Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 20. Juni 2003 / Time Line June 20, 2003
Version 3.006/20/2003
No Nukes North
En gruppe amerikanske fredsaktivister har opslået en
protestlejr i Fort Greely i Alaska, hvor USA er ved at opstille
første del af stjernekrigsprojektet, skriver Dagbladet
Arbejderen.
06/20/2003
Scottish High Court Quashes Peace Activist's Supervised
Attendance Order - Trident Ploughshares
Today the High Court in Edinburgh quashed a Supervised Attendance Order (SAO)* that had been imposed on peace activist Ulla Røder by a lower court after she had refused to pay a fine incurred for a protest action.
Ulla had made it clear to the Sheriff in Lanark that her refusal to pay the fine was part of her protest and although she would also have told the Sheriff that she would not comply with a SAO her views were not sought. The Sheriff was under the mistaken impression that Lanark was certified for SAOs and that she had no discretion in the matter but was obliged to issue the Order. Appearing for Ulla, solicitor-advocate John Scott argued that the Sheriff would have pursued further lines of enquiry if she had been aware that she had discretion. If the point of a SAO is to keep people out of prison then to impose one which the offender has already said she will breach contradicts this intention, since it would lead to a longer term of imprisonment.
In recognizing Ulla's willingness to submit to jail Lord Marnock said that sometimes principles are more important than expediency. Their Lordships quashed the SAO then continued the hearing for six months as they did not want to impose a custodial sentence while Ulla was already on remand for a different matter.
Trident Ploughshares comment: "If judges are fully aware that someone will breach a SAO then we have to question the motive behind imposing it, since it will lead to a longer prison term. Is it an underhand way of giving us a heavier punishment since the fines themselves and the jail sentences have not deterred us?"
* A Supervised Attendance Order is an Order of a Scottish Criminal Court whereby the person is required to attend a designated place and undertake specified activity for between 10 to 100 hours maximum. It is open to significant variation in interpretation by the local authorities, to whom the oversight of the Orders is delegated, but is generally held to include constructive activities and supervised activities aimed at personal development and rehabilitation. The hours imposed relate to the level of the fine which has not been paid. If the Order is breached a much heavier prison sentence than would have been given for the failure to pay the fine may then be imposed. Under a pilot certain courts due are certified in relation to SAOs and in these courts the judge will have no option but to impose such an Order if an offender defaults on a fine.
06/20/2003
Hjemmeværnskommandoen har været nød til at
iværksætte besparelser pga vanskeligheder med
personalestyringen og fremskyndelse af materielanskaffelseer,
skriver Hjemmeværnsbladet.
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