(Jan. 15, 2021) On December 8, 2020, Jamaica’s House of Representatives passed amendments to the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1948, and the Evidence Act, 1843. If enacted, the amendments would introduce new procedures for securing and disposing of drugs seized in connection with drug crimes and enable the admission of drug samples and recorded images as […]
Topic: Controlled substances, Crime and law enforcement, Criminal procedure, Discovery and evidence, Drug trafficking, Law enforcement officers, Legislative process, Police power, Trials and court proceedings
(Jan. 15, 2021) On December 14, 2020, the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) passed legislation to remove guardianship from a parent of a minor child when the parent has been convicted of the murder or attempted murder of the child’s other parent or the parent’s other children, or of raping or sodomizing any of the parent’s children. […]
Topic: Child custody, Child support, Child welfare, Children, Crime and law enforcement, Crimes against children, Domestic violence, Families, Family services, Sex offenses
(Jan. 14, 2021) On November 23, 2020, the Iraqi Council of Representatives (parliament) finished reading and discussing a new anti-cybercrimes bill. The bill identifies a number of acts as cybercrimes and establishes penalties for them. While discussing the provisions of the bill, members of the parliament called for striking a balance between the crimes cited […]
Topic: Crime and law enforcement, Crime prevention, Crimes against the state, Cybercrime, Electronic surveillance
(Jan. 11, 2021) On December 16, 2020, the Egyptian cabinet approved a proposed addition to the penal code concerning the criminalization of video and audio recordings of criminal trial hearings. Additionally, the Egyptian Parliament in September 2020 passed two laws introducing the new crimes of (1) bullying and (2) conducting foreign currency exchanges outside credited […]
Topic: Crime and law enforcement, Crime prevention, Criminal code, Harassment, Money laundering, Sentencing, Terrorism
(Jan. 5, 2021) On November 26, 2020, the Italian Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional a provision in Presidential Decree No. 309 of October 9, 1990, that allows police to conduct searches and seizures in illegal drug cases without previous authorization from a magistrate. (Decision No. 252 of November 26, 2020 (in Italian).) Article 103, paragraph 3 […]
Topic: Constitutional courts, Constitutional law, Controlled substances, Criminal code, Discovery and evidence, Drug trafficking, Judicial powers, Law enforcement officers, Police power, Right of privacy, Separation of powers, State and local courts
(Dec. 3, 2020) On July 9, 2020, Qatar’s minister of justice issued a regulation laying out lawyers’ legal obligations when developing an anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing program and policies for the lawyers’ organization. Minister of Justice Regulation No. 24 of 2020 was published in Qatar’s Official Gazette following the ratification of the draft by […]
Topic: Banks and financial institutions, Financial services, Fraud and financial crimes, International organizations, Money laundering, Terrorism, Treaties and International Agreements/Terrorism
(Dec. 2, 2020) On November 13, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence of Mahyoub Molhi Mohamed Houtar for international parental kidnapping under the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act (IPKCA) and for passport fraud. (United States v. Houtar, New York, No. 19-3627, slip op. (Nov. 13, 2020).) […]
Topic: Child custody, Crime and law enforcement, Due process, Judicial review and appeals
(Nov. 10, 2020) On September 3, 2020, the Austrian federal chancellor’s office published and introduced to the National Council (the lower house of the Austrian Parliament) a draft bill to fight hate on social media and to protect communication platform users. The Draft Federal Act on Measures to Protect Users on Communication Platforms (English translation) […]
Topic: Civil law, Crime and law enforcement, Freedom of speech, Internet, Legislative process, Social media
(Nov. 2, 2020) On July 22, 2020, a 19-year-old college student became the first person in Japan to be arrested for submitting false information and fraudulently receiving COVID-19 subsidy money intended for small- and medium-sized companies and freelancers. Later, on October 22, 2020, five people in their 20s who had taught the college student how […]
Topic: Commerce, Crime and law enforcement, Emergency management, Epidemics, Fraud and financial crimes, Infectious and parasitic diseases, Public health, Small business
(Oct. 28, 2020) In a decision of October 2, 2020, the Conseil constitutionnel (Constitutional Council), France’s high court for constitutional questions, found that the absence of judicial recourse for persons under arrest to challenge their conditions of incarceration is unconstitutional. This decision was given in response to two questions prioritaires de constitutionalité (QPC) (priority question […]
Topic: Correctional facilities and imprisonment, Criminal procedure, Detention, Human rights and civil liberties, Prisoners' rights
