Interim Haiti PM orders government corruption probe News
Interim Haiti PM orders government corruption probe

[JURIST] Haiti's interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue [Wikipedia profile] has asked the country's High Court of Accounts and Administrative Disputes to conduct an investigation into the finances of all government officials and aides to address allegations of corruption and mismanagement. The audit will cover the two-year interim administration that was appointed after former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide [BBC profile] fled the country [JURIST report] in February 2004 after a three-week revolt.

A group of Haitian judges have been under investigation for allegedly accepting bribes, and Latortue's communications director said Monday that those judges have been suspended while the government probe is completed. The corruption probe is designed to "unveil suspicions of corruption" by all levels of government and will cover anyone who signs checks, including the interim prime minister. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Acts of Union creates Great Britain

On May 1, 1707, the two Acts of Union went into effect, implementing the Treaty of Union and thereby uniting the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain. The Union with Scotland Act was passed by the Parliament of England in 1706, and the Scottish Parliament promulgated the Union with England Act. Learn more about the Acts of Union from the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

First US trade union formed

On May 1, 1794, the Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers (shoemakers) was organized in Philadelphia to negotiate wages for its members, becoming the first trade union in the United States.

Learn more about the history of the labor movement in the United States, and visit the website of the AFL-CIO, the federation of America's labor unions, representing more than 13 million workers.