Originally from The Journal of Eurasian Law (JEL)

BOSNIA—Bosniak-Croat president arrested

The president of the Bosniak-Croat Federation, one of the three entities that make up Bosnia and Herzegovina, was arrested together with 17 other government officials on charges of corruption. These individuals are suspecting of taking bribes in exchange for amnesty, illegal intimidation, and drug trafficking.

CZECH REPUBLIC—Senate impeaches outgoing president

In March, the Czech Senate voted to impeach the outgoing President Vaclav Klaus on charges of treason. The measure passed the Senate on a 38 to 30 vote. The proponents of impeachment argued that Klaus had violated the constitution by refusing to appoint judges, refusing to ratify treaties approved by the Senate, and abusing his amnesty and pardoning powers. The Senate referred the impeachment case to the Constitutional Court, but inasmuch as Klaus was scheduled to leave office within days of the Senate vote, any action taken by the Constitutional Court would be mostly symbolic.

HUNGARY—UN experts criticize criminalization of homelessness

In April, two UN experts criticized an amendment to the Hungarian Fundamental Law that criminalizes homelessness. The UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Magdalena Sepulveda, and the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, Raquel Rolnik, stated that the amendment was an attempt to circumvent a ruling by the Hungarian Constitutional Court last year to decriminalize homelessness. Rolnik stated that there are not currently enough homeless shelters in the country to handle the number of homeless people and that the amendment “is contrary to Hungary’s international human rights obligations of equality and nondiscrimination.” Sepulveda said that the previous legislation, which was overturned by the Constitutional Court, resulted in more than USD $125,000 fines against Hungarian homeless people.