Canada facing environmentalist lawsuit for alleged Kyoto breaches News
Canada facing environmentalist lawsuit for alleged Kyoto breaches

[JURIST] Canada faces a lawsuit from conservationist group Friends of the Earth [official website] for failing to meet its emissions goals under the Kyoto Protocol [text, BBC backgrounder], which government officials have deemed to be untenable. The group presented a legal opinion to Canadian Environment Minister Rona Ambrose [official profile] on Tuesday stating that according to a recent government report [PDF], Canadian pollution violates international law. Friends of the Earth hope to use the Canadian Environmental Protection Act [text] to obligate the government to honor its commitments to control pollution.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, Canada agreed to reduce greenhouse emissions to 6 percent below 1990 levels by 2012; however, its emissions are currently up 26.6 percent. South Africa brought a complaint to the committee charged with enforcing the Protocol in May, listing Canada among the 15 nations that have failed to report on their progress toward achieving its goals. Canada has said that if it fails to meet targets, it will not purchase emissions credits through the European Union's Emissions Trading System [EU backgrounder]. AFP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.