Law Times

April 30, 2012

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PAGE 16 u BIZARRE BRIEFS By Viola James MAN JAILED 12 YEARS WAITING FOR DAD'S PARDON RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — You' would take mercy on his son by granting him a pardon so he can leave jail. But that' d think the father where, according to a local human rights group, a man jailed for three years in 1997 has spent a further 12 years behind bars waiting for his father to pardon him. Eid al-Sinani, 43, was originally sentenced s not what's happening in Saudi Arabia minutes later and soon afterwards sent out another e-mail apologizing to staff for the error, said com- pany spokesman Paul Lockstone. " of staff who was leaving today was acciden- tally sent to all Aviva Investors staff worldwide, Lockstone said. "People were pretty quickly aware of the fact to three years in prison and 200 lashes for beat- ing up his stepmother, Musab al-Zahrani, a researcher at the National Society for Human Rights told Reuters. However, after that sentence was up, the father asked a judge to keep his son in prison "until he is proven to be righteous by his father. agreed and 12 years later Sinani is still in jail, Zahrani said. Under the kingdom' " The judge is not systematically codified and judicial rulings are subject to individual judges' interpretation. Rulings in Saudi Arabia aren't based on prec- s Islamic legal system, law edent and, even with the same charge, they can differ from one judge to another. "This is legally problematic because they gave " said Zahrani. An e-mail which was intended for a member " that this was a mistake. . . . I don't believe any of our staff would have seen it really as anything other than the mistake that it was." The e-mail was a standard message sent to people leaving the company that covers things such as handing back company equipment and confidentiality rules. It didn't tell recipients they were fired, Lockstone said. CALIFORNIA NIXES KANGAROO REPORTS SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It didn't take econo- mist Don Drummond for California to realize it didn't need reports on Australian kangaroos. According to Reuters, California lawmakers absolute power to the father and the son is left under his mercy, MISTAKEN E-MAIL HINTS AT MASS DISMISSAL LONDON, England — Instructors of human resources classes probably don't have to teach their students that dismissing the entire work- force through a mass e-mail isn't a good idea. Of course, that wasn't what staff at an invest- ment firm were intending to do. But according to Reuters, workers at Aviva Investors got a shock this month when the company accidentally sent an e-mail with leaving instructions intended for one departing employee to the entire worldwide staff of 1,300 people. The firm' its mistake and recalled the offending message 25 s human resources department realized April 30, 2012 • lAw Times u The INSIDE STORY VICTIM SURCHARGE TO BECOME MANDATORY Justice Minister Rob Nicholson plans to change the Criminal Code in order to make victim surcharges mandatory for all off enders. "Our government is delivering on our promise to double the victim surcharge and make it mandatory in every case, without ex- ception," said Nicholson. "Th is legislation will ensure that victim 24. If passed, the act would double the victim surcharge that off enders must pay and automatically apply it in all cases. Under the proposed act, victim surcharges would amount to 30 per Nicholson made the announcement April " Rob Nicholson support services receive the funding that they require and deserve. cent of any fi ne imposed or $100 for summary convictions without a fi ne. It would also impose a $200 surcharge for conviction on an indict- able off ence without a fi ne. Currently, off enders who can prove undue hardship may request a will no longer get briefs on kangaroo harvests in Australia under a plan to scrap more than 700 reports required by state law that Governor Jerry Brown unveiled this month. Australia' which California's Department of Fish and Game waiver of the victim surcharge under the Criminal Code. Th e changes would eliminate that option. "Canadians deserve a justice system that sentences off enders in a way that refl ects the severity of their crime and respects victims of crime," said Sen. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu. "By doubling the victim surcharge and ensuring that it cannot be waived, our government is sending a sig- nal that off enders must pay for the harm they cause to victims." s annual kangaroo harvest report, is required to track and provide to lawmakers, is one of 718 "unnecessary bureaucratic" reports discovered in audits of state agencies and depart- ments ordered by Brown in December, according to a statement from his office. Eliminating the reports would help make California's government more efficient, the Democratic governor of the most populous U.S. state said in the statement. "It wastes a lot of time and money to write, track, and file these reports," said Brown. "Government should be focused on providing information that is actually helpful to taxpayers, not on checking boxes to meet outdated bureau- cratic requirements." LT FMC LAUDED FOR GREEN EFFORTS Th e Canada' project of Mediacorp Canada Inc. has named Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP one of the coun- try' s greenest employers for 2012. "It is a great honour to be rec- ognized as one of Canada's green- s Top 100 Employers registration to be discriminatory. Writing in XY v. Ministry of est employers," said John Rider, FMC's chief client offi cer. "We are very proud of everyone at our fi rm who is involved in our environ- mental initiatives." FMC was the only law fi rm in Ontario to receive the honour this year. Th e project recognized the fi rm for its environmental eff orts, success in reducing its environ- mental footprint, and employee involvement. "In addition to FMC's corporate environmental policies, our green committee has worked to estab- lish grassroots initiatives that con- tribute to the sustainability of the fi rm' Karen Tuschak, FMC's director of professional development and practice support and a member of the Toronto green committee. "Th e committee meets frequently to de- termine priorities in sustainability and works to educate and motivate all fi rm members to move toward green practices." s offi ces across Canada," said "Better let him in. He's got a legitimate job offer." Get more online Visit Us Online 1-8-5X.indd 1 HRTO RULING ON TRANSGENDR RIGHTS Th e Human Rights Tribu- nal of Ontario has found leg- islation requiring people to have surgery before they can change the sex designation on their birth Government and Consumer Ser- vices, HRTO vice chairwoman Sheri Price found the require- ment reinforces the stereotype that transgendered persons must have surgery in order to live in their felt gender and adds to the disadvantage and stigma they feel. "Transgender people' are human rights," said Barbara Hall, chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Com- mission, which intervened in the case. "Th is decision is a welcome step forward in recognizing and promoting the dignity and equal- ity of trans people. s rights ment 180 days to revise the crite- ria for changing the sex designa- tion on a birth registration. "My client and I are delighted at Price's order gives the govern- " the careful consideration the tri- bunal gave to both the lived reality of transpeople' arguments with respect to the Vi- tal Statistics Act' Susan Ursel, counsel for XY. "We need to do so much more impact on that community," said to build our understanding of this community' s lives and the legal s discriminatory we can better respond to their le- gitimate call for self-actualization without oppressive treatment by others. Th is decision is an im- portant step along that journey to understanding. s issues and how " LT For more Inside Story, please visit www.lawtimesnews.com. Canadian Lawyer | Law Times | 4Students | InHouse | Legal Feeds lawtimesnews.com • canadianlawyermag.com www.lawtimesnews.com 2/28/11 2:37:34 PM Fresh Canadian legal news and analysis every day

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