LIST OF PANELS

Panel:

a. Prof. Dr Sreenivasulu N.S., Professor of Law, National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) Kolkata, sreenivasulu.ns@nujs.edu

b. Prof. Dr Padmavati Manchikanti, Professor of Law, Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, IIT KGP, West Bengal, mpadma@rgsoipl.iitkgp.ac.in

c. Dr Rujitha T.R. Shenoy, Assistant Professor of Law, National Law University Odisha, rujitha@nluo.ac.in.

Specification of track: Research Track.

Significance of the panel topic: With reference to the proposed topic, the panel expects the following contributions from the papers:

a. To what extent are policies available, and if they are available, do they need elaboration?

b. Dichotomy of implementations of laws and regulations: Domestic as well as cross-border approaches to biotechnology governance.

c. Ever-developing international framework: A necessary or unnecessary burden for the Global South in the context of biotechnology.

d. Relevance of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in expanding the compliance with extra-territorial rules with respect to biotechnological advancement in the Global South.

e. Balancing farmers’ interests vis-à-vis Breeders Rights in the wake of biotechnology, with reference to the Global South.

f. Shrinking of the public domain owing to the crowding of intellectual property in the context of biotechnological advancement in the Global South.

Research questions:

a. Does public policy engagement in the proposed area lead to convergence or divergence or any other emergent approaches to address biotechnological challenges?

b. Is there a need for reshaping laws and policies in the context of biotechnological advancement?

c. Are local governance models more relevant than national and international models to govern biotechnology’s potential in the context of the Global South?

d. In what ways can legal implementation and governance be reconciled with respect to national vis-à-vis regional or international context?

Context:

Governing biotechnology and its creation has been a global debate in recent years, with the fundamental challenge being the non-uniform responses of international and domestic law-making. The panel, therefore, invites papers that provide a fitting response to this debate, thereby prioritising the Global South in their discussion.

Papers expected: 

a. Predominantly prior policy work or engagement of authors in the proposed area.

b. Empirical studies will be considered with linked papers in the theoretical area.

c. Theoretical papers that propose a novel idea in terms of governance overhaul in the field of biotechnology are also welcome. 

Potential Papers: 

a. Ms. Oishika Banerji, Research Scholar, WBNUJS, Kolkata, Email: oishikaphd2024@nujs.edu, 'Achieving Agricultural Revitalization using GM crops: Normalizing biohazard to advance food security in India?;. 

b. Ms. Tasnim Jahan, Research Scholar, WBNUJS, Kolkata, Email: tasnimphd2023@nujs.edu, 'Exploring technology transfer mechanisms to strengthen the practical use of compulsory licensing in the Global South’s biotechnology sector'.