Issue #13 : Surf’s Up!
Welcome to the #12 edition of Overheard in Asia!
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Here are the latest 🌶 legal headlines:
China: Republic of Ghana escapes a $55 million claim by a Chinese investor over a contractual dispute
China: Former whistleblowing employee of a China-based financial services company wins USD 221,000
China: China's Supreme People's Court makes rare ruling in favour of Plaintiff in antitrust litigation
China: BMW wins suit against Chinese electric-car startup which sold copycats of the original Mini of 1959
India: German Court grants partial enforcement of Deutsche Telekom v India award
India: Adani Enterprises' suit against Hindenburg Research hits the Indian Supreme Court
Ling Yah
P/S: Know of any interesting seminars happening? Drop us a note at editor@overheard.asia!
My Home Is Disappearing 😞
4 residents of Pulau Pari (an Indonesian island) (“Residents”) have filed a lawsuit against Holcim (a Swiss-based cement & construction giant), demanding compensation for climate damage.
🍿 Why do we care?
1️⃣ Because climate change is real (don’t fight us).
2️⃣ The lives of the Pulau Pari’s 1,500 residents are at risk.
Pulau Pari lost 11% of its surface area in the past 11 years & flooded 5 times last year. The floods in turn have:
Damaged papaya & banana trees;
Affected wells (main water source); and
Rusted motorbikes (transportation).
3️⃣ The Residents have already tried.
The conciliation proceedings filed in July 2022 were a failure. Apparently, Holcim was unwilling to address the Residents’ climate concerns.
4️⃣ This is the first lawsuit against a Swiss company over the issue of climate change in a Swiss civil court.
5️⃣ Its part of a wider international movement seeking to have major companies assume responsibility in light of climate change and how its impacting millions of people particularly in the Global South.
👀 Gimme Gimme
The Residents hold Holcim responsible for 0.47% of all global fossil fuel & cement emissions since 1751. Now the Residents want Holcim to:
Pay compensation for the damage already caused on Pulau Pari;
Finance flood protection measures, e.g. mangrove plantations; and
Reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 43% by 2030
🤔 What are their chances?
Who knows. But there are at least 88 similar lawsuits filed against “carbon majors”, and we anticipate many more to come.
In the meanwhile, let’s do our bit. Stay away from plastic!
Trial of Hong Kong 47 👀
When we think Hong Kong, we think - sky scrappers, dim sum & glorious hikes.
Instead, everyone’s eyes are cast towards the court because Hong Kong’s largest national security trial has just commenced!
👀 Background
Back in 2019, huge & violent protests erupted in the streets of Hong Kong.
In July 2020, an unofficial legislative primary election was held (“Unofficial Elections”). Defying official warnings, over 610,000 people (1/7th of Hong Kong’s voting population) cast ballots.
The aim of the Hong Kong 47 (pro-democracy activists involved in organising said Unofficial Elections & who are now standing trial) was to veto budgets and potentially force the resignation of Hong Kong’s leader.
In March 2021, Hong Kong’s prosecutors charged the Hong Kong 47 with trying to topple Hong Kong’s government & using their majority in Hong Kong’s legislature as a “lethal constitutional weapon” against the government.
The Hong Kong 47 include 12 former lawmakers, 20 district councillors, legal scholars, activists, campaigners & community workers.
Thereafter, over 50 civil groups, rights groups, independent media outlets and political parties shut down after receiving threats from “middlemen” and over 230 people arrested on national security charges. Politically sensitive books also disappeared from libraries and bookstores.
The vote from the Unofficial Elections was scrapped & Beijing installed a new political system that now strictly reviews those who can stand for office.
Why should we care?
It’s a key test of Hong Kong’s judicial independence & rule of law.
While it’s being heard in open court, they’ve departed from common law traditions by having it heard by 3 pre-selected judges (instead of a jury).
Proceedings are expected to last more than 4 months, and the defendants could face life imprisonment if convicted.
Keep following the news!
Stop Overreacting! 😤
The Indian Supreme Court has struck down a PIL plea to ban the BBC & BBC India from operating in India. A plea first sparked by the BBC documentary, “India: The Modi Question”, which covered the 2002 Gujarat Riots (the “BBC Documentary”).
Here’s some context:
2002 Gujarat Riots
Back in 2002, the burning of a train containing Hindu pilgrim passengers incited a riot.
Violence erupted across the Gujarat state, with the Muslim population being main targets of the attacks.
🎬 The BBC Documentary
The BBC Documentary took a critical view of current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi & his relationship with the Muslim minority in India.
In particular:
The 2002 Gujarat Riots was described as having “all the hallmarks of an ethnic cleansing”; and
Questions were raised around the role played by the Prime Minister (who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat then), with suggestions that he was either complicit or failed to properly manage the crisis.
❌ The Ban
Unimpressed, the Indian government used emergency laws to ban the screening of the BBC Documentary and block all relevant content on Youtube and Twitter.
👩⚖️ The PIL Plea
Hindu Sena, a right-wing organisation, filed a PIL plea against the BBC, claiming that the BBC had been indulging in anti-India propaganda, and was hampering peace and national integrity in India. The plea called for a nationwide ban on BBC.
But the Indian Supreme Court was unconvinced. They dismissed the plea, calling it “absolutely misconceived” and having no merit.
❓Now
Over the past month, opposition parties & journalists have filed petitions to the Supreme Court, seeking a lift on the government’s ban.
Does the court’s ruling on the PIL Plea suggest how they’ll react to these petitions?
Only time will tell!
Spotlight - Mahesh Rai (Partner, Drew & Napier)
⚒️ What do you do?
I am an arbitration and litigation director (partner) at Drew & Napier where I head a disputes team.
I represent clients in complex disputes across a range of industries including construction, infrastructure, telecommunications, IT, shipping, energy and commodities.
I also act as pro bono counsel in criminal matters involving the death penalty and in non-capital cases. I head the Young Members Group of the CIArb chapter in Singapore.
🏆 What is your proudest achievement?
Beyond any successful case, my proudest achievement is being a father, husband and son. After a tiring day, when I see the happy faces of my children, everything else falls away. My family makes life worth living.
⌛ There are now 25 hours in a day! How do you spend your extra hour?
I spend that extra hour reading on areas that have nothing to do with the law. So much of our work involves reading but I still enjoy reading for pleasure.
🚀 If you weren't a lawyer, what would you do?
I would be a theatre actor.
😋 Your favourite food haunt (bonus points if it's off the beaten track!)
Horses for causes – Tiong Bahru Hawker Centre for Lor Mee, Old Airport Road for Char Kway Teow Hokkien Mee and Tian Tian for Chicken Rice.
Food Feature
Grannies know best.
So when a granny opens her own restaurant, don't ask. Just eat.
In this case, today's dish is a spicy Korean dish of stir-fried baby octopuses marinated in a red chilli gochugaru sauce.
You can find it at Na Jeong-sun Halmae Jjukkumi, which Granny Na Jeongsun opened ~35 years ago. And it's the only dish that they sell (they have no menu)!!
That said, don't come if you can't take the heat. It's intense.
Details: Google Maps
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Special thanks to Overheard in Asia's sponsor:
David Grief was described as "the Law's Middleman" (Business Times, 2021). You can reach out to him at dg@davidgrief.com if you need help identifying the right lawyer, arbitrator or expert for your matters, or even if you just want to grab a drink 🍵🍺 with someone who has managed and mentored lawyers for almost 5️⃣0️⃣ years!