Africa rights court judge nomination process slammed for lack of transparency News
Africa rights court judge nomination process slammed for lack of transparency

[JURIST] The Coalition for an Effective African Court on Human and People's Rights [advocacy website], an NGO based in South Africa, on Saturday criticized the process of nominating judges [press release, DOC] to the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights during the ongoing African Union [official website] summit in Khartoum, Sudan. The coalition said that the nomination process lacked transparency and that several of the judicial candidates did not have adequate experience in human rights [JURIST news archive]. The coalition argues that the AU commission should be responsible for nominating judges to the court, rather than the member states. The protocol [text] for establishing the court came into effect last January and African leaders are expected to appoint judges to the court [Reuters report] Monday. PANA has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

First Fleet departs from England to establish penal colony in Australia

On May 13, 1787, the First Fleet departed from England, carrying 780 British convicts to establish a penal colony in Australia. Led by Captain Arthur Philip, all eleven ships arrived safely in Botany Bay, New South Wales, Australia in January of 1788.

Read Captain Philip's account of his voyage on Project Gutenberg, and learn more about the journey and its impact from First Fleet online.

Federal government denied funding to segregated school districts

On May 13, 1966, the US federal government took its first action against violators of the desegregation guidelines of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by denying federal education funding for 12 segregated Southern school districts. Learn more about school desegregation.