Palestinians to void security court verdicts News
Palestinians to void security court verdicts

[JURIST] Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas [BBC profile] asked his government's Justice Minister Wednesday to set aside verdicts by the much-criticized state security courts [Amnesty International press release]. Human rights groups have said the courts, set up under Yasser Arafat in 1995, were too quick, violated due process and handed down too severe sentences, including the death penalty. The move is part of a larger plan to increase accountability and reduce lawlessness. Abbas wants the cases retried in civilian courts. Reuters 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.