[JURIST] The UN Security Council voted Monday evening to immediately impose an arms embargo on the Ivory Coast. As previously reported in JURIST's Paper Chase, the country is currently experiencing internal strife, and the vote is an effort to cut off the weapons supplies of both government and rebel forces. BBC News has more.

9:31 PM ET - A UN press release on the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1572 (2004) is now available (release contains full Resolution text).

[JURIST] President Bush has asked national security adviser Condoleezza Rice to replace Colin Powell as Secretary of State. Current deputy national security advisor Stephen Hadley will become the President's new national security adviser. NBC has more.

[JURIST] Iraq deputy prime minister Barham Salih, the former Prime Minister of the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq, has suggested for the first time that democratic elections scheduled for January may have to be delayed due to the level of violence in the country. Salih said "[h]olding free and fair elections on time is an obligation that we have undertaken towards the Iraqi people," but added: "nearer the time, the Iraqi government, the United Nations, the independent election commission and the national assembly will have to engage in a real and hard-headed dialogue to assess the situation." The UK Guardian has more.

[JURIST] The US Justice Department is reporting that the number of people sentenced to death in the United States reached a 30-year low in 2003. Last year, 144 inmates in 25 states were given the death penalty, which is not only 24 fewer than in 2002 but less than half the average of 297 between 1994 and 2000. Death penalty opponents feel the report shows the public's wariness of executions in light of how the punishment is administered how it is sometimes employed against wrongfully convicted people. Supporters do not think the numbers reflect any real change in Americans' general attitude toward the death penalty. Read the DOJ press release announcing the new statistics here. Read the full DOJ report here [PDF]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Hungarian parliament has rejected a proposal to keep its 300 non-combat troops in Iraq until March 31, 2005. The troops were to stay in Iraq until December 31. The Socialist-led government wanted to extend the mission of the transport contingent serving since mid-2003 in Hillah, south of Baghdad, until after Iraq's elections scheduled for the end of January, but the Hungarian center-right opposition felt the soldiers should be back as soon as possible because the Hungarian electorate does not support the mission. The proposal needed to be approved by two-thirds of parliament but failed after opposition deputies refused to back it. AP has more.

[JURIST] Human Rights Watch Monday called on the United Nations Security Council to act quickly to end ethnic cleansing in Sudan's Darfur region. The group is requesting an arms embargo and travel sanctions on Sudanese officials for their failure to disarm the Janjaweed militias. Six other aid agencies have also called for immediate action, saying previous UN resolutions have not been backed up by concrete enforcement which has allowed violence against innocent people to continue. Read the Human Rights Watch press release detailing its concerns here. Read the latest Human Rights Watch report detailing the ethnic cleansing in Sudan here. BBC has more on this story and in-depth coverage of the Darfur conflict.

[JURIST] A report released Monday by the American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) says that lawyers' contingent fees in medical malpractice cases are essential in preserving access to justice, and that proposed limitations being considered in Florida and elsewhere risk compromising the availability of the courts to individuals. Among its findings, the report concludes that without the prospect of reasonable fees, attorneys would be unwilling to assume the cost of complex medical malpractice litigation, leaving many individuals with no opportunity for redress in cases of medical malpractice. See the full report [PDF], or read the accompanying ABA press release. Other resources available include the organizational statement of the TIPS task force on contingent fees, and the TIPS committee homepage.

[JURIST] In Monday's corporations and securities law news, Dow Jones & Co. has settled a defamation suit with Australian mining magnate Joe Gutnick. The suit arose out of an online publication of a story which portrayed Gutnick as a schemer given to fraud. This is considered a groundmaking case in Australia as the nation's Supreme Court extended the reach of the country's libel laws to the rest of the world. AP has more.

In other news, as previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase, the SEC has charged former Hollinger CEO Conrad Black and former CFO David Radler with securities fraud in connection with wrongdoing at the company. The SEC is seeking a punishment including: a return of at least $85 million that the pair are accused of bilking from the company, unspecified financial penalties, and a bar on Black and Radler serving as officers of public companies. Read the SEC press release here. AFP has more.... As previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase, American Express has filed a multi-billion dollar lawsuit against Visa, MasterCard and eight US banks, for using anti-competitive tactics which hurt its position in the credit card market. The lawsuit comes a month after the Supreme Court refused to hear the credit cards' appeal from a government lawsuit which forced the companies to lift a ban which had stopped thousands of banks from issuing American Express and Discover cards. Read the American Express press release here and listen to a webcast regarding the suit here. Read a transcript of Visa Senior Vice-President Daniel Tarman's reaction to the suit here. The Financial Times has more.... Senators Charles Grassley and Patrick Leahy, who wrote a law to protect corporate whistle-blowers as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act [PDF], are now pressing the SEC to aggressively enforce the law because of their importance in the continuing attempt to reform the business industry. AP has more.... Boston Scientific announced two senior officials will not be charged by the SEC in an ongoing investigation of a 1998 recall of coronary stents. AP has more.... As previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase, former Boeing Co. CFO Michael Sears has pleaded guilty to deceiving the government for offering a job former Air Force official Darleen Druyun as they negotiated more than $20 billion in defense contracts for Boeing. Sears, who will be sentenced on January 21, was released on a $50,000 bond, and faces a maximum of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of probation. Read the Boeing press release regarding the plea here. Bloomberg has more.... According to testimony given at the US Senate's permanent subcommittee on investigation, Weir Group, a UK engineering company whose board includes former Nato Secretary-General Lord Robertson, funneled more than $8 million in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's regime. The Financial Times has more.

[JURIST] American Express announced Monday that it is suing fellow credit card giants Visa and MasterCard, along with eight banks, alleging anticompetitive practices which prevented American Express from issuing credit cards through US banks. American Express said that it would seek damages "in the billions of dollars." In October, the Supreme Court denied hearing an appeal from the Second Circuit which ruled in United States v. Visa [PDF] that Visa and MasterCard were required to allow their member banks to issue credit cards of competitors. Discover Financial Services filed an antitrust suit against Visa and MasterCard last month. AP has more.

2:25 PM ET - Visa Senior Vice-President Daniel Tarman has issued this video statement on the American Express suit. Excerpt:

Visa will vigorously fight this lawsuit because American Express already got what it wanted from the court---the ability to issue its products through Visa members. It’s time for American Express to stop looking to the courts to solve its problems and compete in the marketplace instead. Amex persuaded the courts that it should be able to issue its products through banks, even though consumers and merchants already had unfettered access to American Express products

[JURIST] New Jersey Governor James McGreevey submitted his letter of resignation on Monday. The letter simply reads, "Dear Madam Secretary, I resign effective 11:59 p.m. on Monday, November 15, 2004." Aides reported that McGreevey's last day in office was expected to be quiet. The governor is not expecting to grant pardons or conduct other state business. McGreevey publicly announced in August that he was gay, and that he intended to resign with 14 months still left in his term. Because New Jersey is one of only eight states without a Lieutenant Governor position, state Senate President Richard Codey will assume the role of governor. Codey will thus wield both substantial legislative and executive power. AP has more.

[JURIST] A Florida state judge issued an injunction Monday preventing a newly-approved constitutional amendment from coming into effect. Amendment 8, approved this month by 70 percent of voters, would cancel the license of any doctor who commits three acts of medical malpractice. The Florida Hospital Association sued to block the amendment until aspects of it can be clarified, and was granted their injunction by Leon County Florida Circuit Judge Janet E. Ferris. Among the key concerns is whether the law would apply retroactively to doctors who have already been found liable for malpractice. The temporary injunction is set to expire at the end of the current legislative session in the spring. The amendment was supported by the Florida Academy of Trial Lawyers, who argued that the amendment was self-implementing, and not in need of clarification. AP has more. The Florida News-Press has background on the lawsuit.

[JURIST] Reuters is reporting that Boeing's former CFO has pleaded guilty to aiding in the illegal hiring of an Air Force official.

12:10 PM ET - Former Boeing CFO Michael Sears pleaded guilty to a single count of aiding and abetting illegal employment negotiations. Boeing hired a top Air Force procurement officer who has admitted she gave Boeing preferential treatment on a $23 billion tanker contract. AP has more.

2:39 PM ET - Boeing has now issued a statement on the plea:

We believe the Statement of Facts reinforces what we have said before -- that no Boeing executive other than Mr. Sears engaged in any wrongdoing in connection with Ms. Druyun's hiring. Boeing officials believed that Mr. Sears and Ms. Druyun were fully complying with all appropriate Boeing and DOD procedures in his recruitment efforts.

One year ago, Boeing dismissed Mr. Sears and Ms. Druyun because an internal investigation concluded they had violated Boeing hiring policies and ethical standards. Boeing immediately brought the matter to the attention of the appropriate authorities and cooperated with them throughout the investigative process.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court Monday reversed the death sentence of a Texas man because jurors were not instructed to consider mitigating evidence when deliberating on the sentence. LaRoyce Lathair Smith was convicted of murdering a former co-worker during an attempted robbery at a Dallas Taco Bell. Read the court's per curiam opinion [PDF]. AP has more.

Also Monday, the Court did not grant any new petitions for certiorari. Among the cases the court declined to hear was an appeal of a US 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that Kmart had no authority to pay more than $300 million to supplies after the store filed for bankruptcy. AP has more. Read the Court's full Order List [PDF].

[JURIST] Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern has said that Ireland should give greater rights to same-sex couples. Ahern's comments come in response to a suit brought by a lesbian couple married in Canada seeking Irish recognition of their marriage. Last week, as reported on JURIST's Paper Chase, an Irish judge ruled that the case merited a full hearing. Ahern told Irish state broadcaster RTE that he agreed that people in same-sex relationships, which he said were not illegal, immoral or improper, deserved more equality and should receive fairer treatment. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] The UN Security Council meets Monday to consider a draft French resolution proposing sanctions against Cote d'Ivoire. The proposed sanctions include an arms embargo, travel restrictions on those actively violating the cease-fire, and the freezing of governmental assets. The region has been highly unstable in the last 10 days, following the death of 9 French peacekeepers in a Cote d'Ivoire government bombing run. In retaliation, the French destroyed the entirety of the nation's small air force. The rebel faction in Cote d'Ivoire has been fighting back following the alleged violation of the 2003 cease-fire agreement by the government. Cote d'Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo (BBC profile; cached version of unavailable official website here) accused France of siding with the rebels and declared that France's military actions were acts of war against his nation. JURIST's Paper Chase has background. See the UN webcast of the meeting at 3:30 PM ET here. BBC News has more.... Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni declared a cease-fire Sunday between government forces and the rebel forces of the Lord's Resistance Army (profile here). The truce suspends military operations for one week in order to allow rebel leaders a chance to meet with governmental representatives in hopes of ending the civil war. Museveni also promised a further 10 day suspension of military activity if the rebels clearly signal their intent to agree to a permanent cease-fire. The 18 year insurgency in Uganda has recently garnered international attention, and was labeled as the 'most neglected humanitarian crisis' by officials at the UN. JURIST's Paper Chase has background. The Sudan Tribune has more.... The UK Commission for Africa began talks Monday with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), African businesses, and the general public of Africa to create a series of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) aimed at halving Africa's poverty level by 2015. One of the early proposals included a suggestion that developed nations double their aid to Africa. The MDGs were set out by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair as he prepares for the UK's assumption of the leadership of both the EU Presidency and the G-8 next year. The Commission for Africa will release its recommendations sometime in early 2005. JURIST's Paper Chase has background on the Commission. South Africa's Independent Online has more.... Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced Monday that he was dissatisfied with North Korean explanations about the remains of missing Japanese citizens abducted in the past for the purposes of gathering intelligence. The statement followed the end of talks that were aimed at uncovering the truth about the possible remaining survivors of the systematic program of kidnapping that North Korea admitted to two years ago. Koizumi said that he wanted to see talks continue, as he believed there was some effort on the part of the North Korean government, but that there were key issues on which Japan could not accept the official position of North Korea. JURIST's Paper Chase has background on the talks. Kyodo has more.

[JURIST] The US Securities and Exchange Commission is likely to file civil fraud charges this week against former Hollinger International chairman Conrad Black and former Hollinger president David Radler, according to a Monday Wall Street Journal report [subscription required]. In the lawsuit to be filed in federal court, the SEC is expected to allege that Black and Radler violated securities law by failing to disclose to investors payments and other transactions that benefited the executives to the detriment of the company. In August, a Hollinger committee to investigate financial improprieties among company executives released a report saying that Black and other controlling shareholders used more than $400 million of corporate funds for personal perks. JURIST's Paper Chase has background on possible charges. The Guardian has more.

12:04 PM ET - As expected, the SEC filed fraud charges Monday against Black and Radler, seeking to enjoin the defendants from further violating securities laws and a court order that the defendants disgorge their ill-gotten gains and pay civil penalties. The SEC has this press release.

[JURIST] Second Lt. Erick J. Anderson has been charged with premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit premeditated murder for the shooting of a wounded Iraqi man, the US military said Monday. The military has been investigating whether Anderson gave permission to two soldiers to shoot an injured Iraqi man, whom they thought would die anyway from his injuries. Staff Sgt. Cardenas Alban appeared for a pre-trial hearing before a military court last month and the second soldier involved in the incident, Staff Sgt. Johnny Horne, is scheduled to appear before a judge at a later date. Read the Central Command press release and more from AFP.

[JURIST] CNN is reporting that US Secretary of State Colin Powell has submitted his resignation.

9:48 AM ET - Powell told aides Monday morning that he intends to resign from President Bush's cabinet and will leave once Bush decides on who will succeed him. AP has more.

10:20 AM ET - AP is now reporting that a senior administration official is saying that Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, Education Secretary Rod Paige and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham have also submitted resignations.

11:55 AM ET - AP is reporting that the White House has confirmed the resignations of Powell, Veneman, Paige and Abraham.

4:23 PM ET - A transcript of an afternoon briefing by Secretary Powell on his resignation and his service at the State Department is now online here. A statement by the President is here.

Nov. 16, 10:56 AM ET - Secretary Powell's resignation letter, dated November 12, is now online. Powell writes:

Mr. President, I thank you for the honor and privilege of serving you and the American people for the past almost four years. I am pleased to have been part of a team that launched the Global War Against Terror, liberated the Afghan and Iraqi people, brought the attention of the world to the problem of proliferation, reaffirmed our alliances, adjusted to the Post-Cold War World and undertook major initiatives to deal with the problem of poverty and disease in the developing world. In these and in so many other areas, your leadership was the driving force of our success.

[JURIST] The trial of three former Kosovo Albanian rebels began Monday at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia at The Hague. The three former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Fatmir Limaj, Haradin Bala and Isak Musliu, are accused of participating in a joint criminal enterprise to target Serb civilians, and perceived Albanian collaborators, for intimidation, imprisonment, violence and murder. The trial began after the presiding judge rejected a defense request to delay the trial so that allegations of witness intimidation could be investigated. Reuters has more. Limaj and Bala each face five counts of crimes against humanity and five counts of violations of the laws or customs of war. Musliu faces four counts of crimes against humanity and four counts of violations of the laws or customs of war. The ICTY has a press release on the start of the trial.

[JURIST] Britain's Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) opened a public consultation Monday on whether court proceedings in England and Wales should be broadcast. Additionally, a five-week trial installation of cameras will begin Tuesday in the Court of Appeal in the Royal Courts of Justice in London, where criminal appeals and civil cases will be filmed, but not broadcast. Lord Falconer, the Lord Chancellor, has argued that justice is better served when it is seen to be done, but has expressed concern about televising criminal trials due to the need to protect "victims, witnesses, jurors and the justice process in general." Read the DCA's consultation paper [PDF] on court broadcasting. The DCA has additional resources, including an on-line questionnaire and on-line discussion forum. JURIST's Paper Chase has a background report. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Iran's promise to suspend its uranium enrichment activities (see this report on JURIST's Paper Chase) will satisfy some demands of the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to a confidential IAEA report. In the report, Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the UN watchdog agency, writes that all nuclear material declared by Iran to the IAEA has been accounted for "and therefore we can say that such material is not diverted to prohibited (weapons) activities." However, ElBaradei adds that the agency is "not yet in the position to conclude that there are no undeclared nuclear materials" that could have been used for a weapons program. AP has more. The IAEA has background on its negotiations with Iran.

[JURIST] Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Monday, November 15.

The US Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will hold a 12 PM ET hearing on Saddam Hussein's abuse of the UN Oil-for-Food program. Charles Duelfer, chief weapons inspector in Iraq, is scheduled to testify. Watch a live webcast.

The trial of Fatmir Limaj and two others begins Monday at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The three men are charged with participation in a joint criminal enterprise to target Serb civilians, and perceived Albanian collaborators, for intimidation, imprisonment, violence and murder. A pre-trial conference will be webcast beginning at 10:30 AM local time (4:30 AM ET) and the trial itself will be webcast beginning at 2:45 PM local time (8:45 AM ET); both webcasts are on a 30-minute tape delay. The ICTY has background on the case.

At the United Nations, the Security Council will meet at 10 AM ET to discuss the situation in Timor-Leste and will reconvene at 3:30 PM ET to discuss the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. Following closed consultations on the same topic, the Security Council will then meet to discuss the situation in Cote d'Ivoire. Watch a live webcast.... The General Assembly will meet at 10 AM and will hear reports from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Watch a live webcast.

The European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs will hold a hearing on the nomination of Franco Frattini as EU Justice Commissioner. Watch a live webcast beginning at 6 PM local time (12 PM ET). JURIST's Paper Chase has background on Frattini's nomination. Following the hearing, Frattini and members of the Parliament committee will hold a press conference. Watch a live webcast of the briefing, scheduled to begin at approximately 9:00 PM local time (3:00 PM ET).