Iraq seeks UN help in drafting constitution News
Iraq seeks UN help in drafting constitution

[JURIST] United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced on Tuesday [UN press release] that Iraq has officially asked for UN help in drafting a new permanent constitution [UN press release; JURIST news archive]. Annan acknowledged a letter from Hajim N. Al-Hasani, president of Iraq's Transitional National Assembly, asking for assistance to ensure that a new constitution is in place by August 15, leading to elections in December according to a timetable set down in Iraq's interim constitution, the Transitional Administrative Law [CPA text]. Officials are concerned that a further delay in crafting the new constitution, already put off somewhat by disagreements over the composition of the new Iraqi government, could lead to a power vacuum. UN News Centre has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

South Africa becomes first country on continent to legalize same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriages became legal in South Africa on November 30, 2006 as the country's Civil Union Act, 2006 went into effect, making South Africa the only country on the African continent to legalize same-sex marriage. Read the Civil Union Act, 2006.