectedness rather than treating provinces as isolated units.

• Dr. Sinan Cinar

At the very junction of public health lies the pharmaceutical sector. It is essential to examine the effects of regulations and market structure in line with competition law aspects. Therefore, this study aims to look into the extent and impact of the pharmaceutical sector practices and trends onto the consumers especially at a retail level in the Bengaluru region. How local market dynamics and regulatory weakness have led to price distortion and reduced access to medicine which overall harms an innocent and uninformed consumer. Using a mixed and interactive approach of combining empirically accessed and doctrinally analysed data to assess the impact on consumers. This study draws its conclusions from a structured survey of pharmacies and consumers, including 15 outlets and 35 consumers. The Competition Act of 2002 and the DPCO of 1995 along with landmark cases like Novartis AG v Union of India (2013) have been relied on. Additionally, reliance has been placed on Indias situation within the global discussion on pharmaceutical competition policy. The studies have revealed brand favoritism, entry barriers, and limiting of consumer choices. Significant gaps in the legal framework have been strawed out and inclusion of stronger enforcement measures by CCI is recommended for transparency.

• Dr. Seema Shrivastava & Aarya Shrivastava

International biodiversity governance has progressively evolved from a predominantly ecological and conservationoriented approach toward a more integrated framework that incorporates economic reasoning. This article argues that such an evolution is not merely terminological, but reflects a deeper transformation in the way biodiversity is conceptualized and governed at the international level. The study examines whether, and to what extent, international biodiversity conventions and related policy initiatives have incorporated economic considerations alongside traditional conservation objectives. Using a text analysis methodology, the article analyzes the language of key international conventions adopted since the 1970s, distinguishing between early conservation agreements, statebased conventions, and instruments developed within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity. This analysis is complemented by an examination of the conceptual frameworks adopted by the Intergovernmental SciencePolicy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and the European Union Biodiversity Strategy. The findings show a growing emphasis on ecosystems, ecosystem services, and human wellbeing, which emerges progressively across the examined instruments and culminates in the KunmingMontreal Global Biodiversity Framework. From a lawandeconomics perspective, this study argues that economic instrumentssuch as taxes, subsidies, tradable permits, and payments for ecosystem servicesplay a crucial role in translating biodiversity commitments into effective and actionable policy measures. The article concludes that future biodiversity governance is likely to rely increasingly on economic approaches to complement legal obligations and enhance their practical effectiveness.

• Donatella Porrini and Antonio De Lorenzo

Thrifting in laymans language, is the practice of purchasing commodities that have not been sold to the primary consumers, or have been used by them and are up for sale again. Naturally, the idea of thrifting clothes is to lengthen the cycle of the apparel and delay its ultimate disposal. A typical thrift market for apparel in India is a street market with vendors selling clothing items that have been discarded by their producers due to defaults as minor as a wrong stitch. These items are available in bulk and are sold at a price much below than what the brand would sell in their outlets otherwise. The growth of social media platforms has also given an opportunity to resellers, especially small businesses, to capitalise on the wide reach. The creation of secondary markets has become a bone of contention between original producers and resellers in mature jurisdictions such as those of the European Union for example, where the intellectual property rights of the former have been demanded for. The Indian legal regimefor trademark protection, however, does not provide solace to brands that aim to protect their nexclusivity and reputation in the domestic thrift market. This article uses statistical tools to assess consumer responses to analyse whether resellers are posed as competitors to brand manufacturers. Further, a model has been proposed to impose product liability on resellers to protect the interests of consumers and brands alike.

• Siya Mathur and Isha Katiyar

The global digital markets are stimulating traditional market competition frameworks. This is with respect to the algorithmic systems empowering innovative methods of coordination andexclusion in the digital markets. The present research is an attempt to inspects the economic aspect underlying the same. Numerous studies reveals that algorithmic pricing system are selfreliant in achieving coordinated results. Evidences from global enforcement cases have shown the use of selfpreferencing practices through gametheory. The current Google Shoppingdecision, RealPage investigation, by the U.S. Department of Justices and the Competition Commission of Indias ongoing AmazonFlipkart investigation reveals selfpreferencing practices as a threat to consumer surplus. This paper attempts to throws light on the trials faced by the oldschool competition law frameworks. Moreover, this research explores about competitive injury upon selfreinforcing market dynamics. Besides, with Indias Draft Digital Competition Bill 2024 offering expected global trends, this research delves to evaluate hybrid amalgamation with traditional execution of algorithmic pricing. At the end the study concludes the need of constructive policy, enabling disclosure abilities and calibrating the legal standards which protects novelty in rapidly emerging digital economies.

• Dr. Shweta Mohan & Jai Singh

• Siddhant Dubey and Shrishti Natani

• Soumya Hariharan, Nandita Sahai, Sakshi Agarwal and Akrathi Shetty

The essay examines the violence that unfurled in Bangladesh in 2024 from the lens of the relativedeprivation theory to explain the role of perceived inequality in political violence, and the prospecttheory to explain the role of prospect losses as a motivation for individuals to participate inpolitical violence. The essay analyses the events that acted as a trigger for the social unrest andfocuses on the contentious quota to explain the decisionmaking process of the players involved,from the viewpoint of the prospect theory. The essay also looks at macroeconomic variables suchas youth unemployment, inflation etc. during both the years that marked a social unrest among thegeneral population and found that in both years, the economy had shown worrying trends. Theessay also looks at the role of costs and benefits as perceived by an individual while making achoice in a risky situation. The conceptual framework is further demonstrated by a game wherethe decisionmaking process of the government, as a player, is discussed. It is found that theequilibrium for both the players is at the first outcome, where the participation is met withsuppression by the government. The most ideal outcome for both the parties is a peaceful approachto the issue at hand. Based on the existing research, and the game theory, policy recommendationshave been formulated emphasizing the need for a stronger penal system, to augment the costs thatare associated with participation in violence, and to make infrastructural developments to addressthe socioeconomic issues at hand. The establishment of transparent communication channelswould also go a long way in mitigating the risks of future unrest.

• Nabeeha Sama and Vansh Gaint