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US Supreme Court upholds Briton's custody right
International |
2010/05/18 05:03
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The Supreme Court says an American mother illegally moved her son from Chile to the United States during a custody dispute with the boy's British father. The high court on Monday said an international child custody treaty demands that the child goes back to the South American country. The parents separated in Chile, and the courts there had granted the father visitation rights. But the mother fled with the boy to Texas and filed for divorce. She asked the court there to change the father's visitation rights. The father asked that the boy be returned to Chile. The justices say the mother can argue in the lower courts that her safety may be at risk in Chile. That is an exception that can overrule the requirement that the child be returned to Chile.
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Spanish judge who indicted bin Laden suspended
International |
2010/05/17 02:32
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The Spanish judge who became an international hero by going after Augusto Pinochet and Osama bin Laden was suspended Friday for allegedly abusing his authority by investigating what is arguably Spain's own biggest unresolved case: atrocities committed during and after its ruinous Civil War. The punishment could effectively end Judge Baltasar Garzon's career. The unanimous decision by a judicial oversight board, the General Council of the Judiciary, was made during an emergency meeting about Garzon, said its spokeswoman, Gabriela Bravo. Supporters chanted, cheered and clapped later as Garzon emerged from the nearby National Court, where he works. He hugged co-workers and appeared to be holding back tears before getting into a bulletproof limousine and riding away. Garzon, 54, famous worldwide for his cross-border justice cases, has been removed from his post pending his trial on charges of knowingly going beyond the limits of his jurisdiction in 2008 by investigating the execution or disappearance of more than 100,000 civilians at the hands of supporters of Gen. Francisco Franco during the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War or in the early years of the Franco dictatorship.
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German court orders wireless passwords for all
International |
2010/05/13 06:02
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Germany's top criminal court ruled Wednesday that Internet users need to secure their private wireless connections by password to prevent unauthorized people from using their Web access to illegally download data. Internet users can be fined up to euro100 ($126) if a third party takes advantage of their unprotected WLAN connection to illegally download music or other files, the Karlsruhe-based court said in its verdict. "Private users are obligated to check whether their wireless connection is adequately secured to the danger of unauthorized third parties abusing it to commit copyright violation," the court said. But the court stopped short of holding the users responsible for the illegal content the third party downloads themselves. The court also limited its decision, ruling that users could not be expected to constantly update their wireless connection's security — they are only required to protect their Internet access by setting up a password when they first install it. The national consumer protection agency said the verdict was balanced.
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Murderer freed after 'victim' found alive in China
International |
2010/05/10 03:32
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A man imprisoned nearly 10 years for murder was freed after his alleged victim turned up alive, a case that raises concerns about police using torture to extract confessions. The Higher People's Court in the central province of Henan pronounced Zhao Zuohai, 57, innocent, after the man he was accused of killing, Zhao Zhenshang, returned to their village April 30, the China Daily newspaper reported Monday. An investigation was under way into the conviction, and Zhao Zuohai will receive about $45,000 in compensation for his wrongful imprisonment, the newspaper reported. The incident raises concerns about police torture, which Zhao Zuohai's relatives say was used to force him to confess even though he was innocent. Torture is believed to be used widely by police and government officials who rely heavily on coerced confessions to prove criminal cases. In 1997, Zhao Zhenshang, now 58, disappeared after having an argument with Zhao Zuohai, the report said, citing court documents. The two men are not related. Zhao Zuohai was arrested in 1999 after a headless body believed to be Zhao Zhenshang was found, the China Daily said. After he went to prison, Zhao Zuohai's wife remarried and her new husband adopted his children. Zhao Zuohai's relatives say he has scars after being tortured by police into confessing, the China Daily reported.
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Main law firms' dominance paying off handsomely
International |
2010/05/10 01:42
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BUSINESS OPINION: Ireland generates just 1% of European GDP, but is home to three of the 20 biggest law firms, writes JOHN McMANUS HERE IS a provocative question. Are Arthur Cox and the other big Dublin law firms some sort of homegrown version of Goldman Sachs? Do their activities resonate with those of the Wall Street giant which was so famously described by Rolling Stone Magazine’s Matt Taibbi as a “great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money?” Well, the big firms certainly seem to share Goldman Sachs’ ability to be on both sides of a deal and not be overly troubled by conflicts of interest. Arthur Cox, it has to be remembered, felt able to advise the Minister for Finance last spring on how to restructure the banks while at the same time being the lawyers of Bank of Ireland and simultaneously working for the private-equity consortium that was engaging with the Government on investing in Bank of Ireland. What they did was not illegal and something quite different to the allegations being made against Goldman Sachs by the US regulators, but the management of conflicts of interest is central to the criticism being levelled against both organisations.
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French court refuses extradition of Iranian to US
International |
2010/05/05 03:52
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A French court on Wednesday turned down a U.S. request for the extradition of an Iranian engineer who is accused of violating an export embargo by purchasing U.S. technology for military firms involved in Iran's nuclear program. The United States says Majid Kakavand, 37, bought sensitive American electronics over the Internet and disguised that their final destination was Iran by routing them through Malaysia, where he had set up a front company. Kakavand's case and several others have showcased how the United States is doggedly going after people accused of procuring technology or weapons for Iran's military, in many cases seeking help from foreign countries. Yet the court's ruling shows that such cooperation is not simple. Kakavand's case has dragged on for 14 months since his arrest as officials tried to determine if his business dealings violated French law as well as U.S. law. The court could not hand him over merely for breaking U.S. laws that have no counterpart in France. The case has sensitive diplomatic implications in three countries — especially in France, which has taken a tough stance on Iran's nuclear ambitions but nonetheless has business and oil interests there. Another source of diplomatic tension is the case of a young French academic in Iran who pleaded innocent to spying charges at a mass trial.
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UK court rules bars secret evidence in Gitmo suit
International |
2010/05/04 01:54
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A British court says the government will not be allowed to keep evidence secret from former Guantanamo prisoners who are suing the U.K. over its alleged complicity in their detention. The seven former inmates allege that Britain was complicit in their alleged abuse in the U.S. military prison camp on the southwestern tip of Cuba, as well as elsewhere, and are seeking damages from the government. Their civil suit has yet to come to trial, but the government won a preliminary victory last year by securing the right to keep selected pieces of information secret. Lawyers for the men said Tuesday that a three-judge panel overturned that ruling because secret evidence violated the principle of open justice. The government has not yet indicated whether it will appeal. |
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