Iraq cabinet approves legislation for foreign troop withdrawal News
Iraq cabinet approves legislation for foreign troop withdrawal

[JURIST] The Iraqi cabinet on Wednesday approved draft legislation that would require most non-US foreign troops to leave Iraq by mid-2009. The legislation must now be submitted to the Iraqi parliament [official website] for approval. A government spokesperson said that Iraq would retain the right to ask some countries to stay [DPA report]. Also on Wednesday, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown [official website] announced that British troops will withdraw [press release] from Iraq by July 2009.

US troops may remain in Iraq until 2011 under the recently approved [JURIST report] Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) [text, PDF; CFR backgrounder]. The SOFA, which takes effect at the end of the year, also gives Iraqi courts limited jurisdiction [JURIST report] over American military personnel and eliminates immunity [JURIST report] for US defense contractors working within Iraq.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Justice Department brings anit-trust action against AT&T

On November 20, 1974, the Department of Justice filed its final anti-trust suit against AT&T. United States v. AT&T was ultimately settled out of court with an agreement that the corporation would break up its monopoly on phone service throughout the country.

Nuremberg war crimes trials began

On November 20, 1945, the war crimes trials of Nazi World War II leaders began in the German city of Nuremberg. Review the Nuremberg Tribunal's Charter and the verdicts and sentences handed down on major war figures.

Winston Churchill born

On November 20, 1874, Sir Winston Churchill was born in Woodstock, England. He would go on to lead the United Kingdom as Prime Minister through World War II. Toward the end of the war, Churchill worked with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to craft the treaties and accords that have defined the world since WWII. A 2002 poll by the BBC declared Churchill the Greatest Briton of all time.

New Jersey ratifies Bill of Rights

New Jersey ratified the Bill of Rights, a set of 10 fundamental amendments to the US Constitution, on November 20, 1789, becoming the first state to do so. The state also ratified an amendment on federal representation which ultimately failed. Additionally, New Jersey rejected an amendment on congressional salaries, which would eventually become the 27th Amendment more than 200 years later. Read the articles ratified by New Jersey.