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 Legal news from Monday, February 26, 2007 |
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Monday, February 26, 2007 |
Five western governors sign agreement to reduce greenhouse gases
Joe Shaulis at 9:09 PM ET
[JURIST] The governors of five western US states signed an agreement Monday to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases [JURIST news archive], a cause of global warming [EPA climate change materials]. During the winter meeting of the National Governors Association (NGA) [official website], the governors of Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington [JURIST news archives] signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative [agreement text], which calls for the states to set reduction goals within six months, devise a "market-based program" to reach those goals and track emissions through a regional registry. "In the absence of meaningful federal action, it is up to the states ... to address climate change," Gov. Janet Napolitano (D-AZ) [official profile] said in a press release [text]. The market-based program could take the form of a cap-and-trade system, in which companies whose emissions exceed mandatory limits could buy credits from companies that produce less pollution. A regional cap and trade program would be a powerful first step toward developing a national program, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) [official profile], the only Republican among the five governors, said in an address to the NGA [press release]. Statements were also issued by Govs. Bill Richardson (D-NM), Ted Kulongoski (D-OR) and Christine Gregoire (D-WA) [press releases]. AP has more. Gannett News Service has additional coverage.
Monday's agreement is only the latest joint effort by the western states. Last year, Arizona and New Mexico formed the Southwest Climate Change Initiative [agreement text], and the governors of California, Oregon and Washington issued a joint statement [text] in 2003 calling for regional action to address global warming. Elsewhere in the country, several Northeastern states have created the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative [group website], to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants through a regional cap-and-trade program, and some Midwestern states signed on to the Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium [group website], to establish a voluntary registry for companies to report their emissions-reduction efforts.
Efforts to establish national emissions limits have gained traction in Congress [New York Times report] since the Democrats became the majority party, with at least four major proposals emerging. President Bush opposes mandatory carbon dioxide (CO2) limits but has proposed reducing emissions through the use of alternative fuels [White House energy policy materials]. A coalition of businesses and environmental groups has called for federal legislation [JURIST report], including a cap-and-trade program, to limit emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. In September, California became the first US state to restrict greenhouse gas emissions [JURIST report] when Schwarzenegger signed a bill authorizing a state board to set emissions targets for various industries.
This report was prepared in partnership with the Pittsburgh Journal of Environmental and Public Health Law.
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Kurd party leaders imprisoned in Turkey for distributing Kurdish language material
Caitlin Price at 8:03 PM ET
[JURIST] Two high-ranking Kurdish politicians were each sentenced to a year and a half in prison Monday by a Turkish court for distributing Kurdish-language party materials praising imprisoned Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan [advocacy website]. Ahmet Turk and Aysel Tugluk, president and vice-president of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) [Wikipedia backgrounder], received one year sentences for distributing materials written in a language other than Turkish and additional six month sentences for "praising crime or criminality" by supporting a jailed rebel. The sentences were temporarily suspended pending appeal. AP has more.
Turkey's limitations on free speech, particularly under Article 301 [Amnesty backgrounder; JURIST news archive], have drawn international criticism and contributed to the nation's delayed accession [JURIST report] to the European Union [official website]. Though Turkish officials have recently appeared open to amending Article 301 [JURIST report], another DTP leader, Hilmi Aydogdu, was charged [JURIST report] last week with inciting hatred after saying any Turkish attack on the Kurdish-dominated city of Kirkuk [Global Security backgrounder; JURIST news archive] would be comparable to an attack on all Kurds. Aydogdu faces up to three years in prison if found guilty.
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Supreme Court hears arguments in deadly force, tax refund cases
Caitlin Price at 6:49 PM ET
[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] heard oral arguments [transcript, PDF] Monday in Scott v. Harris [Duke Law case backgrounder; merit briefs], 05-1631 [docket], where the court must decide whether a police officer violated a fleeing suspect's constitutional rights by using deadly force when he bumped his police car into the suspect's car to end a high speed chase. Victor Harris was pursued by Coweta County, Georgia police when he refused to pull over while speeding. Video taken from the dashboard of the police car showed the ensuing collision, which resulted in Harris' paralysis and eventual suit against former sheriff's deputy Timothy Smith for violation of the Fourth Amendment [text]. The US Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals [official website] held [decision, PDF] that Scott's qualified immunity [definition] claim under the Fourth Amendment was an insufficient defense because he acted unreasonably. The accident video was not played in court, but at least half of the bench appeared to have seen the footage; Justices Breyer and Kennedy each implied the video evidenced that contrary to the appeals court holding Harris was driving erratically. The Court is expected to rule by July. AP has more.
The Court also heard oral arguments [transcript, PDF] Monday in EC Term of Years Trust v. United States [Duke Law case backgrounder; merit briefs; Medill News Service backgrounder], 05-1541 [docket], where the Court considered if an individual taxpayer is entitled to a $3 million refund of wrongly collected taxes, even though the deadline for appealing to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) [official website] had expired. EC Term of Years Trust sued the IRS under the wrongful levy statute, 26 USC 7426 [text], but the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals [official website] upheld [decision] a lower court decision foreclosing the action under the nine-month statute of limitations in tax refund statute 28 USC 1346 [text].
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Bosnia presidency member calls for constitutional amendment to unify BiH
James M Yoch Jr at 4:04 PM ET
[JURIST] Bosnian BiH presidency member Haris Silajdzic [Wikipedia profile] on Monday called for an amendment to the Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) constitution [text] that would end the country's division into ethnic mini-states and create a unified nation. Silajdzic's proposal was a reaction to Monday's International Court of Justice (ICJ) [official website] ruling in Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro [ICJ docket]. The ICJ ruled [JURIST report; text] that the Serbian government was not directly responsible for genocide during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war [Wikipedia backgrounder], but that Serbia failed to meet its obligations to prevent genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention [text]. The war ended with a peace agreement that split BiH into a Muslim-Croat federation and a Bosnian-Serb mini-state called Republika Srpska. Bosnia and Herzegozina have a three-member presidency [official website] that always includes a Croat, a Bosnian, and a Serb. Silajdzic said the ICJ decision suggested that Bosnian Serbs generally committed genocide during the time that led up to the creation of the constitution. Calling the constitution a "product of genocide," Silajdzic indicated he would push for its annulment.
Most Bosnian Croats and Muslims from the Bosnian-Croat Federation support a unified country. Most Bosnian Serbs nonetheless support the current division and Republika Srpska PM Prime Milorad Dodik [official profile, in English] has stressed the need for talks about the ruling and the future of the constitution. AP has more.
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Maryland judge suspends lethal injection reports until death penalty status resolved
James M Yoch Jr at 3:37 PM ET
[JURIST] US District Judge Benson Legg [official profile] Monday suspended a requirement that the Maryland Attorney General [official website] submit proposals for using medical professionals to conduct lethal injections until such time as the controversy over the status of the state's capital punishment [JURIST news archive] is resolved. Maryland death row inmate Vernon Evans, Jr. [advocacy website] had initially challenged the constitutionality of lethal injections, saying that personnel are not qualified to protect against the inmate's pain and suffering during the procedure. Legg had previously ordered both the attorney general and Evans to submit status reports every 90 days, including proposals from the state on the feasibility of using medical professionals to perform the injections. The state claims that lethal injection is not a medical procedure, that executioners are qualified to perform it, and that using medical professionals would be nearly impossible since the American Medical Association [profession website] discourages them from participating in capital punishment. The judge plans to use the information to balance the harm to Evans if he is forced to undergo an injection performed by executioners against the burden to the state of Maryland if it is forced to recruit medical professionals.
In December, the Maryland Court of Appeals [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that the state's lethal injection procedures are subject to the state's Administrative Procedures Act (APA) and therefore must be developed under the guidance of the Maryland attorney general, a legislative committee and with review and comment by the public unless the legislature acts to explicitly exempt lethal injection protocol from the APA. Two bills currently before Maryland's legislature, HB690 and HB239 [official synopses], seek to exempt it from the APA. AP has more.
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Egypt blogger appeals prison sentence for insulting Islam online
James M Yoch Jr at 3:07 PM ET
[JURIST] Egyptian blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil [advocacy website; HRinfo backgrounder] Monday filed an appeal of his four-year prison sentence on charges of inciting sedition, insulting Islam, harming national unity and insulting the president in remarks he posted on his Internet blog [website, in Arabic] that attacked conservative Muslims. A court in Alexandria handed down the sentence [JURIST report] Thursday for statements that criticized Islamic authorities, including calling Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak [official profile] a dictator and dubbing Al-Azhar University [university website], which previously expelled him from law school, "the university of terrorism." Although human rights groups have decried the sentence, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit [official profile] and other state officials and agencies support the verdict.
Nabil, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, faced a maximum of nine years in prison [JURIST report]. The court is scheduled to hold a hearing on the appeal March 12. AP has more.
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Supreme Court takes election, special education, sentencing cases
Alexis Unkovic at 12:26 PM ET
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Iraq cabinet approves draft oil law
Alexis Unkovic at 11:08 AM ET
[JURIST] Iraq's cabinet approved a draft oil law [JURIST report] Monday outlining the development and distribution of Iraqi oil and giving the national government control over oil revenues, according to a senior Iraqi oil official. The proposed law now moves to the Iraqi National Assembly [official website, in English] for revisions and ratification. Iraqi legislators delivered the draft law [JURIST report] to Iraq's cabinet over the weekend of February 18. The cabinet's approval of the draft law comes just one day after the Iraqi Oil Ministry [official website] indicated its passage was in jeopardy [JURIST report] because the Kurdish administration in the north of the country [official website] had been withholding support for the measure. The Kurdistan Regional Government reportedly endorsed the draft law Monday after debating the wording of some of its terms, which have yet to be disclosed.
Negotiations concerning the proposed oil law have been a source of tension [JURIST report] for months in Iraq [JURIST news archive] as many Kurds and Shiites want to retain control of Iraq's oil resources [Global Policy backgrounder], while Sunni Arabs, who do not dominate the oil-rich regions of the country, have insisted on central oversight. Reuters has more.
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Libby juror dismissed after exposure to information on CIA leak trial
Katerina Ossenova at 11:06 AM ET
[JURIST] US District Judge Reggie B. Walton [official profile] dismissed a juror Monday morning in the perjury trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby [defense website; JURIST news archive] after questioning the jury over possible exposure to information about the trial over the weekend. Although Walton had ordered jurors to avoid contact with media coverage about the CIA leak case [JURIST news archive], the judge said Monday that the juror had been exposed to information that "obviously disqualifies her." Two alternate jurors are available to serve on the panel, but Walton said that none of the other jurors had been tainted and that deliberations would continue with just 11 jurors. AP has more.
Lawyers made their final arguments [JURIST report] last Tuesday, with the defense arguing that Libby was a scapegoat for presidential aide Karl Rove's disclosures. In its final remarks, the prosecution argued that Libby was merely trying to a cover up a potentially illegal intelligence leak of former undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. Libby is not charged with leaking Plame's identity, but instead faces perjury and obstruction of justice charges [indictment, PDF; JURIST report] in connection with the investigation into the leak.
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Israel justice minister supports restricting Supreme Court review power
Katerina Ossenova at 10:06 AM ET
[JURIST] Israeli Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann [official profile] expressed support Sunday for restricting the ability of the Israeli Supreme Court [official website, in Hebrew] to overturn laws passed by the Israeli parliament, the Knesset [official website], and granting the Knesset authority to revise laws overturned by the court. Friedmann made his comments during a meeting of the ministerial committee for legislation, which is currently discussing two bills on the court's authority to invalidate laws promulgated by the Knesset.
Friedmann instructed the Justice Department to draw up a bill based on the Canadian model of judicial authority to strike down laws. Friedmann's bill will go before the ministerial legislative committee for approval next week. Haaretz has more.
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Right-wing France leader pledges death penalty restoration
Katerina Ossenova at 9:32 AM ET
[JURIST] Jean-Marie Le Pen [BBC profile], leader of France's far-right National Front [party website], kickstarted his fifth bid to become president Sunday with an announcement of plans to reintroduce the death penalty just days after the French parliament [official website, in French] voted to amend [JURIST report] the French Constitution [text] to include an explicit ban. In a special joint session of both the National Assembly and the Senate [official websites, in French] at the Palace of Versailles, the amendment [text, in French] passed Monday by a vote of 828-26 [voting record]. While the death penalty [JURIST news archive] has been outlawed in France since 1981, the vote officially revised the constitution to reflect this.
Le Pen's platform also includes plans to reduce the age of criminal liability to 10, create a National Guard, end benefit payments to foreigners, create 75,000 more prison places, and pull France out of NATO [official website]. In July 2006, Le Pen faced trial [JURIST report] in Paris for allegedly denying the brutality of the Nazi occupation of France during World War II. Under French anti-racism laws [text, in French; Wikipedia backgrounder on the "Loi Gayssot"], denying the Holocaust is a crime and carries charges for "complicity in contesting crimes against humanity and complicity in justifying war crimes." Le Pen surprised observers with his strong performance in the 2002 French presidential election [BBC backgrounder]. The Guardian has more.
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ICJ: Serbia not guilty of Bosnia genocide but broke law by not preventing Srebrenica
Holly Manges Jones at 9:11 AM ET
[JURIST] The International Court of Justice (ICJ) [official website] rendered its judgment [text; summary] Monday in the long-anticipated case of Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro [ICJ docket], finding that although the Serbian government was not directly responsible for genocide during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war [Wikipedia backgrounder], the country failed to meet its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention [text] to prevent genocide. The court recognized that the mass killings of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica [JURIST news archive] was nonetheless an act of genocide [Reuters report], and said that Serbia "should have made the best effort within their power to try and prevent the tragic events then taking shape."
According to the court's press release [text], after determining that it had jurisdiction to adjudicate the dispute, the ICJ:Finds that Serbia has not committed genocide, through its organs or persons whose acts engage its responsibility under customary international law, in violation of its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide; ...
Finds that Serbia has not conspired to commit genocide, nor incited the commission of genocide, in violation of its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide; ...
Finds that Serbia has not been complicit in genocide, in violation of its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide; ...
Finds that Serbia has violated the obligation to prevent genocide, under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, in respect of the genocide that occurred in Srebrenica in July 1995; ...
Finds that Serbia has violated its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide by having failed to transfer Ratko Mladic, indicted for genocide and complicity in genocide, for trial by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and thus having failed fully to co-operate with that Tribunal; ...
Finds that Serbia has violated its obligation to comply with the provisional measures ordered by the Court on 8 April and 13 September 1993 in this case, inasmuch as it failed to take all measures within its power to prevent genocide in Srebrenica in July 1995... The ICJ determined that ordering Serbia to pay compensation in the case would not be appropriate and instead ordered Serbia to:immediately take effective steps to ensure full compliance with its obligation under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide to punish acts of genocide as defined by Article II of the Convention, or any of the other acts proscribed by Article III of the Convention, and to transfer individuals accused of genocide or any of those other acts for trial by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and to co-operate fully with that Tribunal... The case against Serbia [JURIST news archive] marks the first time that a UN member state has been tried for genocide. The separate International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website; JURIST news archive] has been hearing individual cases of alleged war crimes since 1993. Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic [JURIST news archive] was on trial at the ICTY on genocide charges before his death [JURIST report] last year. The ICTY is scheduled to finish all trials by 2008 and all appeals by 2010, but the US has urged the tribunal's continuation [JURIST report] until police arrest two of the ICTY's most wanted fugitives - Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic [ICTY case backgrounder; BBC profile] and his military commander Ratko Mladic [ICTY case backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. AP has more.
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Canada may apply UK special counsel procedure to save security certificates
Katerina Ossenova at 9:00 AM ET
[JURIST] Canada Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day [official profile] said Sunday that Canada may adopt a British special counsel model to preserve the legality of using its security certificates [CBC backgrounder] to indefinitely detain foreigners with suspected ties to terrorism. In the UK, security-cleared special advocates can challenge secret intelligence presented to a court to justify the indefinite detention of non-citizens. Day's comments [recorded video] on CTV's Question Period came in response to Friday's ruling [text] by the Supreme Court of Canada [official website] that the current use of security certificates for indefinite detentions violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [text; CDCH materials]. Although the court determined that security certificates are unconstitutional [JURIST report] and without effect, Day suggested that the court's decision should be read as upholding the "general principle" of security certificates, while requiring some reforms. The Court indicated Friday that indefinite detentions were permissible as long as there was a meaningful review process of materials that detainees themselves could not see. The judgment will not take effect for one year in order to allow Parliament time to comply with the Court's ruling.
Three Arab Muslim men - Adil Charkaoui, Hassan Almrei and Mohamed Harkat [case summaries] - argued [JURIST report] before the Canadian high court last year that their indefinite detentions were unconstitutional. Suspected of membership in al Qaeda, the men were arrested on special security certificates authorized by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act [text]. Suspects can spend years fighting deportation while courts hear sensitive intelligence evidence against them, often in closed session without defense lawyers present. The security certificates have existed since 1978 and have been used six times since 2001 [Globe &. Mail backgrounder]. CTV News has more.
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UK immigration panel orders deportation of convicted terrorist to Jordan
Holly Manges Jones at 8:25 AM ET
[JURIST] The UK Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) [official backgrounder] ruled Monday that a convicted terrorist from Jordan must return to his home country despite his arguments that he risks being tortured upon returning to Jordan. SIAC chairman Justice Ouseley said there was no real threat of persecution for Islamic cleric Abu Qatada [BBC profile], basing the commission's decision on a 2005 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) [PDF text; JURIST report] between the UK and Jordan that guarantees deportees will not face abuse upon their return. While many argue that the MOUs are meaningless agreements, UK Home Secretary John Reid [official profile] praised the commission's decision to recognize the pact since it would allow the UK to continue deporting security threats.
Qatada, who has been held in a UK prison for the past five years under anti-terrorism and immigration laws, plans to appeal the SIAC's ruling. He was convicted in Jordan [JURIST news archive] for terrorist attacks and is allegedly linked to al Qaeda, which Qatada denies. Amnesty International UK expressed concern [press release] Monday at the SIAC's ruling, saying the commission "discounted ample evidence showing the risk of torture if Abu Qatada is returned," including Amnesty's documentation of abuse of so-called "security suspects" such as beatings while victims are suspended from the ceiling for hours at a time. The UK has come under criticism [JURIST report] for its reliance on memorandums of understanding countries also including Libya and Libya. In 2005, Manfred Nowak, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture [official website] said the agreements circumvent the absolute prohibition in the Convention against Torture [text] against the forcible return of detainees to countries where there is a risk of torture or ill-treatment. BBC News has more.
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South Koreans file lawsuit over draftee names on Japan war shrine
Holly Manges Jones at 7:55 AM ET
[JURIST] Eleven South Koreans filed a lawsuit Monday asking the Tokyo District Court to order the removal of their relatives' names from the Yasukuni Shrine [shrine website; JURIST news archive], a controversial memorial which many argue is a symbol of Japan's past as a military-driven nation. The plaintiffs include a former soldier and 10 other South Koreans whose fathers were forced to serve in the Japanese military during World War II. The Yasukuni Shrine honors 2.5 million people who died in Japanese conflicts since 1869, including war criminals and approximately 21,000 Koreans. The plaintiffs are arguing that their relatives' names were included against their wishes and are asking the Japanese government for a public apology and less than $1 each in compensation.
Last year, a Tokyo judge dismissed [JURIST report] a similar lawsuit filed by South Korean families seeking damages for affronting the dignity of South Korean soldiers by recording their names in the shrine. The plaintiffs had demanded a combined 4.4 billion yen (about $39 million US) in damages, but the judge said including the names on the shrine was a standard administrative procedure that did not harm the plaintiffs or violate their ethnic or religious dignity. Plaintiffs in several other lawsuits have argued [JURIST report] that visits to the war shrine by former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi [official profile] violated the principle of separation of church and state contained in the Japanese constitution [text], but Japanese courts have largely ruled in the former prime minister's favor. AP has more.
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