Organ Theft Laws to be Unveiled

UK ?The Human Tissue Bill proposes a regulating authority to make sure that consent is obtained before organs and tissues are kept by hospitals.

Nationwide checks have revealed that thousands of hearts, brains and other body parts had been retained without permission. The law prompted by a scandal in the 1990s at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital which led to the discovery that often, following the deaths of children in the hospital, the bodies were returned to the parents minus one or more internal organs. This led to second and third burials for the children.

The new law will be used to establish a new body to be known as the Human Tissue Authority, which will replace the Retained Organs Commission due to be closed in April 2004.

The Authority would be in charge of keeping track of taking, retention, use and disposal of human tissue and would also be given the task of approving live donor transplants. (Source: news.bbc.co.uk)

Lawyers Told to Improve Their Own Welfare First

Malaysia ?At the recent 12th Malaysian Law Conference, Minister for International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz, said it was time for legal practitioners to make themselves more competitive as the nation was moving towards greater market liberalisation.

She was quoted as saying ‘instead of having lofty discussions on issues like humanity, cronyism or having a corruption-free country and other idealistic issues, why not look into your own rice bowl.?br>

She also said that further from trying to get the advertising rules relaxed, lawyers should also try to penetrate markets abroad. She opined that in areas related to privatisation and debt restructuring, Malaysian lawyers could promote themselves by offering their expertise to other Asean countries. (Source: www.thestar.com.my)

Mother’s Hope Over Law Change

UK ?Julie Hogg went missing in 1989 and was eventually found murdered. Her boyfriend, Billy Dunlop was charged with her murder, however, juries at two trials failed to reach a verdict and Dunlop was acquitted.

Billy Dunlop later admitted while pleading guilty to perjury that he did indeed kill Julie Hogg. Despite admitting to the killing in court, the double jeopardy rule applied preventing Dunlop from being tried again for murder.

Now the double jeopardy rule has undergone a change and this change has been included in the new Criminal Justice Act which received the Royal Assent in mid-November 2003. Julie Hogg’s mother, Mrs Ming, is hoping that Billy Dunlop would finally be charged with her daughter’s murder.

She was quoted as saying that ‘when Dunlop confessed in court to the perjury, his defence barrister said he had made British legal history, nobody had confessed in a court of law after being acquitted. At that point I realised that there was no test case and so I wrote to the Home Secretary to use this case to set a precedent and change the law retrospectively.?br>

She went on to say ‘for a man to be acquitted and then to be boasting that he had in fact killed your daughter is a nightmare and we have had to live with that because of an 800-year-old law.?(Source: news.bbc.co.uk)

China Signs Investment-Protection Agreements with 106 Nations

China ?The Ministry of Commerce recently announced that China has signed bilateral agreements with 106 nations to protect investment.

The countries comprised 38 in Asia, 34 in Europe, 20 in Africa, five in North America, six in South America, and five in Oceania. China also signed agreements with 81 nations worldwide to avoid dual taxation from investors.

Agreements to protect investment include items like protected investment assets and fair treatment of foreign investors and their businesses, while agreements to avoid double levies deal with the taxation of foreign investors in China and domestic companies and individuals engaging in international business.

The Agreements are meant to make foreign investors feel more secure, create a better investment environment and to strengthened international exchanges in investment, trade, science and technology. (Source: www.china.org.cn)

Supreme Court Lifts Stay in Texas Death Row Case

US ?A divided Supreme Court recently lifted a last-minute stay that had spared a condemned Texas inmate from the death chamber.

The court decided 5? to allow Texas to resume plans to execute Kevin Lee Zimmerman, who had challenged one of the drugs used to carry out the death penalty. Zimmerman was to be put to death in early December for the fatal stabbing and robbery at a motel in 1987. Twenty minutes prior to being administered with the fatal drug, Zimmerman received a reprieve through Justice Scalia who wanted to give the High Court more time to look at the case.

Zimmerman and other inmates in Texas death row had sued claiming the use of pancuronium bromide ?a drug that paralyses muscles ?in executions was cruel and unusual punishment. Recently the American Veterinary Medical Association had banned the combination of a sedative with a neuromuscular blocking agent contending that the euthanasia practice was unfit for animals.

The lethal injection used to carry out the death sentence in Texas uses almost the similar form of drugs as that banned by the American Veterinary Medical Association. Zimmerman and the other inmates claim was that a practice considered unfit for dogs should not be used on humans. (Source: www.ccn.com)