Canada watchdog says SWIFT upheld privacy law

Legal World

[##_1L|1133489091.jpg|width="90" height="107" alt=""|_##]Canadian Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart concluded an investigation Monday into the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), finding that the European financial cooperative did not violate Canadian privacy laws by post-September 11 information-sharing with the US Department of the Treasury. SWIFT was alleged to have illegally disclosed personal information of some customers of Canadian financial institutions in violation of Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). Stoddart found that while SWIFT was subject to the terms of PIPEDA, it did not contravene the Act when it complied with lawful subpoenas served outside the country and disclosed personal information about Canadians to foreign authorities.

Stoddart said she would petition Canadian authorities to encourage the US to rely on existing, more transparent measures such as anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing mechanisms rather than subpoenas.

In November the European Commission's Article 29 Data Protection Working Party found that SWIFT violated European privacy laws when it released similar information about cross-border wire transfers by European citizens to the US government. The New York Times and other papers revealed the once-secret program in June 2006, prompting sharp criticism from the Bush administration, which defended the initiative. According to US government officials, the program targeted those with suspected ties to Al Qaeda.

http://www.privcom.gc.ca/aboutUs/message_e.asp

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Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC

A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party

Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party

However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.

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