|
Notice Issued to Government on PIL on GM Technology
A three judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by the
Chief Justice Sri V.N. Khare, has issued a notice to the
government through the secretary, Ministries of Environment
and Forests, Science and Technology and Agriculture, on
a public interest litigation filed by Gene Campaign, challenging
the validity of the rules made for genetically modified
organisms and seeking a moratorium on the commercial release
of GM crops until an 'effective' oversight
mechanism is put in place.
The PIL was filed by senior advocate Sri Sanjay Parikh,
appearing on behalf of Gene Campaign and Dr. Suman Sahai.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE POLICY
As a member of India's high-powered
National Commission on International Trade, Gene Campaign
uses the opportunity to influence the Indian Government's
negotiating strategies and positions for the WTO,
especially in the agreements relating to Agriculture,
Biotechnology, TRIPS and Trade and Environment. Gene Campaign has been
active and influential in formulating policy and legislation related to biodiversity.
-
The Patent Amendment Act
Amendments to the Indian Patent Act seek to
introduce product patents instead of process
patents in the drug and agrochemical sector.
Indian law allows only process patents. Gene
Campaign has been active in having public interest
clauses included in the Patent Amendment Act.
It lobbied for the protection of Indigenous
Knowledge and got an exemption for products
based on Indian Systems of Medicine so that
community knowledge was protected. It has succeeded
in blocking gene and cell patents.
-
The Plant Variety Protection & Farmers Right Act, 2001
Gene Campaign has spearheaded the civil society
efforts to get a distinct Farmers Rights in
law. Gene Campaign's demand has been for a Farmers'
Right that would allow the farming community
to retain the same control over seed production
and use what they have always had.
CoFaB as an alternative to UPOV
As a framework for implementing India's sui
generis legislation, Gene Campaign strongly
opposes India joining UPOV (Union for the Protection
of new Plant Varieties) - a platform for regulating
Plant Breeders Rights in industrialized countries.
Developing country interests cannot be protected at UPOV.
Together with the CEAD, it has proposed an alternative
forum called CoFaB, that would regulate the
grant of Farmers Rights and Plant Breeders Rights
for developing country owners of germplasm,
and where agriculture is the major livelihood.
The full text of CoFaB is available (see Publications).
It has been strongly recommended by the UNDP
as a developing country alternative to UPOV.
In order to protect the Farmers Rights granted
in the Plant Variety Protection and Farmers
Rights Act, 2001, the Gene Campaign has filed
a PIL to block the government's decision to
join UPOV. UPOV does not acknowledge Farmers
Rights and if India becomes a member, it will
have to do away with the Farmers Rights, which
it has granted under its own law. -
The Biological Diversity Act
Gene Campaign and Forum after consultation with
NGOs and legal experts provided a first draft
for a Biological Diversity Bill. Subsequently
Gene Campaign mobilized political support to
pressurize the Ministry of Environment and Forests
to start the process to finalise a biodiversity
law for India. Gene Campaign was a member of
the Expert Committee that finalized the National
Biodiversity Bill Important components of Gene
Campaign's draft empowering local communities
are included - notably the multi-stakeholder
National Biodiversity Authority with representatives
of rural and tribal communities including women.
|
