Belgian couple may sue Israel for war crimes in Lebanon conflict News
Belgian couple may sue Israel for war crimes in Lebanon conflict

[JURIST] A Belgian ethnic Lebanese couple is preparing a legal complaint against Israel for alleged war crimes during the ongoing Mideast conflict [JURIST news archive] after Ali Abdul-Sater and his wife had to flee Lebanon via Syria with their three children when Israel launched airstrikes against Hezbollah [US State Dept. backgrounder] earlier this month. An apartment where they were staying on holiday was destroyed in the strikes. Belgian daily Le Soir reported the action Thursday, saying it was going to be filed that day, but a lawyer for the couple later said case preparation was ongoing. If the couple files the complaint, "war crimes" will be defined according to the terms of the Belgian criminal code, embracing purposeful murder, severe violations of the physical integrity of health, deportation of civilians and the destruction and misappropriation of goods.

The complaint would be based on Belgian application of the principle of universal jurisdiction [HRW backgrounder], which allows war crimes complaints from other countries in Belgian courts as long as there is some link to Belgium, and would target Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert [official website], Defense Minister Amir Peretz [ministry website] and army Chief of Staff Dan Halutz. EJP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 signed into law

US President Millard Filmore signed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 on September 18 of that year, obliging law enforcement to arrest escaped slaves in all US states, including those where slavery was not legal. Free black men and women were endangered by the act's passage as they were at risk of being falsely identified as escaped slaves. The act heightened tensions between abolitionists in the North and slaveholders in the South, contributing to what would become the Civil War eleven years later. Learn more about the Fugitive Slave Act from the National Constitution Center.

Jurist Joseph Story born

On September 18, 1797, future US Supreme Court Justice, Harvard law professor, and legal author Joseph Story was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts. West Virginia University law professor James Elkins notes that Story was also a poet; learn more about Story and read a couple of his poems here.

Anti-Corn Law League created in UK

On September 18, 1838, the Anti-Corn Law League was created in the United Kingdom. As the name suggests, the purpose of the association was to press for the abolition of British Corn Laws, which were indeed repealed in 1846. After the repeal, the organization worked to oppose other protectionist measures in the UK. The weekly news publication, The Economist, was founded as part of the anti-corn law movement.

Jurist Joseph Story born

On September 18, 1797, future US Supreme Court Justice, Harvard law professor, and legal author Joseph Story was born at Marblehead, Massachusetts.

West Virginiia University law professor James Elkins notes that Story was also a poet - learn more about Story and read a couple of his poems here.