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Venezuela court: Chavez swearing-in can be delayed
Lawyer News |
2013/01/14 22:51
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Venezuela's Supreme Court chief on Wednesday endorsed putting off President Hugo Chavez's inauguration, siding with the government in a heated dispute with the opposition while the ailing leader struggles with complications a month after cancer surgery in Cuba.
Supreme Court President Luisa Estella Morales made the statement after the opposition urged the top court to rule that the government was violating the constitution by delaying the swearing-in for a new term, which had been scheduled for Thursday. Lawmakers voted Tuesday to delay the ceremony, allowing Chavez to take the oath of office at an unspecified later date before the Supreme Court.
Morales also said the Supreme Court hasn't considered appointing a panel of doctors, as opposition politicians have demanded, to evaluate whether Chavez is fit to remain in office after remaining out of public view since before his Dec. 11 operation.
Her announcement seemed to pre-empt any opposition attempt to challenge the postponed inauguration. She announced the decision saying the inauguration can be performed before the Supreme Court, at a time and place to be determined.
"We know it's necessary, and undoubtedly the inauguration is going to be carried out, but at this time we can't anticipate when," Morales told reporters at a news conference.
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles condemned the Supreme Court's endorsement of delaying the inauguration. "Institutions should not respond to the interests of a government," he said at a news conference. |
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Indian court to rule on generic drug industry
Headline Topics |
2013/01/08 21:27
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From Africa's crowded AIDS clinics to the malarial jungles of Southeast Asia, the lives of millions of ill people in the developing world are hanging in the balance ahead of a legal ruling that will determine whether India's drug companies can continue to provide cheap versions of many life-saving medicines.
The case — involving Swiss drug maker Novartis AG's cancer drug Glivec — pits aid groups that argue India plays a vital role as the pharmacy to the poor against drug companies that insist they need strong patents to make drug development profitable. A ruling by India's Supreme Court is expected in early 2013.
"The implications of this case reach far beyond India, and far beyond this particular cancer drug," said Leena Menghaney, from the aid group Doctors Without Borders. "Across the world, there is a heavy dependence on India to supply affordable versions of expensive patented medicines."
With no costs for developing new drugs or conducting expensive trials, India's $26 billion generics industry is able to sell medicine for as little as one-tenth the price of the companies that developed them, making India the second-largest source of medicines distributed by UNICEF in its global programs.
Indian pharmaceutical companies such as Cipla, Cadila Laboratories and Lupin have emerged over the past decade as major sources of generic cancer, malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS drugs for poor countries that can't afford to pay Western prices.
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Canada's high court upholds anti-terror law
Topics |
2012/12/19 00:01
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The Supreme Court of Canada unanimously ruled Friday that the country's anti-terror law is constitutional in a series of decisions that affirm how terrorism is defined in the Criminal Code.
The court in a 7-0 ruling rejected constitutional challenges brought by three men, including Momin Khawaja, the first person charged under the anti-terror law that was passed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. Khawaja was convicted of collaborating with a group of Britons in a thwarted 2004 bomb plot in London.
The rulings also upheld the extradition order against Suresh Sriskandarajah and Piratheepan Nadarajah. Both men can now be sent to the U.S. to face charges of supporting the Tamil Tigers, a Sri Lanka group vying to establish an independent ethnic Tamil state, which many have called a terrorist organization. U.S. prosecutors allege the two men tried to purchase $1 million worth of guns and rockets for the group. |
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Firm settles with W.Va. AG over mortgage case
Headline Court News |
2012/12/10 23:04
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A Texas law firm has reached an agreement with West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw to resolve a case stemming from a national mortgage settlement.
Officials said Wednesday that Murray LLP has agreed to stop offering services in West Virginia to help homeowners receive benefits from a settlement between lenders and states.
Claim forms already were sent to more than 5,000 West Virginians who lost their homes to foreclosure eligible for payments under the settlement.
McGraw had sued the company earlier this month for allegedly charging fees to consumers for completing the claim form.
Officials say the company has agreed it would not represent or collect payments from West Virginia consumers in relation to the settlement. |
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