First International Principles and Guidelines on Indigent Defense

Recognizing that criminal legal aid – or indigent defense – “is an essential element of a fair, humane and efficient criminal justice system that is based on the rule of law,” the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (the UN Crime Commission) adopted the first international principles and guidelines on indigent defense at its recently concluded 21st session. The United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems affirm the importance of legal aid at all stages of the criminal justice system.

In summary, the UN Guidelines call for international standards of basic due process rights for the criminally accused including the right to legal aid, the right to have a fair and public hearing, and speedy trial. Here is an excerpt from the preamble. The General Assembly, Recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,1 which enshrines the key principles of equality before the law and the presumption of innocence, as well as the right to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, established by law, along with all the guarantees necessary for the defence of anyone charged with a penal offence, other minimum guarantees and the entitlement to be tried without undue delay, Recalling also the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,2 in particular article 14, which states that everyone charged with a criminal offence shall be entitled to be tried in his or her presence and to defend him or herself in person or through legal assistance of his or her own choosing or assigned to him or her where the interests of justice so require, in a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law.

Need News From Egypt? Try Twitter:

Full article here:

Update: Egypt’s Internet is suffering major outages, the Associated Press is reporting. A major Internet provider in the country is saying no Internet traffic is going in or out of the country.

Protests in Egypt are expected to intensify with opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei’s return to Cairo, and reports of Twitter and Facebook being blocked inside the country by Egyptian authorities continue to surface through the social networks themselves, and according to HerdictWeb. Users are also reporting that SMS – short message service – is being blocked as well.

Though it does appear that both Twitter and Facebook are still being blocked, many users are bypassing the blocks through proxy servers and third-party apps. Here is how they’re doing it.
Mobile & Third-Party Apps

Social mobile applications like Blackberry for Twitter or UberTwitter are still working for users in the country. Also, users are employing third-party apps like TweetDeck and HootSuite to update their Twitter and Facebook accounts.

HootSuite Chief Technology Officer Simon Stanlake said that though prior users are able to access Twitter and Facebook from their site, new users wouldn’t be able to authenticate new accounts because it requires hitting Twitter.com. He said their iPhone application doesn’t require a web authentication, so new HootSuite users are accessing the site through their mobile app.

Roman Polanski: Lolita Lives

In a shocking ruling Monday, a Swiss Court ruled that Roman Polanski would not have to return to the United States and that he would no longer be detained on house arrest. In a stunning ruling, Swiss authorities rejected a United States' request for his extradition to return to answer for a warrant on a 32-year-old sex conviction. Full story here.

In justifying the decision, Switzerland also invoked what it called the “public order” — a lofty notion meaning that governments should ensure their citizens are safe from arbitrary abuse of the law.
The Justice Ministry cited the fact that U.S. authorities hadn’t pursued Polanski in Switzerland previously, even though he’s often visited the country and bought a house here in 2006. It also stressed that the victim, Samantha Geimer, who long ago publicly identified herself, has joined in Polanski’s bid for dismissal.
The acclaimed director of “Rosemary’s Baby,” “Chinatown” and “The Pianist” was accused of plying his victim with champagne and part of a Quaalude during a 1977 modeling shoot and raping her. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy, but pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse.
In exchange, the judge agreed to drop the remaining charges and sentence him to prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation. However, he was released after 42 days by an evaluator who deemed him mentally sound and unlikely to offend again.
The judge responded by saying he was going to send Polanski back to jail for the remainder of the 90 days and that afterward he would ask Polanski to agree to a “voluntary deportation.” Polanski then fled the country on the eve of his Feb. 1, 1978, sentencing.

UN World Drug Report

In "Myths About High Times in America" that appeared in the Washington Post, Ryan Grim discusses the 5 myths of drugs and drug use. Perhaps most interesting is number 4:
4. In foreign countries, legalization has been disastrous.

First, no country has ever completely legalized drugs, not since global treaties were signed a century ago ushering in prohibition. In Holland, drug laws are still on the books, but a social pact between the government and the people keeps shops from getting busted.

Portugal became the first European country to abolish drug laws when it repealed criminal penalties for pot, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine in 2001. The world freaked: The United Nations suggested that the new law could be a treaty violation and would lead to crime, a spike in addiction and a rise in "drug tourism." But the country didn't fully legalize. People caught with drugs still had to go to a magistrate and face a small penalty. But they wouldn't go to jail.

Now the United Nations is lauding Portugal. In its most recent World Drug Report, it says, "These conditions keep drugs out of the hands of those who would avoid them under a system of full prohibition, while encouraging treatment, rather than incarceration, for users." The report also noted that the policy had not led to an increase in drug tourism and that "a number of drug-related problems have decreased."

The UN World Drug Report (available here) gives a full overview of the International Drug Market since 1909 when the international community met to discuss the Shanghai Opium problem. Given that Congress has several bills to consider how we are dealing with drugs in America, the report has some interesting charts and statistics.

March 10th Statement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

An excerpt from His Holiness the Dalai Lama March 10, 2009 Statement (full statement here):

Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the Tibetan people’s peaceful uprising against Communist China’s repression in Tibet. Since last March widespread peaceful protests have erupted across the whole of Tibet....

Looking back on 50 years in exile, we have witnessed many ups and downs. However, the fact that the Tibet issue is alive and the international community is taking growing interest in it is indeed an achievement. Seen from this perspective, I have no doubt that the justice of Tibet's cause will prevail, if we continue to tread the path of truth and non-violence.

As we commemorate 50 years in exile, it is most important that we express our deep gratitude to the governments and peoples of the various host countries in which we live. Not only do we abide by the laws of these host countries, but we also conduct ourselves in a way that we become an asset to these countries. Similarly, in our efforts to realize the cause of Tibet and uphold its religion and culture, we should craft our future vision and strategy by learning from our past experience.

I always say that we should hope for the best, and prepare for the worst. Whether we look at it from the global perspective or in the context of events in China, there are reasons for us to hope for a quick resolution of the issue of Tibet. However, we must also prepare ourselves well in case the Tibetan struggle goes on for a long time. For this, we must focus primarily on the education of our children and the nurturing of professionals in various fields. We should also raise awareness about the environment and health, and improve understanding and practice of non-violent methods among the general Tibetan population.

May all sentient beings live in peace and happiness!

The Dalai Lama

10 March 2009

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50 Years Tibetan Uprising

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CIA World Factbook

While looking at three lettered agencies, I found the CIA's "". It has information on all countries including maps, economics, social information, government and more. It includes information on crime, illicit drugs, a description of courts, and legal systems. Handy when doing international research. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Celebrating International Human Rights Day

Sixty years ago today the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed. We still have a long way to go to make human rights a reality for everyone worldwide.

On this significant anniversary, people will be gathering together in hundreds of places all over the globe, to light a candle, fire or flame as part of a mass demonstration. On Human Rights Day, stand up for human rights and show your solidarity with people all over the world who are committed to making human rights a reality for everyone. For more information click here.

Suited and Booted

From The Economist:

A former Soviet military-intelligence officer, stranded in Africa by the collapse of his country, turns to gun running and builds a lucrative international business. It is the sort of outfit that thrives on pointless wars in failed, dirt-poor places. But it also plays a part in some bigger conflicts. Its list of past customers includes the world's best-known terrorist groups, such as al-Qaeda and Colombia's FARC—and Western governments too. Efforts to round up the man at the centre of this web are frustrated, sometimes by bad luck, and sometimes apparently by squabbles in the rich world between those who want to prosecute and those who protect him.

Full story here.