Romania constitutional court upholds bill facilitating presidential impeachment News
Romania constitutional court upholds bill facilitating presidential impeachment

[JURIST] The Romanian Constitutional Court [official website] Thursday upheld an opposition-sponsored bill making it easier to remove the country's president by reducing the number of popular votes required for impeachment. Existing legislation requires more than half of Romania's citizens to support removal, making impeachment almost impossible. President Traian Basescu [official website, English version; BBC profile] was suspended [JURIST report] by the opposition-dominated parliament last month for allegedly abusing his powers. Parliament has 30 days to organize a referendum on whether to impeach the president. Given the popularity of Basescu, who was elected in December 2004 and has targeted corruption, the referendum is expected to fail.

Last week the court upheld the suspension [JURIST report] of Basescu and designated Senate President Nicolae Vacaroiu [official website, in Romanian] as the country's interim leader. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in Six Days' War

On November 22, 1967, the UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied during the Six Days' War, and for respect of the right of all States in the area to "live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries." Read Resolution 242, which remains a cornerstone of efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.

President Kennedy assassinated, VP Lyndon Johnson sworn inin

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Later that day, Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was later tasked with leading a commission to investigate the assassination. President Johnson received the final report of the Warren Commission on September 24, 1964. Read the Warren Commission Report.