UK human rights committee questions legality of new terror law News
UK human rights committee questions legality of new terror law

[JURIST] The UK Parliament Joint Committee on Human Rights [official website] questioned the legality of proposed anti-terror legislation that grants the home secretary power to order house arrests of terror suspects in a report [text] released Friday. The committee's report presents a new challenge for the government, which had hoped to rush the recently announced [JURIST report] legislation through Parliament so it would take effect before the current anti-terror legislation [text] expires on March 14. The committee report expressed concerns over the increased powers of Home Secretary Charles Clarke [official bio] to order detentions, a power that previously required prior judicial authorization. Clarke has said that the law would include an automatic judicial review of any detentions within a week. The proposed law, the Prevention of Terrorism Bill [text], is expected to pass the Commons by Monday. From London, the Times 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.