First gay civil union law goes into effect

First gay civil union law goes into effect

October 1, 2009 04:00:00 am

On October 1, 1989, the Registered Partnership Act went into effect in Denmark. It was the first law in the world that allowed civil unions between homosexual couples.

Read a report on the world’s first civil unions from the New York Times.

THIS DAY @ LAW

World court established at The Hague

On December 13, 1920, the League of Nations Assembly, sitting in Geneva, approved the statute setting up the Permanent Court of International Justice at The Hague. Learn more about the Permanent Court of International Justice. Visit the website of the Permanent Court's successor body, the International Court of Justice.

President Wilson arrives in France to negotiate WWI treaty

On December 13, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson arrived in France to negotiate a treaty to conclude World War I. Wilson was the first US President to visit Europe while in office. His meeting with the other Allied leaders would result in the Treaty of Versailles, which created the League of Nations and redrew borders across Europe. The treaty, however, was rejected by the US Senate, thus preventing the U.S. from joining the League with the other major powers.