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. 2012-02-08T11:08:00-08:00 en-US http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/vatican-prosecutor-says-bishops-must-uphold-laws-to-protect-victims-of-sexual-abuse.php [JURIST] The Vatican [official website] sex crimes prosecutor warned bishops on Wednesday that they must follow rules in place for protecting victims of sexual abuse in the church or they risk being sanctioned. Monsignor Charles Scicluna, the church appointed prosecutor in the ongoing clergy sex abuse [JURIST news archive] scandals, issued his warning at a symposium of bishops, the purpose of which was to begin formulating guidelines to keep children safe. In February 2010, the Vatican unveiled church procedures [JURIST... 2012-02-08T11:08:00-08:00 2012-02-08T11:08:00-08:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/berlusconi-facing-new-trial-on-wiretap-charges.php [JURIST] A judge in Milan ruled Tuesday that former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi [BBC profile; JURIST news archives] will stand trial for publicly releasing a secret wiretap in 2005. The prosecution alleges that Berlusconi published the transcript of a tapped phone conversation [BBC report] in Il Giornale [media website, in Italian], a national newspaper owned by his brother. The conversation in question took place between Berlusconi's biggest political rival at the time, Piero Fassino [official website, in Italian], and... 2012-02-08T09:46:00-08:00 2012-02-08T09:46:00-08:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/eu-court-limits-privacy-rights-for-public-figures.php [JURIST] The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] issued two rulings [press release] on Tuesday upholding the right of the media to report on celebrities and limiting celebrities' right to privacy. In Axel Springer AG v. Germany [judgment], the court examined whether a German actor's right to privacy was violated when a paper published a newspaper article and photos of his arrest for illegal drug possession at a public festival. The court determined that an injunction restricting publication... 2012-02-07T14:46:00-08:00 2012-02-07T14:46:00-08:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/jurist-the-united-nations-childrens.php [JURIST] The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) [official website] reported Tuesday that the nearly 11 months of violence in Syria have led to the deaths and injuries of hundreds of children [press release]. In particular, UNICEF spokeswoman Marixie Mercado said that, "[a]s of the end of January, 400 children are dead and more than 400 have been detained." Mercado added that UNICEF has also received reports of arbitrary child arrests, torture and sexual abuse while in detention. Although she did not... 2012-02-07T13:37:00-08:00 2012-02-07T13:37:00-08:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/icty-sentences-former-case-manager-to-12-months-for-contempt.php [JURIST] Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website; JURIST news archive] on Tuesday rendered a judgment [summary, PDF] against Jelena Rasic, sentencing her to 12 months imprisonment on contempt charges. The judgment came following the acceptance of a plea agreement [JURIST] last week. Rasic was the former case manager for Bosnian war criminal Milan Lukic [judgment, PDF]. She pleaded guilty [amended indictment, PDF] last week to five counts of contempt against the... 2012-02-07T13:20:00-08:00 2012-02-07T13:20:00-08:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/icj-judges-elect-new-president-and-vice-president.php [JURIST] The International Court of Justice (ICJ) [official website] on Monday elected its new president and vice president [press release, PDF], who will each serve a term of three years. Judge Peter Tomka [official profile] of Slovakia will serve as president. Tomka, who has been vice president of the ICJ since 2009, has also worked for the Slovakian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has held several UN positions, including being a member of the UN International Law Commission [official websites].... 2012-02-07T12:21:00-08:00 2012-02-07T12:21:00-08:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/maldives-president-resigns-after-protests-over-detained-judge.php [JURIST] Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed resigned on Tuesday after weeks of protests over the detainment of senior criminal court Judge Abdulla Mohamed, who was arrested last month for corruption [JURIST report]. Nasheed, the country's first democratically-elected president, stepped down [press release], saying in a public address: "I believe if I continue as the President of the Maldives, the people of the country would suffer more. ... I wish the Maldives would have a consolidated democracy. I wish for justice to... 2012-02-07T10:39:00-08:00 2012-02-07T10:39:00-08:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/un-reports-progress-in-ending-female-genital-mutilation.php [JURIST] The UN released its annual report [text, PDF] Monday on trends in female genital mutilation (FGM) [WHO backgrounder; JURIST news archive], revealing that approximately 2,000 African communities have renounced the practice since last year [JURIST report]. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) [official websites] compiled the report to fulfill a joint-mission to accelerate the voluntary abandonment of practicing FGM in Africa. The report detailed that two nations in particular have taken to ending FGM... 2012-02-07T09:37:00-08:00 2012-02-07T09:37:00-08:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/italy-appeals-court-orders-release-of-former-guantanamo-detainee.php [JURIST] The Court of Appeals in Milan on Monday announced that they will overturn a lower court's verdict on Tunisian former Guantanamo Bay [JURIST backgrounder] detainee Mohamed Riadh Ben Nasri [NYT materials]. Nasri was convicted of terrorism association two years ago, after he was transferred from Guantanamo Bay [JURIST report] to stand trial in Italy. He was sentenced to six years in prison [JURIST report] for recruiting martyrs to commit acts of terrorism. Nasri and his lawyer alleged that he... 2012-02-07T08:52:00-08:00 2012-02-07T08:52:00-08:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/obama-signs-order-imposing-stricter-sanctions-on-iran.php [JURIST] US President Barack Obama [official website] signed an executive order [text] on Monday imposing strict sanctions on Iran as part of an effort to enforce a bill he signed into law in December 2011. The bill, National Defense Authorization Act for 2012 (NDAA) [SB 1867, PDF], allows for sanctions such as those ordered by Obama to be imposed on Iran. In a letter he sent to Congress, Obama explained [statement] that the sanctions were necessary because of the misleading... 2012-02-06T14:08:00-08:00 2012-02-06T14:08:00-08:00