[JURIST] Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende [Wikipedia profile] wrote to the Dutch Parliament on Thursday formally saying that his government wished to withdraw its motion calling for approval of the EU constitution. Over 62% of Dutch voters turned out Wednesday to reject the proposed EU charter [JURIST report] in a referendum by a resounding margin of 62% to 38%. The referendum was not technically binding on Parliament, but the government said before and afterward that it would respect the public's wishes. Balkenende called for politicians to begin a dialogue with the Dutch people regarding the integration of Europe. From Amsterdam, Expatica News has local coverage.

Meanwhile, the lower house of the Dutch parliament [website in Dutch with English links] held its own emergency session Thursday to review the implications of the vote and the referendum process, the first plebiscite held in the country for 200 years. Leading Dutch media outlets have already called for the resignations of prime constitution supporters, including Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot [official profile] and Minister for European Affairs Atzo Nicolai. The Financial Times has more.

[JURIST] Former Qwest Communications International [corporate website] CFO Robin Szeliga was charged [PDF information] with insider trading Thursday based on accusations that she improperly earned $410,000 on a stock sale. Szeliga reached a plea agreement and a change-of-plea hearing has been scheduled for next month. She is the highest-ranking former official to be charged in the criminal investigation of an alleged accounting scandal at the company, and has agreed to cooperate with the investigation. Read the US Department of Justice press release on her charging from the Denver US Attorney's office. Szeliga faces separate fraud charges filed by the SEC [JURIST report]. Read the SEC complaint [PDF] against Szeliga and other Qwest executives. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled [opinion, PDF] Thursday that the city of Seattle had the right to block city streets during violent protests against the 1999 World Trade Organization [official website] meeting in the city. The court nonetheless reversed and sent part of the lower court's decision back for retrial, saying, "in some instances police conduct may have gone too far and infringed on certain individual protestors' constitutional rights." Approximately 50,000 anti-globalization protestors rushed the downtown Seattle area in November 1999 during a WTO ministerial meeting held to discuss international trade issues, resulting in mass arrests and damage of $2.5 million that went down in journalistic and protest lore as the Battle of Seattle [BBC report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Leading Thursday's international brief, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe [Wikipedia profile] has announced a halt to the current nationwide police crackdown against illegal and black market merchants and unauthorized dwellings [JURIST reports] that has allegedly resulted in the eviction and/or detention of tens of thousands of citiziens. Mugabe called in Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo and senior police commanders for the cities affected and ordered them to stay the program while a policy review is implemented. The crackdown, touted as necessary by Mugabe for cleaning up 'crime-ridden' cities, has been roundly condemned and attacked [JURIST report] by several Zimbabwe-based human rights groups. Mugabe reportedly still wants the operations to continue, despite pressure from senior lieutenants in the ruling Zanu PF [official website] party who worry about anti-government sentiment, but is concerned about the negative local and international publicity that has been focused on the initiative. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Zimbabwe [JURIST news archive]. ZimOnline has local coverage.

In other international legal news ...

• UN Special Representative to Sudan Jan Pronk [Wikipedia profile] has counseled the now-autonomous southern region of Sudan against seeking independence in six years, a right granted by the January peace accords [JURIST report]. Pronk, speaking at a forum at Khartoum University, said that any secession of South Sudan would "pose a threat to the region and to international peace and security." South Sudan was granted autonomy under the Comprehensive Peace Agreements [official text] and will conduct a popular referendum in 2011 to determine whether it will remain a part of Sudan or will become an independent nation. Pronk said that "the maintenance of peace, respect for the rights of the minorities, states and women and equality in revenue and power sharing" were all necessary steps by the Sudan government [official website] to make unity an attractive option to South Sudan. John Garang [Wikipedia profile], leader of the South Sudan ruling party, Sudan People's Liberation Movement [official website] agreed that unity would be preferable, saying that he hoped that six years would be enough time to make remaining in Sudan a viable option to the largely Christian and Animist southern population. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Sudan [JURIST news archive]. The Sudan Tribune has local coverage.
  
  
• Kenyan Government spokesperson Alfred Mutua has announced that the Kenyan Cabinet will study a request from the US that Kenya [government website] sign an Article 98 "no-surrender" agreement that would protect US service personnel from prosecution in the International Criminal Court [official website]. The request has been pending for nearly two years, but has taken on greater urgency since the passage of the Nethercutt Amendment to the American Service Members' Protection Act [official text] last December, which prohibits the distribution of military aid and support to countries that have signed the ICC's Rome Statute [official PDF text] but have not made a bilateral non-surrender agreement as authorized by Article 98. If it does not sign, Kenya stands to lose over $15.6 million (USD) in military aid and US education of its military forces. Kenya will still receive the remainder of the $200 million (USD) currently budgeted for economic, social, and educational aid. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Kenya [JURIST news archive]. Kenya's Daily Nation has local coverage.
  
  
• 398 Palestinian prisoners were released Thursday in accordance with talks held between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon [official profile] and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas [Wikipedia profile] at the Sharm e-Sheikh summit in February [JURIST report]. The released prisoners are a sign of support and cooperation between the Israel and the Palestinian National Authority as they work to ease tensions in the area. Palestinian officials have expressed dissatisfaction with the prisoner releases, now totalling nearly 1,000 prisoners since February, arguing that those held are political prisoners and should be released en masse. Israel maintains that the majority of all incarcerated Palestinians are being held for security and terrorism violations. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Israel [JURIST news archive]. The Jerusalem Post has local coverage.

[JURIST] A New York state judge Thursday dismissed a lawsuit by Cablevision [corporate website] alleging illegal activities in the sale of land by the Manhattan Transportation Agency to the New York Jets [team website] football team earmarked for a proposed $2 billion stadium that has been advanced as the central venue [SBS report] for New York City's 2012 Olympic bid [official website]. The judge also dismissed three other lawsuits brought by watchdog groups and politicians but ordered the transportation agency and the Jets to delay the closing to allow Cablevision time to appeal. Cablevision, the highest bidder on the land, claims the bidding process was a sham. AP has more.

[JURIST] A US District Judge in Connecticut has ruled that Gillette's claims that its multi-blade M3Power razor [corporate product profile] lifts hair for a closer shave are "unsubstantiated and inaccurate," granting competitor Schick [company website] a preliminary injunction prohibiting television or print ads of the razor. A Gillette [corporate website] spokesperson said that the company has not decided whether to appeal the decision. The two companies have battled in court before, including a protracted patent fight in which Gillette claimed Schick violated its multi-blade patent. AP has more.

[JURIST] Israeli police have detained a group of around 20 young neo-Nazis who originally immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union. The group was discovered after police last month arrested one of the young men [JURIST report], a soldier in the Israeli army, on drug charges and discovered neo-Nazi material on his computer during a search and a swastika tattoo on his arm. Because there is no specific Israeli law forbidding neo-Nazi beliefs or activities in the Jewish state, authorities are unsure how to proceed in the case. MosNews has more.

[JURIST] The Simon Wiesenthal Center [advocacy website] on Thursday pushed for Austria to prosecute a suspected Nazi war criminal who recently fled Zagreb, Croatia for the southern Austrian town of Klagenfurt. Milivoj Asner, 92, fled Croatia last year [Simon Wiesenthal Center press release] after he discovered he was on the center's top ten list of wanted Nazi collaborators. Center director Efraim Zuroff claims Asner played a key role in the persecution and deportation of hundred of Jews during the Holocaust. Zuroff also contends that the Austrian government has been aware of Asner's presence for months and has failed to take legal action against him. An Austrian government spokesman said Asner had citizenship in both countries and it would be up to Klagenfurt authorities to decide whether to prosecute him. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Serbian officials announced Thursday that eight former Serb paramilitary soldiers have been arrested after a video showing them killing six Bosnian Muslim youths in Srebrenica [BBC timeline] was viewed at the war crimes trial of Slobodan Milosevic [JURIST news archive] on Wednesday [ICTY proceedings video] at The Hague. The 1995 video was later shown on news broadcasts on at least two Serbian television channels. Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica [Wikipedia profile] called it a "disgraceful crime against civilians" before ordering the arrests of the soldiers. The swift response from Kostunica comes after Serbia has been subjected to international criticism for not acting to curb civilian admiration of suspected war criminals; European leaders in particular have made it known that Serbian hopes of accession to the European Union by 2010 may hinge on greater co-operation [JURIST report] with international criminal prosecutions. At the news conference in Belgrade Thursday ICTY war crimes prosecutor Carla del Ponte called the swift operation "brilliant" and praised the Serbian authorities for their initiative. Reuters has more.

[Editor's note: the Milosevic prosecution's courtroom presentation of the video is available on JURIST's Monitor here via the ICTY and Domovina.net]

[JURIST] US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez [official profile] called illegal copying of American products the top trade issue between the US and China Thursday at the start of his first official trip to China. In April, the US put China on a "priority watch list" [JURIST report] for intellectual property law violations. Gutierrez visited Russia this week to address similar concerns [text of speech]. The US estimates that the global trade in counterfeit goods costs the American economy $250 billion each year, and has contributed to a record $162-billion trade deficit with China [Bloomberg report]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo [official website] said Thursday that she would call a national convention in 2006 to change the constitution and form of government of the Philippines [Wikipedia profile] from an American-style system with a president and bicameral legislature to a federal, parliamentary system. Arroyo says the new system would be more effective in enacting reforms. Economists say the current government isn't a good fit for a market-based system and gives the judiciary too much authority to put obstacles in the way of executive initiatives. The country's constitution was last changed in 1987. The Philippines was ceded to the United States by Spain in 1899 after the Spanish-American War; it became independent in 1946. AFP has more.

[JURIST] A Spanish High Court judge ruled Thurday that there was adequate evidence to bring Arnaldo Otegi and a fellow member of the Batasuna party [Wikipedia entry] to trial after prosecuters alleged that the two men were ETA [Wikipedia entry] leaders. The charges, brought just days after Otegi was released on bail [JURIST report], may have the effect of bringing the recent peace process between the Spanish government and the Basque separatists to a halt after talks were recently agreed to on condition that ETA lay down its arms. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] A controversial French law passed last spring [JURIST report] that banned conspicuous religious symbols such as headscarves and veils from public schools has improved the integration of students, French officials say. French Muslim groups have nonetheless urged the government to reconsider the law [JURIST report], and a number of students have been expelled for refusing to comply [JURIST report]. UPI has more.

[JURIST] A chance encounter in 1970 started the friendship that ultimately created "Deep Throat", Watergate Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward wrote in a WashPost article [registration required] Thursday. On Tuesday, former FBI deputy director W. Mark Felt was confirmed [JURIST report] as the source that helped Woodward and colleague Carl Bernstein break open the Watergate [Wikipedia background] scandal and eventually force the resignation of President Richard Nixon. Woodward said the friendship was "invaluable", and that Felt wanted to protect the FBI from manipulation by the Nixon White House. He noted that Felt was also disappointed at being passed over to succeed J. Edgar Hoover as Director. Woodward and Felt used cloak-and-dagger tactics like secret signals and clandestine meetings to exchange information. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights [advocacy site] has announced plans to air TV commercials opposing the confirmation of African-American California state judge Janice Rogers Brown [US DOJ OLP profile] to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The commercials will air in Rhode Island, Nebraska, and Maine, whose US senators the group hopes to influence. Brown was one of three judges recently guaranteed a vote in the Senate as part of a compromise on judicial filibusters. The LCCR opposes Brown's confirmation [advocacy statement] because it believes that while her supporters make much of the fact that she is black, they consider her "hostile" to civil rights, affirmative action, and anti-discrimination laws. AP has more.

[JURIST] US military forces in Afghanistan have released 53 prisoners after declaring that they were no longer considered threats. The release, made Tuesday, came just a few days after Afghan President Hamid Karzai [Wikipedia profile] called for Afghan custody of Afghan prisoners [JURIST report] held by US forces amid reports of US abuses of Afghan detainees [JURIST report]. The prisoners, all Afghan men, were considered low-level combatants and were released from US bases at Bagram. Some of the released men spoke to reporters, one claiming that he was abused and two others stating that they were treated well while in US custody. AFP has more.

[JURIST] In a White House ceremony, President Bush has formally nominated Rep. Christopher Cox [official profile] of California to succeed William Donaldson as SEC Chairman. Cox now awaits Senate confirmation, a process he withdrew from when in line for appointment to the US Court of Appeals after the Democrats gained control of the Senate in 2001. AP has more.

1:15 PM ET - The White House has released this transcript of the Roosevelt Room ceremony.

[JURIST] A bill to legalize same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive] in California was narrowly defeated early Thursday by a 37-35 vote in the the 80-member California State Assembly [official website]. The vote came on the heels of state appeal [JURIST report] Tuesday of an earlier judicial ruling that the state's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional [JURIST report]. Supporters of the bill have at least one more chance to get it reconsidered by the Assembly this week. Observers say it could have an easier time in the state Senate, where Democrats hold a 25-15 edge, It's not entirely clear what California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger would do if the bill came to his desk, but he has said in the past that voters or the courts, rather than lawmakers, should decide the same-sex marriage issue. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Durban High Court convicted an associate of South Africa's Deputy President Thursday at the end of a high-profile corruption trial that had gripped the nation. Financial advisor Schabir Shaik [Wikipedia profile] was found guilty of fraud in his business dealings with South African politician Jakob Zuma [biography]. The judgment, read live over radio and television for three days, opens the door to possible criminal charges against Zuma, seen as a frontrunner to replace current South African President Thabo Mbeki [BBC profile]. Zuma condemned the verdict as a "trial by media" while the South African government reserved judgment until "considered reflection by relevant legal and political authorities" occurs. SABC has local coverage. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Amnesty International Secretary-General Irene Khan [profile] said Thursday that the US could settle disagreements about alleged abuses of prisoners at its Guantanamo Bay detention camp [JURIST news archive] and other facilities by opening them to inspections by human rights investigators. AI criticized Guantanamo [advocacy site] in a report released earlier this month, calling it the "gulag of our time." On Wednesday, President Bush called the report "absurd" [JURIST report]; his comments were echoed later in the day by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who nonetheless acknowledged that some prisoners in US custody had been mistreated [JURIST report]. Khan, speaking in Japan, also criticized the US death penalty, against which Amnesty has long campaigned. AP has more.

[JURIST] In the wake of the latest campaign to track down insurgents in Baghdad, human rights groups have called on Iraqi and US forces to respect humanitarian law when raiding houses in search of suspects. The campaign, announced on May 26 and termed Operation Lightning [overview], is designed to close off exits from the city and allow security forces to seek out foreign and domestic militants. Some 40,000 soldiers are said to be involved. A spokesperson for Amnesty International [advocacy website] has urged the troops to avoid causing physical or psychological damage to innocent families caught in the middle of the raids, but US Army officials have stressed that US and Iraqi forces have a right to hunt down insurgents and say that the Iraqi people have been given early warning that such raids would be occurring. Earlier this week a Sunni Muslim leader in Baghdad was taken into custody with his sons and had his house ransacked by US forces, only to be released afterwards after the US military admitted to a "mistake" [JURIST report]. IRIN has more.

[JURIST] US business leaders Thursday debated possible new directions for the Securities and Exchange Commission [officail website]following Wednesday's announcement by current SEC Chairman William Donaldson [JURIST report] that he would be stepping down June 30. Donaldson led the drive to toughen corporate regulations and penalties in the wake of the Enron scandal and revelations of mutual fund fraud, but some critics in the corporate community have said that the recent reforms have imposed excessive transaction costs on business, have discouraged risk-taking and compromised economic growth. Others warn that business interests could "hijack" the nomination process of Donaldson's successor and undo progress made under the Sarbanes-Oxley and similar reforms. GOP sources said late Wednesday that President Bush will nominate [JURIST report] Congressman Christopher Cox (R-CA) [official website] to take over from Donaldson, but this has yet to be confirmed. Bush will also have to fill two other vacancies [AP report] on the Commission when Commissioner Harvey Goldschmid [official profile] returns to Columbia University in the fall, and when the term of Commissioner Roel A. Campos [official profile] expires later this year. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Protesters returned to the Supreme Court in Kyrgyzstan [CIA fact book] again on Thursday to demand the resignation of several judges. A violent clash on Wednesday [JURIST report] initially ousted the protesters, who had occupied the building since April 22 following an election dispute [JURIST report] that led to the overthrow of the hardline government of President Askar Akayev. Police Thursday allowed the demonstrations to continue, but this time barred protesters from entering the building. It is unknown when the court will resume working. The protestors are demanding the resignation of all judges appointed by Akayev. Itar-Tass has more.

[JURIST] Wachovia Corp. [corporate website], the fourth largest bank in the US, acknowledged Wednesday that two of its predecessor banks owned slaves prior to the Civil War and apologized for the practice. Wachovia had contracted with historical research firm The History Factory [company website] to look into the pasts of acquired banks, an increasingly common practice as legislative initiatives in a variety of the US states have pushed financial institutions to investigate possible links to slavery. The researchers found that the Bank of Charleston and the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company had both owned slaves or used them as collateral in transactions. Wachovia Chairman Ken Thompson [company profile] said in a statement [Wachovia press release] that he was "deeply saddened" by the findings, adding that the company plans to work with community organizations to further understanding of black history. AP has more.

[JURIST] About 70 animal rights protestors marched and chanted in protest outside a Trenton New Jersey courtroom Wednesday as the trial of seven activists charged with domestic terrorism began. The activists are all members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty [advocacy website], a group opposed to the animal testing practices of British company Huntingdon Life Sciences [corporate website] which has a laboratory in New Jersey. They are charged with committing vandalism and harassment, including posting personal information about Huntington employees on the internet. Under the federal Animal Enterprise Protection Act [text], their alleged crimes are a form of domestic terrorism; The trial is expected to last into August. A senior FBI official told the US Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in May that animal rights and other violent environmental groups like Stop Huntington had become the top domestic terror threat [JURIST report]. AP has more. In testimony to

[JURIST] After the second No to the EU constitution in four days was handed down by Dutch voters Wednesday [JURIST report], European leaders are struggling to keep the charter alive. Current EU President and Prime Minister of Luxembourg Jean-Claude Juncker [official website] has said that the double rejection from France [JURIST report] and the Netherlands has put Europe in "a dangerous position." UK Foreign Office sources indicated Thursday that British plans to hold a referendum on the European Constitution in 2006 are being put on hold [AFP report], although no formal announcement has as yet been made by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw [Wikipedia profile]. Support for the constitution and the ongoing ratification process is coming, however, from new-member East European states. Latvia's 100-member parliament voted overwhelmingly Thursday to ratify the pact, and Polish leaders [AFP report] say were determined to hold a referendum for the charter, which most Poles support. Reuters has more.