Author: JURIST – Paper Chase

[JURIST] A Thai court on Monday dismissed the government’s application for an injunction against protesters gathered in Bangkok’s business district. The Internal Security Operations Command, under the direction of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, applied for an injunction that would have ordered the protest organizers to lead the group out of the area after three days of protests. The court was also asked to ban rallies in 11 other areas, which, on Sunday, were declared by the government to be covered under the Internal Security Act (ISA), restricting protesters from entering. The court denied the request, stating that it was unnecessary given that the government already had the power to evict protesters under the ISA. The protesters, known as the red shirts, are supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was removed from power in 2006 following a coup. They converged on Bangkok’s commercial hub on Saturday, demanding that the Election Commission (EC) agree to expedite a corruption case against the ruling Democrat Party. The party has been accused of receiving a 258 million baht (USD $8 million) donation in violation of a 10 million baht (USD $300,000) annual limit contained in the Thai Constitution.
The Thai Cabinet approved the invocation of the ISA last month to allow for increased security measures in anticipation of large anti-government protests. The Cabinet later extended application of the ISA after protests continued beyond the original March 23 mandate. The law was designed to provide more power to security forces and allow for the movement of protesters to be restricted through the imposition of curfews, checkpoints, and restrictions on the size of gatherings, in the event demonstrations turn violent. In February, the Thai Constitutional Court seized 46.4 billion baht (USD $1.4 billion) in assets from Thaksin for abuses of power while in office. Thaksin has been convicted of corruption in Thailand, but Cambodia has refused to extradite him. Last April, Abhisit instituted a state of emergency in Bangkok and several provinces following an outbreak of protests calling for his resignation. He also canceled the summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations leaders, which was being held in the country.

[JURIST] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Uzbekistan Monday to deliver on promises to improve its human rights record. In a speech to the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in Tashkent, Ban challenged the former Soviet republic to live up to its obligations as a signatory to various international treaties banning torture and civil rights violations. The rapidly growing Central Asian nation has long faced accusations from the West of rampant political oppression and a litany of human rights abuses, including the use of torture on its prisoners. Ban emphasized the importance of civil rights to the nation’s growth as a democracy and as a member of the international community:
Central Asia is central to this world – a key player. … You have an important place in the universal agreements that bind us as a community of nations. You have committed yourselves to many them, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention Against Torture, more than 60 other international treaties on human rights. … It is time to deliver.Uzbek President Islam Karimov dismissed criticism from the West, saying that his secular rule of the primarily Muslim nation is threatened by a rising Islamist movement. He and Ban met privately Monday to discuss the issue further. Ban visited Uzbekistan as part of a week-long tour of Central Asia, including stops in Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan to urge compliance with international human rights standards.Ban’s comments come on the heels of demands from the UN Human Rights Committee that Uzbekistan conduct an independent investigation of May 2005 clashes between protesters, soldiers, and police in the city of Andijan that rights groups estimate left as many as 500 people dead. Last month, the committee urged Uzbekistan to comply with previous recommendations and supply the UN with information on Uzbek policies regarding police use of firearms on civilians. The report was the first to be issued on Uzbekistan by the Committee since the Andijan clashes, which were sparked when thousands of protesters gathered after rebels stormed a prison and freed a group of businessmen on trial for alleged Islamic extremism. In October 2009, the European Union (EU) announced that it would lift the last of the sanctions it imposed on the country in November 2005 for its refusal to investigate the Andijan incident.

[JURIST] German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger on Sunday announced plans to enact a law to increase protections for journalists using information obtained from government sources. Under section 353b of the German Penal Code, public officials who release state information can be punished by up to five years in prison. While the current law does not specifically target members of the press, prosecutors have used the law to search and confiscate information from journalists even if they are not suspected of wrong-doing. Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger indicated that the proposed law would allow journalists to act as an important check on the government without fear of interference. The law appears to have broad support within the government and negotiations on the law are expected to begin next month.
Germany joins Iceland and the US on the list of countries that have recently proposed legislation meant to increase freedom of the press. In February, the Icelandic Parliament began considering measures aimed at increasing protections for journalists and promoting freedom of speech and transparency in government. Last December, the US Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would protect journalists’ abilities to shield sources in federal court proceedings. Reporter’s Without Borders (RWB) ranked Iceland number one in press freedom in 2009, while ranking Germany eighteenth and the US twentieth.

[JURIST] The Rwandan Supreme Court ruled on Saturday that the plea for release by Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) rebel leader Laurent Nkunda can only be heard by a military court. According to Nkunda’s counsel, Aime Bokanga, the court held that since the military was responsible for Nkunda’s detention, a military court must hear his case for release. Bokanga expressed disappointment at the ruling, saying that the Supreme Court should have declared Nkunda’s detention illegal. The case is expected to be transferred next week. Nkunda is the leader of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), a rebel group operating in the eastern DRC province of Nord-Kivu. According to Nkunda’s counsel, he is being held illegally without charge, and has promised to bring the case to the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights if redress cannot be found in a Rwandan court.
Last April, a Rwandan court rejected a similar lawsuit seeking Nkunda’s release from custody. Nkunda was apprehended by Rwandan authorities in last January near the DRC border after a joint DRC-Rwandan military operation to capture him and root out Rwandan Hutu rebels operating in the DRC. Nkunda faces an uncertain legal future, with the DRC government having called on Rwanda to extradite Nkunda to DRC where he would face charges for atrocities allegedly committed by forces under his command. Another possibility for Nkunda is extradition to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. The ICC has issued an arrest warrant and prepared a case against his deputy in the CNDP, Bosco Ntaganda, for war crimes committed in the DRC, including the recruitment and use of child soldiers. Nkunda has repeatedly denied allegations of war crimes against him and the CNDP.

[JURIST] The upper house of the Afghan parliament, the Meshrano Jirga, on Saturday backed a decree allowing the president to appoint all of the members of the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC). The decree was issued in February by President Hamid Karzai following the disputed 2009 presidential election. Previously, the ECC was comprised of three foreign members appointed by the UN and two Afghan citizens – one appointed by the Supreme Court and another by the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. The decree requires that all members be Afghan citizens and gives the president the power to appoint all five members. On Wednesday, the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of the Afghan parliament, voted overwhelmingly to veto Karzai’s decree. The upper house refused to vote on the issue, however, touching off a debate as to what is now required to prevent the decree from being enforced under the Afghan Constitution. Western diplomats claim that it must be vetoed by the Meshrano Jirga as well, and others add that the veto must be signed by the president. Additionally, some lawmakers have argued that electoral law cannot be changed within a year of an election. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for September.
The rejection of Karzai’s decree has been seen as further evidence that he is facing a much more assertive parliament in his second term. The Wolesi Jirga rejected more than a dozen of Karzai’s cabinet nominees in January before finally accepting his nominee for the justice ministry. On Thursday, Karzai blamed foreign officials for the extensive irregularities that occurred during the presidential election. Though admitting that fraud was widespread, Karzai accused UN and EU representatives of attempting to influence vote counts. In November, Karzai was declared the winner of the election after challenger Abdullah Abdullah withdrew from the runoff election due to his belief that a free and fair vote was impossible.

[JURIST] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday called on Kyrgyzstan to protect all forms of human rights, including “free speech and freedom of the media.” In a statement to the to the Jogorku Kenesh, the parliament of Kyrgyzstan, Ban stressed the importance of respecting human rights of all people:
Robust civil society, tolerance for diversity and media freedom – all are fundamental to modernization. They are essential to civil harmony and growth, prosperity, opportunity. … All of us who believe in the United Nations understand that security has many dimensions. It starts with people. Respect for the rights of all people. For the UN, the protection of human rights is a bedrock principle if a country is to prosper.The statements follow recent events in the country that include the shutdown of an opposition newspaper, a police raid on a local television station that resulted in the station being taken off the air, and the confiscation of computers from a video web portal based on allegations of pirated software use. Ban called those events “troubling.” His comments also drew a small crowd of protesters that rallied against human rights offenses in the country.Kyrgyzstan was once hailed as a model for democracy in the Central Asian countries that made up the former Soviet Union. It is believed that much of the media pressure is the result of the election of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev following the Tulip revolution that removed Askar Akayev from power in 2005. Last year, the US State Department (DOS) criticized Kyrgyzstan over its treatment of journalists in its 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.

[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday dismissed as moot 105 habeas corpus petitions of non-citizen former Guantanamo Bay detainees who are no longer in US custody. Judge Thomas Hogan wrote that in deciding the case, the court was answering one of the questions left open by the Supreme Court’s 2008 decision in Boumediene v. Bush: “what happens to a Guantanamo detainee’s habeas claim once he is transferred or released.” The former detainees had changed their petitions from seeking release from US custody to asking that the US intervene to seek their release from foreign custody or lift limitations placed on them by foreign states, or withdraw their prior determination as enemy combatants. Hogan ruled:
Upon consideration of the multiple briefs filed by the parties, the 105 habeas petitions, as well as the entire record herein, the Court finds that the District Court no longer has jurisdiction over Petitioners’ habeas petitions. Petitioners are no longer in United States custody and fail to demonstrate that they suffer from collateral consequences of their prior detention that the Court can remedy. Accordingly, the Court will dismiss their habeas claims as moot.Hogan added that petitioners’ “alleged injuries are either speculative or beyond the Court’s authority to redress.”The US government has prevailed in 12 of the 46 habeas corpus cases decided in the DC District Court. Former Guantanamo detainees have been transferred to countries including Latvia, Switzerland, Slovakia, Afghanistan, Palau, Bermuda, Algeria, and Somaliland. The Obama administration failed to meet its deadline of closing the prison by January 2010 after running into several hurdles, including opposition from members of Congress and the suspension of detainee transfers to Yemen.

[JURIST] The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Friday announced changes to airport security rules, moving toward a screening system based on intelligence information. DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said the new system will apply to all air carriers with international flights to the US, and is more effecting at stopping terrorist threats:
These new measures utilize real-time, threat-based intelligence along with multiple, random layers of security, both seen and unseen, to more effectively mitigate evolving terrorist threats. The terrorist threat to global aviation is a shared challenge and ensuring aviation security is a shared responsibility. I commend our many partners around the world who have taken steps to increase their own security measures through deployment of new technology, enhanced information sharing and stronger standards to keep air travel safe.The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) praised the new policy as a move away from racial profiling, calling it a step in the right direction.US President Barack Obama has called for stricter airport security in response to a failed bombing attempt by Nigerian citizen Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in December. Civil rights groups opposed temporary screening measures that automatically called for extra scrutiny of passengers traveling from certain Islamic countries, calling them unconstitutional. In January, European officials told the US that they would not install body scanning technology at airports until the countries have studied the effectiveness, safety, and threat to privacy of such devices. However, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that the UK would improve security using several measures, including body scanners.

[JURIST] The Serbian Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor announced Friday that it has issued an international warrant for the arrest of alleged Nazi war criminal and naturalized American citizen Peter Egner. Head Serbian prosecutor Vladmir Vukcevic has accused Egner of having been a member of Einsatzgruppe, an SS paramilitary outfit alleged to be responsible for the deaths of more than 17,000 Serbian Jews and other minorities in Belgrade during the German occupation of Serbia in World War II. Egner admitted to federal officials in 2007 that he had been a member of the squad, which is alleged to have rounded up women and children in specially modified vans to gas them with carbon monoxide. He is currently fighting efforts by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to revoke his citizenship, which would allow the government to extradite him to Serbia to stand trial on numerous counts of war crimes.
Vukcevic announced in April that he would ask the US for Egner’s extradition. In July 2008, Serbian prosecutors confirmed that they were gathering evidence for a case against Egner. Earlier that same week, the DOJ filed a complaint in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington seeking to revoke Egner’s US citizenship. Egner became a US citizen in 1966 but failed to disclose his Nazi service on his citizenship application. The DOJ argued that he was ineligible for citizenship both because of his service and because he concealed that information on his application.

[JURIST] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called on leaders in Guinea-Bissau to respect the rule of law and maintain constitutional order in the wake of a confrontation between the military and government in which the prime minister was detained and later released. A spokesperson for the secretary-general said:The Secretary-General is following with concern the military incidents in Guinea-Bissau involving the detention and subsequent release of the Prime Minister. He calls on the military and political leadership of Guinea-Bissau to resolve differences by peaceful means and to maintain constitutional order and ensure respect for the rule of law. He further underlines the need to avoid any risks to the gains made by Guinea-Bissau in its on-going peace consolidation efforts.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Guinea Bissau, Mr. Joseph Mutaboba, is working closely with other international partners including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union to continue to support national efforts to promote sustainable stability in the country.The secretary-general, Security Council, and African regional partners have cooperated in efforts to resolve Guinea-Bissau’s political turmoil in the past, signaling that this mechanism will again be employed. Concern for the rule of law has evolved from the country’s long-standing political instability.Guinea-Bissau’s military has officially denied any attempt at a coup d’etat, but on Thursday armed forces chief of staff Admiral Jose Zamora Induta was removed from office, and Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior was taken into military custody. In March, the Security Council issued a statement on the conflict in Guinea-Bissau, recognizing the importance of the work of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) and the UN Peacebuilding Commission in resolving ongoing problems. The conflict between military and government highlights continuing tensions over the assassination of President Joao Bernardo Vieira in 2009.

[JURIST] Pakistan’s Attorney General Anwar Mansoor announced his resignation Friday over controversy surrounding a Supreme Court order to investigate corruption allegations against President Asif Ali Zardari. Mansoor cited a lack of cooperation from Law Minister Babar Awan as a key factor in his decision, claiming the government was impeding him from following the Supreme Court’s orders. Mansoor alleges that the Law Ministry refused to turn over documents related to the investigation. Earlier this week, the Supreme Court threatened to imprison the head of Pakistan’s corruption agency for failing to meet a 24-hour deadline to reopen several corruption cases, including cases against Zardari. In response, police detained Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency Ahmed Riaz Sheikh, who was convicted of corruption eight years ago.
Mansoor’s announcement comes the same day that Pakistani lawmakers began weighing a constitutional bill that would greatly limit Zardari’s powers, reversing the expansion of presidential powers under former military leader Pervez Musharraf. Earlier this week, Swiss authorities denied a request from Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau, refusing to reopen a corruption investigation against Zadari. Aides to Zardari believe that presidential immunity protects him from prosecution, even after the Supreme Court overturned an amnesty law implemented by Musharraf. The amnesty was signed by Musharraf as part of a power-sharing accord allowing former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto to return to the country despite corruption charges she had faced.

[JURIST] Japanese authorities on Friday indicted a New Zealand anti-whaling activist in connection with boarding a Japanese whaling vessel as part of an anti-whaling protest in the antarctic seas. Tokyo District Public Prosecutors are bringing five charges against Captain Pete Bethune – trespassing, assault, illegal possession of a knife, destruction of property, and obstruction of business. Bethune’s charges stem from boarding the Shanon Maru II, a Japanese whaling vessel, in response to a January 6 collision with the anti-whaling vessel, the Ady Gil, which he captained. As a result of the collision, the bow of the Ady Gil was sheared off, and the crew was rescued by another ship. On February 15, Bethune allegedly approached the Shanon Maru II ship on a jet ski, cut through anti-boarding netting surrounding the ship, boarded the ship, and then presented its captain with a bill for $3 million in damage done to his ship. He was taken into custody and returned to Tokyo where he was arrested by the Japanese Coast Guard. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, of which Bethune is a member, has criticized the indictment, saying the “charges are bogus” and that the group “questions the credibility of the entire Japanese judicial system for entertaining such absurdities.” The group claims that Bethune is being held for “purely political reasons” in order set an example for anti-whaling activists. Bethune faces a possible prison sentence of up to 15 years for both the assault and the business obstruction charges and could face up to three years for the trespassing charge.
Whaling is regulated by the 1946 Whaling Convention, and commercial whaling was outright banned in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The Japanese whalers defend their whaling as scientific research because they collect data on the whale’s age, diet, and birthing rate, before packaging and selling the meat. The Japanese mostly hunt for mincke and finback whales, but have begun to hunt humpback whales, which have reached sustainable levels since being placed on the endangered species list in 1963. The whaling issue has been contentious, especially in Australia where it is a major political issue causing tensions with its neighbor New Zealand.

[JURIST] Canadian Minister of the Environment Jim Prentice on Thursday proposed a new set of regulations aimed to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted from vehicles. The new standards will apply to cars and light truck models starting in 2011. The standards will differ based on the footprints of cars (measured in square meters) and how many vehicles were sold in the previous year. According to the Canadian government:
These new regulations would deliver certainty to the automotive industry and will require significant technological improvements to vehicles to reduce GHG emissions. As a result of the proposed regulations, it is projected that the average GHG emission performance of new vehicles of the 2016 model year will be about 25% lower than the vehicles that were sold in Canada in 2008. These improvements are expected to result in a cumulative reduction of 92 Mt CO2e in GHG emissions over the lifetime of the 2011-2016 model year vehicles sold in Canada.The Environment Canada will make emissions credits available for the auto industry in order to help meet the overall environmental goals of the country while still providing the industry with flexibility.The new standards are designed to coincide with the US standards established under the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations, also announced Thursday. In December, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a finding that greenhouse gases threaten public health and the environment. Those findings enabled the EPA to take steps to curb greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, which the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 gives the EPA authority to regulate the emission of greenhouse gases by automobiles. In June, the EPA granted permission to California to enforce its own greenhouse gas emissions standards. California had been seeking permission from the EPA to set its own vehicle emission and greenhouse gas standards since 2005, but was initially denied. The EPA reconsidered California’s request last year after being directed by the Obama administration to do so.

[JURIST] Pakistani lawmakers were weighing a constitutional bill Friday that would greatly limit the powers of President Asif Ali Zardari, reversing the expansion of presidential powers under former military leader Pervez Musharraf. If passed by both houses of parliament, the 18th Amendment Bill would transfer presidential powers to the office of the prime minister, effectively reserving the presidency as a figurehead. Among other changes, the president will no longer have the power to dissolve parliament, dismiss the prime minister, or appoint the chief of the armed forces. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who would be eligible for a third term under the legislation, stressed that the bill would strengthen Pakistani institutions. Zardari expressed hope that the bill would be passed as soon as possible.
The introduction of the bill comes amid controversy over reopening corruption investigations against Zardari. Earlier this week, Swiss authorities denied a request from Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau, refusing to reopen a corruption investigation against Zadari. The request by the NAB came one day after Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered the bureau to reopen all corruption investigations within 24 hours. Aides to Zardari believe that presidential immunity protects him from prosecution, even after the Supreme Court overturned an amnesty law implemented by Musharraf. The Supreme Court’s order is likely to increase tensions between the president and the judiciary, which have recently clashed over court appointments.

[JURIST] The Kenyan Parliament on Thursday unanimously approved a draft constitution. The vote follows two days of contentious debate, though none of the many proposals for amendment passed, and the draft remained as introduced by the Committee of Experts on Constitutional Review. The draft includes several significant checks on presidential authority, including a requirement that presidential appointees face parliamentary confirmation and the removal of presidential appointment of judges. Members of Parliament receiving Cabinet positions will also have to relinquish their legislative seats. Final approval of the constitution will be determined via public referendum, to be held within 90 days.
The first draft of the constitution was unveiled in November. The changes are intended to reduce the widespread injustice throughout the country, and specifically address issues that led to violence following the 2007 presidential elections. In October, former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan called for constitutional reform in Kenya before the next electoral cycle begins in 15 months. In 2007, tens of thousands of protesters took to Kenya’s streets accusing President Mwai Kibaki of election fraud after early opinion polls suggested rival Raila Odinga was in the lead.

[JURIST] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday urged Turkmenistan to place a stronger emphasis on human rights. At a joint press conference with Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Ban said that he, “called on the government to fulfill all obligations under international human rights law and the many treaties to which it is a signatory.” Ban arrived in Turkmenistan Thursday, his first stop on his week-long tour of Central Asia, which will also include visits to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan as a chance to discuss regional cooperation, nuclear non-proliferation, climate change, and development.
Turkmenistan has been undergoing a transitional phase as it attempts to emerge from its authoritarian past as part of the Soviet Union. The country adopted a new constitution in 2008, which envisioned a new multi-party political process and provided for limits on presidential power. Political reforms in Turkmenistan come after President-for-Life Saparmurat Niyazov, who remained in office for 21 years, died in 2006. Turkmenistan gained its independence upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The country has been cited by the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights for widespread interference in judicial affairs, using torture, and suppressing political opposition, media, and civil society. The Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (DPT), which was previously called the Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR, is the country’s ruling and only legal political party.

[JURIST] The German government is considering accepting detainees held at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, according to interviews published this week by Der Spiegel magazine. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle revealed a possible plan to accept the transfer of three inmates to Germany. While Germany has historically supported the closure of Guantanamo, the former interior minister opposed accepting detainees, citing security grounds. The new proposal, which may see detainees in Germany in the near future, has drawn criticism from members of the German coalition government.
Last month, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that three detainees had been transferred to the country of Georgia. Also in March, two Uighur Guantanamo detainees were transferred to Switzerland. The previous month, four detainees were transferred to Albania and Spain. In December, Bulgaria expressed a willingness to accept detainees. Other European countries that have accepted transfers include Latvia, Slovakia, and Belgium. The Obama administration failed to meet its January deadline for closing the prison after running into several hurdles, including opposition from members of Congress and the suspension of detainee transfers to Yemen.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Thursday that Internet auction house eBay is not required to actively monitor its website for the sale of counterfeit goods. The decision comes in a case brought by jeweler Tiffany & Company, alleging that eBay diluted its trademark by facilitating the sale of “copycat” Tiffany jewelry. EBay argued that it had no responsibility to take proactive steps against the sale of counterfeit items. Affirming a lower court decision, the appeals court stated: may lawfully use a plaintiff’s trademark where doing so is necessary to describe the plaintiff’s product and does not imply a false affiliation or endorsement by the plaintiff of the defendant. While a trademark conveys an exclusive right to the use of a mark in commerce in the area reserved, that right generally does not prevent one who trades a branded product from accurately describing it by its brand name, so long as the trader does not create confusion by implying an affiliation with the owner of the product.While affirming that Ebay did not infringe Tiffany’s trademark, the court remanded Tiffany’s claim of false advertising.The Second Circuit ruling marks a dramatic contrast with recent rulings in Europe. In February, the Paris District Court ordered eBay to pay LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) 200,000 euros ($275,000) in damages for paying search engines to direct customers to counterfeit LVMH products. In a separate case in September, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued an advisory opinion against LVMH in its suit to collect damages from Google for Google’s AdWords system, which allows companies and individuals to purchase advertising space when a user searches for a product or brand name. In 2008, a French court ordered eBay to pay LVMH $63 million for failing to prevent the sale of counterfeit luxury goods.

[JURIST] Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said Thursday that Kenya will no longer accept Somalian pirate cases to be tried in its courts. Wetangula stated that the large number of Somalian pirate cases referred to Kenya has overburdened the country’s judicial system and noted that the international community has not followed through on its promises to support the country in adjudicating these cases. Additionally, Attorney General Amos Wako noted the lack of commitment by other countries in taking on piracy cases, leaving Kenya largely responsible.
In January, the International Chamber of Commerce International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported that 2009 marked the worst year for maritime piracy in six years. The information indicated that the total reported incidents of piracy reached 406, surpassing 400 for the first time since 2003. Earlier that month, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York filed a superseding indictment against alleged Somali pirate Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, claiming that he led the takeover of two additional ships. Muse pleaded not guilty to the charges. In November, Somali judge Mohamed Abdi Aware, known for jailing suspected pirates, human traffickers, and Islamist insurgents, was shot dead while leaving a mosque in the Puntland city of Bossaso.

[JURIST] The Obama administration issued new regulations Thursday tightening fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emission standards for new cars starting in 2012. The Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) issued a joint rule called the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE), which will require new cars to meet tougher standards by 2016. The CAFE standards will require new automobiles to meet an estimated combined average mile per gallon (mpg) of 34.1 mpg and an estimated combined average emissions level of 250 grams of CO2 per mile by 2016. The standards will apply to cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty passenger vehicles. The DOT and EPA estimate that over the lives of the 2016 model automobiles, the CAFE standards will save the average customer $3,000, will save the nation about 1.8 billion barrels of oil, and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about a billion tons. The DOT and EPA said the new standards are consistent with President Barack Obama’s National Fuel Efficiency Policy announced last may, “responding to the country’s critical need to address global climate change and to reduce oil consumption.”
In December, the EPA announced a finding that greenhouse gases threaten public health and the environment. Those findings enabled the EPA to take steps to curb greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, which the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 gives the EPA authority to regulate the emission of greenhouse gases by automobiles. In June, the EPA granted permission to California to enforce its own greenhouse gas emissions standards. California had been seeking permission from the EPA to set its own vehicle emission and greenhouse gas standards since 2005. The request was initially denied in December 2007, on the grounds that the regulations were aimed at addressing global climate change and that California was limited to “address pollution problems that are local or regional.” The EPA reconsidered California’s request last year after being directed by Obama to do so.