UK legal reforms contested in Parliament News
UK legal reforms contested in Parliament

[JURIST] The UK House of Lords [official website] and House of Commons [official website] clashed Wednesday over proposed legislation to effect key changes to the British legal system. The legislation aims to further separate the judiciary from politics by stripping the Lord Chancellor’s traditional authority and creating a Supreme Court to which judges would be appointed by an independent panel. In the Commons the Labour Party government of Prime Minister Tony Blair would also like to ban non-lawyers and non-representative peers from being able to hold the title of Lord Chancellor – a proposition fiercely opposed by the Lords themselves. Conservative shadow attorney general Dominic Grieve supports the ban, saying that the new Lord Chancellor position “should not become prey to party politics.” Review the text of the Constitutional Reform Bill [as brought from the Lords on 21st December 2004] and read House of Commons Research Papers on the proposed Supreme Court for the United Kingdom [PDF] and the office of Lord Chancellor [PDF]. The UK Press Association more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Laws of Burgos put into effect

The Spanish Crown put the Laws of Burgos into effect on December 27, 1512. These laws governed the relationship of Spanish settlers with the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. The laws established the encomienda system of labor, promoted conversion to Catholicism, and safeguarded the indigenous peoples from physical abuse.  However, historians argue that the laws were ineffective at protecting the rights of the indigenous population. Learn more from the Library of Congress.

Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public bar smashing

On December 27, 1900, militant Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas. Nation argued that destroying bars was an acceptable means of battling the liquor trade since the Kansas Constitution prohibited alcohol. Learn more about Carrie Nation.

World Bank created

On December 27, 1944, the World Bank was created during the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. Learn more about the history of the World Bank.