Drowsy Driving Made Illegal

US — New Jersey is the first state in the nation to have specifically listed going without sleep as a crime. Under Maggie’s Law, prosecutor’s would be able to charge a motorist with vehicular homicide, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a US$100,000 fine in the event of a deadly crash if there is evidence the accident was caused by sleepiness.

The law became effective last month and was named after a 20-year-old college student who was killed by a van driver who hadn’t slept for 30 hours. A recent study had estimated that 51% of motorists feel drowsy behind the wheel and two out of 10 had fallen asleep while driving in the past year. (Source: www.cnn.com)

Refugee Families May be Kept Apart by New Rules

Geneva — A new set of European Union rules on family reunification has come under criticism by the UNHCR saying that the rules discriminate against certain categories of refugees and could keep families apart.

Under the new rules, family reunions can be denied on grounds of public policy, public security and public health. Raymond Hall, director of UNHCR’s Europe Bureau commented that ‘the problem is that “public policy”, in particular, is a very vague term that could be easily used to keep families apart without any real justification.’ The new directive also contains a narrow definition of a family unit. A refugee may be reunited with his or her spouse and minor children but not with adult children, elderly parents or other close relatives.

There are also no reunion rights for those who fled due to generalised violence or indiscriminate bombardment during a civil war instead of due to individual persecution. This would mean, for example, the majority of Bosnians who fled during the incessant bombing of Bosnian cities would have no right to family reunion. (Source: www.unhcr.ch)

Directors to Face New Set of Risks With Rise in Corporate Governance

Hong Kong — Companies here have been warned to start providing liability cover for executives and board members as demands for better corporate governance increases. 90% of senior executives believed that Hong Kong companies could do more to raise the corporate governance standards with 87% also saying that higher standards demanded by shareholders and regulatory authorities had increased liability risk for directors and executives.

The main areas of risk cited were inadequate and inaccurate disclosure of information, mismanagement leading to poor financial performance, dissatisfaction with merger and acquisition activities, dissatisfaction with the extent of family control and influence on management, liability arising from employment practices and finally, defensive tactics used to fend off hostile takeovers. Such a trend meant that companies needed to start providing cover to meet the rising risk. (Source: www.thestandard.com.hk)

Anti-Terror Laws Increasingly Used Against Common Criminals

US — Since the Patriot Act came into force two years ago, the Justice Department has used the authority given to it through this Act to crack down on currency smugglers and seize money hidden overseas by alleged bookies, con artists and drug dealers. Recently, Federal prosecutors used the act in June to file a charge of ‘terrorism using a weapon of mass destruction’ against a Californian man after a pipe bomb blew up in his lap. In another case, a man accused of running a methamphetamine lab was charged with manufacturing chemical weapons and could get 12 years to life in prison for the crime which usually brings about six months. The detention of three US citizens as enemy combatants by government exercising a power not provided for under the Patriot Act but which is available during wartime, has also come under heavy criticism as it allows such an individual to be detained indefinitely without having access to a lawyer.

This has led to complaints and criticisms that the anti-terrorism legislation is being used to go after people who aren’t terrorists. More than 150 local governments have passed resolutions opposing the law as an overly broad threat to constitutional rights. (Source: www.cnn.com)

Prevention of Child Pornography Law Delayed

Hong Kong — The Prevention of Child Pornography Ordinance that the Legislative Council had passed in July, would only become law on 1 January 2004. The Security Bureau had pushed for the bill as a matter of urgent need and now that it has been passed by the Legislative Council, legislators and social activists are baffled by the delay in the Ordinance becoming law.

Currently in Hong Kong, the production of child pornography is illegal but the sale of such material would be hard to prevent without the new laws taking effect. Under the new law, any person who publishes, prints, makes, produces, reproduces, copies, imports or exports any child pornography commits an offence and is liable for a HK$2m fine and eight years in prison. Anyone who possesses such materials would face five years in prison and a HK$1m fine.

Presently, materials containing child pornography are relatively easily available. Although under the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance all obscene materials are prohibited, the sale of such materials has not been hampered. It is in fact a multi-million dollar industry there. The sooner the law on prevention of child pornography comes into effect, the sooner can access to such materials be prevented and those promoting child pornography be made answerable for their crimes. (Source: www.thestandard.com.hk)