Iraq election commission delays final results announcement News
Iraq election commission delays final results announcement

[JURIST] A spokesman for the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq [official website] said Wednesday that the announcement of final results from last month's Iraqi elections [JURIST Hot Topic archive] will be delayed so that the Commission can recount votes from 300 ballot boxes. The results were originally scheduled to be announced Thursday. No new date for an announcement was set. According to partial election results already posted by the IECI, the Shiite-dominated ticket, endorsed by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani [official website, English version] is leading with about half the votes. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Germany surrenders unconditionally, ending WWII in Europe

On May 7, 1945, General Gustav Jodl, on behalf of Germany, signed an unconditional surrender, effectively ending World War II in Europe. The surrender was formally accepted by the Allied Powers the next day, May 8, which came to be known as Victory in Europe (VE) Day.

Read World War II legal documents, treaties, and declarations from the Avalon Project at the Yale University School of Law.

27th Amendment to US Constitution ratified

On May 7, 1992, the Twenty-seventh Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified, barring Congress from granting its members pay raises in the middle of terms. The Amendment had initially been proposed in 1789 by James Madison, but only became law after a grass-roots campaign in the 1980s against "excessive" Congressional privileges. Learn more about the Twenty-seventh Amendment.