Dutch EU constitution vote won’t be delayed by French ‘non’ in referendum News
Dutch EU constitution vote won’t be delayed by French ‘non’ in referendum

[JURIST] Dutch Minister for European Affairs Atzo Nicolai [official profile] said Friday that the scheduled June 1 Netherlands referendum [Dutch government press release] on the European constitution [official website; treaty text; JURIST news archive] will not be delayed in the event of a French rejection of the pact. France's referendum is scheduled for May 29 and there is growing concern that French voters will reject [JURIST report] the EU constitutional treaty. Saying rumors that the Dutch referendum would be cancelled in the event of a "non" vote in France were untrue, Nicolaï told his parliament Friday that "There is no question of the referendum being cancelled." The Dutch referendum is non-binding, but the Cabinet has said that it will respect the public's decision. The Dutch government has background on the referendum. Amsterdam's Expatica 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.