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[JURIST] A UN spokesperson said Monday that the UN plans to contact the US government about reports that the National Security Agency (NSA) [official website] hacked UN internal communications. The UN said that international treaties protect its offices and all diplomatic missions from interference, spying and eavesdropping. The German magazine Der Spiegel [media website, in German] reported [text, in German] Sunday that the NSA was able to monitor UN communications after it decoded the UN's internal video conferencing system last year. Der Spiegel referenced the classified documents that were stolen by former NSA worker Edward Snowden [JURIST profile], who has currently been granted asylum in Russia. According to Der Spriegel, the documents reveal that in addition to bugging the New York headquarters of the UN, the NSA has a surveillance program called the "Special Collection Service" [Reuters report], which has bugged over…

  The US has issued the strongest signal yet that it intends to take military action against Syria, as the US secretary of state, John Kerry, said on Monday it was "undeniable" that chemical weapons had been used in the country and vowed to respond.   In a powerful statement that gave every impression that the White House is moving towards some form of armed intervention, Kerry said PresidentBashar al-Assad's forces had committed a "moral obscenity" against his own people.   "Make no mistake," Kerry said. "President Obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world's most heinous weapon against the world's most vulnerable most people. Nothing today is more serious, and nothing is receiving more serious scrutiny".   The White House immediately echoed Kerry's comments, and said…

  A "modern slavery" bill that tightens the laws on human trafficking will be introduced in an attempt to eradicate an "evil in our midst", Theresa Mayhas announced.   The home secretary said that prosecution rates for human trafficking were still "shockingly low" across Europe and that an overhaul of the law was needed as there was still some uncertainty over which agencies should be tackling the problem.   The bill, which will be introduced before the current session of parliament ends next spring, will consolidate and toughen existing anti-trafficking legislation.   New trafficking prevention orders, modelled on sexual offence prevention orders, will be introduced, allowing the courts to impose restrictions on the ability of offenders to own a company, visit certain areas or work with women or young children after their release.…

El Consejo General del Poder Judicial (CGPJ) ha suspendido cautelarmente al juez del Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Cataluña (TSJC) Joaquín José Ortiz Blasco imputado por su presunta relación con la trama para la concesión irregular de licencias de ITV en Cataluña, según ha informado el TSJC. El Tribunal Supremo ha recibido otro informe sobre otro juez del TSJC al que la Fiscalía también acusa de haber asesorado a un empresario imputado en este mismo proceso, según publica este miércoles 'El Periódico'.   Al magistrado Joaquín José Ortiz Blasco se le concedió a finales de junio el traslado a la plaza del Registro Civil central número 2 de Madrid, aunque tras la suspensión, está apartado de todas sus funciones a la espera del juicio oral.   El Supremo abrió una…

La reforma del Código Penal que actualmente está ‘cocinando’ por el ministro de Justicia, Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, endurece las penas por realizar apología del fascismo o del nazismo, comportamientos que habrían protagonizado algunos jóvenes del PP valenciano recientemente, según informa hoy  el diario ‘Levante’. En concreto, anteproyecto de ley castiga la “trivialización” y el “enaltecimiento” de las conductas xenófobas con sanciones de entre 6 meses y 4 años de prisión.     Según explica Álvaro García Ortiz, presidente de la Unión Progresista de Fiscales (UPF), al diario ‘Levante’, en la actualidad, el Código Penal de 1995 tipifica estos delitos en sus artículos 510 y 607, aunque su enunciado es muy “ambiguo” y de “amplia interpretación”. Pero con la nueva normativa aprobada ya por el Consejo de Ministros y a punto…

  Police use of data seized from the partner of the Guardian journalist who exposed mass digital surveillance by US and UK spy agencies was partially and temporarily curtailed on Thursday by the high court.   Lord Justice Beatson and Judge Kenneth Parker issued an injunction blocking the government from using or sharing material seized fromDavid Miranda at Heathrow on Sunday in a criminal investigation – half an hour after a Metropolitan police lawyer announced the force had launched such an investigation.   Jonathan Laidlaw QC, appearing for the Met, said the data Miranda was taking to Brazil for his partner, Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, contained "highly sensitive material the disclosure of which would be gravely injurious to public safety". There were tens of thousands of pages of digital material, he said.…

  AMR Corp.’s American Airlines and US Airways Group Inc. (LCC) are seeking a trial of the government’s lawsuit to block their $12.1 billion merger as early as Nov. 12, while the Justice Department is pushing for a February date.   A February trial would “cause serious harm and cannot be justified,” the airlines said in a joint filing yesterday. The carriers and the department asked U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington for a hearing to resolve the dispute over timing.   “The parties’ urgency to complete their transaction is far greater here than in ordinary merger cases,” the airlines said. “American’s ongoing bankruptcy proceedings compound the costs and uncertainties associated with the delays caused by the government’s lawsuit, including approximately $500,000 in bankruptcy-related professional fees alone every day that the bankruptcy continues.”   The suit is…