BREAKING NEWS ~ UN approves nuclear terrorism treaty News
BREAKING NEWS ~ UN approves nuclear terrorism treaty

[JURIST] AP is reporting that the UN General Assembly has approved the text of a draft global treaty designed to prevent nuclear terrorism.

11:35 AM ET – The approval of the text comes at the end of a seven-year negotiating process characterized by tensions between nuclear and non-nuclear powers. Under the draft, states are obliged to criminalize certains acts relating to nuclear terrorism and impose sanctions against offenders. Many such acts are already covered under the laws of UN member states. Read the full text of the draft nuclear terrorism convention [PDF]. The draft will be open for signature in September and will go into force after 22 ratifications. Reuters now has a full story. Nicolas Michel, UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel, gave a press briefing on the draft convention in New York Tuesday.

THIS DAY @ LAW

International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism

November 9 is the International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism [UNITED factsheet]. On November 9, 1924, American gay activist Henry Gerber and several associates formed the Society for Human Rights, the first gay rights organization in the United States. The Society received a charter from the State of Illinois in December but was disbanded in July 1925 after a police raid which led to Gerber's arrest and trial (albeit not conviction). Pay a virtual visit to Henry Gerber House, now a registered Chicago landmark.

Supreme Court strikes down Massachusetts anti-draft law

On November 9, 1970, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 in Massachusetts v. Laird not to hear the case of the state's anti-draft law. Massachusetts had passed a law, which allowed its citizens to decline to fight in any undeclared war, even if the person was drafted. The law was passed in opposition to the draft and the war in Vietnam. The First Circuit found the war constitutional and thus struck down the law.