Egypt judges threaten to boycott elections News
Egypt judges threaten to boycott elections

Egyptian judges [UNDP-POGAR judiciary backgrounder] have threatened not to supervise presidential and parliamentary elections due later this year unless the government amends laws which limit judicial power and prevent the convening of free and fair elections. The judges say that close relations between the executive and the judiciary undermine their independence and ability to properly monitor elections and are calling for the country's interior ministry to surrender certain controls over the electoral process. The judges say changes should be made by June when Egyptians will be asked in a popular referendum to approve a constitutional amendment [JURIST report] proposed by current President Hosni Mubarak [Aljazeera profile; official website] to allow for the first multi-candidate presidential election in Egypt's history, set to be held in September. AFP 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.