While the proposed amendment would allow Rajapaksa to make a bid for an unlimited number of terms in office, his second term has not yet begun, though he easily achieved victory [NYT report] in January elections. Rajapaksa is a consistently popular figure within Sri Lanka, primarily for his efforts in defeating the Tamil Tiger [JURIST news archive] rebels within Sri Lanka. That victory was not without cost, however, as numerous questions have been raised about the government's actions during the conflict, including the treatment of prisoners. Earlier this month, the Sri Lankan defense minister defended [JURIST report] the government's actions during the conflict. In July, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the Sri Lankan Government [JURIST report] to improve conditions around UN offices in Colombo after a UN announcement [JURIST report] of the formation of an international panel to investigate human rights abuses during the war resulted in days of pro-government protests [JURIST report] near UN offices.

In April, Bemba's lawyers asked the court to drop the charges [JURIST report], arguing that Bremba was denied due process and the charges are illegal. In December, the ICC ordered [text, PDF] Bemba to remain in custody [JURIST report] until his trial. The ruling reversed a decision [JURIST report] issued last August ordering Bemba's conditional release. The order for release was opposed by ICC prosecutors who appealed [JURIST report] the original decision. The ICC ordered Bemba to stand trial [JURIST report] for war crimes allegedly committed in the Central African Republic (CAR) [BBC backgrounder]. Bemba was arrested [JURIST report] in Belgium in May 2008 after the ICC issued a warrant for his arrest for his actions in the CAR. He was indicted on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity and transferred [JURIST report] to the ICC in July 2008.

In April, the Rwandan Supreme Court [official website] ruled that the plea for release by DRC rebel leader Laurent Nkunda [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] can only be heard by a military court [JURIST report]. According to Nkunda's counsel, he is being held illegally without charge. In 2009, a Rwandan court rejected [JURIST report] a similar lawsuit seeking Nkunda's release from custody. Nkunda was apprehended by Rwandan authorities last January near the DRC border after a joint DRC-Rwandan military operation to capture him and root out Rwandan Hutu rebels operating in the DRC. The DRC government called on Rwanda to extradite Nkunda to DRC where he would face charges for atrocities allegedly committed by forces under his command. In 2006, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that it does not have jurisdiction over a case filed by the DRC against Rwanda on charges of aggression and human rights abuses stemming from the DRC civil war. The ICJ asserted that Rwanda has not accepted UN conventions against human rights crimes like torture and degrading behavior, and therefore the ICJ could not rule [ICJ jurisdiction rules] on the charges upon which Congo based its case. Congo filed the suit [ICJ press release] against Rwanda in 2002, alleging armed aggression, mass slaughter, rape, arbitrary detentions, systematic looting and assassinations, while asking Rwanda to withdraw its troops. Public hearings [ICJ docket; JURIST report] began in the case in 2005.

The idea of our own American government submitting the duly enacted laws of a State of the United States to 'review' by the United Nations is internationalism run amok and unconstitutional. Human rights as guaranteed by the United States and Arizona Constitutions are expressly protected in S.B. 1070 and defended vigorously by my Administration.

Arizona's new immigration law has been the model for proposed laws in a number of other states. Earlier this month, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum proposed a similar law for his state [JURIST report], and Virginia's Attorney General issued an opinion that police within his state may inquire as to the immigration status [JURIST report] of those whom they stop or arrest. In late July, a federal district judge enjoined many provisions of the Arizona law [JURIST report], and efforts by the state to have review of that decision expedited to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit were denied by that court [JURIST report]. The Justice Department filed its complaint in early July [JURIST report], alleging that Arizona's attempt to pass immigration laws is preempted by federal law, and thus runs afoul of the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution.

In June, an Iranian military court sentenced two men to death [JURIST report] by hanging for the killings. Nine others were sentenced to prison terms, and one suspect was acquitted. The defendants, whose trial began [JURIST report] in March, included 11 policemen and one civilian. Observers have accused [CNN report] the Iranian government of conducting the trial as a mere political move. The Iranian government was sharply criticized by both pro-democracy leaders and government supporters for the death of the protesters. Authorities initially claimed that the three men had died from meningitis, holding that the torture accusations were the propaganda of the opposition party. This viewpoint began to shift in August when government officials spoke out [JURIST report] against the abuse of protesters detained in Iranian prisons, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei [official website] ordered the closure of Kahrizak prison as a result.

Kenya wishes to reaffirm her commitment to co-operate with the ICC, contrary to the statements of the ICC and some UN Security Council Members, some of who have no obligation to the ICC. Indeed, in the recent past, Kenya has demonstrated good faith and co-operated fully with the ICC on the situation in Darfur thereby contributing to the overall objective of combating impunity and bringing justice to the people of Darfur. The extent of that support and assistance is well within the knowledge of ICC.

On Friday, the ICC reported Kenya [decision, PDF; JURIST report] to the UN Security Council and the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute over al-Bashir's visit. Last month, al-Bashir also visited Chad, another member state. The ICC also reported Chad [decision, PDF] Friday to the Security Council and Assembly of States Parties. In July, the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC charged al-Bashir [JURIST report; JURIST news archive] with three counts of genocide [warrant, PDF] in relation to the Darfur conflict [BBC backgrounder]. The chamber found that there were reasonable grounds to conclude that Bashir had committed genocide against the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups. The charges included "genocide by killing, genocide by causing serious bodily or mental harm and genocide by deliberately inflicting on each target group conditions of life calculated to bring about the group's physical destruction." The genocide charges were added to the seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity that were filed against Bashir [JURIST report] in March 2009. The warrant has been controversial, with Egypt, Sudan, the African Union and others calling for the proceedings against Bashir to be delayed, and African Union leaders agreeing [JURIST reports] not to cooperate with the warrant.

Microsoft has been a party to many legal proceedings regarding its software in recent years. In April, a Shanghai court ruled that a Chinese insurance company was liable to the software company [JURIST report] for using illegal copies of its products and ordered the insurance company to pay USD $318,000 in damages. In November, another Chinese court ruled against Microsoft in a patent infringement case [JURIST report], finding the company infringed upon the patent rights of Zhongyi Electronic by using Chinese fonts created by the company in programs such as Windows 1998, 2000, 2003 and XP when they were only authorized for use in its Windows 1995 program. In December, the European Commission (EC) [official website] dropped antitrust charges against Microsoft [JURIST report] after the company agreed to offer consumers a choice of web browsers [JURIST report]. The EC accused Microsoft of violating fair competition rules by bundling its Internet Explorer browser with its Windows operating system.

In March, the US Federal Court of Claims determined that Thimerosal did not cause childhood autism [JURIST report] in three compensation actions. The special master found that the petitioners failed to present "a scientifically sound theory" and cited evidence that was "biologically implausible." Thimerosal has also been involved in other health-related debates. In 2005, HHS officials argued that state laws prohibiting the chemical could impede efforts [JURIST report] to fight an avian flu pandemic in the event of an outbreak. Most doctors believe Thimerosal is safe and does not affect the body in the same manner as mercury found in pollutants, but activist groups disagree claiming use of the preservative can be linked to neurological diseases including autism. Officials argue that mercury-free vaccines can only be packaged in individual doses, which could pose a major problem in the event of a pandemic requiring production of large doses of vaccinations.