The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the 47-seat House of Assembly (lower house) and the 22-seat Legislative Council (upper house). General elections are held every 4 years, with all of the lower house and half of the upper house filled at each election. It follows a Westminster system of parliamentary government with the executive branch required to both sit in parliament and hold the confidence of the House of Assembly. The parliament  is based at Parliament House on North Terrace in the state capital of Adelaide.

The King is represented in the State by the Governor of South Australia. According to the South Australian Constitution, unlike the federal parliament, and the parliaments of the other states of Australia, neither the Sovereign or the Governor is considered to be a part of the South Australian parliament. However, the same role and powers are granted to them.

The parliament may make laws for any matter within South Australia, subject to the Constitution of South Australia. Its power is further limited by the ability for the federal parliament to override it in some circumstances, subject to the Constitution of Australia. Similarly, the Supreme Court of South Australia, and ultimately the High Court of Australia, provides judicial oversight of parliament. The parliament is also vested with other powers, such as the means to investigate matters, conduct research and summon witnesses.

History

Early colonial period and establishment

At the founding of the Province of South Australia under the South Australia Act 1834, governance of the new colony was divided between the Governor of South Australia and a Resident Commissioner, who reported to a new body known as the South Australian Colonization Commission. Under this arrangement, there was also a governing Council comprising the Governor, the Judge or Chief Justice, the Colonial Secretary, the Advocate-General and the Resident Commissioner, with broad legislative and executive powers including the imposition of rates, duties, and taxes. This council was sometimes referred to as the "Legislative Council". Confusion and dispute about the division of power between the two roles led to the South Australia Government Act 1838, which combined the role of Resident Commissioner with that of the Governor.

In 1842, the South Australia Act 1842 was passed in order to replace the South Australian Colonisation Commission appointed in 1834 with a more standard British model of government, with a Governor advised by a Legislative Council. The 1842 Act gave the British Government, which was responsible for appointing a Governor and at least seven other officers to the Legislative Council, full control of South Australia as a Crown Colony, after financial mismanagement by the first administration had nearly bankrupted the colony. This new Legislative Council was the first true parliamentary body in South Australia. The Act also made provision for a commission to initiate the establishment of democratic government, electoral districts, requirements for voting rights, and terms of office. Although the old  governing Council advising the Governor met at Government House, this new Legislative Council met at a new purpose built chamber on North Terrace. This chamber eventually grew into what is now known as "Old Parliament House".

The Australian Colonies Government Act 1850 was a landmark development which granted representative constitutions to New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania and the colonies enthusiastically set about writing constitutions which produced democratically progressive parliaments with the British monarch as the symbolic head of state. In 1851 elections for the Legislative Council were held. The new Council consisted of 24 members, four official (filling what would be today ministerial positions) and four non-official members, both nominated by the governor on behalf of the Crown, and 16 elected members chosen from single-member districts. The right to vote for these positions was not universal, however, being limited to propertied men. In addition, the reforms meant that the Governor no longer oversaw proceedings, with the role being filled by a Speaker who had been elected by the members.

In 1853 the Legislative Council sent London a Parliament Act 1853 that provided for a new constitution that established a bicameral parliament with an elected lower house and an upper house made up of members nominated for life. The colonists were mistakingly under the impression that only such a scheme would be acceptable to the British Government. The Governor, Sir Henry Young, had been advised that this was not the case but he kept this information to himself. The colonists were furious and 5,000 petitioned Westminster to give them two elected houses. The offending constitution was returned and in 1855, a new Legislative Council was elected with a mandate to establish something far more radical and democratic than had been seen in the British Empire before.

This was expressed by the Constitution Act 1856 (headed "1855–6: No. 2" and followed by the long title "An Act to establish a Constitution for South Australia, and to grant a Civil List to Her Majesty") establishing the constitution of the Parliament of the Province of South Australia.

Responsible government

This Constitution Act provided for a bicameral parliament with full authority to enact laws, apart from a few Acts requiring the monarch's personal Royal Assent. The 18-member Legislative Council was elected by property owners only, while the 36-member House of Assembly was elected by a full male franchise. The Act also provided for a system of responsible government, where the members of the executive branch must sit in parliament and, by convention, can only remain in office while they hold the confidence of a majority of the members of the House of Assembly. It was the first Constitution in the Australian colonies to provide "manhood" suffrage. The adoption of the "one man, one vote" principle also removed the ability of voters to vote in any electorate in which they owned property. The Act also defined the rules of tenure for the parliamentarians.

Later in 1856, in preparation for responsible government, the old Legislative Council passed an Electoral Act providing for the secret ballot system of voting to be used for the new parliament, also known as the Australian Ballot.

The first bicameral parliament of South Australia was elected on 9 March 1857, with Boyle Travers Finniss as the inaugural Premier of South Australia responsible to parliament. The parliament first sat on April 22, 1857.

Until 1887, membership of parliament was an unpaid position as members were expected to be able to support themselves through other means. This changed with the passage of the Payment of Members Act 1887 that set an annual salary of 200 pounds for members of both Houses who were not ministers. This rate has subsequently continued to evolve with the rate now set by an independent remuneration tribunal.

In 1889, the House of Assembly moved out of the original Parliament House and took up residence in a new building constructed next door. Due to costs, this "New Parliament House" would remain unfinished for 50 years while the Legislative Council continued to be housed in the original Parliament House.

Women gained the right to vote and stand for election in 1895, taking effect at the 1896 election. Once passed, South Australia become the fourth state in the world to give women the vote and the first to give women the right to be elected to parliament.

After federation

South Australia became a state of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901, following a vote to federate with the other British colonies of Australia. One consequence of federation was that the powers of the Parliament of South Australia were limited by the provisions of the Constitution of Australia, with some powers transferred to the federal parliament. Another consequence was a bit of a "brain drain", with many of the parliament's most prominent members moving to the federal sphere.

From 1857 to 1933, the House of Assembly was elected from multi-member districts, commonly known as "seats," with each district returning between one and six members. The size of the Assembly grew during the colonial period—36 members from 1857 to 1875, 46 members from 1875 to 1884, 52 members from 1884 to 1890, 54 members from 1890 to 1902.

In response to the Federation of Australia, the House of Assembly was reduced to 42 members from 1902 to 1912 and 40 members from 1912 to 1915. From 1915 to 1938 the size was again increased to 46 members.

The Legislative Council half of the "New Parliament House" was finally completed in 1939, 50 years after the House of Assembly portion of the building.

Playmander years

One distinctive aspect of the history of the South Australian parliament was the "Playmander", a gerrymandering system that instituted a pro-rural electoral malapportionment introduced by the incumbent Liberal and Country League (LCL) government, and in place for 32 years from 1936 to 1968. The already entrenched rural overweighting was increased to a 2:1 ratio, the number of MPs was reduced to 39 and the multi-member seats were abandoned for single-member seats. The House of Assembly now consisted of 26 low-population rural seats, which due to population shifts, were holding up to a 10-to-1 advantage over the 13 high-population metropolitan seats, even though rural seats contained only a third of South Australia's population. At the peak of the malapportionment in 1968, the rural seat of Frome had 4,500 formal votes, while the metropolitan seat of Enfield had 42,000 formal votes.

Labor managed to win enough parliamentary seats to form government just once during the Playmander against the odds − in 1965. Labor won comprehensive majorities of the statewide two-party vote whilst failing to form government in 1944, 1953, 1962 and 1968.

More equitable boundaries were subsequently put in place following the 1968 (with the House increased to 47 members), 1975, and 1989 elections. Since 1975, the distribution of the 47 electoral boundaries has been set by the South Australian Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission, an independent body. Since  a referendum in 1991, boundaries have been redistributed after each election. Previously they were redistributed after every third election. There are currently 34 in the Adelaide metropolitan area and 13 in rural areas. These seats are intended to represent approximately the same population in each electorate.

Evolution of the Legislative Council

The Legislative Council's numbers and electoral makeup have also varied over time. From the inception of responsible government to 1882, it had 18 members elected by a single colony-wide district, with the scheme originally set up so that 6 members would be elected every 4 years to serve a 12 year term. In 1882, the single colony-wide district was split into 4 electoral districts which were drawn with a heavy bias in favour of rural areas in place. The new scheme was set up so that half of the Council was being elected each election. Originally these electoral districts were the "Central District", the "Southern District", the "North-Eastern District" and the "Northern District", with each being represented by 6 members each. From 1902, the Central District continued to be represented by 6 members, while the rural districts were reduced to 4 members each. The North-Eastern District was replaced by the "Midland District" from the 1910 election and in 1915 the Central District was split in half and became the "Cantral District No. 1" and the "Central District No. 2", each being represented by 4 members.

As for the size of the Council as a whole, from 1882 until 1902 it had 24 members; until 1915, 18 members; and until 1975, 20 members.

From 1975, the Council size was increased to 22 members, with half (11) to be elected at each election by the entire state voting as one electorate.

Although the lower house had universal suffrage from 1895, the upper house, the Legislative Council, remained the domain of property owners until the Labor government of Don Dunstan managed to achieve reform of the chamber in 1973.

Under the original 1856 Constitution, the franchise was restricted to men, "having a freehold estate in possession, either legal or equitable, situate within the said Province, of the clear value of Fifty Pounds sterling money above all charges and encumbrances affecting the same, or having a leasehold estate in possession, situate within the said Province, the lease thereof having been registered in the General Registry Office, for the registration of deeds, and having three years to run at the time of voting, or containing a clause authorising the lessee to become the purchaser of the land thereby demised, or occupy a dwelling house of the clear annual value of Twenty-five Pounds sterling money."

In 1907, the right to vote was extended to any person occupying a dwelling house, or "dwelling house and premises appurtenant thereto", with an annual rent of at least 17 pounds per annum (excluding any payment of rent by a wife to her husband); to a registered proprietor of a leasehold on which there were improvements to the value of at least 50 pounds and which were the property of the proprietor. At the same time, the franchise was also extended to ministers of religion, school head teachers, postmasters, railway stationmasters, and the officer in charge of a police station.

A further extension of the franchise came in 1913, when the qualification of an occupier of a dwelling house was altered to include any inhabitant occupier, whether owner or tenant.

In 1918, the right to vote for members of the upper house was extended to all those who had served in armed forced in the First World War. This was subsequently extended to Second World War veterans in 1940 and in 1969, it was simplified to apply to all Australian war veterans regardless of the war they served in.

In 1969, the franchise was granted to any person who owned or rented property, regardless of the value of the property. Further, the franchise was extended to the wedded spouse of the owner or renter.

Finally in 1973, all property qualifications were removed and the Council became a body elected via proportional representation by a single state-wide electorate from the same universal franchise as the House of Assembly. Since the following 1975 South Australian state election, no one party has had control of the state's upper house with the balance of power controlled by a variety of minor parties and independents.

Electoral systems
Originally, the electoral system for both houses was a form of plurality voting, where each voter is given as many votes as there are candidates to be elected. From 1929, this was changed to instant-runoff voting, with multi-member districts using the preferential block voting variant of the system. In 1973, as part of the reforms to the upper house, the Legislative Council switched to using a party list form of proportional representation voting that was subsequently changed to the single transferable vote in 1982. From 1985 until 2017, the Legislative Council also used a form of Group voting tickets similar to that used in the Senate at the time. This enabled voters to choose between voting 'above the line' (for a single party preference ticket that ranked all candidates on the ballot paper in the party's preferred order) or 'below the line' and number all candidates in order of preference, on the ballot paper. In 2017 this was changed to a form of optional preferential voting − instructions for above the line votes are to mark '1' and then further preferences are optional as opposed to preference flows from simply '1' above the line being determined by group voting tickets, while instructions for voters who instead opt to vote below the line are to provide at least 12 preferences as opposed to having to number all candidates, and with a savings provision to admit ballot papers which indicate at least 6 below the line preferences.

Today, the House of Assembly continues to use instant-runoff voting with compulsory preferences.

Compulsory voting was introduced for the House of Assembly in 1942 and for the Legislative Council in 1985.

Elections were held every 3 years until 1985 (with a brief flirtation with 5 year terms for the House of Assembly in the 1933-1938 parliament), when the parliament switched to 4 year terms, meaning 8 year terms for the upper house. Beginning in 2006, election dates have been fixed at the third Saturday in March of every fourth year.

House of Assembly

The House of Assembly (or "lower house") is made up of 47 members who are each elected by the full-preference instant-runoff voting system in single-member electorates. Each of the 47 electoral districts (electorates) contains approximately the same number of voters. Casual vacancies, when a member retires or dies in office mid-term, are filled by a by-election in that member's district.

Since 1975, the distribution of electoral boundaries has been set by the South Australian Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission, an independent body. Since  a referendum in 1991, boundaries have been redistributed after each election. Previously they were redistributed after every third election.

Government is formed in the House of Assembly by the leader of the party or coalition who can demonstrate they have the support of the majority of the House, and is called upon by the Governor to form government. The leader of the government becomes the Premier. The House is presided over by a Speaker, who, as of the passage of the Constitution (Independent Speaker) Amendment Act 2021, is constitutionally banned from being a member of a registered political party outside of a "relevant election period".

While South Australia's total population is 1.7 million, Adelaide's population is 1.3 million − uniquely, over 75 percent of the state's population resides in the metropolitan area and has 72 percent of seats (34 of 47) alongside a lack of comparatively-sized rural population centres, therefore the metropolitan area tends to decide election outcomes. At the 2014 election for example, although the statewide two-party vote (2PP) was 47.0% Labor v 53.0% Liberal, the metropolitan area recorded a 2PP of 51.5% Labor v 48.5% Liberal.

The term for the House of Assembly is a fixed 4-year term but the state Constitution does allow the Governor to dissolve the House early and call for a fresh general election under certain circumstances. These are: If the House passes a motion of no confidence in the government, the House defeats a motion of confidence in the government, or if a bill that has been designated by the House as a "bill of special importance" is passed by the House of Assembly but is rejected by the Legislative Council. The House of Assembly can also be dissolved early together with the full Legislative Council in what is knows as a double dissolution in order to resolve deadlocks between the two Houses. The circumstances for such a  double dissolution are outlined below.

Legislative Council

The Legislative Council (or "upper house") is made up of 22 councillors (MLCs) who are elected for the entire state by the Proportional Representation single transferable voting system (with optional preferential voting) to serve for a term that is usually 8 years. Elections for the Legislative Council are staggered so that 11 seats are up for re-election every 4 years, at the same time as House of Assembly elections. Legislative Councillors may serve shorter or longer terms than the usual 8 years in the event of an early dissolution of the House of Assembly. If half the chamber has served at least 6 years at the time of a dissolution, then they go up for election, but if all Legislative Councillors have served less than 6 years, only the House of Assembly faces the people.

In the event of a casual vacancy, members of the Legislative Council are filled by an assembly of the members of both houses of parliament. If the member whose seat has become vacant was elected as a member of a political party, the assembly must, if possible, replace them with a nominated member of that party.

The Legislative Council has almost equal powers to the House of Assembly. The only difference is that the upper house does not have the ability to initiate or amend bills that appropriate money or levy taxes. The Council may still request amendments to these bills and retains the right to reject money bills that it disagrees with.

The primary function of the Legislative Council is to review legislation which has been passed by the House of Assembly. This can cause tensions between the government and the Legislative Council, which may be viewed by the former as obstructionist if it rejects key legislation, as can happen at times when the electoral makeup of the two Houses are different. Another important function of the upper house is to scrutinise government activity, which it does both in the chamber and through committees. As Legislative Councillors have been elected using proportional representation since the mid-1970s, the chamber features a multitude of parties vying for power. A government or opposition majority in the upper house has been unachievable since the introduction of this system, with the balance of power being held by a number of minor parties and independents.

Resolution of deadlocks between the Houses

In the event that there is a conflict between the two Houses over legislation, the South Australian Constitution lays out a mechanism for how these deadlocks can be resolved.

Under section 41 of the South Australian Constitution, if a bill is passed by the House of Assembly during a session of parliament and in the following parliament after a general election for the lower house is rejected by the Legislative Council on both occasions, it is permitted for the Governor of South Australia to either issue a writ for the election of 2 additional members of the Legislative Council or to dissolve both Houses at the same time to elect an entirely new parliament. This procedure is known as a double dissolution. As the upper house consists of 22 members, with 11 elected statewide at each general election for an 8-year term at a quota of 8.33%, this would result in an election for all 22 members at a quota of 4.35%. In the event of a double dissolution election, the 11 Legislative Councillors that would not have won their seats under an ordinary election go up for re-election at the first general election after only serving 3 years, rather than the usual 6 years.

Although it has been threatened, this South Australian double dissolution procedure has never been used.

Although the practice has mostly fallen out of favour in other parliaments that use a bicameral Westminster system, the South Australian parliament still regularly appoints a "Conference of Managers" from each House to negotiate compromises on disputed bills in private. The Conference Managers then prepare a report of recommendations that is submitted to both Houses.

The State First Nations Voice

As of the passage of the First Nations Voice Act 2023, South Australia also has an Indigenous Voice to Parliament able to represent South Australia's indigenous population to the state parliament and government.

The state is divided into 6 regions, whose indigenous voters will, at each state election, elect a 'Local Voice' with gender parity. These local voices then elect one male and one female member each to be their joint presiding officers and sit on the 'State First Nations Voice'. The State Voice then in turn elects its own male and female joint presiding officers who have the right to enter either House of parliament to make speeches on bills that are of interest to indigenous peoples. They do not have the ability to vote on legislation. The State Voice can also address state cabinet and government departments.

Location

The seat of the Parliament of South Australia is Parliament House in the state capital of Adelaide. Parliament House sits on the North-Western corner of the intersection of King William Street and North Terrace.  It was built to replace the adjacent and overcrowded Parliament House, now referred to as "Old Parliament House", which dated from 1843 with extensions in 1857. Due to financial constraints, the current Parliament House was constructed in stages over 65 years from 1874 to 1939.

Following the completion of the New Parliament House in 1939, The Old Parliament House has been used for a variety of functions including as a Royal Australian Air Force recruiting office, offices for government departments and as a "Constitutional Museum." In 1995, the building reverted to use by the parliament and has been used as offices and committee rooms ever since.

See also

 Constitution of South Australia
 List of elections in South Australia
 Official openings by the monarch in Australia
 Parliaments of the Australian states and territories
 Premier of South Australia

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

 Parliament of South Australia Homepage
 Parliament of South Australia Youtube Page

South Australia
South Australia
1857 establishments in Australia

Parliament of South Australia


Virginia Guerrini (20 February 1871, Brescia  – 26 February 1948, Brescia) was an Italian operatic mezzo-soprano. She made her professional opera debut at the Garibaldi Theatre in Treviso as Elsa in Richard Wagner's Lohengrin in 1889. The following year, she made her debuts at the Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi as Laura in La Gioconda, the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan as Adalgisa in Vincenzo Bellini's Norma, the Liceu in Ortrud in Lohengrin, and at the Teatro Regio in Turin as Loretta in Alberto Franchetti's Asrael.

In 1892, Guerrini made her debut at La Scala as Adalagisa. During her time at La Scala, she performed in several world premieres, including the role of Afra in Alfredo Catalani's La Wally (1892) and Meg Page in Falstaff (1893). Other roles she sang at La Scala included both Anacoana and Iguamota in Alberto Franchetti's Cristoforo Colombo, Emilia in Otello, Nefte in Ponchielli's Il figliuol prodigo. She also appeared in major opera houses in South America, Russia, Germany, Spain, and Portugal during her career.

After retiring from the stage in 1925, Guerrini taught singing in her native city of Brescia. She died there in 1948.

References

Italian operatic mezzo-sopranos
19th-century Italian women opera singers
1871 births
1948 deaths
20th-century Italian women opera singers
Musicians from Brescia

Virginia Guerrini


An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms or stops their growth. Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they act primarily against. For example, antibiotics are used against bacteria, and antifungals are used against fungi. They can also be classified according to their function. Agents that kill microbes are microbicidal, while those that merely stop their growth are called biostatic. The use of antimicrobial medicines to treat infection is known as antimicrobial chemotherapy, while the use of antimicrobial medicines to prevent infection is called antimicrobial prophylaxis.

The main types of antimicrobial agents are disinfectants (such as bleach), which kill a wide range of microbes on non-living surfaces to prevent the spread of illness, antiseptics (which are applied to living tissue and help reduce infection during surgery), and antibiotics (which kill microorganisms within the body). The term "antibiotic" originally described only those creations that came from living microorganisms but is now also applied to synthetic agents, such as sulfonamides or fluoroquinolones. The term also used to be only applied to antibacterials, but its meaning has widened to include all antimicrobials. Antibacterial agents can be further grouped into bactericidal agents, which kill bacteria, and bacteriostatic agents, which slow down or stall bacterial growth. In response, further advancements in antimicrobial technologies have resulted in solutions that can go past simply stopping germ growth. Instead, certain types of porous media have been made to kill microbes on contact.

References

Microbiology

Antimicrobial


The Serrans Gate or Serranos Gate (, ; , ), also known as Serrans Towers or Serranos Towers (, ; , ) is one of the twelve gates that formed part of the ancient city wall, the Christian Wall (Muralla cristiana), of the city of Valencia, Spain. It was built in Valencian Gothic style at the end of the 14th century (between 1392 and 1398). Its name is probably due to its location in the northeast of the old city centre, making it the entry point for the royal road (camí ral) connecting Valencia with the comarca or district of Els Serrans (along the road going northwest towards the mountains around Teruel and eventually leading to Saragossa) as well as the entry point for the royal road to Barcelona, or because the majority of settlers near there in the time of James I of Aragon were from the area around Teruel, whose inhabitants were often called serrans (mountain people) by the Valencians. Alternatively, the gate may also have been named after an important family, the Serrans, who lived in a street with the same name.

It is an important landmark and one of the best preserved monuments of Valencia. Of the ancient city wall, which was pulled down in 1865 on the orders of the provincial governor Cirilio Amorós, only the Serrans Towers, the 15th century Quart Towers, and some other archaeological remains and ruins, such as those of the Jewish Gate (Puerta de los Judíos), have survived. The Torres de Serrans were built in the 14th century, 1392, by Pere Balaguer. It was the main entrance to the city and it was originally built with a defensive function. From 1586 until 1887 the towers were used as a prison for nobles.

Construction and structure

Commissioned by the Valencian government, the Serrans Towers were built by the architect Pere Balaguer, who was inspired by other Gothic gates with polygonal towers, such as the Porta de Sant Miquel in Morella and the Royal Gate (Porta Reial) of the Poblet Monastery, showing Genoese influences.

Construction began on 6 April 1392, on the site of an older gateway.

The walls consist of very solid stone, as their main purpose was fortification. However, they are covered with a cladding of limestone, mainly from Alginet, a town near Valencia, in order to give the building a more luxurious, distinguished appearance.

In 1397, when the works were nearly finished, it became apparent that the access to the main floor had to be improved. An enormous, monumental stone staircase was built, enlarging the building and facilitating its use for welcoming parties. The works were completed in March 1398.

History and uses

For a long time, its main purpose was to defend the city in the event of a siege or attack, but it was also regularly used for ceremonies, such as official welcoming ceremonies for ambassadors and kings, as it was (and still is) deemed to be the main entrance to the city.

After one of the main prisons of Valencia burnt down in 1586, the towers were turned into a prison for knights and the nobility until the prisoners were transferred to the monastery of Saint Austin in 1887. Since then, they have been used for different purposes, for instance for a wide range of official ceremonies and as a museum.

During the Spanish Civil War, works of art from the Prado Museum were stored in the building, which made a number of modifications necessary; in December 1936, a 90-centimeter layer of reinforced concrete was laid on the first floor in order to protect the pieces of art, stored on the lower floor, in case the towers were damaged or destroyed in a bombing raid. The reinforced concrete was covered by a one-meter layer of rice husk (to cushion the impact) and a one-meter layer of soil. Another one-meter layer of soil was laid on the second floor, and the terrace was covered with sandbags. Moreover, an automatic system of humidity and temperature control was installed. This project was directed by José Lino Vaamonde, the architect of the Artistic Treasures Board (Junta Central de Salvamento del Tesoro Artístico).

Restoration

Like the Quart Towers (Torres de Quart), the Serranos Towers survived the demolition of the city wall due to their use as a prison, but the building, especially its internal structure, was damaged. Thus, the large arches opening out onto the internal part of the building were walled up, several windows were built into the outside walls, and the battlements crowning the towers disappeared. In 1871, the city council decided to fill in the ditch in front of the gate, which affected the appearance of the building. Between 1893 and 1914, its restoration, directed by the sculptor José Aixá, was carried out by The Royal Academy of San Carlos (Real Academia de San Carlos).

In 2000, the stone surfaces were cleaned, giving the building its current appearance.

Current uses

At present, the Serranos Towers are open to the public. They are also used for different official ceremonies of the City of Valencia, the most famous of which is the crida, the opening ceremony of the Fallas. On the last Sunday of February, the Fallera Mayor (the "first lady" of the Fallas festivities) declares the Fallas open from a platform erected in front of the building, which is followed by the singing of the anthem of the Valencian Community and Marcha Real.

References

External links

Buildings and structures in Valencia
Buildings and structures completed in 1398
Gothic architecture in the Valencian Community
Defunct prisons in Spain
City gates in Spain

Torres de Serranos


The companions or assistants of the Doctor of the Doctor Who television series are people who travel with him.

The Doctor is an alien. He is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. He travels in his spaceship called the TARDIS. It allows him to go anywhere in time and space. "TARDIS" stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space. The Doctor usually takes other people with him, who are usually called "companions" or "assistants". The Doctor and his companions travel through space and time, have a lot of adventures, and often save many people.

The character of the companion was there so that the people watching the series could identify and feel close to a character. The companions were often present-time humans. People could relate to them because they knew as much as the viewers. Because of this, the Doctor could explain things to his companions, and at the same time to the viewers.

Most of the Doctor's companions have been human. Many have been aliens or robots.

Companions are named under the Doctors they travelled with, and sorted by the order in which they appear.

First Doctor

Susan

Susan (Carole Ann Ford) was the Doctor's granddaughter. She escaped with him from the planet Gallifrey in a stolen TARDIS. From her grandfather, she has an advanced knowledge of history and science. Her first appearance was in An Unearthly Child. Her last appearance was in The Dalek Invasion of Earth. In that episode, she meets David Campbell (Peter Fraser), a young freedom fighter in the 22nd century. The Doctor locks her out of the TARDIS and forces her to stay behind with David.

Barbara Wright

Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) is one of the first companions of the Doctor. Barbara is a history teacher at the Coal Hill School, working with science teacher Ian Chesterton.

Her first appearance was in An Unearthly Child. Suspicious of student Susan Foreman's strange knowledge of history and science, Barbara and Ian follow her home to the TARDIS. There they meet the Doctor. With him, they begin to travel through space and time.

In The Chase, after two years of travelling with the Doctor, Barbara and Ian use a Dalek time machine to return to London.

Ian Chesterton

Ian Chesterton (William Russell) is one of the first companions of the Doctor. Ian is a science teacher at the Coal Hill School, working with history teacher Barbara Wright.

His first appearance was in An Unearthly Child. Suspicious of student Susan Foreman's strange knowledge of history and science, Ian and Barbara follow her home to the TARDIS. There they meet the Doctor. With him, they begin to travel through space and time.

In The Chase, after two years of travelling with the Doctor, Barbara and Ian use a Dalek time machine to return to London.

Vicki

Vicki (Maureen O'Brien) first appeared in The Rescue. She was a survivor of a spaceship crash on the planet Dido in the 25th century. She is rescued by the Doctor. She travels with him, Ian, and Barbara. In The Myth Makers, Vicki meets an ancient warrior of Troy named Troilus. She decides to stay behind with him. She eventually passes into legend as Cressida. She also makes sure that the Trojan girl Katarina enters the TARDIS in her place.

Steven Taylor

Steven Taylor (Peter Purves) first appeared in The Chase. The Doctor and his companions, Ian, Barbara, and Vicki find Steven on the planet Mechanus, where he had crash-landed two years before. In The Savages, Steven stays behind to accept the responsibility of leading the combined society of Savages and Elders that are attempting a lasting peace.

Katarina

Katarina (Adrienne Hill) first appears in The Myth Makers. She is a handmaiden of the prophetess Cassandra, the princess of ancient Troy. After Vicki stays behind in Troy, Katarina takes her place. During The Daleks' Master Plan, Katarina is taken hostage by the escaped prisoner Kirksen. He demands that the Doctor take him to Kembel, a planet taken over by the Daleks. To prevent the Doctor giving in to Kirksen's demands, Katarina triggers the controls to the airlock she is being held in. That sends both her and her captor into the vacuum of space. She is the first companion in the series to die.

Sara Kingdom

Sara Kingdom (Jean Marsh) is a Space Security Agent in The Daleks' Master Plan. She joins the Doctor in his fight, briefly travelling in the TARDIS to several different locations in time and space. When the Doctor activates the Time Destructor, a device that accelerates time, Sara cannot be saved. She ages and dies, her remains turning to dust. Sara is sometimes counted as a companion of the First Doctor, but sometimes not.

Dodo Chaplet

Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet (Jackie Lane) first appeared at the end of The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve. Dodo wanders into the TARDIS, thinking it was a real police box. In The War Machines, Dodo decides to stay in 1966 London.

Polly

Polly (Anneke Wills) was a companion of the First and Second Doctor. She and Ben Jackson appeared first in The War Machines. She was secretary to Professor Brett, creator of the artificial intelligence known as WOTAN. She travels with the Doctor after he regenerated into the Second Doctor. In The Faceless Ones, they return to 1966 London. Polly and Ben decide to remain behind to resume their lives without disruption

Ben Jackson

Ben Jackson (Michael Craze) was a companion of the First and Second Doctor. He appeared first in The War Machines as an Able Seaman serving in the Royal Navy. In The Faceless Ones, they return to 1966 London, and Polly and Ben decide to stay.

Second Doctor
 Polly (Anneke Wills)
 Ben Jackson (Michael Craze)

Jamie McCrimmon

James Robert "Jamie" McCrimmon (Frazer Hines) was from 18th century Scotland. He first appears in The Highlanders. He meets the Doctor, Ben and Polly after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. At the end of The War Games, the Time Lords take Jamie's and Zoe's memories away, and send each of them back to their original time and place.

Victoria Waterfield

Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling) is from Victorian England in 1866. She is the daughter of scientist Edward Waterfield (played by John Bailey). She first appears in The Evil of the Daleks. In Fury from the Deep, Victoria leaves the Doctor and Jamie and stays with a family named Harris in the 20th century.

Zoe Heriot

Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury) first appears in The Wheel in Space. She is on a space station in the 21st century. At the end of The War Games, the Time Lords take Zoe's and Jamie's memories away, and send each of them back to their original time and place.

Third Doctor

Liz Shaw

Elizabeth "Liz" Shaw (Caroline John) was a scientist and civilian member of UNIT. She first appeared in Spearhead from Space. She became a member of UNIT and met the newly regenerated Doctor. In Inferno, Liz decided to leave the Doctor and UNIT, and go back to the University of Cambridge.

Jo Grant

Jo Grant (Katy Manning) first appears in Terror of the Autons as a replacement assistant for the Doctor. In The Green Death, Jo falls in love with the scientist Professor Clifford Jones. She decides to marry Jones, and goes with him to the Amazon Rainforest.

Sarah Jane Smith

Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) was a companion of the third and fourth Doctors (Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker).  Sarah Jane was known for feminism and strong affection with the Doctor. He called her his best friend.  She is the most popular of the companions from the old series. She has appeared in the new series twice.  She also has her own spinoff series.

Fourth Doctor
 Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen)

Harry Sullivan
Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter) was a companion of the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker). Harry was known for being UNIT's Medical Doctor. He travelled with Sarah Jane Smith as well.

Leela

Leela (Louise Jameson) first appeared in The Face of Evil. She was a warrior of the savage Sevateem tribe. The Sevateem tribe were the descendants of the crew of an Earth ship that crash landed on an unnamed planet in the far future. In The Invasion of Time, Leela falls in love with Andred, a Gallifreyan. Leela chooses to stay with Andred on the Doctor's home planet Gallifrey. K-9 Mark I stays with her.

K9

K9 (voiced by John Leeson) was a robot dog. There have been several models, K9 Mark I through Mark IV.
The original K9 Mark I was given to the Doctor, but later stayed with the Doctor's companion Leela on Gallifrey. K9 Mark II stayed with Romana in E-Space. K9 Mark III and Mark IV were presents of the Doctor to Sarah Jane Smith.

Romana I & II

Romanadvoratrelundar is another Time Lady from Gallifrey, changing her appearance when she regenerates into Romana II.

Adric
Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) was a companion of the Fourth and Fifth Doctor. He was from the planet Alzarius in the parallel universe E-Space. He came with the Doctor to our universe. Adric dies in Earthshock, when the spaceship he is on crashes into prehistoric Earth.

Tegan Jovanka

Nyssa of Traken

Fifth Doctor
 Adric (Matthew Waterhouse)
 Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding)
 Nyssa of Traken (Sarah Sutton)

Vislor Turlough

Vislor Turlough (Mark Strickson) was an alien from the planet Trion. After a civil war he had been exiled to Earth, to the Brendon Public School. In Mawdryn Undead he met the Doctor and joined him. In Planet of Fire, Turlough left and returned to his home planet Trion.

Kamelion
Kamelion (voiced by Gerald Flood) was a shape-changing android and a companion of the Fifth Doctor. He first appears in The King's Demons, where he is controlled by the Master. The Doctor frees him and takes Kamelion with him. In Planet of Fire, Kamelion is destroyed.

Perpugilliam "Peri" Brown

Perpugilliam "Peri" Brown (Nicola Bryant) was a companion of the Fifth and Sixth Doctor. She first appears in Planet of Fire. After that, she travels with the Doctor. After the Doctor regenerates, Peri stays and travels with the Sixth Doctor.

Sixth Doctor
 Peri Brown (Nicola Bryant)

Melanie Bush

Melanie "Mel" Bush (Bonnie Langford) was a companion of the Sixth and Seventh Doctor. She was a computer programmer from 20th century England. Mel leaves the Doctor at the end of Dragonfire, to stay on Iceworld with Sabalom Glitz.

Seventh Doctor
 Melanie "Mel" Bush (Bonnie Langford)

Ace

Dorothy "Ace" McShane, (Sophie Aldred) first appears in Dragonfire, on the planet Iceworld, although Ace was from 20th century Earth. At the end of this story, Melanie Bush leaves the Doctor. He invites Ace to come with him. Ace stays the Doctor's companion until the first end of the series in 1989.

Eighth Doctor

Grace Holloway

Dr. Grace Holloway (Daphne Ashbrook) was the Doctor's companion in the 1996 television movie Doctor Who. Grace is a cardiologist from 1999 San Francisco. She accidentally kills the Seventh Doctor during an operation. Grace helps the Eighth Doctor fight the Master. In the end of the movie, the Eighth Doctor invites Grace to travel with him, but she says that she will stay on Earth.

Lucie Miller
Lucie Miller was the Doctor's companion in The Eighth Doctor Adventures range from Big Finish, and is among the named companions in The Night of the Doctor special episode featuring the Eighth's regeneration.

Charlotte Pollard
Charlotte Pollard was the Doctor's first companion in the audio series by Big Finish. She was a girl from 1900s Britain, she ran away to fly around the world, boarding the ship the R101. The Doctor saved her from the crash and she became his companion.

Ninth Doctor

Rose Tyler

Adam Mitchell
Adam Mitchell (Bruno Langley) was the Doctor's companion for only two episodes. In 2012, he was a young English researcher. He worked for the American billionaire Henry van Statten. In the episode "Dalek" he was at van Statten's base, and at the end he went with the Doctor in the TARDIS. In "The Long Game" he is travelling with the Doctor and Rose, but Adam behaves badly. At the end of the episode, the Doctor takes Adam home.

Jack Harkness

Tenth Doctor
 Rose Tyler (Billie Piper)
 Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman)

Mickey Smith
Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke) was Rose Tyler's boyfriend. He helped Rose and the Ninth Doctor several times. Later he travelled with the Tenth Doctor and Rose. At the end of "The Age of Steel", Mickey decided to stay in the parallel world to help fight the Cybermen. In "Journey's End", Mickey returned to this world, and at the end decided to stay here again.

Donna Noble

Martha Jones

Astrid Peth
Astrid Peth (Kylie Minogue) was the Doctor's companion during the 2007 Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned". She is from the planet Sto. Astrid is a waitress on the starship Titanic. Astrid helps the Doctor. She is killed while she saves him. After saving the Titanic, the Doctor realises that Astrid was still wearing a teleporter bracelet when she died. He tries to bring her back to life, but it does not work fully: Astrid now is a ghost-like energy being. In the end, the Doctor sends Astrid away to fly through the universe.

Wilfred Mott
Wilfred Mott (Bernard Cribbins) was the grandfather of Donna Noble. He first appeared in the 2007 Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned". He made his final appearance in the 2009 Christmas special "The End of Time".

Eleventh Doctor

Amy Pond

Rory Williams

Rory is often also called Rory Pond by the Doctor. Rory does not like the name. He thinks since he and Amy Pond got married, they should be Mr. and Mrs Williams. The Doctor prefers Mr. and Mrs. Pond. Rory is also known as the Last Centurion.

River Song
 played by Alex Kingston
Daughter of Amy Pond & known as "The Child of the. T.A.R.D.I.S"

Craig Owens
Craig Owens (James Corden) was a man whose apartment the Doctor stayed in during The Lodger (2010). He returned in Closing Time (2011) to help the Doctor fight some cybermen  hiding underneath a department store.

John Riddell
John Riddell was an English game hunter. The Doctor picked him up in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (2012). He took him to a Silurian Ark ship to help stop it crashing into earth. He left after the episode and may not be considered a 'proper' companion.

Queen Nefertiti of Egypt
Queen Nefertiti (called 'Neffie' by the Doctor) helped the Doctor with a Silurian Ark ship that was going to crash into earth in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (2012). After she left and went to Africa with big game hunter John Riddell.

Brian Williams
Brian Williams (Mark Williams) Rory Williams father. The Doctor accidentally brought him along during Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (2012). He helped fly the Silurian Ark to safety with his son Rory. He does not show up in later episodes.

Clara Oswald
 Clara Oswald was a companion of the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors. Clara was called "the impossible girl".

Paternoster Gang
The Paternoster Gang is a group that includes Silurian Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), her wife Jenny Flint (Catrin Stewart), and Sontaran commander Strax (Dan Starkey).

Twelfth Doctor
 Clara Oswald (Jenna-Louise Coleman)
 Paternoster Gang
 Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie)
 Nardole (Matt Lucas)

Thirteenth Doctor

Graham O'Brien

Graham O'Brien (Bradley Walsh) is a companion of the Thirteenth Doctor.  He is a retired bus driver.

Ryan Sinclair
Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole) is a companion of the Thirteenth Doctor.  He is also Graham's step-grandson and went to school with Yasmin Khan.  Ryan has dyspraxia.

Yasmin Khan
Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill) is a companion of the Thirteenth Doctor.  She is a junior police officer with the Hallamshire Police.

Dan Lewis
Dan Lewis (John Bishop) is a companion of the Thirteenth Doctor. He is a volunteer at Jenning Street Food Bank.

Fourteenth Doctor

Donna Noble

Fifteenth Doctor

Ruby Sunday
Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) is the companion to Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor.

Related pages

 Doctor Who

Companions

Doctor Who companions


Piero Corti (16 September 1925 – 20 April 2003) was an Italian doctor who chose to work in a hospital in Uganda for most of his life.

Childhood between war and illnesses

Piero Corti, whose real name was Pietro, was born in Besana in Brianza on 16 September 1925. His father was Mario Corti, and his brothers included Eugenio Corti, who would go on to be a famous writer and essayist, four years older than him. Piero grew up in a relatively wealthy family, because it had invested in the silk trade at first and then it had moved into the building market.

At the age of 7 he developed a severe case of pneumonia, so he was sent by his parents in a college in Stresa, on Lago (Lake) Maggiore, with his brothers to recover. He came back to Besana during the Second World War. After Milan was bombed, his father sent Piero and his brother Giovanni to check their apartment there, and even in that circumstance the teenager showed a clinical gaze at death.

Young doctor

His deep Christian belief and his unselfish soul developed in him the desire to be a doctor, and in particular a doctor in foreign lands.
Despite his friends' skepticism, Corti enrolled in the school of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Milan, from where he graduated. In Milan, he met a young girl, Benedetta Bianchi Porro, who was studying medicine, intending to live in Africa as a missionary. Corti, who was in love with her sister Manuela, a famous dancer, despite the age gap, was very close to that girl and when he discovered that she was ill, he promised he would become a doctor in Africa for her and he would work for two.
After graduating, he followed the advice of a friend, Agatha Sidlauskas, a psychologist whom he met in Italy through her collaboration with Father Agostino Gemelli, and he moved to Canada, where he specialized in radiology, neuropsychiatry and
pediatrics at Hôpital Sainte Justine pour les enfants in Montreal.
There, during his studies, he met another Canadian colleague who was specializing in surgery, Lucille Teasdale, who had wanted to be a doctor to fight injustice since she was a child and she seemed perfect to Corti for his future projects.

When dreams come true

After some intimacy, Piero and Lucille did not meet for a period in which Piero was searching for a place where he could realize his dream. When they met again in Marseille, Piero told Lucille about his seven months in India and Africa, where he had rejoined brother Corrado, a missionary in Chad, and he managed to convince her to go with him to Uganda for some months.

On 1 May 1961 Piero and Lucille landed in Entebbe, capital of the British protectorate of Uganda, where brother Toni Biasin, a Combonian missionary, was waiting for them to  bring them to Kampala, the city where the surgeon Denis Burkitt operated. He sent them to Gulu, where Combonian fathers had built some dispensaries. They settled in Lacor, a small village 11 m from Gulu, on the land of the Acholi tribe.

The dispensary, run by Combonian sisters who worked there as nurses and midwives, was originally composed of just one pavilion, which had a surgery and at least 40 maternity beds. There Lucille began to work as a surgeon and Corti was the anesthetist, the radiologist and the manager.
They fell in love and were married in the hospital chapel on 5 December 1961; on 17 November 1962 Lucille gave birth to their daughter Dominique.
As well as the ordinary work and the sanitary business, there was the effort to find funding for the hospital.
Corti started an epistolary correspondence with many people, doing several journeys to Europe; he was often in Italy to raise money for medical equipment.
The best therapy, at the least price for the greatest number of people, was his motto.
In that period very important doctors passed by St. Mary's Hospital, such as Dr Arshad Warley, South African pediatrician and professor at Makerere University.

The civil war
In October 1962, almost a year after their arrival in Uganda, the former British protectorate gained independence; there were years of political clashes with the rise of the Prime Minister Milton Obote, who broke the constitution, banished President Mutesa and proclaimed himself new president, then accused of smuggling with captain of Uganda Army Amin Dada, who became General in 1966. When he knew that Obote wanted to arrest him, organized an uprising and assumed power in 1971. There were many clashes between Amin Dada's troops and Obote's supporters and he sheltered in the near Tanzania.

The hospital, which was in the middle of the war outbreak, has been raided several times. In this climate of terror, Piero and Lucille decided to send away their daughter, to ensure her a better education, so Dominique moved to Italy.

Despite difficulties, doctor Corti's work progressed well; at the end of the 1960s the little hospital was enlarged and modernized, new divisions were set up with two theaters, after the authorization of President Amin Dada, who visited the hospital in 1976, new doctors came from Entebbe and even from Italy, a nursery school was opened.
Thanks to Italian help, Corti could realize another project: health prevention to avoid kwashiorkor, and he was helped especially by Claude Desjardins and his wife Suzanne.

The show must go on

In 1975 Dominique asked her parents to return to Africa and they decided she would study in a college in Nairobi.

Meanwhile, Corti was becoming more and more esteemed among the Acholi tribe, in fact during an ambush to the hospital, when a soldier threatened to kill Dr Corti, a woman from the tribe saved him.

Keen on hunting and  mountaineering since he was a child, with his friends Enrico Citterio and Paolo Della Porta, met at university, Corti decided a climbing of Cervino mountain, that was held in August 1981, despite the initial skepticism of Lucille. Just one year before another promising doctor came to Lacor, Wilson Carswell, Scottish professor at Makerere University, who contributed to make the hospital a qualified center for training young doctors from Uganda.
Meanwhile, the first important awards come: Piero and Lucille were promoted "Ufficiali dell'Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana" in 1981.

In 1982, Corti had a mild heart attack and during his convalescence he met a young black doctor Matthew Lukwiya, who had graduated from Makerere University and was a specialist in the diagnosis and treatment of childhood cancers. He was also an expert on AIDS, a disease that was spreading rapidly in Uganda and in other parts of Africa.
Matthew became Corti's best colleague, working hard and very close to him and Lucille, who knew, despite his lack of experience, he had a background knowledge better than theirs.

In 1983 the two were invited to Vatican City by Pope John Paul II, who congratulated them on their work in Africa; and while struggles in Kampala were getting more and more cruel and made victims every minute, Piero and Lucille were invited to Ginevra to collect the Sasakawa prize from OMS, won because of their appeal to volunteers and midwives in the fight against malnutrition and their organization of "vaccination safaris" in Northern Uganda.

Conditions were exacerbated by a devastating epidemic of enterocolitis. Many people, terrified, went to shamans who, with their rites, worsened the patients, forced to go urgently to the hospital, which, despite difficulties to find equipments, continued to be expanded with new labs, a physiotherapy department and a library.

After the clashes, only the pediatric division was full of patients, replaced by refugees who had nowhere else to go.

On 7 April 1987 Piero gathered Acholi elders to decide on the future of the hospital and they suggested a temporary closure, which was realized after Matthew's kidnapping by Upda troops. At Lacor were accepted just the most severe cases and Lucille was busy with the most various operations.

After a six-week closure, the hospital was finally reopened under the directorship of Matthew, while Dominique and her parents went to Japan for a conference.

New climbs, new illnesses, new awards

Once again Corti wanted to climb, so after many tests to prove his health, he left for the Ruwenzori in 1991, while Lucille was worsening because of AIDS, which she had contracted after an operation.
On 19 September 1993 Corti had a second heart attack, which convinced him to rest, spending a couple of weeks with Lucille in a clinic in the Alps.

In 1995, the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei awarded Lacor Hospital the Feltrinelli Prize for an "exceptional and high humanitarian value enterprise".
On 1 May 1995 President Yoweri Museveni inaugurated the pavilion that would host the outpatient service.

Last tragic events

In 1996 a tragic event marked Corti's life: on 1 August, while he was being awarded membership of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Lucille died after many years of illness and suffering.

Corti, left alone, hoped for Matthew's help, but unfortunately, his best doctor in Lacor Hospital and intimate friend died because of pulmonary haemorrhage due to Ebola virus on 5 December 2000.

Corti kept his struggle for St. Mary's Hospital, which today counts over 300,000 patients each year and has been chosen to represent the battle against AIDS in Africa, since it was the first hospital to identify and confirm the first AIDS case to the Uganda Ministry of Health.

In 1993 a new tuberculosis department was inaugurated and today hosts many seropositive patients.

In March 2002 Piero married Argia, a friend of his childhood with whom he shared his last years.
After many operations to the coronary arteries, Piero died on 2 April 2003 in Milan from pancreatic cancer. He was aged 77 and had spent 42 years of his life as a missionary in Africa.

References

Bibliography

 Michel Arseneault (in Italian), Un sogno per la vita: Lucille e Piero Corti, una coppia di medici in prima linea. Turin: Paoline Editoriale Libri, 2004.
 Fondazione Piero e Lucille Corti (in Italian), Dal sogno alla realtà: lettere dal Lacor Hospital Uganda, Bergamo: Corponove Editrice, Settembre 2009.

1925 births
2003 deaths
20th-century Italian physicians
21st-century Italian physicians
Deaths from cancer in Lombardy
Deaths from pancreatic cancer
Italian expatriates in Uganda
Sasakawa Health Prize laureates

Piero Corti


Wo Weihan (; 1949 – November 28, 2008), a native of Qiqihar, Heilongjiang, was a Chinese scientist and entrepreneur of Daur nationality. He was executed  at the age of 58–59 on November 28, 2008, by firing squad, along with missile expert Guo Wanjun, 66, for passing sensitive information to a Taiwanese NGO. Weihan was interrogated for ten months in 2005 and allowed access to a lawyer in 2006. His trial was held in secrecy in 2007.

Charges
The case against Wo related to alleged passing of sensitive national security information, which China argued justified special handling of the case.

It was claimed that Wo became a spy for Taiwan intelligence agency with the codename "YANG DONG". He got to know Mr Guo during a wedding ceremony in early 1990s. The Taiwan intelligence agency also invested (USD) $300,000 to help Wo's first wife, to set up a restaurant in Austria.

Mainland Chinese media and portals, including Global Times and Sina, released details of Wo and Guo's spying activities after the execution. In the early nineties, Wo Weihan bought critical information and documents on DF-31, from Guo Wanjun, a missile expert who had participated in the design of DF-31.  Mr. Wo and Guo's activities resulted in the leakage of the top secret information of the DF-31, including internal design and structure of the missile, causing significant impact on Chinese national security. They both were accused of spying for Taiwan and US intelligence agencies by selling sensitive information on intercontinental ballistic missiles. Neither Taiwan nor US have made an official statement in this regard.

According to the verdict released by the High Court of Beijing after the sentencing in March 2008, the charges Wo Weihan was convicted of included: "...discussing the health of senior Chinese leaders." In PRC, the health status of senior leaders is declared top secret. Also included in the verdict were convictions of the smuggling of secret information of PLA's night time equipment. Wo was also accused of copying military photos from a magazine, which was public at the time but later declared classified.

Disputes
The execution took place on the final day of the China-EU Human Rights Dialog in Beijing. The US, for whom Wo spied, and the EU strongly condemned the execution.

"We are deeply disturbed and dismayed by reports that the Chinese government has carried out the death penalty against Wo Weihan," Susan Stevenson, a spokeswoman at the US embassy in Beijing said.
She said that Wo's arrest and trial had fallen short of international standards for due process. "Reportedly Mr Wo did not have access to legal counsel until after the prosecuting officials completed their investigation. His confession was coerced and the charges against him were questionable."

Their executions came at a time when China had been presenting itself as a reformed and more humane state, particularly on the eve of China's Olympic debut. The EU and US response to the executions indicate that the executions severely challenged the credibility of the SPC death penalty review reform, which aimed to reduce the number of executions in China (estimated at 7000 per year). Wo's two daughters, both Austrian citizens, resorted to Austria and EU to first request a fair and transparent trial for their father, and later pleaded for amnesty as the deficiencies in the prosecution of the case became clear. Diplomatic efforts made behind the curtains had no result for three years. Media coverage and an expanded advocacy campaign which included pleas by Condoleezza Rice, President Heinz Fischer of Austria and the EU Troika were also in vain.

Family
Wo Weihan's wife and younger daughter saw Wo Weihan on the morning of November 27. None were given official confirmation that the sentence had been approved and that an execution was pending. Wo's elder daughter expected to be able to see her father that week after the Chinese Ministry Foreign Affairs promised to the Austrian Embassy in Beijing that a second visit would be allowed for her. However, Wo was executed on the morning of November 28. This led to very strained relations between the Austrian and Chinese Ministries of Foreign Affair; Austria viewed it as an intentional affront.

According to Qin Gang, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,".....Wo Weihan is a Chinese citizen.... He could not be treated in a different way only because he has some foreign relatives."

Guo's family were not allowed to visit Guo during the years of imprisonment, and only five days after the execution, which they had found out about through Wo's family, did they receive a notice that they could pick up Guo's ashes.

References

Biologists from Heilongjiang
Chinese biophysicists
1949 births
2008 deaths
21st-century executions by China
People executed by China by lethal injection
Executed People's Republic of China people
Executed spies
Chinese spies
People from Qiqihar
Physicists from Heilongjiang
Executed people from Heilongjiang

Wo Weihan


Acer Clear.fi is a wireless home network program by the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Acer. It allows sharing and playback of media over multiple compatible platform devices. The console can be assembled when the user attaches a wireless router to a DLNA-compliant gadget. When the two are attached, icons will appear onscreen, allowing users to access files through the media console. Acer Clear.fi can also automatically locate Acer smartphones and PCs, enabling users to share media. It was officially presented by the company at a Beijing Conference in May 2010.

References

External links

Acer Inc. products
Wireless networking hardware

Acer Clear.fi


Sacha Noam Baron Cohen  (born 13 October 1971) is an English comedian, writer and actor. He was born in Hammersmith in London.

In 2021, Cohen was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Abbie Hoffman in The Trial of the Chicago 7.

Career
He made a television series called Da Ali G Show, in the series he had three characters:
 Ali G - An English "wannabe" (someone who wants to be something they are not) rapper.
 Borat Sagdiyev - A news reporter from Kazakhstan, often uses phrases in the movie that are not "real Kazakh," but are intended to be such. Some of these phrases are; "very nice" and "woo woo wiwa" Borat likes to make fun of Jews and is a very talented song writer. His most famous song is called "In My Country there is Problem" (often called "Throw the Jew Down the Well") The lyrics for "In My Country there is Problem" can be found below:                            Lyrics:                                                                                In my country there is problem, And that problem is transport. It take very very long, Because Kazakhstan is big. Chorus 1 Throw transport down the well (repeat line) So my country can be free (repeat line) We must make travel easy (repeat line) Then we?ll have a big party (repeat line) Verse 2 In my country there is problem And that problem is the Jew They take everybody money And they never give it back Chorus 2 Throw the jew down the well (repeat line) So my country can be free (repeat line) You must grab him by his horns (repeat line) Then we have a big party (repeat line) Verse 3 If you see the Jew coming You must be carefull of his teeth You must grab him by his money And I tell you what to do (Repeat Chorus 2 twice)
 Bruno - A gay fashion reporter from Austria.

He also made a movie about the character Borat called Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. This movie made Cohen an international celebrity.

In 2009 he made a movie about Bruno called Brüno. The movie about Borat made about $26.4 million in its debut.

In 2012 Cohen played Thénardier in Les Misérables.

In 2012, Cohen made a movie called The Dictator in which he played Admiral General Aladeen.

Personal life
Cohen became engaged to Isla Fisher in 2004. The couple married in 2010. They have two daughters and a son. Cohen is Jewish.

References

Other websites

 Sacha Baron Cohen audio interview with NPR's Robert Siegel
 Official Borat Homesite
 Yahoo biography
 Sacha Baron Cohen's characters video collection
 'Borat' Earns Glorious $26.4M in Debut

1971 births
Living people
Actors from London
BAFTA Award winners
Comedians from London
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
English movie actors
English movie producers
English television actors
English television writers
Golden Globe Award winning actors
Jewish British actors
Jewish British writers
Jewish comedians
People from Hammersmith
Screenwriters from London

Sacha Baron Cohen


The Rural Development Service (RDS) was formerly part of the UK Government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It ceased to exist on 1 October 2006 following the creation of Natural England.

History

The RDS was created in 2001, when the Farming and Rural Conservation Agency merged with the then Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's regional service centres.

The body was charged with the implementation of the England Rural Development Programme (ERDP), as well as a range of other rural services, placing the agency at the forefront of change in rural areas. The RDS employed 1,500, working with rural partners and local people to improve the environment, promote the conservation of wildlife and biodiversity and develop stronger rural economies and communities.

Following a review by Christopher Haskins, enacted in the Natural Environment and Rural Communities 2006 in March 2006, the agri-environment element of the RDS was integrated with English Nature and most of the Countryside Agency on 1 October 2006 to form Natural England. Smaller elements of the RDS went to the State Veterinary Service and the Regional Development Agency in each English region.

References

External links
Official website, archived in April 2006

Defunct public bodies of the United Kingdom
Economy of England
Environment of England
Agriculture in England
Organizations disestablished in 2006
Rural development in Europe
2001 establishments in England
Government agencies established in 2001
Rural society in the United Kingdom
2006 disestablishments in the United Kingdom

Rural Development Service


Carlo Schmid (3 December 1896 – 11 December 1979) was a German academic and politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

Schmid is one of the most important authors of both the German Basic Law and the Godesberg Program of the SPD. He was intimately involved in German-French relations and served as "Federal Minister for the Affairs of the Federal Council and States" from 1966 to 1969.

Biography and profession
Schmid was born in Perpignan, France, and lived there for five years before his family moved to Germany. In 1908, the family moved to Stuttgart, where Schmid attended the prestigious humanist , where he passed his Abitur in 1914. From 1914 to 1918, Schmid fought in the German army. After the war he studied law at the University of Tübingen after which he successfully sat the first (1921) and second (1924) Legal State Exam. In 1923, he completed a doctoral dissertation under the supervision of the renowned legal scholar Hugo Sinzheimer.

After working as a lawyer for a short time, he was made a justice of Württemberg state in 1927. From 1927 to 1928, he worked as a research assistant for the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut for foreign public law. At the Institute, he was a colleague of Hermann Heller. In 1929, Schmid completed his Habilitation with a thesis on the jurisprudence of the Permanent Court of International Justice. From 1930 to 1940 he worked as a Privatdozent at the University of Tübingen. He was refused tenure by the Nazis on political grounds.

In 1940 he was made legal counsel of the 'Oberfeldkommandantur' of the German occupation forces in Lille (France).

In 1946, he was granted tenure as professor of public law at Tübingen, and in 1953, he relinquished the position for a chair in Political Science at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität in Frankfurt am Main.

Apart from pursuing an academic career, Schmid translated works of Niccolò Machiavelli, Charles Baudelaire and André Malraux. His personal archive was placed in the care of the German  in Bonn. He worried about Martin Sandberger's conditions in Landsberg prison and spoke out in favor of a commutation.

He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (). He was also awarded the prestigious Hanseatic Goethe Prize. Schmid died in Bad Honnef on 11 December 1979 at the age of 83.

SPD
After the war, Schmid joined the SPD and was one of the founders of the reconstituted SPD in Württemberg. He acted as chairman of the SPD in Württemberg-Hohenzollern from 1946 to 1950 and was member of the SPD board from 1947 to 1970. He was also a member of the Presidium of the SPD from 1958 to 1970 and acted as a catalyst for party reform, being one of the main authors of the Godesberg Program, which jettisoned most remnants of Marxist doctrine.

From 1961 to 1965 he was part of Willy Brandt's shadow cabinet as shadow foreign minister.

Parliamentary activity
In 1947, Schmid was elected as representative in the Landtag of Württemberg-Hohenzollern. He was a member of the Landtag until the state ceased to exist upon the creation of the state Baden-Württemberg on 17 May 1952.

From 1948 to 1949, Schmid was a member of the Parlamentarischer Rat, acting as leader of the SPD faction and chair of the Chief Committee, playing a pivotal role in the drawing up of the German Basic Law. Arguably, Schmid's most distinctive contribution to the German constitutional system was the "Constructive Vote of No Confidence" which stated that a Chancellor can be removed from office by only the Federal Diet upon the Diet's election of another Chancellor. This type of vote of no confidence is constructive because it prevents the Federal Government from being paralyzed by recurring votes of no confidence as occurred in the Weimar Republic.

From 1949 to 1972, he was a member of the Federal Diet. He was active in a variety of Diet committees, the most notable of which was the Foreign Affairs Committee. He also served as vice-president of the Federal Diet from 1949 to 1966 and again from 1969 to 1972. He also served as vice-president of the SPD-faction in the Diet.
During his entire membership of the Diet he represented the Mannheim I electoral district.

Other public offices

In 1945 the French military authorities nominated Schmid to act as "President of the State Secretariat"  for the Land Württemberg-Hohenzollern, which was located in the French Zone of Occupation. Simultaneously, Schmid was put in charge of the Land's educational and cultural policies until the first elections took place in 1947. From then to 1 May 1950, Schmid was Minister of Justice and acting President of the Württemberg-Hohenzollern. He represented Württemberg-Hohenzollern at the German Constitutional Convention were the Basic Law was ratified.

Carlo Schmid stood for election for the office of Federal President (Bundespräsident) in 1959 but was defeated by the CDU candidate Heinrich Lübke in the second round of voting.

Schmid was Federal Minister for the Affairs of the Federal Council (Bundesrat) and States (Bundesländer) in the cabinet of Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger from 1966 to 1969. In this position, he represented the Federal Government in the Bundesrat. Schmid quit the cabinet on 21 October 1969 after the election of 6th Bundestag.

International politics

Carlo Schmid, whose mother was from France and who spoke excellent French, was always eager for reconciliation between France and Germany. He was a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from 1950 to 1960 as well as from 1969 to 1973. He was President of the Assembly of the Western European Union, a regional defence organisation distinct from the European Union, from 1963 to 1966, after being vice-president of the Assembly since 1956.

Works

 "Regierung und Parlament", in: Hermann Wandersleb, Recht, Staat, Wirtschaft, vol. 3, Düsseldorf 1951.
 "Vier Jahre Erfahrungen mit dem Grundgesetz", in: Die Öffentliche Verwaltung, 1954, Issue 1, pp. 1–3.
 "Die Opposition als Staatseinrichtung", in: Der Wähler, 1955, Issue 11, pp. 498–506.
 "Der Abgeordnete zwischen Partei und Parlament", in: Die Neue Gesellschaft, 1959, Issue 6, pp. 439–444.
 "Der Deutsche Bundestag in der Verfassungswirklichkeit", in: Friedrich Schäfer, Finanzwissenschaft und Finanzpolitik, Festschrift für Erwin Schoettle, Tübingen 1964, pp. 269–284.
 (mit Horst Ehmke und Hans Scharoun), Festschrift für Adolf Arndt zum 65. Geburtstag, Frankfurt am Main 1969.
 "Der Deutsche Bundestag. Ein Essay", in: Der Deutsche Bundestag. Portrait eines Parlaments, Pfullingen 1974, pp. 12–17.
 "Das Fundament unserer staatlichen Ordnung", in: Bekenntnis zur Demokratie, Wiesbaden 1974, pp. 11–20.
 "Demokratie - Die Chance, den Staat zu verwirklichen", in: Forum Heute, Mannheim 1975, pp. 319–325.
 Erinnerungen (Reminiscences), Bern 1979.

See also

 Hugo Preuß
 Jakob Maria Mierscheid, the fictitious follower

References

 Theodor Eschenburg, Theodor Heuss, Georg-August Zinn: Festgabe für Carlo Schmid zum 65. Geburtstag, Tübingen 1962.
 Petra Weber: Carlo Schmid (1896–1979). Eine Biographie. München 1996
 Petra Weber: Carlo Schmid. Demokrat und Europäer. Mannheim 1996 ("Kleine Schriften des Stadtarchivs Mannheim Nr. 4")
 Theo Pirker: Die verordnete Demokratie. Grundlagen und Erscheinungen der 'Restauration", Berlin (West) 1977, Olle und Wolter Verlag

External links

 http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/biografien/SchmidCarlo/
 http://www.spd.de/servlet/PB/menu/1009538/
 https://web.archive.org/web/20190810155243/http://derhistoriker.de/ Speech of Prof. Dr. Carlo Schmid before the Parlamentarischen Rat on 8 September 1949 (In German)

1896 births
People from Perpignan
1979 deaths
German scholars of constitutional law
Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians
Candidates for President of Germany
Federal government ministers of Germany
Members of Parlamentarischer Rat
Ministers-President in Germany
Members of the Landtag of Württemberg
Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Western European Union people
University of Tübingen alumni
Academic staff of the University of Tübingen
Academic staff of Goethe University Frankfurt
Translators of Charles Baudelaire
French–German translators
Italian–German translators
German Army personnel of World War I
Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg

Carlo Schmid (German politician)


Google has been involved in multiple lawsuits over issues such as privacy, advertising, intellectual property and various Google services such as Google Books and YouTube. The company's legal department expanded from one to nearly 100 lawyers in the first five years of business, and by 2014 had grown to around 400 lawyers. Google's Chief Legal Officer is Senior Vice President of Corporate Development David Drummond.

Privacy

United States v. Google Inc.

United States vs. Google Inc. is a case in which the United States District Court for the Northern District of California approved a stipulated order for a permanent injunction and a $22.5 million civil penalty judgment, the largest civil penalty the  Federal Trade Commission (FTC)  has ever historically won. The FTC and Google Inc. consented to the entry of the stipulated order to resolve the dispute which arose from Google's violation of its privacy policy.  In this case, the FTC found Google liable for misrepresenting "privacy assurances to users of Apple's Safari Internet browser".   It was reached after the FTC considered that through the placement of advertising tracking cookies in the Safari web browser, and while serving targeted advertisements, Google violated the 2011 FTC's administrative order issued in FTC v. Google Inc.

Google Spain v AEPD and Mario Costeja González

Google Spain SL, Google Inc. v Agencia Española de Protección de Datos, Mario Costeja González  was a decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union holding that an internet search engine operator is responsible for the processing that it carries out of personal information which appears on web pages published by third parties.

Hibnick v. Google, Inc.

Hibnick v Google was a class action suit against Google in 2010. The suit accused Google of breaching several electronic communications laws with the launch of their new product Google Buzz. Google Buzz was a social media network that automatically plugged into Gmail.

Joffe v. Google, Inc.

Joffe v. Google, Inc. was a federal lawsuit between Ben Joffe and Google, Inc. that entered official Supreme Court jurisdiction in November 2010. Joffe claimed that Google broke one of the Wiretap Legislation segments when they intruded on the seemingly "public" wireless networks of private homes through their Street View application. Although Google appealed multiple times, the courts ruled in favor of Joffe.

Mosley v SARL Google

Mosley v SARL Google was a 2013 French court case in which former President of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile Max Mosley attempted to make the internet search engine Google remove images of him engaging in a sado-masochistic sex act with several prostitutes. The publication of the images in the (now defunct) British newspaper The News of the World was litigated in Mosley v News Group Newspapers and resulted in Mr Mosley being awarded £60,000 in damages.

Rocky Mountain Bank v. Google, Inc.

Rocky Mountain Bank v. Google Inc. was a decision by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California holding that Google had to reveal the account information of a Gmail user who had been mistakenly sent sensitive information from Rocky Mountain Bank.

Patacsil v. Google,. Inc.
Patacsil v. Google,. Inc.
In re Google Location History Litigation, Case No. 5:18-cv-05062, U.S. District Court for the District of Northern California. The law firm Franklin D. Azar and Associates, P.C. was appointed interim class counsel in this privacy case by users of Google Maps or other Google applications, alleging that Google deliberately collected personal information from individuals in order to generate millions of dollars in revenue by covertly recording contemporaneous location data about users on their mobile devices who had specifically opted out of such tracking.

Advertising

Google, Inc. v. American Blind & Wallpaper Factory, Inc.

Google, Inc. v. American Blind and Wallpaper Factory, Inc. was a decision of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California that challenged the legality of Google's AdWords program. The court concluded that, pending the outcome of a jury trial, Google AdWords may be in violation of trademark law.

Rescuecom Corp. v. Google Inc.

Rescuecom Corp. v. Google Inc. was a United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit case in which the court held that recommending a trademark for keyword advertising was a commercial use of the trademark, and could constitute trademark infringement. The case involved Rescuecom. Prior to the case's resolution, Google recommended the 'Rescuecom' trademark to businesses (including Rescuecom's competitors), that were buying keywords through Google's AdWords product.

Rosetta Stone v. Google Inc

Rosetta Stone v. Google was a decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit that challenged the legality of Google's AdWords program. The Court overturned a grant of summary judgment for Google that had held Google AdWords was not a violation of trademark law.

Goddard v. Google, Inc.

Goddard v. Google, Inc. is a case in which Jenna Goddard alleged that she was harmed by Google as a result of clicking allegedly fraudulent web-based advertisements for mobile subscription services. The United States District Court for the Northern District of California held that the action was barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act ("CDA") and dismissed the complaint.

Censorship

Garcia v. Google, Inc.

Garcia v. Google, Inc. is a case where Cindy Lee Garcia sued Google and its video-sharing website, YouTube, to have the controversial film, Innocence of Muslims, taken down from the site.  A California district court denied Garcia's motion for preliminary injunction, but, on appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the lower court's decision, ordered YouTube to take down all copies of Innocence of Muslims, and remanded the case to the district court for reconsideration. In May 2015, in an en banc opinion, the Ninth Circuit reversed the panel's decision, vacating the order for the preliminary injunction.

Defamation

Duffy v. Google Inc
On October 27, 2015, the Supreme Court of South Australia found in the case of Duffy v Google Inc [2015]  SASC 170 that Google Autocomplete perpetuated a defamation of the plaintiff for which Google was liable.

Defteros v. Google LLC

On April 30, 2020, the Supreme Court of Victoria found in the case of Defteros v Google LLC [2020] VSC 219 that Google could be held liable for defamation in Australia. "The Court held that Google does publish webpages reached by clicking on hyperlinks within Google search results. The resolution of the publication issue was a necessary step to Google's liability; Google succeeded on some defences and failed on others. Defteros was awarded $40,000."

On August 17, 2022, Australia's highest court ruled that Google was not liable. A joint statement by Chief Justice Susan Kiefel and Justice Jacqueline Gleeson said, "In reality, a hyperlink is merely a tool which enables a person to navigate to another webpage."

Intellectual property

Agence France Presse
In March 2005, Agence France Presse (AFP) sued Google for copyright infringement in federal court in the District of Columbia, a case which Google settled for an undisclosed amount in a pact that included a license of the full text of AFP articles for use on Google News.

Viacom International Inc. v. YouTube, Inc.

Viacom International, Inc. v. YouTube, Inc. is a U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York case in which Viacom sued alleging that YouTube had engaged in "brazen" and "massive" copyright infringement by allowing users to upload and view hundreds of thousands of videos owned by Viacom without permission.  A motion for summary judgement seeking dismissal was filed by Google and was granted in 2010 on the grounds that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's "safe harbor" provisions shielded Google from Viacom's copyright infringement claims.  In 2012, on appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, it was overturned in part. On April 18, 2013, District Judge Stanton again granted summary judgment in favor of defendant YouTube. An appeal was begun, but the parties settled in March 2014.

Authors Guild, Inc. V. Google, Inc.

Authors Guild v. Google was a copyright case litigated in the United States centering on the allegations by the Authors Guild that Google infringed their copyrights in developing its Google Book Search database. The Google Book Search Settlement Agreement was a proposed settlement agreement between the Authors Guild, the Association of American Publishers and Google in settlement of Authors Guild v. Google|Authors Guild et al. v. Google, a class action lawsuit alleging copyright infringement. The settlement was initially proposed in 2008, and ultimately rejected by the court in 2011. In late 2013, the presiding U.S. Circuit Judge dismissed Authors Guild et al. v. Google.

Field v. Google, Inc.

Field v. Google, Inc. is a case where Google successfully defended a lawsuit for copyright infringement.  Field argued that Google infringed his exclusive right to reproduce his copyrighted works when it "cached" his website and made a copy of it available on its search engine.  Google raised multiple defenses: fair use, implied license, estoppel, and Digital Millennium Copyright Act safe harbor protection.  The court granted Google's    motion for summary judgment and denied Field's motion for summary judgment.

Mian Mian lawsuit
In December 2009, Chinese writer Mian Mian filed a lawsuit against the company, for scanning her entire novel without notifying her or paying her for copyright permission. Google removed Mian's work from its online library shortly after learning of the suit. In January 2013, a Chinese court ordered Google to pay Mian compensation of 5,000 yuan (US$800) for scanning her works without permission.

Bedrock Computer Technologies, LLC vs. Google, Inc
In 2016, a Texas jury awarded Bedrock Computer Technologies $5 million in a patent lawsuit against  Google. The patent allegedly covered use of hash tables with garbage collection and separate chaining in the Red Hat Linux kernel. Google and Bedrock later settled the case and the judgment was vacated by the court.

Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc.

Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc. is a dispute related to Oracle's copyright and patent claims on Google's Android operating system specifically in context of the application programming interfaces (APIs) from the Java implementation that Google had initially used in developing the Android system. The case, originally filed by Oracle in 2010, has had a complex history between two separate hearings and jury trials at the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and two subsequent appeals at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In May 2012, Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California ruled that APIs are not subject to copyright. Judge Alsup determined that where "there is only one way to declare a given method functionality, [so that] everyone using that function must write that specific line of code in the same way," that coding language cannot be subject to copyright.  In May 2013, Oracle appealed Judge Alsup's ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and on May 9, 2014, the Federal Circuit reversed Judge Alsup's finding that Java APIs are copyrightable, leaving open the possibility that Google might have a fair use defense. In October 2014, Google filed a petition to ask the Supreme Court to review the Federal Circuit's decisions and was denied. As the case returned to the district court for Google's fair use defense, in May 2016, a jury unanimously agreed that Google's use of the Java APIs was fair use. Oracle then filed another appeal and in March 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rejected the jury's verdict and reversed the district court's decision again held that Google's use was not a fair use as a matter of law. In 2019, Google filed another petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review both Federal Circuit decisions. The Court heard oral arguments in October 2020 and issued its opinion in April 2021, reversing the Federal Circuit and holding that Google's use of Java APIs was protected by fair use.

Perfect 10, Inc. v. Google, Inc.

Perfect 10 v. Google, Inc., et al. was a U.S. court case for Google to stop creating and distributing thumbnails of  Perfect 10's images in its Google Image Search service, and for it to stop indexing and linking to sites hosting such images.  In early 2006, the court granted the request in part and denied it in part, ruling that the thumbnails were likely to be found infringing but the links were not.

Roey Gorodish v. Waze & Google Israel
A class action suit was filed in March 2014 by accountant Roey Gorodish against Google Israel and Waze (acquired by Google), claiming intellectual property violations for the use of open-source FreeMap map and code from the open-source RoadMap software, a project which Ehud Shabtai had contributed for the Windows PocketPC version in 2006. The lawsuit was dismissed twice in Israeli courts, final verdict given by the Israeli supreme on 28 January 2019.

In January 2020, Roey Gorodish and Baruch Krotman, filed a regular lawsuit against the company.

Genericide of "google"
In 2017, David Elliot and Chris Gillespie argued before the Ninth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals that "google" had suffered genericide. The controversy began in 2012 when Gillespie acquired 763 domain names containing the word "google". The company promptly filed a complaint with the National Arbitration Forum (NAF). Elliot then filed a petition for canceling the Google trademark. Ultimately, the court ruled in favor of Google because Elliot failed to show a preponderance of evidence showing the genericide of "google".

Discrimination
Google is currently fighting a lawsuit filed by the US labor department claiming gender discrimination. Officials of Google said it was too financially burdensome and logistically challenging to hand over salary records that the government requested in order to investigate.
A judge has however ordered Google to hand over salary records to the government in this ongoing investigation by the US Department of Labor.

James Damore et al. v. Google, LLC
In a lawsuit filed January 8, 2018, multiple employees and job applicants alleged Google discriminated against a class defined by their "conservative political views[,] male gender[,] and/or […] Caucasian or Asian race".

Arne Wilberg v. Google, Inc.
On January 29, 2018, YouTube technical recruiter Arne Wilberg filed a suit accusing Google "of systematically discriminating in favor of job applicants who are Hispanic, African American, or female, and against Caucasian and Asian men."

Kelly Ellis et al VS. Google, Inc.
On August 14, 2017,  three former employees of Google have filed a class action lawsuit against the internet company, alleging a pattern of discrimination against women workers, including systemically lower pay than their male counterparts.

Microtransactions

In-app purchases class action

In 2014 a parent filed a class action lawsuit against Google for "in-app" purchases, which are microtransactions that can be made within applications.  This lawsuit followed a class action lawsuit and investigation by the Federal Trade Commission against Apple Inc. over similar complaints.  (See Apple Inc. litigation -- In-app purchases class action).  The parent contended that there is a 30-minute window during which authorizations can be made for credit card purchases that are designed to entice children to make such purchases in "free apps", and that Google should have been aware of the issue because of the Apple litigation.

Epic Games v. Google

On August 13, 2020, Epic Games filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google following the removal of the Epic-developed game Fortnite from Google Play, after an update release allowed Epic to directly sell microtransactions, bypassing the 30 percent revenue share with Google. Epic alleges that Google is using the 30 percent revenue share imposed on developers to enforce a monopoly on development for Android. Simultaneously, Epic filed a similar lawsuit against Apple Inc, which had also removed Fortnite from the App Store (iOS) for similar reasons.

In October 2021, Google launched a counter-suit against Epic Games, asserting that Epic was in violation of its Play Store contract terms when it added a new Fortnite version without its payment system.

Match Group v. Google
On May 9, 2022, Match Group sued Google over its strategic manipulation of markets and abuse of power where mandating Match Group to use Google's billing system to remain in the Google Play Store. Following the lawsuit, filed in Northern District of California accuses the company of deploying "anticompetitive tactics" to maintain a monopoly on the Android mobile ecosystem.

Antitrust

Umar Javeed, Sukarma Thapar, Aaqib Javeed vs. Google LLC & Ors.

A 7-year antitrust probe by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) was launched into Google's Android dominant business in India.

The CCI found that Google had broken EU antitrust rules when it "abused its market dominance as a search engine by promoting its own comparison shopping service in its search results, and demoting those of competitors." The company was ordered to alter its algorithm search ranking websites and fined US$2.7 billion by the European Union.

United States v. Google
In 2020, the US Department of Justice and a group of 38 state attorney generals sued Google for monopolizing digital advertising technology. They accused the company of acquiring competitors, locking in clients with its platforms, and exploiting or distorting auction mechanisms for ads. It has also been accused of paying billions each year to mobile network operators and smartphone manufacturers to ensure that Google's service remains as the default search engine on their devices. Microsoft testified at the trial saying that even revenue-sharing deals at 100% or more for phone makers were at times turned down by them, preventing Microsoft Bing from scaling and improving the quality of its search results. Google's lawyer questioned whether it was money or quality that has made it difficult for Bing to challenge Google.

Law enforcement

Gonzales v. Google
On January 18, 2006, the U.S. Justice Department sought to compel Google to turn over one million web addresses from the company's database and one week's worth of search engine queries absent any personal information. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the request was intended to help fight Internet pornography and counter legal challenges to the Child Online Protection Act. Google maintains that their policy has always been to assure its users' privacy and anonymity and challenged the subpoena on the grounds that its trade secrets would be compromised. On March 18, 2006, a federal judge ruled that while Google must surrender 50,000 random URLs, the Department of Justice did not meet the necessary burden to force Google to disclose any search terms entered by its users in Google.

See also
High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation
Smartphone patent wars
European Union vs. Google
Waymo LLC v. Uber Technologies, Inc. et al.

References

United States lawsuits
Privacy
Censorship
Intellectual property law
Lists of lawsuits

Google litigation


Pool is an unincorporated community in southwestern Nicholas County, West Virginia, United States.  It lies along CR 41-7 just east of Route 41, south of the town of Summersville, the county seat of Nicholas County.  Its elevation is 2,142 feet (653 m).  Although Pool is unincorporated, it has a ZIP code of 26684; it once had its own post office, which opened on March 31, 1881, and closed on March 19, 2011. The community took its name from standing pool of water near the original town site.

References

Unincorporated communities in Nicholas County, West Virginia
Unincorporated communities in West Virginia

Pool, West Virginia