EU supports UN plan to try Sudan war criminals at ICC News
EU supports UN plan to try Sudan war criminals at ICC

[JURIST] A European Union [official website] spokesperson said Wednesday that the EU supports the UN proposal [UN Commission of Inquiry on Darfur report, PDF; JURIST report] to try those suspected of committing war crimes in Darfur at the International Criminal Court [official website]. Listen to recorded audio of EU spokesperson Amadeu Altafaj Tardio's remarks. The US does not endorse the UN plan to try Sudanese war criminals at the ICC, and instead has suggested that the UN and African Union should create a special court [JURIST report] in Tanzania. Cihan News Agency has more.

1:53 PM ET – Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and International Development Secretary Hilary Benn released a statement [text] Wednesday, expressing its preference that the UN refer the matter of trying Sudanese war criminals to the International Criminal Court. Straw and Benn note, however, that the decision is ultimately the Security Council's, which includes members who have not ratified the ICC treaty. Reuters has more.

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.