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  El ministro de Justicia, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, ha manifestado a través de una carta dirigida a la vicepresidenta de la Comisión Europea y comisaria de Justicia, Viviane Reding, su apoyo a la propuesta legislativa de crear una Fiscalía Europea, adoptada el pasado día de 17 de julio por el Colegio de Comisarios.   Ruíz-Gallardón expresa su satisfacción ante "la creación de este órgano vital para la lucha contra el crimen transfronterizo grave dentro de la Unión Europea", medida que España ha defendido de manera decisiva desde su inclusión en el artículo 86 del Tratado de Lisboa.   "Siempre hemos defendido –explica el ministro en la misiva- un modelo de Fiscalía que sea eficaz como paso lógico y obligado para la construcción de un verdadero espacio judicial europeo que, desde el…

  El Consejo General del Poder Judicial (CGPJ) ha remitido a las Cortes una lista de 53 candidatos para su renovación.   En esta ocasión existe una media de cinco candidatos por puesto, según ha destacado el secretario de Estado de Justicia, Fernando Román, cuyas propuestas han sido analizadas formalmente por la Junta Electoral antes de ser remitidas al Congreso y al Senado, que tendrán que elegir a los nuevos vocales antes del próximo 24 de septiembre, que es cuando concluye el mandato del actual órgano.   La Junta Electoral ha comprobado previamente si todos los candidatos cumplen los requisitos formales, como encontrarse en activo, estar avalados por una asociación judicial o por más de 25 jueces en activo y que los avalistas no hayan respaldado a más de 12…

  The detention under anti-terrorism legislation of the partner of the Guardian journalist who exposed mass email surveillance by the US government has been widely condemned as unlawful.   Newspaper editors, human rights lawyers and civil liberties campaigners said David Miranda's detention and questioning was a gross abuse of the Terrorism Act 2000, which despite its scope was never meant to be used as a licence for extracting information.   A pernicious feature of the act was that individuals were required to answer questions with no legal advice, targeting people at their most vulnerable, they said.   Gareth Peirce, a leading human rights lawyer who has been heavily involved in many cases under the 2000 statute, said: "However widely the authorities try to construe the act, and however widely they use and abuse its…

  A  COMISSÃO DE SEGURANÇA PÚBLICA E COMBATE AO CRIME ORGANIZADO realiza AUDIÊNCIA PÚBLICA em 20/8/2013 às 14h, para debater o Projeto de Lei nº 5.776/2013, que "Dispõe sobre a investigação criminal e dá outras providências", e seus apensados,  tendo como convidados:   - José Eduardo Cardozo, Ministro de Estado da Justiça; - Ministro Joaquim Barbosa, Presidente do Conselho Nacional de Justiça; - Marcello Paranhos de Oliveira Miller, Procurador da República no Estado do Rio de Janeiro, representando o Ministério Público Federal (confirmado); - Eunice Pereira Amorim Carvalhido, Presidente do Conselho Nacional dos Procuradores-Gerais - CNPG; - Fernando Segóvia, Vice Corregedor Geral da Polícia Federal, representando o Delegado Leandro Daiello Coimbra, Diretor-Geral do Departamento de Polícia Federal; e - Jorge Luiz Xavier, Diretor-Geral da Polícia Civil do Distrito Federal (confirmado). (Requerimento:…

BHP said on Friday that the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice had notified the group "of the issues they consider could form the basis of enforcement actions and discussions are continuing". The issues "relate primarily to matters in connection with previously terminated exploration and development efforts, as well as hospitality provided as part of the company's sponsorship of the 2008 Beijing Olympics", the miner said. It said: "BHP Billiton is fully committed to operating with integrity and the group's policies specifically prohibit engaging in unethical conduct. BHP Billiton has what it considers to be a world class anti-corruption compliance programme." The miner has been under investigation by the SEC for four years. Reports earlier this year in Australia said that instead of using the Olympics affiliation…

[JURIST] Antitrust officials for the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] on Tuesday filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] seeking to block the proposed $11 billion merger between US Airways and American Airlines' parent company, AMR Corporation [corporate websites]. The lawsuit challenges a merger that would have created the world's largest commercial air carrier and would have put 86 percent of US air travel in the hands of four big airlines. In a statement [press release, PDF] released by the DOJ, US Attorney General Eric Holder [official website] argued that the merger would substantially lessen competition for commercial air travel in local markets throughout the US and result in passengers paying higher airfares and receiving less service: Airline travel is vital to millions of American consumers who fly regularly for either business…

Move over, mistresses. Corrupt officials in China have another reason to be afraid: reporters with Weibo accounts. Last week Liu Tienan, former deputy head of China’s top economic planning body, was expelled from the Communist Party and removed from public office. China’s Ministry of Inspection said (in Chinese) that Mr. Liu “took advantage of his position to seek profits for others, and both Liu and his family accepted a huge amount of bribes.” While such cases are common, Ms. Liu’s fall attracted attention because he first fell under criticism by a reporter using a personal account on the Sina Weibo microblogging service. Luo Changping, the deputy chief editor of the independent magazine Caijing, alleged on his verified account in December that Mr. Liu cheated domestic banks, kept a mistress and listed…

AUSTIN — As the dust settles on the 83rd Texas Legislature, open government advocates are applauding new laws they say leverage evolving technology to increase access and shine light on all levels of government for both residents and officials. “I think it was a really good session for transparency in government. It was kind of the buzzword of the session,” said Donnis Baggett, executive vice president of Texas Press Association. Next month, Texas will become the first state allowing officials at all levels of government in the state to communicate with colleagues between official meetings — which has previously been banned — using an Internet message board maintained by the governing body. The online forum will be accessible to the public and content will be archived for six years and searchable. “The…

THE government needs to take a "hard-line approach" in dealing with corruption and financial misconduct in the public service by, among other steps, blacklisting and instituting criminal and civil proceedings against officials found guilty of financial misconduct, a forensics investigator said on Monday. Corruption and financial misconduct is rampant in the public service. The government has taken drastic measures such as naming and shaming corrupt officials. In June this year, Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Jeff Radebe published the names of 42 people convicted of fraud and corruption and promised to release many more. The Public Service Commission recently published findings showing that financial misconduct in the public service had grown rapidly over the past three years. Financial misconduct grew from R100m in 2008-09 to R346m in 2009-10 and soared…

Um olhar para o passado, reflexões sobre o presente e a construção do futuro da Constituição Federal. Esta é a discussão proposta pelo seminário 25 Anos da Constituição Cidadã, que será realizado entre os dias 4 e 6 de setembro, no auditório externo do Superior Tribunal de Justiça (STJ), em Brasília. A participação é gratuita e as inscrições podem ser feitas até 23 de agosto, no site do Conselho da Justiça Federal (CJF). O evento é uma promoção do Centro de Estudos Judiciários (CEJ) do CJF.   O Painel I do seminário, “A História”, tratará do passado. O Painel II, “A Efetividade da Constituição”, discutirá o presente. E o Painel III, dedicado ao futuro, terá como tema “Os Novos Desafios”.   O seminário será aberto pelo corregedor-geral da Justiça Federal e diretor do…