[JURIST] At a brief East Room ceremony, President Bush has formally announced his nomination of US DC Circuit Court of Appeals judge John Roberts to be an Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court [JURIST news archive]. Calling him one of the "most distinguished and talented attorneys in America", the President said Roberts was admired for his intellect, sound judgment, and sense of decency. Drawing attention to the 39 cases he had argued before the high court prior to going to the bench himself in 2003, Bush said that Roberts had earned the respect of members of both political parties, as evidenced by a bipartisan letter in support of his appeals court nomination.

Bush said his decision to nominate Roberts for the high court came after a "thorough process", and personal and staff consultations with over 70 members of the Senate. He said he had been "deeply impressed" by Roberts in his meetings with him, praising his "good heart", his experience, wisdom, fairness, and civility. The President said Roberts had "profound respect for the rule of law" and the liberties guaranteed to every American citizen. In a politically telling statement, he said Roberts would strictly apply the Constitution and laws, and not "legislate from the bench."

The President called for a "dignified confirmation process" conducted with fairness and civility and in a timely manner, and urged the Senate to act promptly on the nomination so that the newest justice could be on the bench at the start of the new Supreme Court term in October.

In brief comments of his own, Judge Roberts called his nomination humbling and emphasized his respect for the Supreme Court as an instituton; he said he looked forward to the confirmation process ahead.

10:17 PM ET - An official transcript of President Bush's remarks is now available from the White House, along with recorded video.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase:

• BREAKING NEWS ~ Bush picks appeals judge John Roberts as high court nominee
• BREAKING NEWS ~ Bush to announce Supreme Court nominee at 9 PM ET

[JURIST] Wire services are reporting that President Bush will nominate federal appeals court judge John G. Roberts for the US Supreme Court seat opened by the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, according to Washington sources. Roberts, a former law clerk to Chief Justice William Rehnquist, currently sits on the US DC Circuit Court of Appeals, which offers this official biographical sketch:

Judge Roberts was confirmed by the Senate to a judgeship on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on May 8, 2003, and sworn in on June 2 by Chief Justice Rehnquist. Judge Roberts graduated from Harvard College in 1976, and received his law degree in 1979 from Harvard Law School. Following graduation from law school, he served as law clerk for Judge Henry J. Friendly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the following year to then-Associate Justice Rehnquist of the Supreme Court of the United States. Judge Roberts served as Special Assistant to United States Attorney General William French Smith from 1981 to 1982 and Associate Counsel to President Ronald Reagan from 1982 to 1986. He then joined Hogan & Hartson where he developed a civil litigation practice, with an emphasis on appellate matters. From 1989 to 1993 he served as Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States. He returned to Hogan & Hartson in 1993. At the time of his confirmation, Judge Roberts was the senior partner in charge of Hogan & Hartson's appellate practice. He is a member of the American Law Institute and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.

a record of hostility to the rights of women and minorities. He has also taken controversial positions in favor of weakening the separation of church and state and limiting the role of federal courts in protecting the environment....While working under Presidents Reagan and Bush, Mr. Roberts supported a hard-line, anti-civil rights policy that opposed affirmative action, would have made it nearly impossible for minorities to prove a violation of the Voting Rights Act and would have “resegregated” America’s public schools. He also took strongly anti-choice positions in two Supreme Court cases, one that severely restricted the ability of poor women to gain information about abortion services, and another that took away a key means for women and clinics to combat anti-abortion zealots.

Roberts’s record is a disturbing one. Among other things, is hostile to women’s reproductive freedom, and he has taken positions in religious liberty and free speech cases that were detrimental to those fundamental rights. Roberts has limited judicial experience, but even his short tenure as a judge raises serious concerns about his ideology and judicial philosophy. For example, dissenting opinions by Roberts have questioned the constitutionality of the Endangered Species Act and argued that Americans tortured by Iraq when it was a terrorist state can receive no compensation. This preliminary review of Roberts’s record indicates that it falls far short of demonstrating the commitment to fundamental civil and constitutional rights that should be shown by a Supreme Court nominee.

[JURIST] US Senators Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and John Cornyn (R-TX) [official websites] introduced a bill [press release] Tuesday which could force millions of illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States to leave. The proposed bill [text, PDF] includes the adoption of a machine-readable Social Security card system for all US workers to keep illegal aliens from obtaining jobs, tough fines for companies hiring illegal aliens, and more Department of Homeland Security employees assigned to pulling illegal immigrants from the workforce. A rival bipartisan bill [text] was sponsored two months ago by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) [official website] who says the Kyl-Cornyn bill "is not a realistic solution, and won't solve the security and economic problems we face." The Kyl-Cornyn bill has also criticized by the National Immigration Forum [press release] and the National Council of La Raza [official website], the country's biggest Hispanic organization, for not including practical ways for workers to gain citizenship. According to the annual US Census calculations in 2000, there were nearly 9 million illegal aliens in the US at that time with an average of 500,000 individuals added to the number each year. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The Senate Tuesday delayed a floor debate on the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2005 [text, PDF] which proposes giving native Hawaiians self-governance privileges [JURIST report]. The Akaka bill [background website] is sponsored by US Senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka [official websites], both from Hawaii, who said the Republican majority had committed to sending the bill for a vote by August. But Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) [official website] has now halted the debate by indicating that he will propose five amendments to the bill which Inouye says will make the bill "meaningless" and "is almost like saying you will have a Hawaiian entity with absolutely nothing." In a letter to Congress last week the US Justice Department raised a number of concerns about the legislation [AP report] saying gambling should be prohibited by the proposed native Hawaiian government and the US military should still be given access to native Hawaiian land. Senator Inouye said he hopes Democrats can persuade Republicans to allow the bill to move forward this week. From Honolulu, the Star-Bulletin has more.

[JURIST] An Egyptian Interior Ministry report has concluded that there are no links between detained chemist Magdi al-Nashar and the al-Qaeda suspects responsible for the bombings in London. Nashar was arrested in Cairo [JURIST report] last week as part of an investigation into the bombings when information surfaced that he assisted in renting a London flat where traces of explosives were found. He has denied any role in the bombings but admitted that he did know one of the bombers. Nashar was questioned by Egyptian officials who hinted Saturday that they would be unwilling to comply with British requests for his extradition [JURIST report]. British police never formally named him as a suspect. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Leading Tuesday's corporations and securities law news, the SEC has filed civil fraud charges against former executives of i2 Technologies [corporate website], a Texas company that produces supply chain management software. In a press release, the SEC announced that it has filed suit [complaint, PDF] against three former i2 executives for illegally reporting revenue for software that was not yet functional. The suit seeks the $120 million the SEC says the executives made in ill-gotten gains from the revenue reporting. Last year, the SEC settled with i2 for $10 million [SEC press release] over alleged fraud related to reporting software revenue. AP has more.

In other corporations and securities law news...

• Northwest Airlines' [corporate website] Chief Executive Douglas Steenland [Forbes profile] has said that his company will not enter binding arbitration with its mechanics to settle differences over a proposed $176 million cut in labor costs. The union representing Northwest's mechanics-the Airline Mechanics Fraternal Association [union website]-has, in turn, announced that it is preparing to strike [Reuters report]. Forbes has more.
  
  
• As reported earlier on JURIST's Paper Chase, two class-action lawsuits have been filed against DuPont [corporate website]. The lawsuits allege that DuPont knowingly withheld information about the dangers of perfluorooctanoic acid [Wikipedia entry] (PFOA) in its Teflon products and asks for DuPont to spend $5 billion to replace Teflon-coated cookware. In a press release, DuPont said, "consumers using products sold under the Teflon brand are safe," and that "approved standard FDA tests also show that non-stick coatings used for cookware sold under the Teflon brand, do not contain any PFOA." Reuters has more.
  
  
• Visa [corporate website] and American Express [corporate website] have announced that they will no longer use troubled card processor CardSystems Solutions, Inc. [corporate website]. Last month it was revealed that information from 40 million American credit cards was stolen from CardSystems [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Three UK soldiers will be brought to trial charged with war crimes against Iraqi detainees, the Attorney General for England and Wales, Lord Goldsmith, announced Tuesday on behalf of the British Army Prosecuting Authority. Seven other British soldiers face courts-martial for alleged detainee abuse. The war crimes charges are in connection with the death of Baha Da' oud Salim Mousa [JURIST report], who died in British custody in the southern Iraqi city of Basra in September 2003. The soldiers also face charges of manslaughter, assault, inhuman treatment of persons and perverting the course of justice. All the men have been charged under the UK's International Criminal Court Act 2001 [PDF text]. The British Attorney General's office provides additional information [ministerial statement] on the prosecution of British soldiers for maltreatment of Iraqi civilians. AP has more; BBC News has local coverage.

[JURIST] Leading Tuesday's states brief, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers deadlocked today on a proposed constitutional amendment [text] that would prohibit the use of race and gender preferences in university admissions and government hiring. The board could not decide whether to accept or reject signatures gathered by the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative [website]. Michigan Civil Rights Initiative leaders said they will ask state courts to certify the signatures, while two canvassers said they will ask for an investigation into alleged claims of fraud and misrepresentation by MCRI in gathering the signatures. AP has more.

In other state legal news ...

• The Connecticut Supreme Court has granted court-appointed attorneys for minor children absolute immunity from being sued by parents. In the opinion [PDF text], Justice David M. Borden wrote, "The threat of litigation from a disgruntled parent, unhappy with the position advocated by the attorney for the minor child in a custody action, would be likely not only to interfere with the independent decision-making required by this position, but may very well deter individuals from accepting appointment in the first place." In the decision, the Supreme Court applied the US Supreme Court's three-prong test to determine when a court-appointed attorney qualifies for absolute immunity and expanded the ruling of the appeals court [PDF text] which granted court-appointed attorneys for minors only qualified immunity. Connecticut's Hartford Courant has local coverage.
  
  
• Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly [official website] has rejected a proposed ballot initiative which aims to repeal the state's new embryonic stem-cell research law. Reilly found the law religious in nature and stated that the state constitution and caselaw say that any law relating distinctively to religion can not go before voters. The law [text], which was passed in May 2005 over the Governor's veto, promotes embryonic stem-cell research in the state, but allows medical staff with "sincerely held religious practices or beliefs" exemption from such research. The Boston Herald has local coverage.

[JURIST] Interior ministers from Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Syria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Jordan joined Tuesday in calling for a swift start to the trial of Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] after the Iraqi Special Tribunal [official website, JURIST news archive] filed its first charge [JURIST report] against the former Iraqi president on Sunday. A joint communique issued at the end of the meeting stressed the importance of "accelerating the process of bringing to justice in Iraq, Saddam Hussein and all those in the leadership of the previous Iraqi regime who have committed crimes against humanity." Meanwhile in Baghdad Iraqi President Jalal Talabani also urged a swift trial [AP report], arguing that a conviction could help reduce insurgent attacks significantly, once the insurgents realize Saddam will not be coming back to power. AP has more.

[JURIST] Late reports from Reuters indicate that two members of the 71-person Iraq constitution committee [official website] were shot dead earlier today, rather than three members as reported earlier [JURIST report]. Sheikh Mujbil al-Sheikh Isa, Dhamin Hussein Ileywi and Aziz Ibrahim were all killed by gunfire as they left a restaurant in Baghdad's central Karrada district, but only Isa and Ileywi were among the 15 Sunnis who recently joined the committee, with Ibrahim described by political associates as a member of a board advising the committee. The killings come at a critical juncture as the committee finalizes its work on a draft that Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said earlier Tuesday could be finished before the end of the month [JURIST report], ahead of the August 15 deadline. Prince Hassan of Jordan [Wikipedia profile] said that in light of the murders and the 150 recent deaths from suicide attacks, "civil war has actually started in Iraq and I don't think there is any other way of putting it." Both the US embassy in Baghdad [official website] and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan have condemned the murders with the embassy saying it felt strongly that this incident would not "deter [Iraqis] from their goal of a free and democratic government". Reuters has more.

[JURIST] A lawyer for a US citizen held as an enemy combatant [JURIST report] argued Tuesday in front of a US appeals court that his client should not be held without charges. Jose Padilla [JURIST news archive], a Muslim convert, was arrested at O'Hare Airport in 2002 for planning to detonate a bomb in the US that was laced with radioactive materials, known as a "dirty bomb" [NRC fact sheet]. President Bush designated him an enemy combatant [Wikipedia backgrounder] after learning he was at an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan. The US Supreme Court refused to hear Padilla's challenge [JURIST report] to his enemy combatant status this June. Padilla is one of two US citizens to have been held as enemy combatants (the other, Yaser Hamdi, was released last year and went to Saudi Arabia, where he also holds citizenship). AP has more. In response, US Solicitor General Paul Clement argued that the President was within his authority to hold Padilla without any kind of special authorization from Congtress as America was a "battlefield" in the war on terror. The Washington Post has more on the government's arguments.

[JURIST] A lawsuit was filed Tuesday against US chemical company DuPont [corporate website] by two law firms in Florida representing 14 people who say that the company did not sufficiently warn the public about the health hazards associated with its product, the non-stick coating Teflon. Teflon contains the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) [EPA risk assessment], which many scientists consider likely to contain carcinogenic agents. The plaintiffs want DuPont to spend $5 billion to replace cookware currently on the market and to issue health warnings to consumers. DuPont stated that, "Cookware coated with DuPont Teflon non-stick coatings does not contain PFOA," and vowed to "vigorously defend itself against the allegations raised in this lawsuit" [press release]. DuPont previously settled a class action lawsuit [JURIST report] in West Virginia for $340 million, but refused to accept any liability. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Former Bosnian Croat soldier Miroslav Bralo, on trial for war crime charges [ICTY backgrounder] at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia [official website] at The Hague, changed his plea from not guilty [JURIST report] to guilty on Tuesday. Bralo, also known as Cicko, had been charged in the original indictment [text] with nine counts of breaches of the Geneva conventions and 12 counts of violations of laws and customs of war for such crimes as the murder, rape, and torture of Muslims during the 1993 Muslim-Croat war in Bosnia. A plea agreement [PDF] led to an amended indictment, subjecting Bralo to an additional charge of persecution for his involvement in a massacre which killed more than 100 Muslims in April 1993. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] A top adviser to the military commissions trying the 12 Guantanamo detainees charged with war crimes said Tuesday that he did not think any of the charges were serious enough to warrant a death sentence. Brigadier General Thomas Hemingway [official profile], Legal Adviser to the Appointing Authority in the DOD Office of Military Commissions, indicated that there was no evidence that would lead him to recommend capital punishment in any of these cases. The military trials are set to resume [JURIST report] after a US appeals court ruled [opinion, PDF] Friday that Guantanamo detainees may be tried by military commissions [JURIST report]. AFP has more. The Pentagon Channel is providing video of Hemingway's briefing.

[JURIST] Leading Tuesday's international brief, UN spokesman Penangnini Toure has announced that two UN peacekeepers serving in the UN Mission to Burundi [official website] peacekeeping force were found guilty of breaking the UN's new, strict code governing sexual conduct of peacekeeping personnel while on assignment. Toure said that the two men were found guilty of paying for sex with individuals under the age of 18, automatically making them minors and thus violating the UN peacekeeping sexual conduct code. Toure said both men had been repatriated to their home country, but refused to specify which country the men had originated from. Earlier, unconformed reports had identified the men as Ethiopian. The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations [official website] has been under close scrutiny since six peacekeepers were found guilty of sexually abusing underage girls [JURIST report] in the Congo earlier this year. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of the United Nations [JURIST news archive]. BBC News has more.

In other international legal news ...

• The Ugandan Parliament [government website] has voted to withdraw a provision from the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2005 that would have given the Ugandan government [official website] the power to create special courts for terrorist offenses. Ugandan Minister of State for Justice and Constitution Affairs, Adolf Mwesige argued that terrorism was an ongoing problem that required special courts to deal with offenders, especially in light of Uganda's recent passage of the Anti-Terrorism Act. The Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs [official website] recommended to Parliament that the clause be removed, as Uganda's current laws were sufficient to deal with any attempted terrorism in the nation. Uganda's Monitor has local coverage.
  
  
• Indonesian State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra has announced that the Indonesian government [official website] would not amend Law No. 31/2002 on the establishment of political parties in order to meet the terms of the recent peace agreement [JURIST report] between the Free Aceh Movement [Wikipedia profile] and the government. Instead, the Law on Special Autonomy for Aceh has been presented as capable of being amended to allow for the creation of a local political party, one of the key demands of the rebel party. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Indonesia [JURIST news archive]. The Jakarta Post has local coverage.
  
  
• Nepalese Minister of General Administration Krishna Lal Thakali, appointed by King Gyanedra [official profile] following the abolition of the elected Nepalese government [JURIST report] on Febraury 1, has announced that Nepal's Civil Service Act was amended at the Gyanedra's direction to disallow the formation of unions by civil servants in Nepal. Thakali said that certain key unions would be granted special privilege to operate, but did not specify which unions would receive royal privilege. Union leaders and civil rights groups have roundly condemned the amendment as an unfair restriction on the rights of Nepalese citizens working for the government, and asserted that the decision ran afoul of Nepal Supreme Court [official website] decisions and treaties ascribed to by Nepal through the United Nations and the International Labour Organization [official website. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Nepal [JURIST news archive]. Nepal News has local coverage.

[JURIST] According to a top military general in Turkey, the US has given orders to capture rebel members of the Turkish terrorist organization, the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) [party website, FAS backgrounder] in Iraq. The PKK has been fighting the Ankara government since 1984 and Ankara recently urged the US government to take action against the more than 3,000 militant fighters hiding in the northern mountains of Iraq. Many PKK members are believed to frequently cross into Turkey and have allegedly contributed to the recent upsurge of anti-government violence there. Reuters has more; the Turkish Press has local coverage.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that a senior administration official has said that US President George Bush will announce his nominee for the US Supreme Court this evening at 9:00 PM ET. AP has more. The latest speculation has centered around Alabama-born US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals judge Edith Clement [US DOJ profile; SCOTUSblog potential nominee profile and rulings list] as the most likely choice to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who announced her retirement last month.

[JURIST] According to the attorney for Rev. Jerry Falwell [official website], the Federal Election Commission (FEC) [official website] on Monday dismissed a Campaign Legal Center [official website] complaint [PDF text] against the evangelist in a 6-0 decision. According to the Campaign Legal Center, Jerry Falwell and two associated, tax-exempt nonprofit organizations broke election laws when they stated that, "voting for principle this year means voting for the re-election of George W. Bush. The alternative, in my mind, is simply unthinkable," in an internet newsletter July 1, 2004. The complaint also alleged that the organizations solicited funds for the Campaign for Working Families, a federal political action committee (PAC), on their website. Federal law prohibits corporations from making political communications to, or raising PAC funds from, the general public. A similar complaint lodged with the IRS [PDF text], stating the activities violated tax code section 501(c)(3) [text] is pending. AP has more.

[JURIST] The African Union [official website] introduced its own plan for expansion of the UN Security Council on Monday, despite ongoing negotiations that would give Africa permanent representation on the council [JURIST report] and opposition by the US, Russia, and China [JURIST report] to the so-called G-4 plan. This plan, proposed by Germany, Japan, Brazil, and India would put 10 new nations on the council, including two African nations. Six of the ten would be permanent members, but none of them would have veto powers. The new African proposal calls for 11 new members, with six permanent members having veto power. The US supports expansion in principle [US General Assembly address] but has not yet given approval to any plan submitted. It's not clear if the African proposal will receive a vote, and the G-4 plan seems likely to fail [AP report]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Iraq detailed concerns about corruption and violence delaying reconstruction as it submitted a list of its most pressing rebuilding needs to international donors on Monday. Concerns about graft and insurgent violence have meant delays and have resulted in only a fraction of the funds committed to rebuilding being put to use. Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari [BBC profile] has previously called administrative corruption an important challenge for Iraq to overcome [JURIST report], and both the US government [JURIST report] and outside groups [JURIST report] have cautioned the new Iraqi government about the potential for official mismanagement. The UN has established the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI) [official website] to ensure accountability and success in rebuilding the country. The chairman of the IRFFI said he was "pleased with the outcome" [PDF press release] of Monday's meeting. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Despite approval of a military tribunal by the US courts [JURIST report] and Australian Attorney-General Philip Ruddock [JURIST report], lawyers for Australian terror suspect David Hicks [Wikipedia profile, advocacy website] are looking to the US federal courts to get his trial moved to the civilian system. Hicks' US military lawyer, Major Michael Mori, says the US government is "set[ting us] up to fail" by rushing tribunal proceedings, and that it would take several months, not weeks, to prepare Hicks' defense. The Law Council of Australia [official website] has called the military tribunals unfair [press release]. Hicks was captured alongside Taliban forces in Afghanistan in 2001 and is being held in Guantanamo. AAP has more [registration required].

[JURIST] According to a conservative source familiar with the nomination discussions, White House officials have stated President Bush will not nominate Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [JURIST news archive] to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor [JURIST report] on the US Supreme Court. Conservative activists had protested Gonzales as a potential nominee, criticizing his stances on abortion and racial preference issues as too liberal, while Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said he was "qualified" [JURIST report]. White House strategists have suggested President Bush may announce a nominee this week [JURIST report] and, according to the source, senior administration officials have told some conservative leaders that the nomination will likely go to Edith Jones [SC nomination blog profile] or Edith Clement [US DOJ profile; SC nomination blog profile]. Priscilla Owen [US DOJ profile; SC nomination blog profile] and Michigan Supreme Court Justice Maura Corrigan [official website] are also speculated to be possible nominees. The Hill has more.

[JURIST] Iran demanded that Saddam Hussein face charges in connection with the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war at the end of a landmark visit to Tehran this week by Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari [Wikipedia profile]. Iraq agreed in May 2005 to charge Saddam for his role in the war, and Iran says it is ready to hand over documents and other evidence relating to the conflict to the Iraqi Special Tribunal [official website; JURIST news archive]. Saddam's first formal charge [JURIST report] in his war crimes trial stemmed from the 1982 killing of 150 Shiites. Saddam has also blamed Iran [JURIST report] for a 1988 gas attack on the Kurds. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Guatemala formally apologized on Monday for a government-ordered massacre that occurred during the country's civil war [Wikipedia backgrounder] on July 18, 1982, taking the lives of 226. Vice President Eduardo Stein made the acknowledgement in a small town north of Guatemala City, expressing remorse for the army's action that "wipe[d] out an entire community." The apology comes in response to an order last fall from the Inter-American Human Rights Court [official website] requiring an apology and payments to survivors totaling almost $8 million. The civil war did not end until 1996 with a UN-brokered peace treaty. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Senate on Monday confirmed Lester Crawford [official profile] as the new head of the US Food and Drug Administration [official site] by a 78-16 vote [roll call], ending an earlier debate [JURIST report] about his nomination stalled by legislators' concerns. At issue was the FDA dragging its feet on a determination about the sale of an emergency contraceptive. The FDA has now promised a ruling on whether Plan B [FDA Q & A], the drug in question, may be sold over-the-counter by September 1 2005. AP has more.

[JURIST] Opposition legislators in the Philippines said Tuesday that they plan to file criminal charges against President Gloria Arroyo [official website] in connection with allegations of election fraud and corruption. Arroyo previously said she would "welcome" impeachment [JURIST report] as an opportunity to clear her name, and doesn't appear to be wavering [JURIST report] in the face of increasing opposition. She has announced plans to set up an independent panel to investigate the accusations. A controversial audio tape [Manila Sun-Star report] allegedly documents Arroyo planning to fix the 2004 national election, and her husband has gone into voluntary exile [International Herald Tribune report] amidst allegations that he took money from gambling bosses. The US objects to any unconstitutional method [JURIST report] to remove Arroyo from office. AP has more.

[JURIST] East Timor [JURIST news archive] and Indonesia [JURIST news archive] have set up a joint truth commission, to open August 1 2005, to address human rights violations that occurred during a 1999 rampage in East Timor [Human Rights Watch report]. Following a UN sponsored referendum to end Indonesia's violent 27-year occupation of East Timor, anti-independence militias aided by elements of the Indonesian military slaughtered approximately 1,000 East Timorese. The joint commission will consist of five delegates from each country and will have no authority to punish those found guilty. The two Asian countries previously agreed [JURIST report] to set up the commission, and Indonesia rejected a UN proposal for an international tribunal [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Michael Newdow's latest challenge that "under God" is unconstitutional was narrowed by US District Judge Lawrence Karlton [official profile] in Sacramento on Monday. After the US Supreme Court dismissed his lawsuit [JURIST report] against the Pledge of Alliance for lack of standing last June, Michael Newdow promised to file a similar suit [JURIST report] with different plaintiffs. Karlton ruled that the suit cannot seek to have the entire pledge and "under God" declared unconstitutional, but rather it should focus on whether or not the pledge is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. An appeal of this limit is likely, but Karlton did not indicate a time period for a written ruling. AP has more.

[JURIST] Reuters is reporting that three members of the committee drafting a new constitution in Iraq were shot and killed outside a Baghdad restaurant Tuesday. Sources say that the men were three of the fifteen Sunni members who recently joined the committee to increase Sunni involvement in the process. Reuters has more.

10:48 AM ET - The Washington Post is reporting that there are conflicting reports about whether all three men killed were members of Iraq's constitution committee. Members of the committee are trying to reach each other by phone to make the determination.

[JURIST] The Tokyo High Court [official site in English] on Tuesday rejected demands by Chinese plaintiffs for compensation for a germ attack against them in World War II, but the court did uphold the lower court's declaration that Japan carried out such an attack. The Japanese government has never officially admitted to conducting germ warfare, but the activities of such groups as Unit 731 [Wikipedia backgrounder] are known to historians. A former member of the unit criticized the verdict against the 180 plaintiffs, each seeking about $89,000 and an official apology. Compensation suits for wartime atrocities almost always fail in Japan, with the court making similar rulings in June [JURIST report] and April [JURIST report]. Japan believes that a 1951 peace treaty and diplomatic agreement with China in 1972 has settled the issue. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Iraqi President Jalal Talabani [BBC profile] announced Tuesday that the country's constitution [JURIST news archive] is in its final stages and could be finalized by the end of July, ahead of the August 15 deadline [JURIST report]. The early completion is contingent on the committee striking a deal with Sunni Arabs involved in the process who are critical of the document and want a statement affirming Iraq's Arab identity. The majority of the committee is made up of Kurds, who demand a federal system granting them the oil-rich city of Kirkurk, and Shiites, who want Islam to have a prominent role in Iraq's future. The announcement comes as Iraq's deadly insurgency, believed to be fueled by Sunni Arabs powerful in Saddam Hussein's regime, claimed the lives of 13 Iraqi workers in a bus ambush Tuesday. US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Richard Myers [official website] warned, "Clearly, there is going to be more violence [as Iraq approaches elections later this year] because there are people who don't want progress to happen." AP and AFP have more.

[JURIST] Opposition and civil rights groups in Kenya have called for three days of protests leading up to Friday's deadline for a proposed constitution, despite a ban on a planned protest march. The opposition accuses Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki [official website] and his government of diluting cross-party recommendations for re-writing the constitution and, primarily, failing in the latest draft to limit presidential powers [JURIST report]. According to the protestors, the government ignored recommendations to give most authority to a new prime minister. Following Friday's proposal, the document is to be put to a referendum. The Constitution of Kenya Review Commission [official website] has additional information on the Kenyan constitutional process. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Vietnamese officials said Tuesday that Vietnam will make its court decisions public for the first time to increase transparency as it seeks to comply with requirements for joining the World Trade Organization [official website]. Vietnam's Supreme People's Court [court overview] has already published two volumes of civil, criminal, commercial, labor and administrative cases issued in 2003 and 2004 with the help of funds from the US Agency for International Development [official website]. US ambassador to Vietnam Michael Marine [official profile] hailed the steps taken to publish decisions, saying they will induce foreign investment by giving foreigners added confidence. AP has more.

[JURIST] After his conviction for torture and hostage-taking [JURIST report] Monday, Afghan warlord Faryadi Sarwar Zardad [Wikipedia profile] was sentenced Tuesday by a UK court to two concurrent 20-year prison terms. The jury sitting at London's Old Bailey found Zardad guilty after hearing the vicious examples of hostage-taking that Zardad oversaw or directed between 1992 and 1996. Zardad, whose first trial [JURIST report] in 2004 ended in a hung jury, maintains he did not kidnap or torture any travelers. At the close of the trial the judge recommended Zardad be deported from the UK after serving his sentence. BBC News has more.