The UN working group’s Assange opinion

Here’s the opinion of the UN working group on arbitrary detention, which has concluded that Britain and Sweden have arbitrarily detained Julian Assange. It calls on both countries to release him, and pay him compensation. UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Assange Opinion (PDF) UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Assange Opinion (Text) I wondered […]

Julian Assange’s submission to the UN working group

We awoke to the extraordinary news that Julian Assange had announced he’d leave the Ecuadorian embassy in London tomorrow and submit to arrest if the UN working group on arbitrary detention turned down his complaint to them. Shortly afterwards, the BBC reported that the working group has come down in his favour. That would be […]

What if Julian Assange loses in the Supreme Court?

Tomorrow the UK Supreme Court gives its eagerly-awaited judgment in Assange v Swedish Judicial Authority, in which it will decide whether the Swedish prosecutor is indeed a judicial authority for the purposes of Part 1 of the Extradition Act 2003. Julian Assange argues that it isn’t, since a prosecutor isn’t a judge; therefore the European […]

Julian Assange in the Supreme Court

Julian Assange today takes his argument against extradition to Sweden to the UK Supreme Court. The hearing is due to finish tomorrow – it’s not clear yet when the Court is likely to publish its judgment. There’s one question only being argued before the Supreme Court: whether the Swedish prosecutor is a judicial authority for […]

No bail-out for Strauss-Kahn

The IMF boss and front-runner to be the French Socialist Party’s presidential candidate next year, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has been refused bail by a court in New York, according to the BBC. As has been widely reported he’s facing a charge of attempted rape. It may be that the defence can appeal the decision on bail; […]

Extradition proceedings against Julian Assange

Julian Assange’s arrest under a European arrest warrant, and the initial hearing before a district judge, has been the biggest news story in the UK today. All this is happening under Part 1 of the Extradition Act 2003. Sweden having issued a European arrest warrant (here’s the Interpol “red notice”) it seems Assange attended a […]

Lords judgments

There are five of them. Brit Syndicates is about the construction of an insurance indemnity policy: not my kind of thing at all. Total Network is about VAT “carousel” or “MTIC” fraud and whether HMRC can recover lost sums in the form of damages from traders.Most of the media attention, if the judgments get any […]