Daily UPSC Prelims Current Affairs – January 19, 2023 [Mock Test]
January 30, 2023 January 30, 2023
1. Which of the following countries have granted legal rights to non-living entities?
- Ecuador
- Bolivia
- New Zealand
- India
- Bhutan
Choose the correct answer using the codes given below:
[A] Only 1 & 5
[B] Only 1, 2 & 3
[C] Only 2, 3 & 4
[D] 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Only 1, 2 & 3]
Notes:- The South American country of Ecuador, in 2008, approved a Constitution that grants tropical forests, islands, rivers and air, legal rights to “exist, flourish and evolve”. The country’s courts now recognize the rights of “Pacha Mama” or nature, to maintain and regenerate its cycles, structure, functions and evolutionary processes.
- More recently, in April 2022 Ecuador became the first country to grant legal rights to individual wild animals.
- Bolivia granted all nature rights equal to that of humans in 2011.
- New Zealand’s Whanganui River was the first in the world to be given legal status. The river, revered by the Maori people.
- The Uttarakhand High Court, on March 20, 2017, granted the river Ganga and its longest tributary Yamuna the legal right to be protected and not be harmed. Legal acts such as the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 and the Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960 exist, they do not recognize animals as individual living entities.
2. With respect to the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, consider the following statements:
- As per the legal provisions, a Constitution Bench consists of a minimum of three judges.
- It is binding on the CJI to be a part of a Constitution Bench.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[A] Only 1
[B] Only 2
[C] Both 1 & 2
[D] Neither 1 nor 2
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Neither 1 nor 2]
Notes:- Whenever a matter of law arises that requires a provision or provision of the Constitution to be interpreted, or there is a “significant legal question”, it is required to be decided by a Bench involving a minimum of five judges of the Supreme Court. Such a Bench is called Constitution Bench.
- Constitution Benches are not a routine affair in the SC as most of the cases are listed before a two or three-judge Bench, called a Division Bench. As per the legal provisions, a Constitution Bench consists of a minimum of five judges and the number can go up to an odd number of seven, nine and so on.
- The Chief Justice of India, who is also the master of the roster, decides which cases will be heard by a Constitution Bench, the number of judges on the bench and even its composition. While there are no clear guidelines, the sole discretion lies with the CJI. It is not binding on the CJI to be a part of a Constitution Bench.
3. Which of the following countries are part of the Balkan nations?
- Estonia
- Albania
- Macedonia
- Lithuania
- Latvia
- Romania
Choose the correct answer using the codes given below:
[A] Only 1, 4 & 5
[B] Only 2, 3 & 6
[C] Only 1, 2, 3, & 6
[D] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Only 2, 3 & 6]
Notes:- Baltic states lie in the north-eastern region of Europe containing the countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea.
- The Baltic states are covered on the west and north by the Baltic Sea — which gives the region its name, on the east by Russia, on the southeast by Belarus, and on the southwest by Poland and an exclave of Russia.
- Balkans, also called Balkan Peninsula, lies in the easternmost part of Europe’s three great southern peninsulas, and is usually characterized as comprising Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia; with some parts of Greece and Turkey belonging to the region as well.
- Generally, the Balkans are bordered on the northwest by Italy, on the north by Hungary, on the north and northeast by Moldova and Ukraine, and on the south by Greece and Turkey — or the Aegean Sea(depending on how the region is defined, as per Britannica).
- The Balkans are watered by the Adriatic Sea in the west, the Ionian Sea in the southwest, and the Black Sea in the east.
