España – Presidente TC pide fidelidad a la Constitución

Notícias
El presidente del Tribunal Constitucional (TC), Francisco Pérez de los Cobos, ha destacado este miércoles durante la toma de posesión del magistrado Roberto Enríquez el principio de fidelidad a la Constitución como básico de nuestro sistema jurídico y ha subrayado que éste «exige que todos los poderes públicos» deban «abstenerse de adoptar decisiones o realizar actos que perjudiquen al interés general». Pérez de los Cobos ha realizado estas manifestaciones ante el ministro del Interior, Jorge Fernández-Díaz; el presidente del Tribunal Supremo, Carlos Lesmes, magistrados y exmagistrados del tribunal de garantías; el fiscal general del Estado, Eduardo Torres-Dulce, el presidente del Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid, Francisco Vieira, el secretario de Estado de Justicia, Fernando Román y numerosos vocales del Consejo General del Poder Judicial (CGPJ).   En palabras del…
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España – Captar imágenes de la vida privada para aportarlas como prueba en un juicio no vulnera el derecho a la propia imagen, según el TS

Notícias
La Sala Primera del TS ha dictaminado que captar fotografías de una persona sin su consentimiento en lugares públicos y en momentos de su vida diaria, para aportarlas como prueba documental en un juicio de faltas con el fin de acreditar que no se encontraba impedida para comparecer en el juicio, no supone una intromisión ilegítima en el derecho a la propia imagen. Así lo señala en una sentencia de la que es ponente el presidente de dicha Sala, Francisco Marín Castán, que comienza reiterando la doctrina sobre los criterios de ponderación judicial en caso de conflicto entre derechos fundamentales, en particular, cuando uno de los derechos afectados es el derecho a la propia imagen.   Este derecho – dice literalmente la sentencia- “garantiza un ámbito privativo de la propia…
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USA – Minnesota high court reverses conviction for encouraging suicide

Notícias
[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Minnesota [official website] ruled [text, PDF] Wednesday that part of a Minnesota statute prohibiting the advising or encouraging of suicide is unconstitutional. The court overturned the conviction of William Melchert-Dinkel, who was convicted in 2011 of two counts of aiding suicide, after a judge found he "intentionally advised and encouraged" two individuals, one in Canada and one England, to commit suicide. The court found that the terms "advises" and "encourages" within Minn. Stat. § 609.215[text] which makes it illegal to "intentionally advise, encourage, or assist another in taking the other's own life," were unconstitutional in violation of the First Amendment [text, LII backgrounder]. The court upheld the "assist" portion of the law concluding "that the proscription against 'assist[ing]' another in taking the other's own life is narrowly drawn to serve the State's compelling…
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UK – High court rejects challenge to legal aid

Notícias
  The justice secretary's decision to cut legal aid for prisoners is a matter of political judgment, even if inmates "suffer serious adverse effects", the high court has ruled.   Dismissing an appeal by the Howard League for Penal Reform and the Prisoners' Advice Service, judges said they could not overturn decisions made by Chris Grayling, who is also lord chancellor, as part of his efforts to save £220m a year from criminal legal aid.   Lady Justice Rafferty and Mr Justice Cranston, sitting in London, said: "We can well understand the concerns ventilated through these claims. A range of impressive commentators have argued that the changes to criminal legal aid for prison law … will have serious adverse effects for prisoners. But we simply cannot see, at least at this point in…
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EU – Surrogacy mothers not entitled to maternity leave, EU court rules

Notícias
  Mothers who bring up babies born through surrogacy agreements are not entitled to maternity leave, the European court of justice (ECJ) has ruled.   The surprise decision is a setback for a British NHS worker and an Irish teacher who brought claims, but will not affect the UK government's promise of more generous terms in future.   The court said the EU's pregnant workers directive was designed only to help workers who had recently given birth, but added that members states were "free to apply more favourable rules for the benefit of commissioning mothers".   Under the Children & Families Act, from next year British mothers who raise children delivered through surrogacy arrangements will be given the right to paid leave.   The ECJ said: "EU law does not require that…
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USA – Feinstein accuses CIA of ‘intimidating’ Senate staff over torture report

Notícias
  The chairwoman of the Senate intelligence committee, Dianne Feinstein, on Tuesday accused the Central Intelligence Agency of a catalogue of cover-ups, intimidation and smears aimed at investigators probing its role in an “un-American and brutal” programme of post-9/11 detention and interrogation.   In a bombshell statement on the floor of the US Senate, Feinstein, normally an administration loyalist, accused the CIA of potentially violating the US constitution and of criminal activity in its attempts to obstruct her committee’s investigations into the agency’s use of torture. She described the crisis as a “defining moment” for political oversight of the US intelligence service.   Her unprecedented public assault on the CIA represented an intensification of the row between the committee and the agency over a still-secret report on the torture of…
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USA – Administrative judge strikes down FAA ban on commercial drones

Notícias
[JURIST] An administrative judge for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) [official website], Patrick Geraghty [official profile] dismissed [text, PDF] a fine brought by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) [official website] against a drone operator Thursday. The ruling effectively strikes down [Politico report] the FAA's bans on the use of commercial drones put in place in 2007. Geraghty found that the ban was not enforceable because the FAA did not comport with an official rule-making process before it issued the rule. With this decision, it is now legal to use drones at a low altitude for commercial purposes. On Friday the FAA announced their intent to appeal [Reuters report] the decision in order to maintain safety for airliners. The FAA stated [press release] that its appeal "will have the effect of staying the decision" until the independent safety board decides on the case. Drone…
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España – Jueces para la Democracia cree que ‘el test de la verdad’ vulnera derechos «fundamentales» de personas imputadas

Notícias
El portavoz nacional de Jueces para la Democracia, Joaquim Bosch, ha considerado este viernes que la prueba de 'Potencial Evocado Cognitivo P300' o 'test de la verdad' puede vulnerar derechos «fundamentales» como el derecho a no declarar contra uno mismo de una persona imputada o su derecho a la intimidad, dado que se accede a sus recuerdos a través de este análisis. En su opinión, la prueba «no debería admitirse contra la voluntad» del imputado y, aún estando de acuerdo en someterse a ella, ha dudado de que «pueda servir como prueba de cargo» para condenar a una persona, para apreciar que debería abrirse un debate sobre «si cualquier injerencia externa en el ámbito de los recuerdos de una persona resultaría admisible desde el punto de vista de la protección…
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España – El Gobierno establece la nueva prueba de acceso a las profesiones de abogado y procurador de los tribunales

Notícias
  El BOE de hoy publica el Real Decreto 150/2014, por el que se modifica el Reglamento de la Ley 34/2006, sobre acceso a las profesiones de abogado y procurador de los tribunales, para establecer los criterios por los que se realizará la prueba que capacitará para el ejercicio de ambas profesiones, tal como ayer aprobó el Consejo de Ministros.   Dicha ley estimó necesario adquirir una cualificación profesional más allá de la sola obtención de una titulación universitaria tanto para la consecución del título profesional de abogado (quien presta asistencia letrada bajo esa denominación) como el de procurador (que ejerce la representación procesal de las partes en los procesos judiciales).   Ese proceso de capacitación profesional se adquiere mediante la superación de una formación especializada a través de la realización…
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USA – Obama Raises U.S. Supreme Court at Fundraiser

Notícias
  President Barack Obama told Democratic donors Wednesday that U.S. Supreme Court nominations hang in the balance of this year's midterm elections.   Speaking at a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fundraiser, Obama linked the party's goal—keeping control of the Senate—to a number of policy issues and to who might eventually sit on the nation's highest court.   "If you care about women getting equal pay for equal work or having control over their health care decisions, or who is in the Supreme Court determining those laws, you better hope Democrats stay in the Senate," Obama said at the fundraiser in Virginia, according to a White House transcript.   "If you care about making sure that we’re investing in early childhood education and continuing to reform our schools to make them serve…
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