Saddam lawyer wants trial in Europe News
Saddam lawyer wants trial in Europe

[JURIST] A member of Saddam Hussein's defense team said Sunday that any trial of the former Iraqi dictator should take place not in Iraq, but in Europe. Giovanni di Stefano [profile] told a Swedish television interviewer that he would prefer to see Saddam tried in Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, or the Hague, Netherlands where a "fair trial" is more likely. Iraqi officials said last week that Saddam could appear before a special tribunal with two months [JURIST report] but backed off that statement later. Di Stefano went on to say that Saddam had sovereign immunity from prosecution under the Iraqi Constitution, claiming that it was accepted and ratified by the UN in 1969 and has not been altered since. He added that guarantees had been given by the US, Britain, and Italy that the former dictator would not receive the death penalty though current Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari [Wikipedia profile] has indicated that capital punishment is a possibility. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

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