· June, 2010

Stories about Law from June, 2010

Russia, U.S.: The “Spy Ring” Story

A selection of posts on the “Russian spy ring” story: Julia Ioffe at The Daily Beast; A Good Treaty; Yelena Osipova at Global Chaos; Mark Adomanis at True/Slant; Vadim Nikitin at FPA's Russia blog; Dina Fainberg at The Dustbin of History; Catherine Fitzpatrick at Minding Russia; Windows to Russia; Eugene...

Belize: Mayans Win Right to Land

  30 June 2010

Repeating Islands reports on a landmark court ruling “in favor of 38 Mayan Communities in the Toledo District”, which confirms their rights to the land surrounding their communities.

Singapore: Swiss national to be caned for train vandalism

  30 June 2010

A Swiss IT consultant in Singapore was sentenced to three strokes of the cane and five months in prison after he pleaded guilty to breaking into a Singapore train depot last month and vandalising two carriages. Bloggers debate whether caning is an appropriate punishment.

Jamaica: Bloggers Discuss Dudus’ Extradition

  29 June 2010

Following his capture by Jamaican police, Michael Christopher 'Dudus' Coke has been extradited to the United States to face pending charges of drug and arms trafficking. "The President", as he is also known, issued a statement about his decision "to waive [his] right to an extradition hearing in Jamaica..."

Singapore: No to caning

  29 June 2010

Spotlight on Singapore is against the punishment of caning. Recently, a foreigner who was found guilty of vandalizing a train in Singapore was sentenced to 5 months in jail and three strokes of the cane.

Lao44 website

  29 June 2010

Lao44 or Coalition for Lao Information, Communication and Knowledge is the largest repository of documents in Lao language. The number 44 in Lao44 refers to Article 44 in the Constitution which says that Lao citizens have the right and freedom of speech, press and assembly.

Peru: A Bill on Obscene Content

  28 June 2010

A few days ago the news broke of a bill that had been approved by the Justice Comission in Congress, proposing an amendment to section 183-B of the Penal Code, which sanctions the media publication of obscene and pornographic displays. As a result, opponents of the bill raised the banners of "Freedom of the Press" and "Freedom of Speech." Bloggers and internet media users are debating whether this bill really gets rid of these freedoms, or if it serves as a protection for minors and others who don't want to see that content.

Mauritius: 30 Prisoners escape from jail

  28 June 2010

“Around 30 prisoners have escaped from the GRNW jail in Mauritius this evening. The prisoners attacked the jail officers at around 18.30 hrs today and fled as members of the public watched the scene with an utmost astonishment,” Island Crisis reports.

South Africa: Rethinking customary law

  28 June 2010

Pierre de Vos discusses South African customary law: “When I studied law at Stellenbosch University, we did not study a single aspect of customary law. It was as if customary law (and the millions of people who lived in terms of it) did not exist.”