EU high court upholds airline passenger rights legislation News
EU high court upholds airline passenger rights legislation

[JURIST] The European Court of Justice [official website] on Tuesday upheld a law [text] that requires airlines to pay compensation to passengers [JURIST report] who experience long flight delays, overbooking and cancellation on flights to and from the European Union. The International Air Transport Association [group website] and the European Low Fares Airline Association [group website; press release, PDF] had challenged the EU regulation, arguing the law was too costly to implement and some conditions were outside of the airlines' control. Under the law, passengers may be compensated up to $725 (600 euros) if they are denied a seat because of overbooking. In other cases, airlines must provide food, lodging or a trip back to the point of departure. The court ruled [judgment; press release, PDF] that the regulation does not violate the Montreal Convention [text] and does not violate the principle of proportionality. View the EU air passenger rights website. 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.