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Legal news from Thursday, May 31, 2007

  • Spain PM backs Sarkozy call for limited EU constitutional treaty
  • Egypt court rejects plea for opposition leader release on health grounds
  • Fiji ends emergency regulations in aid deal with European Union
  • Turkish parliament passes constitutional amendment again in disputed vote
  • China government planning new anti-terrorism law
  • Top aide to Bosnian Serb war crimes fugitive Mladic arrested: reports
  • Judge to release Libby sentencing letters
  • US violent crimes, FISA warrants up in 2006: FBI official
  • Cambodia genocide judges begin two-week meeting to resolve rules differences
  • New Hampshire governor signs civil unions bill
  • US appeals court rules terror victim's brother can collect Iran lawsuit judgment
  • Italy prisoners appeal for death penalty reinstatement
  • Unilateral UN Hariri tribunal establishment draws local criticism
  • Zambia court says ex-president fit for trial on corruption charges
  • Pakistan president bypassed cabinet with CJ suspension: Chaudhry lawyer
  • Canadian Guantanamo detainee fires American lawyers days before arraignment
  • West Africa war crimes tribunal needs more funds to finish Taylor trial: HRW
  • Ukraine constitutional standoff continues as parliament fails to approve elections bill
  • China demonstrators protest WWII compensation denials at Japanese embassy
  • US immigration courts inconsistent in asylum cases: study
  • Japan court upholds compensation denial for Korean WWII slave laborers
  • Guantanamo detainee dead in suspected suicide


  • Thursday, May 31, 2007

    Spain PM backs Sarkozy call for limited EU constitutional treaty
    Leslie Schulman at 7:12 PM ET

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    [JURIST] Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero [BBC profile] and new French President Nicolas Sarkozy [official website; BBC profile] announced Wednesday that they both back proposals for a limited constitutional treaty [official report, in Spanish] that would amend the organization and powers of the European Union (EU). German Chancellor Angel Merkel [official website], whose government currently holds the six-month EU rotating presidency [German presidency website], has pressed for adoption of a broader European constitution [JURIST report] ahead of an EU summit scheduled for June 21-22. Under the "simplified" treaty backed by Spain and France, a president and foreign minister would oversee the 27-country organization. In addition, veto rights in some areas, including immigration policies, would be eliminated.

    Plans for a European constitution have largely stalled since referendum setbacks in France and the Netherlands [JURIST reports] in 2005. Germany has made reviving the constitution a key part of its presidency, but its six month tenure expires at the end of June. Sarkozy has called for a simplified, shortened treaty instead of the longer more comprehensive agreement originally envisioned. Last week, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi [official profile] said that the European Union should avoid any radical changes to the draft European Constitution [JURIST news archive], and instead proposed the idea of a "two-speed" Europe [JURIST report], in which some nations would not have to proceed with reforms as rapidly as others. Bloomberg has more.



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    Egypt court rejects plea for opposition leader release on health grounds
    Gabriel Haboubi at 5:09 PM ET

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    [JURIST] A criminal court in Cairo Thursday refused a plea by public prosecutor Abdel Maguid for the release of jailed Egyptian opposition leader Ayman Nour [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. Maguid had asked the court to consider Nour's deteriorating health, which is complicated by heart disease and diabetes. Maguid's request also follows accusations by Nour's wife, Gamila Ismail, that Egypt's police force has been abusing her husband [Reuters report].

    Nour was convicted [JURIST report] in 2005 for forging signatures on documents registering his Al-Ghad Party [party website] for the upcoming presidential election [JURIST news archive], and was sentenced to five years in jail. He finished a distant second to President Hosni Mubarak [official website], although the election was marred by irregularities [JURIST report]. Nour lost his appeal [JURIST report] last year. AKI has more.



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    Fiji ends emergency regulations in aid deal with European Union
    Gabriel Haboubi at 4:31 PM ET

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    [JURIST] The government of Fiji [official website; JURIST news archive] Thursday lifted emergency regulations imposed on the country since unrest in early December. Military commander and self-declared interim Prime Minister Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama [BBC profile] declared a state of emergency after overthrowing the government in a military coup [JURIST reports] on December 5. The emergency powers withdrew some rights protected under the Fijian constitution [text] and allowed the military to detain civilians at will. Ending the state of emergency was part of a deal worked out with the European Union [press release, DOC] that will allow Fiji to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in aid [press release, DOC] spread over eight years. Bainimarama said that police still have the power to detain people at will when public order is threatened.

    The 2006 coup was the fourth in the Pacific island nation [Wikipedia backgrounders] since 1987. AFP has more.



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    Turkish parliament passes constitutional amendment again in disputed vote
    Gabriel Haboubi at 3:40 PM ET

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    [JURIST] Turkey's parliament [official website, in Turkish] Thursday passed for a second time a constitutional amendment allowing for direct election to the presidency, but complaints of balloting violations arose even before the vote finished. The main opposition party, the secularist Republican People's Party (CHP) [party website, in Turkish], says it may petition the Constitutional Court [official website, in Turkish] as early as tomorrow regarding the disagreement over voting procedures. The amendment was approved by 369 lawmakers in the 550-seat house, surpassing the 367 votes needed to force President Ahmet Necdet Sezer [official profile] to either approve the package or submit it to a referendum. Sezer vetoed [JURIST report] the amendment last week after it was passed by the parliament the first time [JURIST report]. The current dispute concerns whether all provisions in the package must receive 367 votes. One of the four articles in the amendment package only received 366 votes, which CHP argues defeats the package. The majority Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) [party website, in Turkish; Wikipedia backgrounder] says that as long as the package receives between 330 and 366 votes, it must go to referendum. AFP has more.

    Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan [BBC profile] of the AKP called for the amendment [JURIST report] early this month, after the Constitutional Court voided a parliamentary presidential vote [JURIST report] for lack of a quorum. Opposition lawmakers refused to participate in voting because they feared the sole presidential candidate, Abdullah Gul [official website; BBC profile], would try to erode Turkey's secularist state structure. Gul withdrew his candidacy after a second vote boycott [JURIST report] by the opposition.



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    China government planning new anti-terrorism law
    Michael at 3:27 PM ET

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    [JURIST] Zhao Bingzhi, president of the criminal law research committee of the China Law Society [official website, in Chinese] told China Daily Thursday that China is preparing to enact anti-terrorism legislation [JURIST news archive], which Zhao described as a "separate law" designed to provide a legal framework to better "fight terrorism." The Daily reported that legislation will be considered by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) [official backgrounder] for introduction within China's next five-year plan, which is slated to begin in 2008.

    In 2005, a senior Chinese government official said that China was drafting new anti-terrorism laws [JURIST report], primarily to counter the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) [MIPT backgrounder], a separatist Uyghur Islamic group which China says is "an integral part of Bin Laden's terrorist forces" [Time report]. The US Department of State 2005 report on terrorism said [report, PDF] that ETIM is linked to al Qaeda and has received "training and financial assistance" from the organization. ETIM operates primarily in northwest China in the Uygur Autonomous Region. UPI has more.



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    Top aide to Bosnian Serb war crimes fugitive Mladic arrested: reports
    Michael at 2:55 PM ET

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    [JURIST] Zdravko Tolimir [ICTY case backgrounder, PDF], a former Bosnian Serb general and a UN-indicted [indictment text, PDF] war crimes suspect, has been arrested, according to Thursday media reports. Tolimir, a close aide to war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic [ICTY case backgrounder; JURIST news archive], is charged with genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, as well as various other crimes against humanity for his alleged role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre [BBC timeline; JURIST news archive]. News of the arrest broke the same day as Serbia announced the creation of the National Security Council, a special body headed by President Boris Tadic [BBC profile] that will coordinate police and military security resources to hunt suspected war criminals.

    Serbia [JURIST news archive] has come under increased international pressure from the European Union (EU) [official website] and the United States to prosecute war criminals and arrest war crimes fugitives. On May 15, the chief war crimes prosecutor of Serbia told reporters that the search [JURIST report] for Mladic "has not stopped for even a moment" and hinted at progress following statements by the EU that EU-Serbia pre-membership negotiations could resume depending on Serbia's commitment to bring war crimes suspects to justice. The negotiations were suspended in May 2005 due to the EU's perception that Serbia was failing to fully cooperate with the ICTY. BBC News has more. AP has addition coverage.



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    Judge to release Libby sentencing letters
    Gabriel Haboubi at 2:06 PM ET

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    [JURIST] US District Judge Reggie B. Walton [official profile] said Thursday that he will release more than 150 letters he has received in relation to next week's sentencing of former vice-presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby [defense website; JURIST news archive]. While Libby opposed the release of the letters, saying that the writers did not intend for them to become public, various news sources argued that the letters were now matters of public record. Walton agreed that transparency is needed and will release the letters, minus addresses and other personal information, after Tuesday's sentencing.

    Walton said that the letters run the full spectrum, with some urging leniency while others call for a substantial sentence. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald recommended [JURIST report] a sentence of two-and-a-half to three years, following Libby's March conviction [JURIST report] of perjury and obstruction of justice related to the investigation of the Valerie Plame CIA leak case [JURIST news archive]. AP has more.



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    US violent crimes, FISA warrants up in 2006: FBI official
    Michael at 1:58 PM ET

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    [JURIST] FBI Assistant Director of Public Affairs John Miller [official profile] said Wednesday during an interview with C-SPAN that an FBI report expected to be released next week will detail a nationwide increase in murders, robberies and other violent crimes for a second straight year. Miller said the report will likely show "a continued uptick in violent crime, particularly among midsized American cities." Miller also told AP and the New York Daily News that 2,176 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) [JURIST news archive] search warrants were approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) [FJC backgrounder] in 2006, an increase from 1,754 in 2005. Miller said most of warrants were issued against search targets inside the United States, and attributed the increase to a "high tempo of terrorist activity." In April of last year, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) reported a record number of approved FISA warrants during 2005 [JURIST report]. The Bush administration has sought amendments to FISA, which it says is inflexible and unable to meet the threat of terrorism.

    In December, the FBI's Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report [press release, PDF; JURIST report] found an increase of 3.7 percent in violent crimes, but a 2.6 percent decrease in property crimes such as burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. In 2005, the FBI's Annual Report on Violent Crime [text; JURIST report] found that violent crimes had increased for the first time since 2001 by 2.3%. AP has more. The New York Daily News has additional coverage.



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    Cambodia genocide judges begin two-week meeting to resolve rules differences
    Michael at 1:30 PM ET

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    [JURIST] Judges of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) [official website] who will preside over the Khmer Rouge genocide trials met Thursday to resolve remaining disputes between Cambodian and international jurists concerning the internal regulations of the tribunal. The meeting, announced [JURIST report] earlier this month, is expected to continue for the next two weeks. Once the internal rules of the tribunal are settled, judicial investigations of evidence can begin. The ECCC has also announced that tribunal investigators will be sworn in on June 13.

    The draft internal rules [PDF text] proposed for the tribunal have been a source of intense controversy for months. A meeting of the judges in November failed to reach agreement, as did a subsequent meeting [JURIST reports] in January. A March meeting made progress [JURIST report], but still left unresolved details concerning fees and other procedural details. The legal fees dispute was finally resolved in late April [JURIST report].

    The ECCC was established by a 2001 law [text as amended 2005, PDF] to investigate and try those responsible for the Cambodian genocide that occurred under the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge [MIPT backgrounder; JURIST news archive] regime. The genocide resulted in the deaths of over 1.7 million people from maltreatment, disease and malnutrition. To date, no top Khmer Rouge officials have faced trial. Questions have been raised concerning exactly how many of the Khmer Rouge's top officials will face the tribunal, as several of those responsible for the genocide have recently died [JURIST report] and others are in failing health. AP has more.



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    New Hampshire governor signs civil unions bill
    Michael at 1:02 PM ET

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    [JURIST] New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch [official profile] signed a bill [HB 437 text; press release] Thursday allowing same-sex couples to enter into civil unions with the "same rights, responsibilities, and obligations as married couples" beginning in January 2008. Lynch hailed the bill as a continuation of "New Hampshire's longstanding tradition of rejecting discrimination... [which] dates back to the Abolitionist movement."

    The legislation passed the New Hampshire House of Representatives and Senate [JURIST reports] in April. Currently, Massachusetts is the only state that has legalized same-sex marriages [JURIST report], but California, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont and Washington now permit civil unions or domestic partnerships. Oregon will allow same-sex couples to enter into contractual domestic partnerships [JURIST report] in January 2008. AP has more.



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    US appeals court rules terror victim's brother can collect Iran lawsuit judgment
    Michael at 12:12 PM ET

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    [JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled [opinion, PDF] 2-1 Wednesday that the brother of dissident Cyrus Elahi, assassinated in Paris in 1990, can collect on a default judgment he holds against Iran by attaching a $2.8 million judgment obtained by the Iranian Ministry of Defense against California-based Cubic Defense Systems [corporate website]. Dariush Elahi was awarded $11.7 million in compensatory and $300 million in punitive damages after Iran refused to respond to his 2000 lawsuit brought in a Washington federal court, alleging that the Iranian government was responsible for his brother's death. Iran originally won the $2.8 million judgment against Cubic before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) [official website] for Cubic's contract breach following the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979 [Wikipedia backgrounder].

    Both the United States and Iran, currently resolving similar disputes at the Iran-US Claims Tribunal [official website] in The Hague, argued in court that Elahi had relinquished his claim to the remainder of his judgment after collecting $2.3 million from the US government pursuant to the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 [PDF text]. Iran also argued that its judgment was immune from attachment under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) [text], but the court rejected that argument because Cubic was an agency of a commercial nature. David Bederman, an attorney representing Iran in this case, has indicated that Iran will seek an en banc hearing to challenge the decision. AP has more.



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    Italy prisoners appeal for death penalty reinstatement
    Brett at 11:35 AM ET

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    [JURIST] Hundreds of Italian prison inmates have sent a letter [La Repubblica report, in Italian] to Italian President Giorgio Napolitano [official profile] asking him to restore the country's death penalty. More than 300 of the 1,300 prisoners serving life sentences signed the letter, "asking for our life sentence to be changed to a death sentence" because of the lack of any future beyond the prison. Napolitano, in response, said that it is not up to the parliament and government to decide the fate of the prisoners' request.

    Italy abolished the death penalty in 1948, and has been a leader in the fight against the death penalty in both the European Union and the United Nations. In January, Italy gained the support [JURIST report] of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon when it launched a new push against the death penalty [IPS report] following the execution of Saddam Hussein. On the whole, Italians fervently oppose [CNN report] capital punishment, often protesting high-profile death penalty cases abroad. BBC News has more.



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    Unilateral UN Hariri tribunal establishment draws local criticism
    Michael at 11:00 AM ET

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    [JURIST] Lebanese National Assembly speaker Nabih Berri [official profile] joined Syria Thursday in condemning the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1757 [PDF text] unilaterally establishing an ad hoc tribunal [JURIST news archive] to investigate and try suspects in the February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri [JURIST news archive], saying it infringed Lebanese sovereignty and impeded the reconciliation process in Lebanon. The resolution circumvented the Lebanese National Assembly at the request [JURIST report] of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora [BBC profile] after Siniora said that "all possible means" to ratify a UN tribunal proposal [JURIST report] in the National Assembly had failed. Berri, who has long opposed the Hariri tribunal and had refused to convene the National Assembly for a vote, characterized the passage as a violation of Lebanon's constitution that "[sows] divisions" in Lebanese society. The militant Hezbollah [party website] meanwhile condemned the resolution as being "contrary to the legal rules and the charters and principles of the United Nations and the objectives for which it was established to achieve," adding that it was "illegal and illegitimate at the national and international level."

    Saad Hariri, son of the assassinated former prime minister and current leader of ruling March 14 Alliance [Wikipedia backgrounder], meanwhile said in a televised speech that the passage of the resolution was a "victory the world has given to oppressed Lebanon."

    The controversial proposal, also opposed [JURIST comment] by pro-Syrian Lebanese President Emile Lahoud [official profile], has been a source of major disagreement in Lebanon's deeply sectarian political arena. In November of last year, the Lebanese cabinet approved a draft plan [JURIST report] for the tribunal despite the resignation of all pro-Syrian cabinet members from the militant Hezbollah and Amal Movement [party website, in Arabic]. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that Syria will reject [JURIST report] "any cooperation requested from Syria that compromises national sovereignty." AP has more. Reuters has additional coverage. BBC News has additional coverage.



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    Zambia court says ex-president fit for trial on corruption charges
    Brett at 10:48 AM ET

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    [JURIST] A Zambian court held Thursday that former Zambian President Frederick Chiluba [BBC profile] must go to trial on charges of corruption, despite questions about his health. Lawyers for Chiluba argued that Chiluba was unable to proceed to trial because of a heart condition, but the court held that it "should proceed with this matter to help all other parties involved" after receiving a recommendation from his doctors. Chiluba was admitted to the hospital [AFP report] last week after collapsing in his home, and was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday.

    The charges against Chiluba include stealing $488,000 in state funds during his tenure in power from 1991-2002. In 2006, Chiluba asked [JURIST report] the African Union [official website; JURIST news archive] to intervene to halt UK criminal charges [BBC report] filed against him by Zambia related to the alleged funneling of nearly $35 million to private bank accounts in London. Reuters has more.



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    Pakistan president bypassed cabinet with CJ suspension: Chaudhry lawyer
    Michael at 10:24 AM ET

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    [JURIST] Hamid Khan, a lawyer for the Pakistan Bar Council [official website], argued before the Supreme Court of Pakistan [official website] Thursday that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's March 9 suspension [JURIST report] of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry [official website; JURIST news archive] was unconstitutional, alleging that Musharraf failed to consult the cabinet and that it only addressed Chaudhry's suspension on May 19. On Wednesday, senior lawyer and former high court judge Fakhruddin Ibrahim argued before the same court that Musharraf did not have authority to suspend Chaudhry because the 2002 referendum that kept Musharaff in power after his initial 1999 military coup was not supported by any constitutional provision and therefore lacked legal effect.

    Many Pakistani lawyers and opposition leaders believe Chaudhry's suspension was a bid by Musharraf to undermine judicial independence and continue his eight-year rule later this year. AP has more. AP has additional coverage.



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    Canadian Guantanamo detainee fires American lawyers days before arraignment
    Brett at 10:15 AM ET

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    [JURIST] Canadian Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr [Trial Watch profile; JURIST news archive] fired all of his American lawyers on Wednesday, days before he is scheduled to appear for arraignment before a US military commission [JURIST news archive]. According to his former Marine Corps lawyer Marine Lt. Col. Colby Vokey, Khadr fired both his Pentagon-appointed lawyer and a group of American law professors [JURIST audio] who have been involved in litigation on his behalf in the federal courts. Vokey told reporters that he understood how Khadr was unable to trust his American lawyers, saying that the US has submitted him to "a process that is patently unfair." Khadr's arraignment is scheduled for 8AM on Monday, at which he will be represented by two Canadian lawyers.

    In April, the US Supreme Court declined to hear [JURIST report] a lawsuit by Khadr challenging the constitutionality of Congress' decision to deny habeas challenges by suspected terrorists under the Military Commissions Act of 2006 [PDF text], one week after US military authorities formally brought new charges [charge sheet, PDF] of murder, supporting terrorism, conspiracy and spying in "violation of the law of war" against Khadr, the youngest known detainee at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]. The Miami Herald has more.



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    West Africa war crimes tribunal needs more funds to finish Taylor trial: HRW
    Michael at 9:46 AM ET

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    [JURIST] Human Rights Watch (HRW) Thursday [advocacy website] urged [press release] international donors to increase their contributions to the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) [official website], echoing a plea by prosecutor Stephen Rapp who warned Wednesday that the tribunal would be forced to release accused former Liberian President Charles Taylor [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] "if they run out of resources and can't continue the trial." Taylor's trial before a panel of the court sitting specially at The Hague is scheduled to start next week. Elise Keppler, counsel with HRW's International Justice Program, characterized the trial as a "break from the past" pattern of a lack of "justice for victims of serous human rights violations... [and] puts would-be perpetrators on notice."

    Taylor has been indicted [amended indictment text, PDF; SCSL materials] on charges of crimes against humanity and violations of international humanitarian law, including murder, rape and the recruitment and use of child soldiers during a bloody civil war in Sierra Leone. His trial, which is expected to last 18 months, was moved to The Hague [JURIST report] for security reasons. The independent SCSL has faced financial shortfalls in the past; in February, Rapp said that the SCSL has raised only half of the $33 million needed [JURIST report] for court proceedings in 2007. The current leading donors for the court are the United States, the Netherlands, Britain, and Canada. Eight other defendants in three cases remain in Freetown, Sierra Leone. AP has more.



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    Ukraine constitutional standoff continues as parliament fails to approve elections bill
    Brett at 9:34 AM ET

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    [JURIST] Constitutional gridlock continued in Ukraine on Thursday, as the country's parliament [official website, in Ukrainian] again failed to approve a bill that would set a new date for controversial parliamentary elections. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko [official website; JURIST news archive] and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich [BBC profile] finally reached an agreement [JURIST report] on Sunday to hold the elections on September 30, giving parliament just two days to approve the change, but parliament has thusfar been unable to do so. Meanwhile Interior Minister Vasyl Tsushko, who has played a large role in the latest episodes of the political standoff between Yushchenko and the current government, suffered a heart attack on Wednesday [AP report]. Tsushko sent police to prevent the removal of the Ukrainian prosecutor-general [JURIST report] last week after Yushchenko ordered his removal.

    Ukraine has been mired in a major constitutional crisis since Yushchenko issued a decree dissolving parliament [JURIST report] on April 2, anticipating early elections. After Yanukovich and parliament filed a legal challenge before the Constitutional Court of Ukraine [official website; JURIST news archive], Yushchenko dismissed three Constitutional Court judges for alleged oath and ethics violations [JURIST report] and appointed replacement judges [JURIST report] without consulting either Yanukovich or the Justice Ministry. AFP has more.



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    China demonstrators protest WWII compensation denials at Japanese embassy
    Michael at 9:23 AM ET

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    [JURIST] Approximately 30 Chinese demonstrators carrying banners massed outside the Japanese embassy in Beijing [official website] Thursday, protesting a April 27 court ruling by the Supreme Court of Japan denying compensation claims [JURIST report] made by five Chinese wartime slave laborers. The compensation claims were denied on the grounds that the 1972 Joint Communique of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China [text] renounced Chinese claims for war reparations from Japan. The April ruling reversed a lower court decision that awarded the five slave laborers a total of $230,300 in compensation for their suffering.

    Approximately 40,000 Chinese nationals were transported to Japan as slave laborers during World War II and millions across Asia were forced to work by the Japanese military. Japanese courts have dismissed similar claims by Chinese and South Korean nationals [JURIST report] on the grounds that post-war treaties settled compensation claims or that the 20-year deadline for filing compensation claims under Japanese law had expired. AP has more.



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    US immigration courts inconsistent in asylum cases: study
    Brett at 9:09 AM ET

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    [JURIST] US immigration courts are inconsistent in granting asylum to applicants, according to a new study [materials] by three law professors to be published in the Stanford Law Review. The professors found that factors that contributed to the outcome of applications for asylum include the location of the court, the background of the judge, and the nationality of the applicant. For example, a person who has fled China has a 76 percent chance of winning their asylum case in the Orlando immigration court, but only a 7 percent chance in Atlanta. The New York Times Thursday quoted co-author Philip G. Schrag [faculty profile] of Georgetown University Law Center as saying he found the results "very disturbing" especially because often "these decisions can mean life or death" for the applicant, and the study suggests that the random assignment to a particular judge may be outcome determinative.

    In February, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (CIRF) reported that the practice of expedited removal is causing the claims of some legitimate asylum seekers to be ignored [JURIST reports]. The latest draft legislation on immigration reform [JURIST news archive] does little to change the asylum process, although it could begin the road to citizenship for up to 12 million illegal immigrants in the US. The New York Times has more.



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    Japan court upholds compensation denial for Korean WWII slave laborers
    Michael at 8:48 AM ET

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    [JURIST] Japan's Nagoya High Court [official backgrounder] Thursday upheld a district court's denial of compensation to a group of seven South Korean women who were former slave laborers at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.'s aircraft factories during World War II, finding that neither the Japanese government or Mitsubishi were obligated to provide compensation, apology, or unpaid wages because the 1965 Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea [text] renounced South Korean claims to war reparations from Japan. In December 2005, the Tokyo High Court invoked the same 1965 treaty [JURIST report] to deny compensation for unpaid wages by a group of South Koreans forced to work at a Japanese steel mill during World War II. AP has more.

    Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Japan dismissed two cases filed by Chinese victims of Japan's use of biological weapons and the Nanjing Massacre [Wikipedia backgrounder] because the 1972 Joint Communique of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China [text] renounced Chinese claims for war reparations from Japan. Last Wednesday, the UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) [official website] blasted Japan's statute of limitations [JURIST report] for acts "amounting to torture and ill treatment," citing judicial dismissals of petitions by comfort women and slave laborers [JURIST report] on the grounds that Japan's 20-year deadline for filing compensation claims had expired.



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    Guantanamo detainee dead in suspected suicide
    Michael at 7:50 AM ET

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    [JURIST] A Saudi Arabian detainee held at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] died Wednesday afternoon in what military officials characterized as an apparent suicide [US Southern Command press release]. The officials did not identify the detainee or disclose the manner of death. Approximately 80 of the 385 detainees currently held at Guantanamo are from Saudi Arabia. If the death is ruled a suicide, it would be the fourth since the detention facility opened in January 2002. Three other detainees - two Saudis and a Yemeni national - committed suicide at the facility last June. Navy Rear Adm. Harry Harris, the former commander of the Guantanamo Bay detention facilities, has characterized suicides there as acts of "asymmetric warfare" intended to prompt criticism of the United States. Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutionals Rights (CCR) [advocacy website], characterized the latest suicide as a result of "five and half years of desperation... [for detainees] with no legal way out."

    A Bahraini detainee held without charges since January 2002 threatened suicide [JURIST report] in a letter released by his lawyer last Sunday, citing despair at his open-ended detention and conditions at the facility. Earlier this month, the US House of Representatives passed an amendment to a defense spending bill that would require the Pentagon to develop a Guantanamo shutdown plan [JURIST report]. AP has more.



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