[JURIST] The US Commerce Department [official website] said on Tuesday that it will comply with a NAFTA ruling to reduce duties it placed on softwood lumber [CBC News backgrounder] from Canada although emphasizing its disagreement with the ruling. According to the department, duties on lumber will be reduced from 16 percent to slightly below 1 percent under the ruling, although the department said the change would have no practical effect. The duties have been a hotly contested issue between the US and Canadian lumber industries, with a US industry group recently challenging the NAFTA process [JURIST report]. The US has argued that Canada subsidizes its lumber industry because most timber is harvested from government lands, while US timber largely comes from private land. The WTO has previously ruled in favor of Canada [JURIST report] on the issue as well. The Department has a news release on its actions. CBC News has more.

[JURIST] Two men have been charged for leaking a UK government memo that led to a newspaper report Tuesday that said UK Prime Minister Tony Blair [official profile] had talked President Bush out of bombing the Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera [official website]. The memo, which reportedly was a transcription of a conversation between the two leaders in the spring of 2004, was the centerpiece of a news story [text] in the UK's Daily Mirror. David Keogh, a civil servant in the Blair government, and Leo O'Connor, a previous employee of former MP Tony Clarke, were both charged by the Crown Prosecution Service [official website] under the Official Secrets Act [text] for leaking the document. Keogh allegedly passed the memo on to O'Connor before Clarke later returned it to No. 10 Downing St. [official website]. According to the Mirror report, sources differed over whether Bush was serious when he made the comments. Both Blair and Bush's office refused to comment on the memo. Some in the UK, including former defense minister Peter Kilfoyle, called for the memo to be released to the public. NBC News has more.

[JURIST] Organizers of a gay rights [JURIST news archive] parade in Poland [JURIST news archive] on Tuesday sued the mayor of Poznan for banning the event. The group has alleged that the ban violated their right to freedom of assembly and expression. Despite the ban, several hundred gay rights advocates held a rally in Poznan that ultimately drew large protests by right-wing political groups and a standoff with police in the largely Catholic country. At least 68 of the demonstrators were arrested during the rally. The parade organizers said they also planned to take legal action against protestors who displayed slogans calling for gays to be treated like Jews were by the Nazi regime. Poznan Mayor Ryszard Grobelny banned the parade due to security concerns, and his decision was upheld by the regional governor's office. A gay rights parade was also banned in Warsaw [JURIST report] in June. DPA has more.

[JURIST] The US on Tuesday threatened to hold up approval of a two-year UN budget unless reforms agreed to in September were acted on by the end of the year. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan [official profile] said the reform proposals would not be ready for action until February, according to US Ambassador John Bolton [official profile], who said waiting that long would result in a loss of momentum on UN reform [JURIST news archive; US Mission to the UN backgrounder]. The document agreed to in the September World Summit [official website] calls for the reforms to be proposed during the first quarter of 2006. Annan warned that budget approval was needed by the end of the year so his staff could move forward with planning. Otherwise, the UN could face serious financial crisis, Annan said. Bolton proposed that an interim three- to four-month budget could be approved by the end of the year to keep the UN running until the reforms could be brought to a vote. Some of the higher profile reforms approved in September [JURIST report] include the creation of a peacebuilding commission and a replacement body for the UN Human Rights Commission [official website]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Mexico's National Commission for Human Rights [official website, in Spanish] on Tuesday said that the country's police and prosecutors continue to use torture [JURIST news archive] despite pledges by President Vicente Fox [official website, in Spanish] to halt such tactics. Jose Luis Soberanes [IIJ profile], president of the commission, said that officials were increasingly resorting to psychological rather than physical forms of torture. He urged the government to be more vigilant in its efforts to eliminate abuses. According to the commission, threats, simulated executions and forcing victims to watch others being tortured were forms that had been used by authorities in Mexico [JURIST news archive]. Soberanes said 12 complaints had been filed thus far this year, although that number did not include state level reports of torture. In the past 15 years, 7,000 torture complaints had been filed. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The Uzbekistan Supreme Court Tuesday took the remarkable step of issuing a statement defending its recently-concluded trial of 15 individuals accused of leading a May, 2005 uprising [JURIST report] in the town of Andijan which led to the 15 being sentenced to 14 to 20 years in prison [BBC report; JURIST report]. Responding to international criticism and expressions of concern from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights [JURIST report], the US State Department [press release] and private rights groups, the Court insisted the trial was held "in accordance with national legislation" and was consistent with the norms of international law regarding protection of human rights. The Court also suggested that "'serious concerns' about Uzbekistan expressed by the Western states, which themselves had suffered from terrorist attacks, call [for] some kind of bewilderment and doubts on sincerity of the expressed feelings." Read the full text of the court's statement via China's Peoples' Daily.

[JURIST] The Texas Supreme Court [official website] Tuesday declared a statewide property tax unconstitutional because it sets a cap limit that most school districts are at or near already. The ruling [text] partly affirmed and partly reversed a prior decision by District Judge John Dietz [JURIST report] which also held that the finance system does not provide equal funding to both rich and poor students, a disparity that the Court did not see in violation of the constitutional requirement for a “general diffusion of knowledge.” The Court, which suspended Dietz' mandate that the state legislature correct the problem within a year of his ruling, has ordered lawmakers to correct the property tax limit by June 1, forcing Governor Rick Perry [official website] to call another special session regarding the school finance system. The legislature has already failed to correct the problem in its regular session and two special sessions this year. The Houston Chronicle has more.

[JURIST] The US Education Department [official website] on Tuesday planned to send to states initiatives easing some requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) [PDF text; executive summary; US Dept. Ed. fact sheet], which educators have roundly criticized for its rigidity. In an effort to gain approval and to thwart congressional attempts to amend the law, the Department will allow as many as ten states to use “growth models” that base credit on the academic growth of individual students as opposed to the current system that measures the progress of all students against a federally-mandated standard. Some below-standard schools will be able to offer free tutoring to students before they are forced to allow students to transfer to schools that meet the standards. The initiatives would also waive the suspension of federal funds to some schools if they have made a “good-faith effort” to meet teacher-quality requirements. The NCLB, signed into law in 2002, will continue to require annual testing for students in reading and mathematics in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school. The Washington Post has more.

[JURIST] During a hearing in a high-security Madrid court Tuesday, defendants in the largest trial of accused members of Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) [BBC backgrounder] refused to answer any questions regarding their alleged crimes or their involvement in the pro-Basque organization. All 56 individuals accused of ties to ETA [JURIST report] asserted that the Spanish government's prosecution violated their civil rights. ETA, which has consistently demanded an independent Basque nation, has been implicated in more than 800 killings since 1968. The Spanish government considers the group a terrorist organization. Some observers believe, however, that the group is hoping for a political truce with the Spanish government after recent arrests of several of its top leaders. If convicted, the defendants in the present trial face sentences ranging from 10 to 51 years. Expatica has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that a federal jury has found Ahmed Omar Abu Ali [JURIST news archive] guilty of joining al Qaeda and plotting to assassinate President Bush [PDF indictment]. Abu Ali was arrested in Saudi Arabia in 2003 and his trial began last month [JURIST report] after US District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee denied [PDF opinion; JURIST report] Abu Ali's motion to suppress his confession, which Abu Ali claimed was the result of torture [JURIST report] at the hands of Saudi Arabian domestic security police. Abu Ali declined to take the stand in his own defense [AP report] before the defense rested last week. The 24-year-old Abu Ali could receive a life sentence. AP has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Trial of Bush assassination plot suspect starts
• Federal judge allows alleged torture confession in Bush assassination case
• Saudi Arabia denies torturing man accused of plotting Bush assassination
• Student accused in Bush assassination plot alleges Saudi torture led to confession
• Taped confession of Bush assassination plot suspect shown in federal court
• Federal judge orders al Qaeda suspect to produce evidence in Saudi torture claim
• Federal judge says Bush plot suspect can be examined for signs of torture

[JURIST] Leaders of Bosnia's three main ethnic groups Tuesday agreed to a deal on revisions to that country's constitution [text] that would consolidate governmental power in a strong national government. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice [official profile] lauded the accord, saying it was the first step in the war-torn country rejoining the international community. On Monday, the United States had urged Bosnian leaders [JURIST report] to come to an agreement on a draft of the constitution in time for the 10-year anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords [PBS summary], which brought an end to the Bosnian war. The US also hopes to renew its involvement with Bosnia as the country begins negotiations to join the the European Union [AP report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Leading Tuesday's environmental law news, new water pollution standards designed to protect the Chesapeake Bay went into effect Monday. The Virginia regulations establish new limits on the levels of nitrogen and phosphorus that can be discharged by municipal sewage treatment plants and industrial facilities. The regulations were approved by the State Water Control Board [official website] and will be administered by the Department of Environmental Quality [official website]. The Richmond Times-Dispatch has more.

In other environmental law news...

• Representatives of European Union [official website] countries reached an agreement Monday regarding the cleanup of pollution from old mining sites [official backgrounder]. Some eastern European nations had balked at the proposed version of the requirement, claiming it would affect them disproportionately. The new agreement will require an inventory and listing of all sites, but would only require the clean up of the most dangerous. EurActiv.com has more.
  
  
• The Conservation Law Foundation [website] has filed an appeal in a case where the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources [official website] had refused to release all of its documents regarding industrial stormwater permit programs. The Agency responded that the documents were not subject to the Vermont Public Records Act [official backgrounder], claiming "deliberative process privilege," a widely recognized federal courts exemption, but one not cited in the Public Records Act. The privilege has not been reviewed by the Vermont Supreme Court. The Burlington Free Press has more.
  
  
• The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality [official website] fined the city of Portland [DEQ press release] nearly $500,000 Monday for 67 cases of water pollution from sewage overflows over a four year period. Portland is currently in the process of constructing a new sewage and storm water system [project website] which may have resulted in the diversion of money and other resources from fixing problems in the existing system, leading to the increase in pollution overflows. DEQ officials report that the Environmental Protection Agency [official website] is also considering fining the city for the pollution overflows and for not filtering discharges from the city's underground sump system. The Oregonian has more.

[JURIST] US Rep. Tom DeLay [official website; JURIST news archive] on Tuesday asked a Texas judge to dismiss the felony conspiracy charges against him. Senior Judge Pat Priest refused to make an immediate ruling on the case, saying he wanted to read the briefs from both parties before ruling on the pre-trial matter. Prosecutors argue that DeLay and his co-defendants solicited $600,000 from Texas corporate donors, which was sent to the Republican National Committee, but then arranged for $190,000 to be sent back to seven Texas legislative candidates' campaign funds. Under Chapter 253 of Texas state law [PDF text], it is a felony to use any corporate money in political campaigns, except for administrative costs. DeLay's attorneys argued Tuesday that he can not properly be charged with conspiracy to violate the Texas law because the law was not on the books until 2003, the year after DeLay's alleged offenses occurred. Prosecutor Rick Reed vigorously disputed that claim, arguing that the Texas legislature [official website] merely clarified the law in 2003, and state law has long defined conspiracy as an agreement to commit any felony. The Houston Chronicle has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Text: Criminal conspiracy indictment | Op-ed: Tom DeLay's Challenge to Texas Grand Jury Process

6:45 PM ET - Judge Pat Priest, who is presiding over the case, has indicated that he will not rule on DeLay's motion to dismiss the charges for two weeks. Priest, newly assigned to the case [JURIST report] after the previous judge was dismissed following a challenge by DeLay, said that if he does not dismiss the charges against DeLay, he is not likely to hold a trial in the case until next year. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Following the latest delay [JURIST report] in the Slobodan Milosevic [JURIST news archive] war crimes trial, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website]) said Tuesday that it has ordered a hearing on November 29 to hear arguments on splitting the trial. The ICTY asked the prosecution and defense to prepare submissions on whether the court should deal separately with Milosevic's indictment [text] on the 1999 Kosovo conflict so that part of the trial could be concluded first. Milosevic has also been charged on separate indictments for wars in Crotia and Bosnia [indictment texts], but the cases were merged in 2002. Read the court's order and press release. AP has more.

[JURIST] Leaders of the Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) [official website] on Tuesday unveiled a proposal to amend the military clause in the country's pacifist constitution in an effort to create armed forces that are assertive on an international level. Speaking to a crowd assembled to honor the party's 50th anniversary, Japanese Prime Minister and LDP leader Junichiro Koizumi [official profile] told party loyalists that changes to the constitution were needed to allow Japan "to take up the challenges of strife and conflict that may face international society over the next 50 years." Japan's current constitution [text] has remained unchanged since it was drafted by Allied Forces in the wake of World War II. The text of the document bars the country from maintaining a military for the purposes of warfare, but Japan has interpreted the constitution to allow it to maintain a 240,000-strong Self-Defense Force (SDF) [GlobalSecurity profile]. The changes, which would clearly establish entitlement to the SDF [JURIST report] were first proposed by Koizumi last month, and require an approval by two-thirds of both houses of parliament and a nationwide referendum. Today, about 500 non-combat Japanese troops are serving alongside the United States in Iraq, and a contingent of ships is giving logistical support to "anti-terror" operations in Afghanistan. AP has more.

[JURIST] Iraq Interior Minister Bayan Jabr [CBS News profile] has again denied [JURIST report] that he controls death squads targeting Iraq's Sunni minority and ordered the torture of detainees in a secret prison [JURIST report]. In a New York Times interview reported Tuesday, he dismissed the story of the secret prison, saying, "It's nonsense. Only a few detainees were punched and hit, and it wasn't a secret bunker." Jabr called the "prison" a complex known to American intelligence officially designated to hold the "worst of the worst" detainees held for involvement in the insurgency. Jabr promised to punish anyone involved in the torture, which he said occurred in the face of his orders not to mistreat prisoners and despite regular visits by American troops. US troops raided the site on November 13, finding about 170 detainees in need of water, food and medical attention. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Prison officials at Russia's Krasnokamensk penitentiary, which is holding jailed oil tycoon Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky [advocacy profile; JURIST news archive], is deliberately hampering the work of his defense lawyers, according to a statement [text] Tuesday on Khodorkovsky's defense website. According to Khodorkovsky's lawyers, prison officials have kept three lawyers from meeting with their client and have reduced their visitation hours dramatically. Yury Kalinin, the head of Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service, dismissed the allegations, saying, "Khodorkovsky's conditions are no different from other inmates". Khodorkovsky, the founder of Bank MENATEP - one of the first commercial banks in Russia - and former head of Yukos Oil [corporate website], was convicted of fraud and tax evasion in what many consider to be a politically motivated trial [JURIST report]. The US Senate [official website] adopted a resolution [PDF text] in November 2003 in support of Khodorkovsky, stating that Khodorkovsky "must be transferred to prisons with standards corresponding to Russian norms and legal practices." RIA Novosti has local coverage.

[JURIST] An advisor to the European Union's highest court, the European Court of Justice [court website], advised the body Tuesday that sharing airline passenger data with the US should be declared illegal [PDF press release]. Advocate General Philippe Leger said the European Commission used the wrong legal basis when enacting the data-sharing law in May 2004 [JURIST report; DHS press release], relying on civil provisions rather than those intended for public security or criminal issues. The issue was raised when the European Parliament sued the other two branches of the European Union [JURIST report], arguing they lacked authority to create the data-sharing agreement. Since 2004, the EU has shared 34 pieces of information about airline passengers traveling to the US, including name, address, form of payment, and phone number. The court, which generally follows its advisors opinions, is expected to rule next year. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Conrad Black [CBC profile], the media tycoon and former chairman of Hollinger International recently indicted on criminal fraud charges [JURIST report] failed to appear for his arraignment in a Chicago courtroom Tuesday. The arraignment was delayed until November 30 [Reuters report] after Black's lawyers requested additional time from prosecutors Monday evening. Last week, US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald [official profile] said that he would commence extradition proceedings if the Canadian-born Black, now holding British citizenship but still residing in Canada, failed to appear, but the government's lead attorney on the case, Assistant US Attorney Robert Kent announced Tuesday he would not seek extradition unless Black fails to appear on November 30, adding "We have arrest warrants in our possession. Hopefully we will not need to execute them." The charges against Black and three other Hollinger executives relate to the $2.1 billion sale of several hundred Canadian newspapers and alleged abuse of corporate perquisites at Hollinger. Canada's CTV News has more.

[JURIST] Austrian prosecutors filed charges Tuesday against British historian David Irving [BBC profile], who was arrested last week [JURIST report] for violating an Austrian law making it illegal to deny the Holocaust. Prosecutor Otto Schneider said, "A charge was filed in relation to two speeches in 1989 in which he denied the existence of gas chambers." Irving has previously argued that Hitler was not aware of the execution of six million Jews and that the scale of the extermination of the Jews during World War II has been exaggerated. A hearing to determine whether Irving should remain in custody for an additional four weeks will be held on Friday. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Chile's high court voted 5-0 Monday to uphold a lower court decision [JURIST report] detaining former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori [personal website; JURIST news archive] as he fights extradition to Peru. He will remain in custody until Peru requests his extradition. A first attempt by a Peruvian prosecutor to request extradition was rejected [JURIST report] by Peru's Supreme Court because the request did not satisfy the requirements of Peru and Chile's bilateral extradition treaty. Fujimori was arrested in Chile [JURIST report] November 6 at the request of the Peruvian government and faces charges of corruption, abuse of power and human rights abuses occurring during his presidency from 1990-2000. AP has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that "dirty bomb" suspect Jose Padilla [JURIST news archive] has been indicted on criminal charges. Padilla has been in US custody for over three years on allegations that he was involved in an al Qaeda plot to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" in the US and his indefinite detention without charge has been the subject of extended litigation. In September, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denied Padilla's latest habeas appeal, ruling [PDF opinion; JURIST report] that the terror suspect could be detained without charges indefinitely. That decision has been appealed to the US Supreme Court [cert. petition, PDF; JURIST report], though the Court had not yet decided whether to hear the case. Last year, the high court dismissed Padilla's challenge to his indefinite detention in a 5-4 decision [text] because he brought it in the wrong court, but Padilla refiled the case [JURIST report].

10:20 AM ET - Padilla has been indicted on criminal charges in Miami, and US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is due to discuss the indictment, unsealed Tuesday, at a press conference later Tuesday. AP has more.

1:00 PM ET - A federal grand jury in Miami returned an 11-count indictment [PDF text] charging Padilla with conspiracy to murder US nationals, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, and providing material support to terrorists. Four other defendants were also named in the indictment, including Canadian national Kassem Daher, and three others who have previously been charged with terrorism-related crimes - Adham Hassoun, Mohamed Youssef and Kifah Jayyousi. According to the indictment, the five defendants were part of a North American cell designed to send money and recruits to support overseas terror operations. The charges carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Announcing the indictment [prepared remarks], Gonzales said that the Justice Department is able to prosecute the case due to provisions of the controversial USA PATRIOT Act, which allowed the increased sharing of information between different departments involved in the investigation. Read the DOJ press release.

ALSO ON JURIST  Op-ed: Jose Padilla and the Milligan Problem | Topic: Enemy Combatants

[JURIST] Former Ecuador President Lucio Gutierrez [BBC profile] filed a criminal complaint with the country's attorney general Monday seeking sedition and conspiracy charges against his successor, former Vice President Alfredo Palacio [official profile, in Spanish; Wikipedia profile], for allegedly overthrowing the government. Gutierrez was arrested in October [JURIST report] when he returned to Ecuador after renouncing political asylum in Colombia. Gutierrez became the third Ecuadorian president since 1997 to be ousted after Congress removed him on April 20 [JURIST report] and named Palacio as his successor. Gutierrez sparked massive protests during his presidency when he disbanded the Supreme Court [JURIST report] and declared a state of emergency. AP has more.

[JURIST] A federal lawsuit was filed against McLennan County, Texas [government website] Monday by three war protestors claiming that new county ordinances prohibiting roadside parking and camping interferes with their ability to gather outside President Bush's Crawford ranch. Plaintiffs Richard Underhill, Benjamin Hart Viges, and Sherry Glover, who are represented by the Texas Civil Rights Project [official website], are seeking an injunction and unspecified damages [press release], claiming the ordinances limit free speech and are too broad and vague for consistent enforcement. Local officials claim the ordinances, which prohibit parking on 14 roads surrounding the ranch and camping in ditches, are necessary to reduce traffic. The plaintiffs expect to violate the ordinance over the holiday weekend as they join the Thanksgiving protest of peace activist Cindy Sheehan [Wikipedia profile] outside the ranch. AP has more.

[JURIST] French Ambassador to the US Jean-David Levitte [official profile] said Monday that France was "back to normal" following three weeks of rioting [JURIST report] and he denied that religion played a role in the violence, which was prevalent in largely Muslim communities. Levitte said the issue was equality and that the mostly teenage rebellion was because of social and economic hardship. Levitte spoke at a meeting of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) [official website] and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) [official website] Monday, promising to improve job programs, housing and living conditions for young French Muslims. The French parliament last week approved a three-month extension of emergency powers [JURIST report], which were initially granted to local governments struggling to control rioting around the country. AP has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Topic: France | Op-ed: French Riots: A Failure of the Elite, Not the Republic | Text: French state of emergency laws

[JURIST] A government panel agreed Monday that Japan's succession law should be changed to allow the first-born child, irrespective of gender, the right to ascend to the throne, which would for the first time allow female members of the royal family [official website] to become monarchs. The advisory panel has been meeting since January to study the succession issue and make recommendations as a current lack of male heirs threatens to trigger a crisis unless current law is changed. Under the 1947 Imperial Household Law [text], only males with emperors on their father's side can inherit the crown. Final recommendations are likely to be forwarded to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Thursday. Koizumi has said he planned to submit a bill to Parliament next year to revise the law. The royal family is prohibited from interfering in politics under Japan's Constitution [text], and it has no say in the panel's discussions. Prince Tomohito, Emperor Akihito's cousin, has expressed his disapproval [AP report, PDF] of changing Japan's "unique tradition and history so easily." AP has more.

[JURIST] French Judge Brigitte Raynaud is in Rwanda investigating accusations that Paris helped a former Hutu [Wikipedia backgrounder] government massacre of Tutsis [Wikipedia backgrounder] during the 1994 genocide [Human Rights watch backgrounder; BBC backgrounder], French Ambassador Dominique Decherf said Tuesday. Last year, Rwanda's Tutsi President Paul Kagame [BBC profile] first accused France [JURIST report] of training and arming Hutu militias who were behind the 100-day slaughter that killed 800,000. Kagame's accusations were followed by a lawsuit filed against French soldiers [JURIST report] by six Rwandan citizens earlier this year. The plaintiffs claim that the soldiers actively participated in the genocide, but the French government has denied any role in the Rwandan genocide. According to Decherf, the judge will hear allegations from the six genocide survivors before returning to France on Friday. Her report will be used to decide if further investigations or a trial are required. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Leading Tuesday's international brief, Kenya's anti-draft constitution Orange Movement has gained an insurmountable lead according to the Electoral Commission of Kenya [backgrounder] following Monday's national referendum [JURIST report] on the proposed draft Constitution [official text]. The Electoral Commission released official results that put the Orange Movement up by more than one million votes, nearly 16 percent of those voting. The capital city of Nairobi is already packed with people celebrating the draft constitution's defeat as an example of victory over a corrupt government that tried to force an anti-democratic process through against the voters' wishes. MPs from the Orange Movement have already called on Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki [official profile] to fire corrupt ministers involved in the constitutional referendum process. The East African Standard has released preliminary tallies of regional votes. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Kenya [JURIST news archive]. Kenya's East African Standard has local coverage. The Mail and Guardian Online has more.

In other international legal news ...

• Sudanese Minister of Justice Mohammed Ali al-Mardi has re-emphasized the Sudanese Government [official website] position that all individuals alleged to have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Darfur [JURIST news archive] region of Sudan will be tried domestically and that no extradition processes will be approved to remove suspects to any international court. Sudan has repeatedly refused to consider the use of international courts, specifically the International Criminal Court [official website], as a possible solution to allegations by NGOs and human rights organizations that Sudanese courts are biased and too politicized to render fair and impartial verdicts. Al-Mardi highlighted the announcement on Monday by the Sudanese Chief of Justice that two special courts were scheduled to be formed to deal with Darfur cases as proof of the efficiency and fairness of the Sudanese judiciary. Last week, a Sudanese war crimes court sentenced two soldiers to death [JURIST report] after they were convicted of torturing and killing a Sudanese citizen who the soldiers said was carrying out anti-government activities. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Sudan [JURIST news archive]. The Sudan Tribune has local coverage.
  
  
• Nepalese Attorney General Pawan Kumar Ojha argued before the Nepal Supreme Court [official website] on Monday that all orders from Nepalese King Gyanendra [official profile] are legal due to his status as a Hindu monarch. Ojha, arguing against a case that challenges the constitutionality of the Royal Commission for Corruption Control, told the Supreme Court Justices that the King had special power from the Nepalese Constitution [text] and from his position as spiritual leader of the country that meant that his orders could not be questioned as unconstitutional. Ojha argued that Article 35 (2) of the constitution, which requires consent of the Council of Ministers for royal edicts, cannot function since there are currently no elected ministers. The petitioners argue that the King's decision to remove the elected government [JURIST report] in February does not negate the constitution's requirements. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Nepal [JURIST news archive]. Kantipur Online has local coverage.
  
  
• UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak [official profile, DOC] says that China [government website] is demonstrating a commendable respect for human rights norms by allowing him un-announced visits to Chinese prisons and unsupervised interviews with prisoners. Nowak has been invited to visit China amid growing concerns that despite a 1996 legal ban on the use of torture in police investigations, local and regional police forces still use the practice to secure confessions. NGOs and human rights groups have alleged that the Chinese government is aware of these abuses and is simply turning a blind eye. Nowak will spend two weeks in China [JURIST report] and has the power to adjust his schedule to visit any location he chooses, giving him the ability to conduct true 'surprise inspections' of Chinese prisons. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of China [JURIST news archive]. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, head of a UN investigation [UN materials] into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [JURIST news archive] returned to Lebanon Tuesday as he prepares to close the investigation and prepare a final report due to UN Security Council by December 15. Hariri was assassinated by a truck bomb in Beirut earlier this year and Mehlis' interim report [text] implicated security officials from both Syria and Lebanon in the murder. The Syrian government has launched its own investigation [JURIST report] into Hariri's death but has yet to fully cooperate with Mehlis, despite a Security Council resolution [text] threatening further action against Damascus if it fails to cooperate with the UN probe. Last week, Mehlis held talks with a Syrian official [JURIST report] but they did not agree on a venue for Mehlis to question six top Syrian officers [JURIST report], including the brother-in-law of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad [BBC profile] and head of Syrian military intelligence, Major General Assef Shawkat. Mehlis has rejected a compromise proposed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and President Assad that they use UN offices in the Golan Heights. Reuters has more.

1:50 PM ET - Syrian officials said Tuesday that a letter has been sent to Annan asking for the help of the Security Council and the UN secretary-general in reaching agreement on the venue and legal framework for the questioning of the six Syrian military and security officials. Reuters has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Rice urges Syria to release jailed activists, cooperate with Hariri probe
• Syria invites UN investigator to discuss cooperation in Hariri probe
• Syria considering UN request to interview officials in Hariri assassination probe
• Syria judicial committee begins investigation into Hariri murder
• Arab states press Syria to cooperate with UN Hariri probe
• Syria criticizes UN resolution demanding cooperation in Hariri murder probe
• Syria to allow UN investigator to question relatives of president in Hariri probe
• UN adopts Syria resolution demanding cooperation with Hariri probe

[JURIST] EU states have said they plan to write a joint letter to the US government seeking clarification about whether the US has been running illegal covert prisons [JURIST report] in the EU as part of its war on terror. The UK, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU, agreed to compose the letter after the country was asked to write it during a meeting of EU ministers in Brussels on Monday. Earlier this month, the Washington Post reported that the Central Intelligence Agency [official website] had been interrogating al Qaeda suspects at a secret facility in eastern Europe, prompting an investigation by EU officials [JURIST report]. Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] has said it has gathered evidence [HRW report] identifying Romania and Poland as countries involved in the covert operation, despite denials from both countries. The Romanian president has categorically denied the presence of secret facilities [JURIST report], though a former defense minister has acknowledged that US planes carrying detainees may have refueled in Romania [JURIST report]. Other European countries are considering probes [JURIST report] into the CIA's rendition practices and whether the CIA has used European airfields to transfer terror suspects including Spain, Sweden, and Scotland [JURIST reports]. Iceland's justice minister, Bjorn Bjarnason, has however refused to investigate [Iceland Review report] the alleged transfer of CIA prisoners through Keflavik Airport, saying the reports were based on rumors. UN officials and human rights lawyers have warned that failure to intercept such flights could breach the European Convention on Human Rights [text] and the UN Convention against Torture [text]. The Council of Europe has appointed Swiss liberal politician Dick Marty [EUObserver report] to examine the allegations and the EU said it will impose sanctions [JURIST report] against any member state found to be housing secret prisons. Reuters has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Canada investigates report of CIA prisoner flights
• Romania denies hosting CIA secret detention centers
• CIA prison flights may have refueled in Romania, says former defense minister
• Sweden opens inquiry into alleged CIA plane landings
• Spain to investigate secret CIA prisoner transfers
• European courts considering probes into CIA rendition practices
• EU to investigate reports of secret CIA prisons in Europe