Family law

Family laws in India are different for different religions and there is no uniform civil code.

Hindu Law

As far as Hindus are concerned there is a specific branch of law known as Hindu Law. Though the attempt made by the first parliament after independence did not succeed in bringing forth a Hindu Code comprising the entire field of Hindu family law, laws could be enacted touching upon all the major areas affecting family life among Hindus in India.[citation needed]

Muslim law

Indian Muslims' personal status laws are largely based on Sharia. The development of the law is largely on the basis of judicial precedents. The contribution of Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer in the matter of interpretation of the statutory as well as personal law is significant.

Christian Law

As for Christians, there is a distinct branch of law known as Christian Law which is mostly based on specific statutes.

Christian law of Succession and Divorce in India have undergone changes in recent years. The Indian Divorce (Amendment) Act of 2001 has brought in considerable changes in the grounds available for divorce. By now Christian law in India has emerged as a separate branch of law.It covers the entire spectrum of family law so far as it concerns Christians in India. Christian law, to a great extent is based on English law but there are laws that originated on the strength of customary practices and precedents.

Christian family law has now distinct sub branches like laws on marriage, divorce,restitution, judicial separation, succession, adoption, guardianship,maintenance, custody of minor children and relevance of canon law and all that regulates familial relationship.

General Law

After independence, some efforts were made to modernise Indian family law, the most recent being the Domestic Violence Act (2005). It is significant because for the first time the term ‘domestic violence’ has been widened in meaning and scope from the culture specific restriction of ‘dowry deaths’ and penal provisions to positive civil rights of protection and injunction. Some other areas in which reform has occurred recently are custody laws, guardianship laws, adoption laws, etc.

Law of Reciprocity

What is the "Law of Reciprocity?"

I have just read a book called “The 10 Keys to Create Wealth” to fulfill your life’s purposes. I paid special attention to the chapter talking about “The Law of Reciprocity”. I kept thinking; what does that mean? It is simply this: If you want to prosper in all areas of your life then you must give back to the community by offering a valued benefit for those you around you.

Ok, what does she mean? What I mean is this. If you want to succeed in life you have to give back. It is the unwritten law of nature. God speaks of this in his word. “Give and it will be given unto you, good measure, pressed down and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you”

Let me give you some examples:

A man I would like to meet, but have not yet is Michael Ellison who is the author of “The 10 Keys to Create Wealth” to fulfill your life’s purpose, is the classic example of a man using “The Law of Reciprocity” . He has achieved greatness in his family, friends, wealth and health by using this formula. He believes that by offering a wellness program to the community and by serving God at the same time he is giving something of value that benefits his clients. We all want to be healthy and gain financial wealth, don’t we? I know I do. Now my thought is; how do we achieve this? For what gain is there to have wealth and no health. What do you profit if you spend your days wealthy and sick and no one to share your wealth with?

**Give something of Value and let it be a benefit to mankind”**

Wealth is what you determine it to be. Some call it “money in the bank”, others call it having family, friends, a relationship with God, etc… I say it can be that but can also include the wealth of prospering others in all walks of life by being a blessing to them and solving a problem for them.

If you were walking down the street and found a man injured on the road would you take the time to help him? The fact is that in this day and age most of us would call 911 or the police. The Law of Reciprocity is a different approach. Go to the injured man and assess his condition, talk to him to bring him comfort and to let him know you are there to help him, call the appropriate help, stay with him until help arrives, ask him if you can pray with him or if there is another way you can help him. Call his family, his friend or clergy. Do you see the difference here? You gave him something of value. It was not monetarily given but given from a human aspect. You put yourself out there. Now in 5 years when he tells this story to his friends or family do you think he will remember your kindness? Will he remember you? What will his thought be? I think it will be something like this….You know, I will never forget how sweet she was to help me and comfort me, she even offered to call people for me and to pray with me. Do you see here how that will stay with that person? You can do it the easy way, but will they remember? Most definitely not!

I would recommend this book to anyone for this chapter all by itself however there are many golden nuggets through out the entire book. I am glad you took the time to read my article and let me leave you this final thought….

We determine and choose in life our success and our failure. What will your choice be? Mine will be success in every aspect of my life by applying “The Law of Reciprocity”!

For more articles please visit my website at

May God bless you and keep you!

Customer Service Is Dead In Britain!

A Working Man's View

So What? Who cares? What is Customer Service? What are the repercussions? What does it represent? Who are the culprits? What can be done about it?

Dear Reader,

I've had enough. After being brought to the point of anger where profanity would've been my next utterance, I've decided to 'vent my spleen' in this article, highlighting the cause & effect the breakdown of quality customer service is having on our society.

I'm sure if you've ever had a bad experience with customer service, you will appreciate some of the points and suggestions I make in this article. Before I begin, let us first establish what is 'good' & 'bad' customer service.

WHAT IS GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE?

To be greeted politely with eye contact & a pleasant countenance;

To be spoken to with a clear, even, tone.

Always ready to listen than assume;

Always prepared to provide assistance.

Ensuring the customer is never kept waiting unnecessarily.

Ensuring your attitude is geared to assistance & understanding;

Providing unknown but helpful advice to the customer;

Delivering/responding on time.

WHAT IS BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE?

Intolerably long queues/idle staff;

Calls not answered within 2 minutes.

To be put on hold for more than 3-5 minutes;

Following call-scripts instead of listening to the customer's problem;

Late or no arrival of delivery with no explanation;

Unexplained & unwarranted blocks on credit/debit cards;

Unjustified high service charges or penalties by financial institutions;

Misinformation causing expense to customer;

Poor workmanship;

Sour, cynical, unhelpful attitudes;

Overcharging/hidden charges;

Withholding useful/valuable information;

Inadequately trained staff.

WHO ARE THE MAIN CULPRITS?

Mainly Banks, Supermarkets, Home Shopping Centres, Mobile Phone Companies,

Mechanics, Fast Food outlets, Service engineers - plumbers, gas fitters etc.

Virtually any large institution is, but not exclusively, a culprit of bad service.

WHO CARES?

We are in a time where a majority of people are in debt and we are in debt to the very major institutions that provide poor service.

If I'm going to spend my hard earned money with you and possibly add to my debt, the very least I can expect is to get what I pay for without fuss, rudeness and with value for money. It's as if these institutions think "you or someone else is going to spend your money with us anyway, so why should we bother about customer service? - You'll be back!"

Banks, Home Shopping Centres et al

We all lead busy lives where time is of the essence, yet the queues in Banks etc. get longer & longer. It is not unusual now for someone to spend 45 minutes of their lunch hour waiting to be served in a bank.

There have been numerous times when I've had to ask a member of staff to open another till to alleviate the queuing - why couldn't they do this of their own accord? Why did it need me to point out the obvious? This is indicative of the attitude business has towards their customers.

By the way, you are legitimately allowed to ask a member of staff or management at any venue or outlet to open another till & start serving customers if it's obvious the queues are too much for the member/members of staff currently serving.

WHY ARE THEY GETTING AWAY WITH THIS?

We are in a time where government is increasingly forcing us to 'accept our lot' in life; 'SHUT UP, BE HAPPY'!

(To prove my point I could expand here into 'Game Theory', 'Negative Freedom' and our budding totalitarian state, but I'll leave that for a future article!).

Add to this the 'sheep' & 'don't make waves' mentality of the British and you have a nation that is ripe for arrogant, sloppy business practices. >If we can't be bothered to take action, they don't need to respond.

The irony is that under the present political climate it is assumed by government and the captains of industry that what we buy is a true representation of our wants & needs and therefore a true representation of democracy.

Yet we fail to see the power that belief gives us, the consumer. No matter how much small print and word trickery is invested into an organisation's Terms & Conditions, we are still protected under Consumer Law which has been strengthened considerably over the past decade.

HOW DID THESE PRACTICES SEEP INTO OUR NATION?

I would like to suggest a number of possible factors:

One factor is the Americanisation of Britain - our government taking existing American policies and tailoring them to suit the British economy - that was started under the Thatcher era, and continued with fervour under the Blair government.

Anyone who's visited the West Coast of America frequently like I have will know that 'service with a smile' is not a standard approach, be it from a public servant or an average serving citizen. The "Time Is Money" principle is applied with fervour.

A second factor is the practice of globalisation. We are in a world where foreign companies can own any company in any country, even if it's considered to be a major culturally important institution of that country.

Successive British governments from the Thatcher era onwards have made it clear that anyone willing to invest is welcome & ensure our virtually non-existent union laws make this country a viable prospect.

Add to this the fact that a company residing in Britain may have a telephony service in India and a production factory in South-East Asia, and you can see how loyalty to an ideal can be become a passing thought.

A third factor is technology. The advent of automated lines, email & text communications, in addition to internet shopping, is creating a nation where person-to-person communication is rarely practised, therefore there is less patience when performing the art of speech. Pitch, Inflection, Courtesy, Tone, Understanding, Rate & Enunciability are fast becoming a quaint approach to communicating.

A fourth factor is immigration. With a large influx of people from all over the globe, the importance of good customer service in this nation needs to be highlighted when you have people from Australia to Zaire whom haven't been raised with the British shopkeeper mentality & may have been brought up to believe that getting the job done is good enough. It isn't.

A fifth factor is staff consideration - which may range from poor pay to poor working practices to poor working environment. Good pay is not enough to motivate staff; almost every employee survey carried out on job satisfaction puts pay 3rd as the most important requirement for an employee.

Giving an employee a sense of worth goes a long way to a happy workforce - although this needs to come from the employee as well; if money is the only motivation to work and nothing else, make sure you never deal with customers. Go and work on a production line somewhere - we don't have to deal with your lack of ambition or self-worth.

Taking pride in whatever you do goes a long way to affecting your approach to a task.

HOW WOULD THIS AFFECT CUSTOMER SERVICE IN BRITAIN?

Policies can direct and shape a culture.

Policies shape the decisions of what products will or will not be available; how they will be available; how much they cost. These in turn will shape our buying and shopping habits.

This in turn will help to shape attitudes and practices throughout society.

Modern day communications have made vast savings for big business; the trade off of unhappy customers as a result seems to be worthwhile in their eyes.

Britains reputation and culture was built on its customer service. The nation continues to trade on that reputation from being the first called to provide UN relief to being the first contacted to train police forces of the developing nations. The British workforce used to think it a grave slight on their character if they were accused of bad service. Now, in the event of a complaint, the manager pretends indignation in front of the customer and ridicules their 'pettiness' behind their back. "The Customer Is Always Right" is from a bygone age.

WHAT ARE THE REPERCUSSIONS?

The repercussions are already being felt.

The increase in these no-win, no-fee companies is a testament to that.

The second stage is the unpleasant aspect of public servants being attacked, verbally or otherwise. Indeed, were the figures for physical assault on public servants and shop assistants to be measured over the past 20 years, I'm guessing they would show a sharp increase.

The third stage - which has already begun - is when customers start taking individual action in small claims courts when they are not happy with the conclusion of a complaint to a Customer Services Dept. Increased, continuous litigation on big business cannot be a good thing for a company in terms of cost and man hours.

WHAT CAN BUSINESSES DO?

Branch Services

-Any organisation that makes sure customers are not queuing for more than 5 minutes per customer will see their volume of visits triple.

-Make sure there are never more than 5 customers per till person.

-Make sure that whatever your staffs is doing - no matter how important & time sensitive they think it is - as soon as a long queue has developed, get them on the tills or assisting to clear the queue.

-Even if customers are still queuing for some time, they will appreciate the attempt and the importance you place on their custom.

-If there are processes & procedures that have to be performed throughout a business day, there should be a flexible contingency method that enables the staff member to help clear long queues then get back to their procedural matters or conclude them in a quiet period.

-Any branch of any business that takes the above stance will see their volume of customers increase.

Telephony Services

-Ensure the option to talk to an actual person is on the 1st list of menu options offered.

-Teach your staff to actually listen to the problem.

-Teach your staff not to be menu-driven when giving support.

-Ensure the Reduction of waiting times is a constant priority.

-Design the menu options you offer from the customer's point of view.

WHAT CAN CUSTOMERS DO?

Vote with your feet!

&

COMPLAIN! COMPLAIN! COMPLAIN!

When making a telephone call, have a piece of paper and pen ready.

Always seek the name & job title of the person you're speaking to and write it down.

Ask to speak to/see the manager or senior member to make a verbal complaint.

If that fails, seek the name of their customer services manager - they have to give to you.

Seek the address of the customer services department for complaints - it may be different than their standard customer service dept.

Find out the email address of the person or department you need to speak to.

Write to the relevant person. In these instances the pen is truly mightier than the sword.

Send letters recorded delivery. Someone has to sign for it.

Organisations still have to reply to a written letter by law.
click on "Useful Links" and you will see links and information on a number of organisations who provide invaluable help in this area.

WHAT WOULD I LIKE TO SEE?

The Present

Customers to respond to bad service with their feet. Don't go back.

If it's a chain store, don't visit that branch; better still, the whole chain.

If we can't be bothered to take action, they don't need to respond.

The Future?

-A website database where a customer enters the place of business, the person who served them, their own name and a contact no.

-A list of the good and bad accessible to all.

-Management of respective business presented with a daily/weekly/monthly list of complaints to resolve. Their response monitored.

-Highlight bad/good Company of the week/month.

-Arrange boycott of bad company/branch through their respective local press. Promote good company/branch.

BIG BUSINESS BEWARE,

WE THE CONSUMER HAVE HAD ENOUGH!!

Child Support Enforcement and Federal Criminal Law

Child support enforcement is a growing area of family law. Once child support has been ordered by a Court, or agreed upon by two parents, it is not always smooth sailing. Although we hear a lot about "deadbeat parents" (and there are both moms and dads who are deadbeats), the overwhelming majority of parents pay support and take care of their children as agreed upon or ordered. But, when that is not the case, you have to know how child support enforcement works.

Child support enforcmement in one form or another is available in every state for collecting against deadbeat parents. Those child support enforcement remedies include wage garnishment, intercepting tax refunds, suspending a driver's or professional license, and more.

In addition to the child support enforcement remedies that the individual states provide, the is a federal remedy which is often overlooked, but which is very effective. That child support enforcement remedy is the Child Support Recovery Act of 1992.

Under the Child Support Recovery Act, the failure to pay child support, if willful, is a federal crime if the parent who owes support lives in a different state than the parent who is receiving the support. Relying on this criminal statute can be a very effect child support enforcement tool.

The purpose of the Federal Child Support Recovery Act was to prevent a parent from moving to a different state or a foreign jurisdiction for the purpose of evading a child support order. However, since we live in an incredibly mobile society, it is not unusual to have a support paying parent in one state and a support receiving parent living in another state. When that happens, the Federal Act is available as a remedy for interstate child child support enforcement.

A first offense under the Federal Child Support Recovery Act can result in a prison sentence of up to six months in addition to monetary fines. A second conviction can result in more jail time and greater fines.

The Child Support Recovery Act was amended in 1998 and is now know as the Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act. The 1998 Act makes it a federal crime to travel to another state to avoid a child support obligation, if that support obligation is greater than $5000 and has remained unpaid for more than one year. If the obligation is greater than $10,000 and has remained unpaid for more than 2 years, if is a federal crime under the 1998 Deadbeat Parents Act simply to have not paid the child support.

The penalties available for child support enforcement under the 1998 Deadbeat Parents Act include prison sentences, fines and restitution. Restitution is the payment of money to the custodial parent in an amount equal to the child support arrearage existing at the time that the defendant is sentenced. Probation can also be imposed and can include conditions such as the payment of child support and mandatory employment. A violation of those terms of probation can result in the imposition of additional prison time.

If you are owed child support and the parent who is supposed to pay lives in another state, consult with an attorney to discuss whether the Federal Deadbeat Parents Act can help you with child support enforcement and collect the support due to you.

Investing In China: Hiring, Firing And Labor Law

One of China’s major attractions for foreign investors is its low labor costs. In the central provinces entry-level laborers can be hired for as little at US$60 per month and college graduates work for as little as US$150 per month, although labor costs in the more affluent coastal provinces are about three times as high. Furthermore, because there is a shortage of skilled labor and white collar management in the coastal provinces, additional incentives might be required to attract highly qualified employees (this is not so much of a problem in the central and western provinces). Employers can be recruited and hired directly in most cases, although there are many public and private employment agencies that will assist the foreign investor in recruiting qualified staff. In joint ventures, the Chinese partner is usually responsible for recruitment, although this is something that can be negotiated between the parties.

Employment law in China is in some ways more protective of employees than US labor law. Labor matters in China are generally governed by the P.R.C. Employment Law (although certain other national legislation also provides guidance). Where national law is silent, provincial and local laws apply, but in the event of a conflict between provincial/local laws and the Employment Law, the Employment Law prevails, much in the way as federal law trumps state law in the US.

Employment contracts are generally required and normally stipulate probation periods of no more than six months. A thirty-day advance notice and good cause are normally required in order to fire an employee after the expiration of the probation period (although employee incompetence and company business reverses considered good cause subject to certain restrictions). An employee can be immediately fired for serious misconduct.

The eight-hour workday and the forty-hour workweek are standard for blue collar employees, overtime pay is mandated by law, and there are legal limitations on how much overtime can be required. Paid leave is also required, although the required length varies according to local regulations (usually not exceeding two weeks per year). There are special protections on the type of labor that can be assigned to women and teenagers, and the minimum working age is 16. None of this should be unfamiliar to those familiar with prevailing US labor practices.

Nevertheless, Chinese labor law does include certain unique features that foreign investors should be aware of:

(1) In the event of a labor dispute, arbitration is required before the case can be taken to court.

(2) There are three funds to which both employer and employee must contribute:

1. Endowment Insurance (a kind of social welfare fund) – the employee contributes 5% of his salary, employer pays an amount equal to about one-fourth of the employee’s salary (amounts vary by locality).

2. Unemployment Insurance – the employee pays 1.0%, employer pays 2.0%.

3. Hospitalization Insurance – Employee pays 2.0%, employer pays 8.0 %.

In each of the foregoing cases, the employer deducts the employee portion from the employee’s paycheck, but must pay the employer’s portion out of its own pocket in addition to the employee’s regular wages. Also keep in mind that the foregoing amounts may vary somewhat according to locality. There are also certain funds that employers must contribute to, such as an employee labor union fund (generally about 2% of payroll).

A prospective foreign investor would do well to keep abreast of breaking developments in this area, because the law is rapidly evolving.

Pucker Up On The Latest Lemon Law

Is your car making you pucker up like you have eaten a lemon? A spoonful of sugar will not make it all better. You need to brush up on the latest lemon laws in your state. It seems you may have gotten a dud of a car, a car lemon for lack of a better term. So you can brush up on the latest lemon law or you can consult with one of probably many lemon law attorneys available in your state.

Let us suppose you live in California. Research the latest lemon law California has to offer by perusing through the statutes in the state of California’s Civil Code. If that does not get you yawning, nothing will! To save yourself from the boredom of reading through all that legalese, you can also consult with some lemon law lawyers. Or, read on for a summary of these statutes to see if you have a legal leg to stand on. You will have to decide if you need to start making lemonade with that car lemon.

One of the statutes of the California Civil Code states that you must make a realistic effort to have your new car fixed to conform to basic warranties from the vehicle manufacturer. There is a limit of a year and a half or 18,000 miles on the car’s odometer, whichever happens first, for the problem to be rectified, before being considered a car lemon.

Of course, as with anything else, there are other provisions to that rule. First, the malfunction must have been repaired two or more times without success, with the result being that the car is dangerous or unsafe to drive in a way that might cause severe injury or casualties. Or, secondly, your car is still not fixed satisfactorily after four repeated attempts by the manufacturer. Finally, another reason that your vehicle could be facing a car lemon law is if your vehicle has been out for repairs for more than a month or thirty straight days.

The above information is just a sampling of the lemon law California has on the books. There is more to it than that, but is should give you a good start in understanding where you stand with your dud of a car. To be sure that you are in compliance with any CA lemon law, make sure to get some legal counsel.

You will discover that you can request a refund of the purchase of the car from the manufacturer. The car manufacturer can also substitute your dud of a vehicle with a new equally comparable vehicle. They would be responsible for all the taxes and fees that go with the purchase of a new car including the costs you incurred in rental and repair fees.

One thing lemon law lawyers might tell you is that if you request the manufacturer to make restitution through a new vehicle or a refund before you file any civil suit and they refuse, you may be entitled to twice the compensation from the manufacturer should a civil trial find in your favor. However, before you go through legal counsel, just save a little money and do your research on your lemon laws. It’s a tough job wading through all that car lemon law stuff, so pucker up and get busy making your own lemonade from that car lemon.

Law Act Of 1976

The Copyright Law Act Of 1976 Is Still Relevant In Today's Digital Age

The Copyright Law Act of 1976 is the basis of United States copyright laws. The Copyright Law Act states the rights of copyright owners, the doctrine of the Fair Use copyright laws, and it changed the term life of copyrights. Before the Copyright Law Act, the law had not been revised since 1909. It was necessary that copyright laws be revised to take into account technological strides that were being made in radio, sound recordings, motions pictures and more. The Copyright Law Act of 1976 preempted all previous laws that were on the books in the United States, including the Copyright Act of 1909.

The Copyright Law Act of 1976 defines “works of authorship” to include all of the following:

* Musical works
* Literary works
* Dramatic works
* Pictorial, sculptural and graphics
* Motion Pictures and Audiovisuals
* Sound Recordings
* Choreographic Works and Pantomimes
* An eighth work which falls under “architectural works” was later added in 1990.

What is unique about the United States copyright law is that it is automatic. Once someone has an idea and produces it in tangible form, the creator is the copyright holder and has the authority to enforce his exclusivity to it. In other words, the person is the owner of the creation. It is not necessary that a person register their work. However, it is recommended and it can serve as evidence if someone ever violates a copyright.

Violations of US Copyright Laws are generally enforced in a civil court setting. However, there could also be criminal sanctions brought against someone who violates US copyright laws. Someone who is in serious violation of US Copyright Laws, such as counterfeiting, can find themselves on the inside of prison. People need to understand that the copyright symbol is not a requirement. Someone may have a copyright, yet their work may not have a copyright notice or symbol.

US Copyright Law covers a wide range of things that are derived from artistic expression, intellectual or creative work. This includes things such as literary works, music, drawings, photographs, software, movies, choreographic works such as ballets and plays, poems, paintings and more. The law covers the form of expression, not the concept, facts or the actual idea of the work. This means that someone can use another person's idea or concept and produce their own take on it. However, copying another person's work is a violation. Some things may not be copyrighted but they may be protected by a patent or trademark.

Individuals who have a copyright on a particular piece of work can do what they want with it. They may choose to copy it and sell it. They may display their work or perform it in public and charge admission, or they can assign or sell the work to someone else. Individuals who have a copyright can also choose to do nothing with their work, if that is their desire. However, if someone comes along and takes the work and tries to use it in some way, that person is still in violation of the owner's copyright. The Copyright Law Act covers published and unpublished works.