Author: JURIST – Paper Chase

[JURIST] The Constitutional Court of Turkey on Thursday overturned a law that allowed the prosecution of military personnel in civilian courts and prevented military prosecution of civilians during peacetime. The court was unanimous in its decision to overturn the law, which was seen as necessary for Turkish accession to the European Union (EU). The law would have allowed civilian courts to prosecute members of the military for attempting to overthrow the government, threats to national security, and violations of the constitution. The decision is seen as a hindrance to current investigations concerning an alleged plot by the country’s secular Ergenekon group to overthrow the ruling Justice Development Party (AKP).
The law was challenged by the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on the basis that it was technically flawed and unconstitutional. In June, Turkish President Abdullah Gul approved the law after receiving a letter from Turkish military officials urging him not to approve the law because it runs counter to Article 145 of the Turkish Constitution. At that time Gul said that the law was necessary for accession, but suggested that parliament should amend the law to clarify the civil court’s jurisdiction over service members.

[JURIST] Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu stated in a press conference Thursday that Chinese human rights lawyer and activist Gao Zhisheng is “where he should be.” Ma stated that holding Gao in Chinese custody since February 2009 comports with the law. The official version of the press conference transcript omitted the exchange between the media and Ma over Gao’s situation. Chinese authorities have shown reticence to discuss Gao’s case, but made the recent statements under mounting demands from rights groups that Gao be located after being reported missing since September.
Gao drew international attention in September 2007 when he wrote a letter to the US Congress requesting assistance in improving human rights in China. Gao, who has also defended Christians and coal miners in China, claimed that he was tortured after his arrest in 2007. Gao was originally part of the Chinese Communist Party and handled prominent cases involving the outlawed Falun Gong movement, but fell into disfavor with the government in 2006 when he was convicted of subversion and placed under house arrest. China has long received criticism from watchdog groups for its treatment of rights activists such as Gao.

[JURIST] European Union (EU) justice ministers considered Friday whether to use “enhanced cooperation” to enable some EU countries to work together to create uniform marriage laws for mixed-nationality couples. Incoming EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said that she would enter a demand for enhanced cooperation, a technique used when only some EU member states agree. In hearings before the European Parliament earlier this month, Reding said that she did not like to use such a technique but it must be used for important issues where unanimity is impossible. Reding said in a statement earlier this month that cross-border divorces provide a problem for the EU, citing a common hypothetical situation:
A German has married a Greek and they are living together in Belgium. Then they have a divorce. What happens with the children? Where are the children going? What law applies to this divorce to the good of the children afterwards? All this has to be clarified at the European level so that these matrimonial questions will not be headache anymore but that people will get concrete solutions and the children are treated for the better of children.EU member states have inconsistent marriage and divorce laws. For instance, in July, a British appellate court recognized a pre-nuptial agreement for the first time in the UK. Such agreements had been generally disregarded by UK courts hearing divorce proceedings, despite the fact that the rest of the EU and much of the rest of the world recognize such contracts as valid.

[JURIST] Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that nuclear arms reduction negotiations with the US are likely to resume in early February and will soon result in a landmark nuclear arms reduction treaty. The treaty is to be the successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expired in December. Official negotiations in Geneva stopped during the holiday season, and have yet to resume, although US National Security Advisor James Jones and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen were in Moscow this week to further the treaty negotiations. Both US and Russian officials have expressed their desire to conclude negotiations quickly in order to set an example before the upcoming Global Nuclear Security Summit in April, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in May.
Nuclear disarmament between the US and Russia, whose nuclear arsenals comprise 95 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons, languished during the Bush administration. The treaty is considered a key part of easing tensions between the former Cold War rivals, which reached their worst point after the 2008 Georgia conflict. In July, US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed that the treaty should reduce the maximum number of nuclear warheads that each country could have to between 1,500 and 1,675, down from the previous limitation of 2,200. They also agreed to reduce the maximum number of delivery vehicles allowed to between 500 and 1,100, down from 1,600.

[JURIST] A presidential task force has recommended that 35 Guantanamo Bay prisoners face trial or military commissions, the Associated Press reported on Friday. Government officials said that the proceedings for these detainees will most likely be carried out on US soil. The 35 detainees named in the task force report include five detainees that are already scheduled to be tried in New York for the 9/11 attacks and six detainees who have been chosen to face military tribunals. Taking into consideration the detainees to be held without charge, the total number of detainees potentially slated for transfer to the US could reach 80. It is anticipated that at least some of these detainees will be held at Thomson Correctional Center (TCC) in Illinois, which the Obama administration announced in December it plans to buy.
Last week, the Associated Press reported that the Obama administration is considering bringing charges in a Washington, DC, federal court against Guantanamo Bay detainee Riduan Isamuddin, the suspected planner of the 2002 Bali nightclub bombing. In October, US President Barack Obama signed into law the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2010, which allows for Guantanamo Bay detainees to be transferred to the US for prosecution. However, in December, House minority leader John Boehner expressed doubt that the two pieces of legislation needed to bring detainees to Illinois will be passed. The Obama administration originally intended to close Guantanamo Bay by January 22, 2010, a deadline that expired on Friday.

[JURIST] Imam Hassen Chalghoumi of Paris gave his support Friday to a proposed law that would ban wearing the burqa or niqab in public. In an interview with Le Parisien, Chalghoumi said that the full veil is not a part of French culture and that a woman should move to a country where it is accepted if she wishes to wear one. While Chalghoumi supports the ban, he criticized conservative lawmaker Jean-Francois Cope for introducing legislation without waiting to hear the results of the commission established by National Assembly, which are expected next week.
Cope’s move to introduce legislation last week was in direct opposition to the National Assembly’s November decision not to push for specific legislation banning the burqa. The commission began its hearings in July after being established a month earlier to address the issue. The controversy between the Muslim community and the secular French government has gone on for several years. In December 2008, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) unanimously ruled that there was no human rights violation when a French school expelled two Muslim students for refusing to remove their headscarves. In July of that year, a Muslim woman’s citizenship application was denied because she failed to assimilate to French culture and practiced a type of Islam found incompatible with French values.

[JURIST] US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said Friday that Haitians who arrived illegally after last week’s earthquake would be sent back to Haiti. Napolitano told a news conference that Haitians should not view the earthquake as an open opportunity to migrate to the US, but should remain in their country to help rebuild. Last Friday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) granted temporary protective status to Haitians that were in the US prior to the earthquake in order to provide “a temporary refuge for Haitian nationals who are currently in the United States and whose personal safety would be endangered by returning to Haiti.” She noted however, that “attempting to leave Haiti now will only bring more hardship to the Haitian people and nation.”
The DHS announced on Monday that the US will allow Haitian orphans into the country to receive needed care in the aftermath of last week’s 7.0 magnitude earthquake that caused massive damage to property and infrastructure in Haiti. The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti has said that up to 50 percent of buildings have been destroyed or damaged, including the presidential palace, the UN Mission headquarters, and the main prison, allowing nearly 4,000 inmates to escape. Thousand of US military troops have been deployed to assist the Haitian police and international peacekeepers as they confront rising lawlessness in the country. UN officials say the death toll may never be known, but Haitian officials have estimated that between 100,000 to 200,000 have died as a result of the earthquake.

[JURIST] Nigeria’s cabinet must pass a resolution within 14 days on whether ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua is capable of running the country, according to an order issued on Friday by Judge Dan Abutu of Federal High Court in Abuja. Yar’Adua has been absent from the country for two months receiving medical treatment in Saudi Arabia. Last week, a judge for Nigeria’s Federal High Court ordered Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to assume executive powers due to the prolonged absence of President Umaru Yar’Adua. Nigeria’s cabinet will hear testimony from five doctors to make its decision. If the cabinet finds Yar’Adua to be unfit, Jonathan will take over, in accordance with Nigeria’s Constitution.
In 2008, the Nigerian Supreme Court upheld the results of disputed 2007 election that brought Yar’Adua to power, despite opposition groups’ allegations of fraud. Yar’Adua had promised to step down if the court invalidated the election. A tribunal formed before the 2007 election to deal with allegations of fraud ruled that the opposition groups lacked enough evidence of fraud to have the results overturned.

[JURIST] Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu on Friday accused the US of harming bilateral relations with China after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, gave a speech promoting Internet freedom and criticizing censorship. Though she did not overtly attack China, Clinton did critique countries that restrict free access of information, declaring that they “risk walling themselves off from the progress of the next century.” Clinton also referenced a recent threat by Google to pull out of China, calling on Chinese authorities to conduct a thorough investigation of alleged cyber intrusions and make its findings transparent. Zhaoxu reponded:The US attacks China’s internet policy, indicating that China has been restricting internet freedom. We resolutely oppose such remarks and practices that contravene facts and undermine China-US relations.
China’s internet is open. China is a country with the most vibrant internet development. By the end of last year, China had 384 million internet users, 3.68 million websites and 180 million blogs. China’s Constitution guarantees people’s freedom of speech. It is China’s consistent policy to promote the development of internet. China has its own national conditions and cultural traditions. It supervises internet according to law, which is in parallel with the international practice.Hacking in whatever form and offence of others’ privacy is prohibited by law in China. As a major victim of hacking in the world, China believes that the international community should intensify the cooperaion in jointly combating internet hacking so as to safeguard internet security and protect the privacy of citizens in accordance with law.We urge the US to respect facts and stop attacking China under the excuse of the so-called freedom of internet. We hope that the US side can work with China to earnestly implement the consensus between leaders of both countries on developing bilateral relationship in the new era by strengthening dialogue, exchanges and cooperation, respecting each other’s core interest and major concerns and properly handling differences and sensitive issues so as to ensure the healthy and stable development of China-US relationship.Google announced its new policy towards China last week in response to a cyber attack on its Gmail service in December. That attack allegedly targeted the e-mail accounts of human rights activists in China, and drew the ire of rights groups around the world. China responded by reiterating its commitment to open Internet, but stressed that international Internet companies must follow Chinese law. China’s stance on Internet freedom, a source of contention in its relationship with Google, has long been controversial. In June, the Chinese government confirmed that filtering software that is to be sold with every computer in China did not necessarily have to be activated. That confirmation came only after the policy of pre-packaging the software with new computers was challenged by human rights lawyer Li Fangping.

[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday that two Guantanamo Bay detainees have been transferred to Algeria. Hassan Zumiri had spent more than seven years in the Guantanamo detention center, while Adil Hadi al-Jazairi bin Hamlili had been held for five. Both men are Algerian nationals, bringing the total number of Algerians released from Guantanamo to 19. The transfer comes amid criticisms from Republican Congress members after a Department of Defense official stated recently that about one in five detainees have returned to terrorist activities, according to a classified Pentagon report.
Earlier this week, Slovakia’s foreign ministry confirmed that Slovakia will be accepting three detainees currently being held at Guantanamo Bay. Closure of the detention facility was initially due by January 22, 2010, but that deadline was not met. The administration has run into several hurdles in closing the prison, including opposition from members of Congress and the recent suspension of detainee transfers to Yemen. In November, the Center for American Progress issued a report blaming missteps by the Obama administration for the delay.

[JURIST] The California Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously overturned a 2003 law limiting the amount of marijuana that may be possessed under the state’s Medical Marijuana Program (MMP). The court ruled that Health and Safety Code § 11362.77, allowing patients to possess no more than eight ounces of dried marijuana, represented an unconstitutional effort by the legislature to alter Proposition 215, a voter-approved initiative, without voters’ consent. Because the amendment was not approved through the initiative process, the court found:he Legislature is powerless to act on its own to amend an initiative statute. Any change in this authority must come in the form of a constitutional revision or amendment to article II, section 10, subdivision (c). Therefore, we are compelled to conclude that section 11362.77 impermissibly amends the.As adopted, the legislation did not establish specific quantity limits, stating only that patients may possess an amount reasonable for their medical condition.Earlier this month, New Jersey became the fourteenth US state to legalize medical marijuana. In November, voters in Maine approved an expansion of the state’s existing medical marijuana laws, making Maine the fifth state to allow dispensaries, following California, Colorado, Rhode Island, and New Mexico. California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled in 2008 that the MMP is not in conflict with the Supremacy Clause, and does not violate the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

[JURIST] Federal prosecutors on Thursday announced the indictment of seven more individuals in connection with the probe surrounding Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam and former hedge fund consultant Danielle Chiesi. The seven defendants were originally arrested in November on insider trading charges, and the 10-count indictment includes additional charges of securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Thursday’s indictment brings the total number of indicted individuals to nine in the probe that currently involves 21 people and is being called the largest hedge fund insider trading probe ever. Seven of those have already entered guilty pleas and the government said last week that an eighth plea agreement is close.
Rajaratnam and Chiesi were arrested in October and charged along with four other individuals and two business entities with insider trading. The complaint alleged that the individuals, including a managing director at Intel Corp., a director at McKinsey & Co., and a senior executive at IBM, provided Galleon Group and another hedge fund with material nonpublic information about several corporations upon which the funds traded, generating $25 million in illicit gain. Rajaratnam and Chiesi pleaded not guilty in December after being indicted for insider trading. Separately, the government of Sri Lanka has accused Rajaratnam of helping fund the Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a group designated as a terrorist organizations by several countries including the US. Although records show that Rajaratnam contributed money to the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization, a charity that the US claimed was a front for the LTTE, Rajaratnam denies funding the LTTE and has not been charged with funding the LTTE.

[JURIST] US President Barack Obama proposed new banking rules Thursday that he claims would stabilize the banking system and reduce the risk of future bank failures. The legislation would prohibit banks from owning, investing or sponsoring hedge funds, private equity funds, or proprietary trading funds for profit where the funds do not benefit the banks’ customers. Obama termed this rule the “Volcker Rule” after former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, who stood behind Obama during Thursday’s announcement. The second part of Obama’s proposed legislation would prohibit future consolidation between banks to prevent any one bank or small group of banks from having a disproportionate, and potentially negative, impact on the economy. Obama emphasized his commitment to banking reform, stating: I welcome constructive input from folks in the financial sector. But what we’ve seen so far, in recent weeks, is an army of industry lobbyists from Wall Street descending on Capitol Hill to try and block basic and common-sense rules of the road that would protect our economy and the American people. So if these folks want a fight, it’s a fight I’m ready to have.In December, the US House of Representatives approved a bill that would create a consumer protection agency, strengthen financial oversight and prohibit certain types of predatory and abusive lending. The US House Financial Services Committee had approved a bill to create a consumer financial protection agency in October, after originally delaying it at the behest of financial industry leaders in July. The creation of the agency is a key step in achieving Obama’s stated goal of tightening financial industry regulations. In June, the administration proposed a broad series of regulatory reforms aimed at restoring confidence in the US financial system.

[JURIST] Kenyan officials on Thursday announced the creation of a special tribunal to hear legal claims dealing with HIV, including discrimination and medical confidentiality cases. The tribunal will have the legal standing and powers of a subordinate court, and will be under the office of the Attorney General. Earlier this month, Kenya’s National Aids Control Council unveiled Part III of the Kenya National AIDS Strategic Plan, which outlines the government’s plans to fight the HIV epidemic in Kenya. Ambrose Rachier, the tribunal chairperson, commented on the situation and the need for a specialized legal authority:
Nobody can pretend that there haven’t been cases of violations and abuse of people living with HIV. When an HIV-positive woman is chased from home, either by in-laws or the husband, you have a serious case of human rights abuse.Kenya’s Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) decided Wednesday not to grant women equal marriage rights in the country’s new constitution, which was unveiled in draft form in November. The PSC, which is composed of members of parliament, will make important decisions in the next week as it continues to draft constitutional language, including whether the country will have a presidential or parliamentary system. 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] Zimbabwean state-run media on Thursday announced the suspension of governmental efforts to collect public opinions on a new constitution for the country. Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana, co-chairman of the committee charged with drafting the document, cited financial and logistical concerns, as well as disagreements over who would be responsible for gathering the public’s views. Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai accused President Robert Mugabe of utilizing stall tactics to delay the process, as new elections are to be held once the constitution is completed. No indication was given as to when the project might resume, though the committee will meet next week to discuss funding options.
The Zimbabwean parliament announced the formation of a committee to draft a new constitution in April as part of the power sharing agreement signed in September 2008 by Mugabe and Tsvangirai. It was hoped that a draft of the new constitution would be completed by this February so that it could be decided upon via referendum in July and adopted by the end of the year. Zimbabwe last attempted a constitutional referendum in 2000, though it was rejected due to concerns about the extent of power that would be given to Mugabe.

[JURIST] EU officials told US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano Thursday that European airports will not install body scanning technology until the countries have studied the effectiveness, safety, and threat to privacy of such devices. The US already has placed body scanners in some airports, and encouraged their use in Europe following the failed airline bombing attempt on Christmas Day. Napolitano met with security officials from several EU nations at an informal meeting of Ministers for Justice and Home Affairs in Spain to discuss terror concerns. Although the the two sides could not come to an agreement on the use of body scanners, the ministers and Napolitano released a joint statement affirming their commitment to share information and work together to eliminate terrorism. The ministers also requested that the European Commission accelerate a study on using new technologies, including body scanners, to prevent terrorism.
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced Wednesday that the UK would improve security using several methods, including the use of body scanners. Earlier this month, US President Barack Obama called for stricter airline security measures in response to the failed Christmas Day attack. Obama pledged to improve airline passenger security, stating that there had been “a failure to integrate and understand the intelligence,” because the US government had sufficient information to uncover the plot, but “our intelligence community failed to connect those dots.” Abdulmutallab has been charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, attempted murder within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the US, willful attempt to destroy or wreck an aircraft, willfully placing a destructive device on an aircraft, use of a firearm/destructive device during and in relation to a crime of violence, and possession of a firearm/destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence. A plea of not guilty has been entered on his behalf.

[JURIST] Police in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) arrested two former Bosnian Serb detention camp guards on Thursday who were allegedly responsible for the death of around 50 civilians and Bosnian soldiers during the Bosnian civil war. Ratko Dronjak was commander of a detention camp in the village of Kamenica, which held prisoners between 1992 and 1995. Dragan Rodic was a guard at the same camp. Both men are suspected of several crimes under the BiH criminal code including:
killing about 50 civilians and prisoners of war, members of the Army of; of inflicting serious bodily injuries to a large number of detainees who went through the “Kamenica” camp in the period from 1992 to 1995; for holding them incarcerated under cruel and degrading conditions, creating an atmosphere of terror, depriving them of basic necessities, submitting them through everyday questionings, beatings, torture, harassment, humiliation, psychological abuse; of failing to provide medical care and keeping the detainees in constant fear for their lives.Dronjak and Rodic are charged with violating international humanitarian law including war crimes and crimes against humanity. The men will be handed over to the BiH Prosecutor’s Office for questioning over the next few days.The BiH war crimes court was set up in the 2005 to relieve the caseload of the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The court delivered its first sentences against war crimes suspects from Yugoslavia’s violent ethnic conflicts of the 1990s in July 2008, convicting seven of genocide for their involvement in killings committed at the Srebrenica prison camp. While the ICTY has jurisdiction over high-level war crimes allegations, such as those against Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic, the BiH courts can try lower level suspects.

[JURIST] The Parliament of the Republic of Angola approved a new constitution on Thursday that would end the popular election of the president, despite the refusal of opposition party UNITA to take part in the vote. The new constitution replaces an interim constitution that had been in place since 1975. It provides for the appointment of the country’s president by parliament’s majority party, ending the direct election of the country’s president. It also replaces the position of prime minister with a vice president, who will be appointed by the president. It limits a president to two five-year terms, but that clause will first take effect after parliamentary elections in 2012. Opponents of the constitution argue that it is merely a way to further expand the power of current President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, but members of the ruling MPLA party say that it will allow him to more effectively rule the country.
Dos Santos has been in power since 1979. He faced one round of elections in 1992 before a second round was called off due to violence. A presidential election that was scheduled for 2009 was delayed while the new constitution was being considered. Human Rights Watch (HRW) has expressed doubts as to whether past parliamentary elections were fair and free and has identified problems with the electoral system.

[JURIST] A Moscow court on Thursday rejected an appeal of a lower court ruling that denied recognition of a marriage between two women. The couple, Irina Fedotova-Fet and Irina Shepitko, applied for a marriage license in March, but were refused by the registry. The women appealed to the Tverskoi District Court in Moscow, arguing that nothing in the Russian Constitution prohibits the recognition of same-sex marriage. That court rejected their appeal in October, and the appeals court affirmed that ruling Thursday, stating that Russia only recognizes marriage between a man and a woman. Counsel for the two women stated that they plan to appeal the case to the European Court of Human Rights for a violation of Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
In Europe, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Norway, and Sweden all allow same-sex marriages, while several other European countries allow partnerships with limited rights. Earlier this month, the Portuguese Parliament approved a bill to legalize same-sex marriage after Portugal’s high court ruled in August that the right to a same-sex marriage was not present in the country’s constitution. In June, Ireland passed a bill that gave limited rights to same-sex partners. Last year, the European Court of Justice, spurred by a complaint from a German man, ruled that same-sex partners have a right to survivor pensions.

[JURIST] French police on Wednesday arrested alleged war criminal Sosthene Munyemana in Bordeaux, acting on a Rwandan extradition warrant. Munyemana, a Rwandan doctor who has worked in a French hospital for eight years, is accused of war crimes related to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. He was later released on bail while awaiting a court date. France denied Munyemana’s request for asylum in 2008, citing concerns about his role in the genocide.
Earlier this month, French officials announced plans to create a special judicial service to investigate and charge individuals accused of crimes against humanity and genocide in France or in other countries. The new unit would streamline the prosecutions of Rwandans living in France who are accused of war crimes during the 1994 genocide. Diplomatic relations between France and Rwanda were restored in November. The countries had cut ties in 2006 after French judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere issued arrest warrants for several top Rwandan officials believed to have participated in the attack on former president Juvenal Habyarimana’s plane.