Smokers Can Sue
Malaysia — Malaysians suffering ailments caused by smoking will be able to take tobacco companies to court by October.

The landmark right to take these companies to court will come with Malaysia’s ratification of the international Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The Cabinet’s decision last Wednesday to join the 55 countries that have adopted the World Health Organisation-endorsed regulations means a host of new rules for tobacco companies. For example, they will have to list all the ingredients of their products, including the toxic constituents and additives and ensure health warnings cover at least half of the cigarette packet with a graphic illustration of the hazards of smoking.

Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said the Cabinet had directed that the ratification be in place in two months. The FCTC, the first international treaty initiated and adopted by WHO, sets international standards for tobacco controls. Although Malaysia adopted the FCTC along with 191 member states of the World Health Assembly on 21 May 2003, it did not ratify it. The FCTC became international law on 27 February this year, when the 55 nations ratified it. Chua said all FCTC provisions would be included in the Tobacco Control Bill, currently with the Attorney-General’s Chambers. ‘We will also introduce more stringent measures. However, we are already adhering to some of FCTC’s requirements under the Food Act 1983 and the Control of Tobacco Products Regulations 2004.’ (Source: www.nst.com.my)

Fertility Laws Set for Overhaul

UK — Laws governing fertility treatment and embryo research are to be overhauled for the first time in 15 years. Medical professionals and the public will be given until 25 November to submit their views.

The screening of embryos for disease and the creation of ‘designer’ babies to cure sick siblings are among the issues the government wants to debate. Experts say the laws need updating to keep pace with technological advances.

Ministers will ask what should be done with embryos stored after couples undergo IVF treatment but then split up and disagree about their use. The right of parents to choose the gender of their children will also be discussed. Government will also ask who should make decisions about the welfare of the child, such as whether a father figure must be present if someone is to use IVF to conceive — should it be a legal obligation of the clinicians providing the treatment? A crackdown on internet sites selling fresh sperm — not regulated under the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act — will be proposed. How laws should be updated to take into account potential technologies in the future, such as creating sperm and eggs from other bodily cells, will also be questioned.

The role of the independent regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), will also be looked at.

Health Minister Caroline Flint described the 1990 Act as a ‘landmark’ piece of legislation, but accepted that it would need updating. (Source: news.bbc.co.uk)

Encourage Public Views of Laws

China — The ongoing drafting of the Property Law is helping to introduce transparency into China’s policy-making process, experts say. The draft of the Property Law, which has been discussed by the country’s top legislature three times, has been published in full by major media to solicit public opinion after widely diverging views prompted law-makers to postpone its fourth review.

Another 11 laws have been made public in complete draft form to elicit opinion before finally being endorsed since 1949, but none attracted so much attention.

The popularity of the internet, which makes it very easy for citizens to express their views, and the nature of the law, which directly concerns almost everyone’s interests, have certainly contributed.

The transparency of legislation is not only a technical matter but may also be an effective way to curb corruption. Further, legislation mechanism that encourages public participation will make laws more acceptable to citizens, thus making them more easily executable and less controversial.

However, according to the country’s Legislation Law, openness and transparency in legislation is not a mandatory requirement. (Source: www.china.org.cn)

Associate’s Firing Breached Bar Tenet

Connecticut, US — A judge has ruled that a lawyer should not be fired for trying to follow the Rules of Professional Conduct, because doing so constitutes an ‘important public policy’ exception to the employment-at-will doctrine.

New Haven Superior Court Judge Carmen Lopez rejected the arguments of Guilford, Conn.-based Delaney, Zemetis, Donahue, Durham & Noonan, which fired associate Bruce Matzkin after he sought to grieve another lawyer for suspected witness tampering.

‘Because the legal profession is self-regulated and relies upon its members to police itself, no lawyer’s employment should be conditioned upon turning a blind eye to violations of the Rules which are applicable to all lawyers,’ Lopez wrote. (Source: www.law.com)