[JURIST] Leading Friday's corporations and securities law news, the UK's Competition Commission [official website] has concluded that takeover bids from Euronext [corporate website] and Deutsche Boerse [corporate website] for the London Stock Exchange (LSE) [corporate website] would negatively affect competition. In its report, the commission said that either company would need to divest itself of its clearing services in order for its bid to be less negatively affect competition. In a press release, Deutsche Boerse said it considers itself to have an advantage over Euronext because "a discontinuation of clearing activities in general, an option mentioned by the Commission for both parties, is not an issue for Deutsche Börse." Eurnoext simply said, in its own press release, that it will continue to work with the Commission. Reuters has more.

In other corporations and securities law news...

• A judge in Washington state has blocked a former Microsoft [corporate website] executive from heading Google's new software research center in China [Google press release]. Microsoft sued Google and Kai-Fu Lee alleging that Lee was violating his employment contract with Microsoft. Google had earlier called the lawsuit a "a shocking display of hubris" on Microsoft's part. The judge ruled that Lee cannot work in any fields that compete with Microsoft in areas Lee studied while working at Microsoft. The ruling also forbade Google from trying to induce Microsoft employees to switch employers. Reuters has more.
  
  
• The influential Council of Institutional Investors [official website] will speak to Morgan Stanley [corporate website] over the lucrative severance packages the firm gave its outgoing CEO and other high-ranking executives. Ex-CEO Phillip Purcell left the company in June amid pressure from shareholders [JURIST report] with a $113 million severance package. The council, whose members manage over $3 trillion, said the details of the package--including guarantees to the executives--"gives rise to our concern over the board's alignment with its shareholders." Reuters has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that the US Senate has passed [roll call] legislation designed to shield the firearms industry from lawsuits brought by victims of gun crimes. Democrats had opposed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act [text], saying the substantive threat to the gun industry from such suits was "miniscule" [JURIST report]. The US House passed similar legislation last year but has taken no action in the current session.

[JURIST] The US Senate passed a $14.5 billion energy bill Friday, a day after the House approved the same bill [JURIST report] praised by the Bush administration as a way to increase domestic energy supplies but criticized by environmental groups as a gift to the oil industry. The 1,725-page bill [text], finalized after weeks of compromise between the House [JURIST report] and Senate [JURIST report], will provide $14.5 billion in energy tax breaks, mostly to companies who deal in traditional sources of energy. It also provides funds for promoting renewable energy sources and creating new technologies, measures to aid the nuclear power industry and a provision effective 2007 to extend daylight savings time by one month (starting it three weeks early on the second Sunday in March, and extending it by one extra week to the first Sunday in November). The bill was approved easily 74-26, much like the House vote 275-156 [roll call]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The UN Human Rights Committee [official website] said Friday that the US will be late in submitting a report on its anti-terrorist measures, including the treatment of prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]. The UN received a letter from US officials informing them that "they are not in a position to submit their report by the time of the committee's 84th session." The panel initially asked Washington to provide details in July 2004 about the measures taken since the September 11, 2001 attacks including implementation of the Patriot Act and detention facility practices inside and outside the US. One committee member said the US has promised the panel a report by year's end, though the panel wants a report by October 2005. In a ststement [text] later Friday, the US State Department said:

The United States continues to work on a report of its implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In May of this year, the United States submitted its report on the implementation of the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Since that time, we have concentrated our efforts on completing the ICCPR report, which we hope to submit to the Human Rights Committee as soon as possible.

[JURIST] The Italian Senate [official website, in English] has approved a number of new anti-terrorism security measures drafted in response [JURIST report] to the July 7 London bombings [JURIST report] in an effort to reduce the risk of a terrorist attack in Italy. The new regulations make it a crime to prepare explosives for a terrorist attack or to train others on using explosives. The measures also extended the time police have to identify detainees, from 12 hours to 24 hours and allow police to take DNA samples from suspects who can't be identified. The legislative package, which received broad cross-party support, will now be put to the Italian lower chamber, most likely on Saturday. From Italy, AKI has more.

[JURIST] A new report [PDF text] prepared at the instance of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights [official website] and released Friday criticizes the Sudanese government for its inaction in allowing sexual violence in the turbulent Darfur region [JURIST news archive] to continue and for the lack of prosecutions against government supported forces accused in the attacks. International charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) [NGO website] said in June that 500 women had been raped over four months and the report says women in refugee camps risk being raped for simply venturing out in search of food. The report also criticized the Sudanese government for arresting people who publicize incidents of rape and for taking no action against militiamen and soldiers accused of rape. Khartoum set up a special criminal court [JURIST report] in June to try those accused of war crimes in the Darfur region but the report said it was too early to judge its impact. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] US Supreme Court nominee John Roberts [Wikipedia profile] will begin facing Senate Judiciary Committee questions September 6, congressional officials said Friday. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) [official website], chairman of the Committee, is expected to officially announce the date later in the day but anonymous Republican sources told AP the date had already been finalized. Republicans had considered starting the hearings prior to the end of the Senate's scheduled monthlong summer recess on August 29 but decided a start date in early September would provide sufficient time [JURIST report] to confirm Roberts before the court starts its new term October 3. AP has more.

[JURIST] Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has been questioned about the repression of a Shiite uprising in 1991 that occured after US and coalition forces pushed the Iraqi army out of Kuwait, Iraqi Special Tribunal [official website; JURIST news archive] investigating judge Raid Juhi said Friday. Saddam was interrogated alone Thursday during the 45-minute hearing and Juhi said he expects to wrap up the criminal investigation into Saddam's alleged crackdown against Shiites in southern Iraq, as well as his efforts to force Iraqi Kurds from the northern regions of Iraq. Saddam is expected to stand trial beginning in September for his alleged role in the 1982 massacre of Shiite Muslims in Dujail [JURIST report] in what will be the first of multiple trials involving Saddam and his closest allies. AP has more.

[JURIST] Rwandan authorities have begun releasing 36,000 inmates, the majority of whom have confessed to taking part in the country's 1994 genocide [Wikipedia backgrounder]. The cabinet approved the provisional mass release [JURIST report] on Wednesday in a bid to free up the country's overcrowded jails, which are past capacity with more than 80,000 inmates. According to Rwanda's Prosecutor General, those being released are mostly the elderly, those under 18 at the time of the genocide, and those who have have been detained for many years. The release, however, is not an amnesty; those freed may still face charges in local courts. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Ugandans voters overwhelmingly endorsed democratic reform in a Thursday referendum on whether to restore multi-party politics [JURIST report] after a nearly 20 year absence. The final results were still being calculated Friday, but early returns from 15 percent of polling stations showed more than 90 percent of voters had backed a return to multiple parties. Though a high percentage of voters supported the changes endorsed by President Yoweri Museveni [Wikipedia profile], only about 28 percent of registered voters cast ballots. The low turnout was likely due in part to heavy rain and opposition groups boycotting the referendum as a waste of money, demanding reforms without a vote. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Army mechanic Sgt. Kevin Benderman [defense website] was acquitted Thursday of desertion from a unit heading for duty in Iraq, but was convicted of a lesser charge related to intentionally evading deployment. After applying for conscientious-objector status [PDF DOD directive] 11 days before his unit deployed, Benderman failed to show up when his Third Infantry Division [official website] unit departed. Benderman was sentenced to 15 months in prison, demotion to private, and a dishonorable discharge. The son of a World War II veteran, Benderman was outspoken about his change of mind about war [JURIST report], claiming that during his first 2003 tour in Iraq he had witnessed officers refusing to treat a burn victim and dogs eating corpses at gravesites. Army officials, however, pointed out that Sergeant Benderman did not apply for conscientious-objector status until more than a year after his first tour ended. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] According to two US anti-terrorism officials involved in the arrest, Zambian officials have detained Haroon Rashid Aswat, wanted in the US [New York Times report] for allegedly attempting to establish an al-Qaeda training camp in Oregon in 1999, and in the UK for questioning in relation to the recent London bombings [JURIST report], after he crossed the border from Zimbabwe. Aswat allegedly contacted at least one of the bombers who died in the July 7 attack in London and is named by the FBI as a key figure in al-Qaeda. A Foreign Office spokesman stated "We are currently seeking consular access to a British national reported to be in custody in Zambia," but would not name the individual. Scotland Yard has also refused to comment on the specifics of the case. US and British officials have travelled to Zambia to determine who will take custody of the suspect. Last week the Lose Angeles Times reported Aswat was arrested in Pakistan [LA Times report]. Officials there denied the report, but stated they continued to search for the suspect at Britain's request. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Government officials in Zimbabwe said Thursday that the program of demolitions and forced evictions called Operation Murambatsvina [Wikipedia backgrounder] has ended, but opposition leaders insist that demolitions and beatings are continuing and claim a top opposition official had been detained. International and domestic criticisms of the program have been widespread, with a report by a UN envoy condemning the crackdown [PDF text] that has left hundreds of thousands jobless or homeless. Zimbabwe's government has argued that the demolitions were implemented to help eradicate poverty and corrruption and has pledged to rebuild but independent economists report that the government does not have the funds to pay for the $300 million reconstruction project. AP has more.

[JURIST] London police, reportedly using flash grenades, raided two apartment blocks in Notting Hill Friday making several arrests related to the failed July 21 London subway and bus bombings [JURIST report]. Police would not elaborate as to who was arrested, but British news media say that at least two of the three men still being sought for the attempted bombings have been arrested [Sky report]. AP has more.

12:35 PM ET - AP is reporting that in Rome, Somali Osman Hussain, believed to be the fourth suspect in the bombings, was also arrested Friday. AP has more.

2:32 PM ET - AP is reporting that London police have said they will ask Italy to extradite terror suspect Osman Hussain, arrested in Rome earlier today. Read the transcript of a London Metropolitan Police press conference on the arrests.

[JURIST] Senate Judiciary Committee member Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) [official website] told reporters Thursday that Senate Democrats will make a "limited and targeted" request for documents pertaining to Supreme Court nomineee John G. Roberts, Jr. [Wikipedia profile]. The request reportedly focuses on about 20 of the more than 300 cases Roberts worked on during his tenure as deputy solicitor general in George H.W. Bush's administration, a period which presidential spokesman Scott McClellan stated is protected under the attorney-client privilege [JURIST report]. While Kennedy claims the privilege is not based in law or previous practice, Republicans state the document requests are unreasonable. Kennedy said he was hopeful that Republicans on the committee would support the request but a spokesman for Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) [official website] said no decision has been made. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] The US Department of State [official website] backtracked from prior statements Thursday evening and acknowledged that Bush UN ambassador nominee John Bolton [Wikipedia profile; JURIST news archive] provided Congress with inaccurate information about an investigation. The State Department had earlier insisted Bolton's answer in a confirmation process questionnaire "was truthful" when he said he hadn't been questioned or given information to jury or government investigations in the past five years. Because it appears Bolton was interviewed as part of a State Department-CIA joint investigation into intelligence lapses regarding claims Iraq tried to purchase uranium in Africa, Democratic Senators Joseph Biden [official website] and Barbara Boxer [official website] among other have called on President Bush to withdraw the nomination and to hold back on recess appointing Bolton. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The Vatican [official website] said Thursday that not all attacks by Palestinian militants against the Jewish state have received their condemnation because Israel's military response has at times violated international law. The statement came in response to criticism from Israel [New York Times report] over Pope Benedict XVI's failure to condemn the July 12 terrorist strikes against Israelis in a speech denouncing the recent attacks in London [JURIST report]. The statement from the Vatican said it would be "impossible" to condemn the Palestinian terror strikes and say nothing about Israeli retaliation, though the Vatican did not elaborate on any of the alleged violations. Read the Vatican press release. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Honduras held Thursday that the Supreme Electoral Court violated two constitutional provisions in June when it opened the door for religious figures to run for public office. The constitutional ban for political activity by religious leaders is stated in the 1982 Honduran Constitution [text in Spanish] and is based on a 1830 announcement by then-President Francisco Morazan [Wikipedia profile] declaring a separation of church and state. Prior to the Supreme Court's decision, 14 evangelical ministers had entered congressional candidacies for the November 27, 2005 general elections where the presidency and all 128 congressional seats will be up for election. AP has more.

[JURIST] Iraqi President Jalal Talabani [Wikipedia profile] on Thursday praised the Iraqi Special Tribunal [official website; JURIST news archive], a court created to try Saddam Hussein and his allies, and vowed to protect members from purges [JURIST report] because of their earlier roles in the Baath party. Talabani made the promise during a meeting with one of the Tribunal's judges, Raid Juhi, who faces dismissal under legislation due for parliamentary approval Sunday stating that any former member of the Baath party is barred from working for the proposed Supreme Iraq Criminal Court. Under the current scheme, former Baath members of the tribunal will be dismissed in stages following the end of Saddam's trial. AP has more.

[JURIST] Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap [official website] announced Thursday that the issue of whether to repeal the state's newly enacted gay rights law has qualified for the November state ballot. The proposed "Act to Extend Civil Rights Protections to All People Regardless of Sexual Orientation" [text] adds the term "sexual orientation" to the classes already protected under the Maine Human Rights Act [text], but specifically states it cannot be construed to provide marriage rights to same-sex couples. It also exempts privately-funded religious groups from compliance with its provisions. Read Dunlap's press release. AP has more.

[JURIST] Washington-based Alliance for Justice [advocacy website] has urged an investigation of Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) [official website], chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, claiming he violated ethics rules by trying to influence an appeals court decision in Chicago. Nan Aron, president of Alliance for Justice, made the request in a letter dated Wednesday [PDF text] to the Chairman of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct [official website], Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA) [official website]. Sensenbrenner sent a letter in June to the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago asking that a jail term for a drug courier be increased. General rules of litigation prohibit contacting judges on a case without also notifying all parties and the letter was not sent to the lawyer for the drug runner. Hastings has yet to respond to the letter. The Appleton Wisconsin Post-Crescent has more.

[JURIST] Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) [official website] responded Thursday to documents US Supreme Court nominee John Roberts [Wikipedia profile] produced while working at the Justice Department and White House counsel's office during the Reagan administration, stating they "certainly raise some questions in my mind about his commitment" to civil rights. Specifically, Kennedy commented that Roberts has a "rather cramped view" of the Voting Rights Act [Wikipedia backgrounder]. Also, while working in the White House Roberts argued against legislation that he claimed would "radically expand the civil rights laws to areas never before considered covered." Democrats continue to demand access to more of Roberts' documents, but presidential spokesman Scott McClellan stated earlier this week that documents produced while Roberts was principal deputy solicitor general under George H.W. Bush and in private practice are protected under the attorney-client privilege [JURIST report] and will not be released. AP has more.