http://jurist.org/paperchase/ JURIST's weblog of legal news and resources worth thinking about, by Professor Bernard Hibbitts and law students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. 2012-02-11T10:54:00-05:00 en-US http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/un-concerned-over-prosecution-of-spain-judge-garzon.php [JURIST] The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) [official website] on Friday expressed its concern over the trial of Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon [BBC profile], which involve his investigations of acts that occurred during the Spanish Civil War. Spokesperson for the OHCHR, Rupert Colville, indicated that judges should not be criminally charged for investigations [UN report] performed within the scope of their judicial duties. Colville stated, "judges should not be subject to criminal prosecution for doing... 2012-02-11T10:54:00-05:00 2012-02-11T10:54:00-05:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/former-croatia-interior-minister-pleads-not-guity-to-war-crimes-charges.php [JURIST] Former Croatian military commander and senior interior minister Tomislav Mercep [official profile, in Croatian] pleaded not guilty Friday for war crimes committed against Serbians during the 1990s conflict in the Balkans. The Municipal Court in Zagreb charged that he was aware of atrocities against civilians [JURIST report] but prevented other officials from mitigating damages against them. Mercep has also been charged with with ordering detentions, torture and executions of Serbian civilians. Mercep was arrested [JURIST report] in December 2010.... 2012-02-10T16:30:00-05:00 2012-02-10T16:30:00-05:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/rights-group-urges-south-sudan-to-prosecute-those-responsible-for-ethnic-violence.php [JURIST] Human Rights Watch [official website] Director Daniel Bekele [HRW profile] on Friday urged South Sudan to investigate [HRW report] attacks made on Murle villages in December and prosecute those responsible. In this organized attack [UN News Centre report], thousands of armed Lou Nuer villagers invaded the Murle villages, robbing and burning houses and killing thousands of people. South Sudan's government has claimed repeatedly that it will investigate [South Sudan government news reports] the attacks and punish those who are... 2012-02-10T14:47:00-05:00 2012-02-10T14:47:00-05:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/un-rights-office-calls-for-icc-trial-for-syria-officials.php [JURIST] The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) [official website] Friday reiterated its call for international action to protect civilians in Syria [JURIST news archive], calling for Syrian officials suspected of crimes against humanity to be tried before the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website]. High Commissioner Navi Pillay [official profile] is now scheduled to address the UN General Assembly [UN News Centre report] on Monday regarding the latest humanitarian developments in Syria, where the ongoing... 2012-02-10T14:06:00-05:00 2012-02-10T14:06:00-05:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/uganda-to-drop-death-penalty-from-bill-criminalizing-homosexuality.php [JURIST] Ugandan MP David Bahati announced on Friday that clauses mandating the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality" would be dropped from the controversial bill that would criminalize homosexuality. The bill was reintroduced [JURIST report] to the Parliament of Uganda [official website] on Tuesday in its original form, but Bahati stated that there were plans to remove certain provisions. Bahati said in 2010 that the purpose of the bill was to prevent foreigners from corrupting Ugandan children [YouTube video] by giving... 2012-02-10T12:00:00-05:00 2012-02-10T12:00:00-05:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/un-rights-office-expresses-concern-over-death-of-south-american-prisoners.php [JURIST] Amerigo Incalcaterra, the regional representative for South America [official website, Spanish] from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) [official website], expressed concern [press release, Spanish] Tuesday over the violence in prisons in South America after the death of at least three prisoners in Uruguay, two in Argentina, two in Venezuela and one in Chile over the last few days. The OHCHR sets out guidelines for the treatment of prisoners through General Comment No. 9... 2012-02-10T11:35:00-05:00 2012-02-10T11:35:00-05:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/un-welcomes-new-libya-electoral-law.php [JURIST] The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) [official website] on Thursday welcomed the new electoral law [press release, PDF] adopted by the National Transitional Council (NTC) [official website, in Arabic; JURIST news archive]. The draft of the electoral law was finalized on Wednesday after the earlier version [text, PDF; JURIST report] was revised to address criticisms of the public. The new law sets out procedures for the upcoming election to choose a national assembly. After elected, its responsibility will... 2012-02-10T10:18:00-05:00 2012-02-10T10:18:00-05:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/iraq-conducted-65-executions-since-start-of-2012-hrw.php [JURIST] Iraq [JURIST news archive] has executed 65 people [press release] so far this year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] reported Thursday. HRW said those executed were convicted of various crimes and counted a total of 51 in January and 14 in February. HRW also called for a moratorium on all future executions, and called for "an overhaul of [Iraq's] flawed criminal justice system." In its statement, HRW also said:Human Rights Watch is particularly concerned that Iraqi courts admit... 2012-02-09T13:35:00-05:00 2012-02-09T13:35:00-05:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/haiti-rule-of-law-has-made-significant-progress-un-expert.php [JURIST] The implementation of the rule of law in Haiti is making significant progress [press release], UN Independent Expert Michel Forst said Wednesday. Forst focused on improvements such as the establishment of judicial offices, the adoption of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights [text, PDF] and the recent conviction of eight police officers [JURIST report] in a post-earthquake shooting. He said he was disappointed in the recent decision by Haiti's Investigative Magistrate Carves Jean that former president... 2012-02-09T13:01:00-05:00 2012-02-09T13:01:00-05:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/maldives-issues-arrest-warrant-for-ex-president.php [JURIST] Former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed said Thursday he would remain in the country [BBC video] and try to regain his office after reports indicated that a warrant has been issued for his arrest. The specific charges are unclear [BBC report], but Nasheed maintains that the warrant is politically motivated. Nasheed, who resigned on Tuesday [press release; JURIST report], has said that he was forced out of office in a coup. Nasheed told reporters Thursday that he would remain for... 2012-02-09T12:17:00-05:00 2012-02-09T12:17:00-05:00