INDO-FRENCH TIES

• The visit to New Delhi by French President Francois Hollande, for the first time to any Asian capital after he came to power in May last year, was a significant development.
• It came after India supported the French military action in Mali to restore the government’s authority.
• The deals for the Rafale aircraft and the Maitri surface-to-air missiles, for which negotiations have been completed, will mark a new beginning in Indo-French relations as these two defence items will be co-produced in India.
• The two countries have decided to establish an annual dialogue between their Finance Ministers to boost bilateral economic relationship.
• On Afghanistan, the two sides expressed commitment to the key principles for a peaceful inter-afghan dialogue: acceptance of the Afghan Constitution, renunciation to violence and breaking links with terrorism.
• France is among the countries which agreed to go in for nuclear trade with India soon after the India-US civilian nuclear deal
• The French are committed to building six next generation European pressurized reactors at Jaitapur.
• France has always been a supporter of India’s case of becoming a permanent member of the United Nations Security council.

NEW REGULATIONS ON SURROGACY

• While the new Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Regulation Bill and Rules, 2010, are still in the womb, the non-statutory Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Guidelines, 2005, are being followed.
• As per the latest and new Indian visa regulations, effective November 15, 2012, all foreigners visiting India for commissioning surrogacy will be required to apply for medical visas and cannot avail of simple tourist visas for surrogacy purposes. 

 NEW REGULATIONS:

• Foreigners visiting India for commissioning surrogacy must apply for medical visa

• The man and woman should be duly married and the marriage should have sustained for at least two years
• A letter from the embassy should be enclosed with the visa application stating that the country recognizes surrogacy and the child born thereof will be treated as a biological child of the couple
• The couple will furnish an undertaking that they would take care of the child
• The treatment would be done only at registered ART clinics recognized by the ICMR
• The couple should produce a notarized agreement between the applicant couple and the prospective surrogate mother
•  For return journey, the couple will need exit permission from FRRO/FRO
• The couple can be permitted to visit India on a reconnaissance trip on tourist visa, but no samples can be given to any clinic during such visit 

  RECOMMENDATIONS OF LAW COMMISSION:

• Surrogacy arrangement will continue to be governed by contract among parties, which will contain all the terms requiring consent of surrogate mother, medical procedures, reimbursement, willingness to hand over the baby, etc. This arrangement should not be for commercial purposes.
• Surrogacy arrangement should provide for financial support for surrogate baby in the event of death of the commissioning couple or individual before delivery, or divorce between the intended parents and subsequent unwillingness to take the baby.
• Life insurance covers for surrogate mother.
• One of the intended parents should be a donor to foster the bond of love and check chances of child abuse.
• Legislation should recognize a surrogate child to be the legitimate child of the commissioning parent(s) without there being any need for adoption or even declaration of guardian.
• The birth certificate of the child should contain the name(s) of the commissioning parent(s) only.
• Right to privacy of the donor as well as surrogate mother should be protected.
• Sex-selective surrogacy should be prohibited.
• Cases of abortions should be governed by the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act.
• The ART Bill, 2010, has legal lacunae and lacks creation of a specialist legal authority for determination and adjudication of legal rights of parties, in addition to falling in conflict with existing family laws. These pitfalls should not become a graveyard for a law yet to be born. Surrogacy needs to be regulated by a proper statutory law. Till then, the visa regulations will provide succor and relief.

ICJ ASKS UK TO EXPLAIN DIEGO GARCIA ACQUISITION

• In a blow to the British government, the International Court of Justice in The Hague has asked Britain to explain its decision to acquire the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean from Mauritius in 1965 and sub-lease its biggest island Diego Garcia to the United States.
• US military presence in the Indian Ocean caused considerable concern to India during the Cold War; and for many years New Delhi opposed American armed forces at Diego Garcia. 

DIEGO GARCIA:

• Diego Garcia is a tropical, footprint-shaped coral atoll located south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean. It is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).

 ISSUE:

• After purchasing the Chagos archipelago, of which Diego Garcia is a part, Britain forcibly evicted around 1,500 islanders - deporting them to Mauritius and Seychelles - to pave the way for the US military base. 
• The deportation of Chagos islanders is a matter of alleged human rights violation 

 IMPORTANCE OF DIEGO GARCIA:

• Diego Garcia is used by long range bombers belonging to the US Air Force and a staging post for missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• It is widely believed that in the event the US embarks on a campaign to eliminate Iran's nuclear plants, Diego Garcia will certainly be utilized.

IMPLICATIONS FOR UK:

• The hearing will be on the basis of the UN law of the sea; and the final verdict will be binding on Britain. 
• A defeat for Britain at the ICJ could result in a return of the islanders to their original habitat. 
• Britain, when the colonial master, deliberately misled the United Nations in order to deny the birthrights of the Chagossian people, whom it uprooted and sent into bitter exile to make way for a new tenant, the United States. The US procured this breach of international law and then insisted on taking the entire area to secure its base on Diego Garcia, which it has used unlawfully for “rendition” flights (conveying prisoners to torture) and, it has been credibly alleged, to subject them to forms of ill treatment such as water-boarding.