Italian court clears Berlusconi of false accounting charges News
Italian court clears Berlusconi of false accounting charges

[JURIST] Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi [official profile] was acquitted of false accounting charges by an Italian court Monday. Prosecutors had charged the leader and media empire mogul with numerous counts of false accounting, including false bookkeeping charges, in connection to his alleged involvement in a plot to illegally move money from his media holding company, All Iberian, to fund the Socialist Party of former Italian Premier Bettino Craxi [BBC profile]. The court found that Berlusconi could not be charged with the crimes under Italian law because of changes made 2001 that decriminalized some false accounting crimes. In May, the European Court of Justice ruled [JURIST report] that EU law could not overrule Italian law in the matter. Berlusconi has been tried in several corruption cases, and has always maintained his innocence, arguing that all charges have been politically motivated. Reuters 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.

Nepal ends monarchy, establishes republic

On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.