Author: JURIST – Paper Chase

[JURIST] Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo on Friday dissolved the country’s parliament and electoral commission based on allegations of voter fraud in the long delayed presidential elections in the African nation. On disbanding the government, Gbago charged Prime Minister Guillaume Soro with creation of new government and deciding on a new election format. Gbago had accused Beugre Mambe, the head of the independent electoral commission, of fraud by attempting to register over 400,000 whom Gbago considers to be foreigners. Opposition parties such as the Ivory Coast Democratic Party (PDCI) and Republican Gathering Party (RDR) have said that most of those voters are ethnic groups in the north of the country, who would likely have voted against Gbago.
Gbago was elected president in 2000 to serve a five-year term, but he has managed to stay in office after elections after six successive elections have been delayed. The now deposed government had been the product of peace negotiations in 2007 between Gbago’s government and northern rebels. Prior to 2007, the Ivory Coast had been divided into a southern region controlled by the government and a northern region controlled by rebel forces after a failed coup attempt in 2002, which started the country’s Civil War.

[JURIST] The government of Myanmar released 82-year old democracy activist U Tin Oo from six years of house arrest on Friday, just days before UN special envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana, the is to visit the country. Oo, a decorated general, is the Vice-Chariman of the National League of Democracy (NLD), the opposition party headed by Aung San Syu Kyii, currently under house arrest herself. Opposition activists have been expecting his release after word leaked out the general was undergoing eye surgery at the American Eye Vision Hospital in Rangoon. Thant Zin Oo, the general’s son, said the release was a calculated political move designed to appease the UN.
The Burmese government announced last year that it was processing grants of immunity to allow prisoners to participate in the 2010 general elections but it is unclear if the NLD will take part in them. Burmese Home Minister Major General Maung Oo recently announced that Suu Kyi will be released from house arrest in November when her sentence is scheduled to expire.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court Friday ordered the Obama administration and lawyers for Chinese Uighurs detained at Guantanamo Bay to file briefs explaining how Switzerland’s decision to accept two Uighurs as refugees affects their pending habeas petition. The Court originally granted certiorari in Kiyemba v. Obama to determine whether it is within the power of the judicial branch to order the release of detainees into the United States. The Department of Justice argued last week that the Uighurs appeals were moot after Switzerland announced its decision to accept the two Uighurs into its Country
The Obama administration has refused to repatriate the Chinese Uighurs due to fears that they may be mistreated in China, where they are considered terrorists. Of the 22 Uighurs originally detained at Guantanamo Bay, 17 have been relocated to other countries. Six Uighurs were transferred to Palau , four to Bermuda, five to Albania, and two were accepted by Switzerland last week despite objections from the Chinese government. Palau announced last week that it would accept the remaining five Uighurs.

[JURIST] French Immigration Minister Eric Besson on Friday presented a bill that would create “transit zones” allowing the French government to immediately detain undocumented immigrants wherever they are found. According to Besson, the draft law will allow the government to hold either a single individual or a group if they arrive outside a specified checkpoint. The legislation would also change the amount of time an immigrant has to challenge deportation from 30 days to 48 hours. Additionally, the bill would allow for a three year ban on returning to the country for those that are expelled, it would repeal the authority of certain judges to intervene in the cases dealing with the detention of illegal immigrants, and it would institute harsher fines and restrictions for employers who hire illegal workers. The bill is to be put before the Council of Ministers in March.
French immigration laws have been the subject of controversy in recent years. In November 2008, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg released a report saying that “French detention and immigration policies risk reducing human rights protection.” On overall immigration policy, Hammarberg said that a French quota on irregular migrant worker expulsion was improper and that a permanent solution needs to be reached regarding the situation of minority Roma. In September 2007, France’s National Assembly passed an immigration bill that drew criticism because it permitted officials to test the DNA of an applicant seeking to rejoin family in France if immigration officials doubted the veracity of the application. In June 2006, the French parliament passed a conservative immigration bill that tightened restrictions on unskilled, non-EU immigrants and required immigrants to sign a pledge to learn French and to abide by French law

[JURIST] The head of the UK intelligence service MI5 on Friday denied accusations that it had collaborated with the US over the alleged torture of former Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed. Director General Jonathan Evans made the comments in response to criticisms by Lord David Neuberger that the organization did not respect human rights, that it misled parliament, and that is supported a culture of suppression. Evans admitted that MI5 had made mistakes in the past but emphasized that the organization does not condone torture:
One shortfall highlighted in 2005 and again in 2007 was that the British intelligence community was slow to detect the emerging pattern of US mistreatment of detainees after September 11, a criticism that I accept. But there wasn’t any similar change of practice by the British intelligence agencies. We did not practise mistreatment or torture then and do not do so now, nor do we collude in torture or encourage others to torture on our behalf.Neuberger’s comments were made public following a ruling by the England and Wales Court of Appeal on Wednesday that held the government must disclose seven previously withheld paragraphs of a report outlining the alleged torture of Mohamed. The ruling ended the long-running legal battle to keep the information classified. In December, British government lawyers argued that two UK High Court judges acted irresponsibly when they ruled that the details of the detention must be released. This was following an interim ruling by Lord Justice Thomas and Justice Lloyd Jones that redacted the release. Last November, a separate judge on the High Court ruled that, in Mohamed’s separate suit for damages, information relating to his treatment at Guantanamo Bay may be withheld under a “closed material procedure.”

[JURIST] Nigerian acting President Goodluck Jonathan must take action to “tackle the culture of impunity” in Nigeria, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a letter dated Friday. HRW Executive Director Kenneth Roth called on Jonathan to address rights abuses left unaddressed during the two-and-a-half-year term of the Umaru Yar’Adua presidency. Specifically, the letter highlighted “endemic corruption, inter-communal violence, abuses by state security forces, and the crisis in the Niger Delta.” The letter stated in part:
The two and a half years of the Yar’Adua presidency have seen a disappointing rate of progress, if not significant setbacks, in addressing these concerns. You have the chance to do better. Not only has the Nigerian government undermined efforts to tackle widespread corruption, but government security forces continue to commit serious abuses, such as extrajudicial killings and torture, with impunity. Promising initiatives that were undertaken by the Yar’Adua administration, such as police and electoral reform, have yet to translate into any tangible policy changes. Meanwhile, the government’s 2009 amnesty plan for the Niger Delta has failed to address the root causes of the violence and instability – corruption and mismanagement of oil wealth and the arming of criminal gangs by ruling-party politicians.HRW also urged the government to hold accountable those responsible for recent sectarian violence that took place in the city of Jos.HRW’s letter comes days after Jonathan assumed the presidency in place of ailing president Yar’Adua. Yar’Adua, who suffers from a heart condition, was taken to a hospital in Saudi Arabia in November and has not been seen in public since then. While HRW has called on Jonathan directly, other rights groups have petitioned international authorities to take action to prevent recurring rights abuses. Earlier this month, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) called for an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into the violence that took place in Jos in January. The ICC is considering the petition.

[JURIST] US Attorney General Eric Holder refused to rule out a military commission for accused 9/11 co-conspirator Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in an interview with the Washington Post published Friday. Holder said that more important than the location or forum is that the trial be transparent and adhere to the rules. Administration officials said President Barack Obama will take a greater role in deciding where and how the trial takes place, despite originally leaving the decision up to Holder. The possible civilian trial has received backlash from both New York City officials and members of Congress, including some who support closing Guantanamo Bay. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said the 9/11 terror suspects should not be granted the same constitutional rights as American citizens and should be tried by military commission, proposing legislation to cut off funding for a civilian trial.
On Sunday, Obama said that a civilian trial in New York City for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is still a possibility, despite reports that the White House is considering other options. Obama said officials are looking into the logistical and security issues present before making the decision. The Obama administration has faced growing objections from New York City and state officials, and criticism over the planned trials since they were first announced in November. Last month, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged the federal government not to hold the trial in the city citing costs and potential disruptions to the lives of New Yorkers. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said last month that upon being tried and convicted, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would likely be executed because of the heinous nature of the crime.

[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Friday dismissed the appeal against the imposition of a court-appointed lawyer by former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. Last month, Karadzic appealed the imposition of a court-appointed lawyer claiming his right to “legal assistance of his own choosing” under Article 21(4)(d) of the Statute of the ICTY and the Appeals Chamber ruling in Prosecutor v. Seselj was being violated. Because Karadzic chose to represent himself, the Appeals Chamber found that he “does not enjoy any rights that are derived from choosing to be represented by legal counsel.” They also stated that:
Karadzic’s persistent obstructive behaviour has made it necessary, in the interests of justice, to limit his right to self-representation by assigning counsel to represent his interests,noting “that the right to self-represent is not absolute and may be subject to certain limitations.” Karadzic’s trial is set to resume on Monday, March 1.In December, the Trial Chamber rejected Karadzic’s motion challenging the legitimacy of the court. In November, the ICTY denied a motion filed by Karadzic requesting appellate review of the court’s decision to assign standby counsel. The ICTY began Karadzic’s trial in absentia in October after Karadzic failed to appear in court. Karadzic had announced that he planned to boycott his trial because he had not been given adequate time to prepare a defense. The ICTY has also repeatedly rejected Karadzic’s argument that he should be immune from trial based on an alleged agreement with former UN ambassador Richard Holbrooke. Karadzic faces 11 charges, including genocide and murder, for war crimes allegedly committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian genocide. In June, the ICTY said that Karadzic’s trial was expected to conclude in early 2012. His trial is planned to be the tribunal’s last.

[JURIST] Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court agreed on Friday to consider a petition questioning the legality of the arrest of opposition presidential candidate and former general Sarath Fonseka. The petition was filed by Fonseka’s wife. Also Friday, street protests against Fonseka’s arrest continued for a third day. Lawyers marched silently in Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, clad in black ceremonial robes. Eight people were reportedly injured in a clash between the protesters and police, as the protesters exited the Supreme Court. The Sri Lankan Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) announced Monday that Fonseka was arrested “in connection with certain fraudulent acts and other military offences.” Incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa alleges that Fonseka was planning a coup. Human Rights groups have expressed concern that the decision to try Fonseka in a military court will deprive him of “due process.”
On Tuesday, Rajapaksa dissolved Parliament and called for early parliamentary elections. It is believed that Rajapaksa is trying to harness momentum from the presidential election in January, in which he was re-elected, to gain more seats in parliament for his political party, Freedom Alliance. Last week, 37 people, most of them military officers, were arrested in connection to an alleged assassination attempt against Rajapaksa. The Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruled last week that Rajapaksa’s second term will begin in November. The apparent victor in January’s elections, Rajapaksa defeated Fonseka by an official margin of 18 points, winning re-election to a second term in office. Fonseka has disputed the results, saying violence and vote-counting irregularities invalidated the outcome.

[JURIST] The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Friday that Russia breached the European Convention on Human Rights in two cases concerning disappearances in Chechnya. In the cases of Razman Guluyeva and Islam Dubayev, the ECHR held that Russia violated the right to life, the right to liberty and security, the right to an effective remedy, and prohibitions on inhuman or degrading treatment. Relatives of Guluyev brought the first case before the court, arguing that the Russian authorities had failed to properly investigate Guluyev’s 2002 disappearance after he was taken from his home in Grozny by armed men in camouflage uniforms. Applicants in the second case are relatives of Dunbayev and Roman Bersnukayev, members of an armed militia in the Caucuses, who were abducted from the town of Urus-Martan in 2000 and 2001. Russia has been ordered to pay damages in both instances.
The ECHR has repeatedly ruled against Russia in human rights cases involving Chechnya, and rights groups have urged Russia to enforce the judgments. In September, the ECHR found Russia liable for the disappearances of two civilians. In April, the ECHR ordered Russia to pay a total of €282,000 to compensate the families of Chechen abduction victims. In March, the court ordered Russia to pay €37,000 to a Russian national for the death of her husband, who was chopping wood when Russian troops killed him in 2000. In December 2008, the ECHR determined Russia had violated the human rights of six other Chechens who disappeared between 2001 and 2003, and ordered Russia to pay the victims’ families €320,000. Also last December, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev proposed that Russian courts become more transparent in order to restore faith in the justice system and prevent people from turning to the ECHR.

[JURIST] Israel has begun to reroute a segment of its West Bank security barrier, said Ministry of Defense spokesperson Shlomo Dror on Thursday. The modifications, which may not be completed until the end of the year, will shift the controversial barrier’s path several hundred yards west of its current location near Bilin, and will return more than 800,000 square yards of land to Palestinian farmers. The move comes more than two years after the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the government must change the route because it excessively encroached on Palestinian territory and infringed on residents’ rights to access fields and orchards blocked by the barrier.
The contested portion in Bilin is just 500 acres of a 410-mile wall along the West Bank border, which Israel began to construct in 2002 to keep suicide bombers from entering Israeli territory. The barrier has been denounced by Palestinians as a land grab that has broken up communities and families, but Israeli officials insist it is necessary to prevent terrorist attacks. In 2006, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered Israel to dismantle another section of the wall in the northern West Bank, but Israeli courts have also rejected petitions by Palestinians when security concerns outweighed the Palestinians’ objections. In 2004, the International Court of Justice issued a non-binding advisory opinion that parts of the wall should be torn down.

[JURIST] An Iraqi appeals panel ruled Thursday that 28 previously banned candidates can stand in the March 7 elections. The ruling came after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Monday that the dispute over banned candidates would be resolved within the week. The Responsibility and Justice Committee had initially ruled that some banned 500 candidates could stand for election, despite allegations of ties to Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party, a decision that the Iraqi government characterized as illegal, but that decision was reversed Sunday when the panel acknowledged that it did not have to rule on all 500 candidates at once. Some candidates had already been replaced, and of 177 disqualified candidates who appealed their decisions, all but 37 were disqualified for improper filing.
Last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Iraq to allow the disqualified candidates to run. Iraqi leaders who opposed the original decision to exclude 500 candidates had called on the Supreme Court to analyze whether the decision was legally binding. The Iraqi Parliament had been summoned to an emergency session on Sunday to debate whether to further postpone the scheduled March 7 elections, but the session was delayed when not enough lawmakers were present to achieve a quorum. The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) previously postponed the parliamentary elections campaign, originally set to begin last Sunday, until Friday, when campaigning officially got underway. The election will determine the 325 members of the Council of Representatives of Iraq who will then elect the prime minister and president.

[JURIST] UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Sudan Muhamed Chande Othman said Thursday that while Sudan has made progress in protecting human rights, grave problems still exist. Othman praised the “institutional and legislative reform” leading to the passage of several laws protecting children and the press and creating election and human rights commissions, but said that Sudan still faces a number of problems. Specifically, Othman expressed concern about the governments failure to appoint commissioners to the country’s Human Rights Commission created eight months ago, criminal procedure laws that “infringe fundamental rights,” and reports of threats and harassment directed against potential candidates for public office. On Darfur, Othman said many people lack access to justice, that the government often detains people for significant periods of time without bringing charges against them, and that the government has failed to bring to justice those suspected of committing war crimes.
On Wednesday, UN and Darfur government groups began work on compensation for victims of the conflict in Darfur. On Monday, the African Union (AU) called for a hybrid court of Sudanese and foreign judges to hear trials of individuals accused of war crimes in Darfur. Last week, the Appeals Chamber of the ICC reversed a Pre-Trial Chamber decision that denied the application for an arrest warrant on genocide charges against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. In December, Sudan lawmakers agreed on a law addressing the implementation of a 2011 referendum on southern independence agreed to earlier in the month. Under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended two decades of civil war, Sudan is expected to hold its first democratic multi-party elections in almost a quarter of a century in April.

[JURIST] The Paris District Court on Thursday ordered Internet auction house eBay to pay LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) €200,000 ($275,000) in damages for paying search engines to direct customers to counterfeit LVMH products. The court found that eBay registered names similar to Louis Vuitton with search engines knowing that consumers looking for counterfeit products would search using those terms and be led to auctions on eBay selling those goods. The court also ordered eBay to pay LVMH €30,000 ($41,300) in attorney’s fees and said that auction company will be fined €1,000 for any future violations of Thursday’s judgment. A spokesperson for eBay said the company has not decided whether to appeal the judgment.
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, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that eBay has no duty to actively monitor its site for counterfeit goods. Earlier in 2008, however, a French court ordered eBay to pay LVMH $63 million for failing to prevent the sale of counterfeit luxury goods.

[JURIST] US Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair on Wednesday condemned a UK Court of Appeal ruling that the British government must publish intelligence relating to the alleged torture of former Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed. UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband had expressed concern that releasing the information could harm US-UK cooperation, saying that it relies on the “principle that if a country shares intelligence with another, that country must agree before its intelligence is released.” In his statement, Blair said that the ruling was a setback, but that the two countries would continue to share intelligence:
The protection of confidential information is essential to strong, effective security and intelligence cooperation among allies. The decision by a United Kingdom court to release classified information provided by the United States is not helpful, and we deeply regret it. The United States and the United Kingdom have a long history of close cooperation that relies on mutual respect for the handling of classified information. This court decision creates additional challenges, but our two countries will remain united in our efforts to fight against violent extremist groups.Also Wednesday, a White House spokesperson said that the US was disappointed by the ruling. The newly-released information includes seven paragraphs that summarized the torture of Mohamed, including sleep deprivation, shackling and mental stress and suffering that cased him to be put on suicide watch. The court’s ruling ended the long-running legal battle to keep the information classified. In December, British government lawyers argued that two UK High Court judges acted irresponsibly when they ruled that the details of the detention must be released. This was following an interim ruling by Lord Justice Thomas and Justice Lloyd Jones that redacted the release. Last November, a separate judge on the High Court ruled that, in Mohamed’s separate suit for damages, information relating to his treatment at Guantanamo Bay may be withheld under a “closed material procedure.” Mohamed was returned to the UK in February 2009, after charges against him were dismissed in October 2008. Mohamed had been held at Guantanamo Bay for four years on suspicion of conspiracy to commit terrorism.

[JURIST] The Haitian judge overseeing the prosecution of 10 US citizens charged with kidnapping in the wake of the January 12 earthquake said he will recommend their provisional release pending the investigation. Judge Bernard Saint-Vil said he will send the recommendation to the prosecutor, who has the ability to object, but ultimately the judge has the final say on whether they are released. The judge made the decision after hearing testimony from the childrens’ parents that they were voluntarily given to the American missionaries. Even if released, the Americans will not be able to return to the US until a ruling on their case is made. It is unclear whether the prosecution will support the release or whether the charges will be dropped. If convicted, the missionaries face up to 24 years in prison.
The Americans, many of whom were from the Idaho-based New Life Children’s Refuge, were charged last week in connection to their attempt to take 33 children across the Haitian border into the Dominican Republic where the group claimed it hoped to start an orphanage. Haitian authorities claim, however, that many of the children were not orphans, but given up by their parents to the missionaries who promised a better life for the children. The ten were each charged with one count of kidnapping and one count of criminal association. Lawyer Edwin Coq, who is representing the group, said that prison conditions were sub-standard and that his clients were not receiving adequate food and water. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused massive damage to property and infrastructure in Haiti, and the death toll has now been estimated at 230,000.

[JURIST] The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on Thursday criticized Sri Lanka’s plans to court-martial defeated opposition presidential candidate and former general Sarath Fonseka. The Sri Lankan Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) announced Monday that Fonseka was arrested “in connection with certain fraudulent acts and other military offences.” According to AHRC:
The case is being pursued in military courts, thus avoiding the country’s ordinary courts and depriving him of due process. This is also depriving the public of information on his case. … The overall situation created under these circumstances is one of intimidation and political tension. The Secretary General of the United Nations has made a request to avoid further tensions in the country. However, there does not seem to be any positive response on the part of the government to this request.AHRC called for the “due process of law prevail” and for “the authority of the country’s ordinary courts be preserved.”On Tuesday, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa dissolved Parliament and called for early parliamentary elections. It is believed that Rajapaksa is trying to harness momentum from the presidential election in January, in which he was re-elected, to gain more seats in parliament for his political party, Freedom Alliance. Last week, 37 people, most of them military officers, were arrested in connection to an alleged assassination attempt against Rajapaksa. The Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruled last week that Rajapaksa’s second term will begin in November. The apparent victor in January’s elections, Rajapaksa defeated Fonseka by an official margin of 18 points, winning re-election to a second term in office. Fonseka has disputed the results, saying violence and vote-counting irregularities invalidated the outcome.

[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on Thursday convicted former Rwandan army officer Tharcisse Muvunyi of direct and public incitement to genocide and sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment. Muvunyi was the highest placed military officer in charge of security operations in the prefectures of Butare and Gikongoro and former commander of a Rwandan school for non-military officers. He was charged with inciting Hutus to kill Tutsis at the Gikore Center in Butare prefecture sometime in early May 1994. Muvunyi will receive credit for time served since his arrest in 2000.
The ICTR began the retrial of Muvunyi last June after setting aside a previous conviction due to insufficient evidence. Muvunyi was convicted in September 2006 for his role in the ethnic separation and subsequent killing of orphaned children and the killing of at least 140 students and Red Cross workers. Last March, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon pledged his ongoing support for the ICTR and stressed that the international community must continue to combat genocide. The ICTR was established to try genocide suspects for crimes occurring during the 1994 Rwandan conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi peoples, in which nearly 800,000 people, primarily Tutsis, were killed.

[JURIST] Former Uruguayan president Juan Maria Bordaberry was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison for his role in the country’s 1973 military coup. Bordaberry was elected president in 1971, and in 1973 he worked with the military to dissolve the General Assembly, resulting in 12 years of military dictatorship. After his arrest in 2006 on charges of murder, prosecutors later charged Bordaberry with violating Uruguay’s constitution. Bordaberry, 81, has been under house arrest since 2007 due to failing health, and it is not clear if that house arrest will continue, or if he will be transferred to prison.
Bordaberry is the second Uruguayan dictator to be sentenced to prison in the last six months. In October, former military leader Gregorio Alvarez was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in 37 homicides that occurred during his four-year reign as president. Just before that sentencing, the country’s Supreme Court found that laws shielding rulers from prosecution for kidnapping and murder during the time of the military dictatorship were unconstitutional. Alvarez’s time as president coincided with the last years of the military dictatorship that ruled Uruguay from the 1973 coup to 1985.

[JURIST] The European Parliament voted 378-196 Thursday to nullify an interim agreement between European Union (EU) member states and the US that gave American counter-terrorism officials access to the financial information of European citizens. The agreement was intended to last nine months, while the EU and US reached a permanent agreement to share European banking information via the SWIFT banking network. Opponents of the agreement said that it failed to protect the privacy of European residents, but those in favor of the deal argue that further delaying US access to the information increases security risks to both the US and EU.
US Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levy spoke out last week against EU attempts to block the data sharing system. He said the agreement was vital for counter-terrorism efforts, and that privacy concerns were overblown. The European Parliament had the right to block the agreement under the terms of the Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force in December. The US and the EU had been sharing banking information since the 9/11 attacks, but the information only became public in 2006. The civil liberties committee of Parliament had earlier voted against the agreement.