[JURIST] President Bush Tuesday signed into law a renewal of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 [PDF text; fact sheet], providing $361 million over two years towards to investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases, most involving the sex trade. The US Justice Department reported [text, PDF] last year that it has prosecuted 271 human trafficking cases since the original bill was passed, with a 100% conviction rate. Over the summer, the US State Department released a report [text] accusing 14 nations [country reports] of failing to adaquately address human trafficking issues through law enforcement. More recently, the EU outlined a plan to combat human trafficking [JURIST report], and has encouraged member nations to enact laws strengthening their policies. Read a transcript of the President's remarks at the signing ceremony. AP has more.

[JURIST] One day before hearings resume [JURIST report] before military commissions at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] in the cases of two alleged terrorists, chief US prosecutor Col. Moe Davis Tuesday characterized defendant Omar Khadr [US DOD chargesheet, PDF; DOD press release; JURIST news archive], a Canadian citizen who was 15 years old at the time of his arrest, as a seasoned terrorist undeserving of special protection as a minor. Khadr is charged with conspiracy, murder and attempted murder stemming from a 2002 conflict in Afghanistan outside an Al Qaeda compound, where Khadr is alleged to have thrown a hand grenade that killed US medic Chris Spear. Khadr will be formally represented by a military lawyer with no previous trial experience. The advocacy director of the Children's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] has argued [press release] that Khadr's rights as a child have been ignored by the US government throughout his detention, and that "the military commission should not do the same." American Forces Press Service has more. CBC has additional coverage.

[JURIST] Three ethnic Chechens charged with the murder [JURIST report] of US journalist Paul Klebnikov [Economist obituary] pleaded not guilty Tuesday during a closed hearing in a Moscow court on the first day of their trial. Observers expect an emotional and time-consuming proceeding unfolding in coming months - the Russian government has written a 600-page case and expects to call as many as 150 witnesses in the high-profile murder case. Klebnikov was shot in 2004 outside the Moscow office of the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, where he served as the magazine's editor. Russian authorities believe that Chechen rebel leader and current fugitive Khozh-Akhmed Nukhayev [AFP profile] allegedly ordered the killings [JURIST report] in retaliation for a book Klebnikov wrote about Nukhayev titled Conversations with a Barbarian. Prosecutors will begin arguing their case tomorrow. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] heard oral arguments Tuesday in the consolidated cases Texaco v. Dagher and Shell Oil v. Dagher [Duke Law case backgrounder; merit briefs], where it will decide whether a lawful joint business venture between two or more companies violates the Sherman Act where the venture sets product prices. A group of 23,000 gas distributors brought suit alleging over $1 billion in damages due to a 1998 price-fixing deal between ChevronTexaco [corporate website], then Texaco, and Shell [corporate website] when the two companies formed two lawful joint ventures to oversee the marketing and distribution of their gasoline on the west and east coasts. The joint venture then set a price at which the venture sold its gasoline. In argument the justices appeared skeptical of plaintiffs' counsel's argument that the two companies created the joint ventures to drive up then-low oil prices. AP has more.

[JURIST] Spain's National Court (Audiencia Nacional) [official backgrounder] said Tuesday it will investigate whether seven former Chinese leaders committed genocide and other crimes in Tibet. The genocide suit was filed last June by three Tibet support groups and thrown out in September. Since then, however, Spain's Constitutional Court [official website] has invoked the principle of universal jurisdiction [Amnesty backgrounder], ruling that foreign genocide cases can be tried in Spain - even if the victims were not Spaniards - providing that no charges are pending against defendants in their country of origin. The National Court itself applied universal juridiction [JURIST report] last April in the case of a former Argentine naval officer who was convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to 640 years in prison. The Spanish Committee to Support Tibet [advocacy website] is seeking charges against China's former president Jiang Zemin, former Prime Minister Li Peng, and five others, avoiding current leaders who might enjoy immunity because they are still in power. AP has more.

[JURIST] Ukraine Justice Minister Serhiy Holovatyi [official profile] on Tuesday warned that the country was plunging into "legal chaos" [RIA Novosti report] after the Ukrainian Parliament [official website] voted to fire Prime Minister Yuri Yekhanurov's government in a no-confidence motion [BBC report]. The parliament vote was in response to the government's recent deal with Russia which resulted in Ukraine paying nearly twice as much for gas imports. Holovatyi said that President Viktor Yushchenko [JURIST news archive] no longer has the power to appoint a new prime minister because of changes to the constitution [text] that limit the president's authority [JURIST report]. Under the changes that took effect January 1, the lower chamber of parliament, the Supreme Rada, was given the power to fire and appoint the government, however the bills outlining the appointment procedure have not yet been passed. Meanwhile, Yushchenko called the decision to dismiss the government "unconstitutional" and said that he would not rule out dissolving parliament in connection with the decision. Last month, Yushchenko cautioned that the constitutional changes would lead to an "unbalanced and ineffective government" and suggested that a national referendum should be held to approve the changes [JURIST report]. MosNews has more.

[JURIST] Leading Tuesday's environmental law news, the first Asia-Pacific Development and Climate Partnership Ministerial Meeting [backgrounder] has opened in Sydney, Australia. The meeting brings representatives from the US, Australia, Japan, China, South Korea and India together to set up projects to create emissions reduction technology and promote the transfer of that technology between the nations. The US and Australian governments have said that this partnership between the six nations will be better and more effective in reducing global air pollution than the Kyoto Protocol [text], which the US and Australia have not ratified and which does not obligate China or India to reduce emissions. The Australia Age has more.

In other environmental law news...

• The Philippine Department of the Environment [official website] has fined the Lafayette Mining Ltd. [corporate website], an Australian company, 10.4 million pesos (US$198,000) over two cyanide spills that occurred in October. Additional daily penalties will be imposed until the company meets conditions set by the government for cleanup of the spills and improving conditions at the mine. Reuters has more.
  
  
• The US Department of Energy [official website] agreed [press release] Monday to create a new Environmental Impact Statement on shipments of nuclear and hazardous wastes to the Hanford site [official website] on the Columbia river in Washington state. The new EIS is part of a settlement between the DOE and Washington over alleged inadequacies of the original EIS [PDF text]. AP has more.

[JURIST] UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke [official profile] has rejected criticisms by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour [official profile; JURIST news archive] that Britain's proposed anti-terrorism bill [text] violates basic rights and sets a "worrying precedent." Arbour sent a letter to the British government in November saying that several of the bill's clauses may violate the country's obligations under international human rights treaties including provisions that outlaw incitement to terrorism, the dissemination of terrorism-related publications, and the glorification of terrorism. Arbour also said she was "gravely concerned" over how human rights would be guaranteed despite a reduction in the detention period [JURIST report] for terrorism suspects from the proposed 90 days to 28 days. Clarke responded via letter to Arbour Monday by saying that the anti-terrorism measure was a "proportionate and necessary response" to the threat of terrorism and called Arbour's concerns "unjustified." He also defended the 28-day detention plan, insisting it complies with the country's human rights responsibilities and noting that safeguards including judicial review are in place. Reuters has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Op-ed: The UK Terrorism Bill: Defending Democracy's Core Values [Charles Clarke]

[JURIST] Peru's National Election Council formally announced Tuesday that former president Alberto Fujimori [personal website; JURIST news archive] is banned from participating in the April 9 presidential election. The council's decision came after Fujimori registered as a presidential candidate [JURIST report], despite a Peruvian Constitutional Court [official website, in Spanish] decision last October to bar Fujimori from running for office [JURIST report] until 2010. Fujimori fled to Japan in 2000 amidst corruption and human rights allegations for activities during his presidency in the 1990s. In November, Fujimori arrived in Chile where he planned to campaign for the presidency of Peru, but he was detained at Peru's request [JURIST report]. Peruvian officials are seeking his extradition [JURIST report] so that he can face charges [JURIST report] in Chile. AFP has more.

[JURIST] The lower chamber of Russia's parliament, the Russian State Duma [official website in Russian], approved a bill Tuesday mandating stricter controls on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that could dissolve many of the present NGOs that openly criticize the government. The measure passed by a margin of 357-20 in the third of three required readings [JURIST report] and is expected to be approved by the upper house of parliament early next week. The bill calls for stringent and continual accounting procedures for NGOs to follow and creates a new agency [JURIST report] that will oversee the registration of NGOs and decide whether certain NGOs should be dissolved, rather than allowing courts to make those determinations. Russian and foreign NGOs opposed the bill, including the country's leading human rights group, Memorial [advocacy website, English version], which said the new law will mean the "destruction of civil society in Russia." Lawmakers claim that the measure is necessary to stem terrorism and extremism, but critics say it is in response to NGOs which criticize the Kremlin, promote democracy, and fight for human rights. Russian President Vladimir Putin [official website] ordered revisions to the bill [JURIST report] after the protests, but rights groups said they did not go far enough. MosNews has more.

[JURIST] US Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito [official profile; JURIST news archive] on Tuesday told the Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] that he would keep an open mind on the issue of abortion and that the president was not above the law in times of war during the first day of questioning in his confirmation hearings. As expected, senators questioned Alito [hearing excerpts] on his views on abortion, executive power and wiretaps [JURIST reports], subjects on which Alito has written and heard cases during his 15 years on the federal bench. Alito said he would approach any abortion case before the Supreme Court without an agenda, and he defended his dissent in the 1991 case of Casey v. Planned Parenthood, in which the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit struck down a law requiring spousal notification before an abortion. Alito also said that his writings while in the Reagan administration [JURIST report] reflected a "different role" as an advocate. Sen. Arlen Specter [official website], chair of the Judiciary Committee, questioned Alito on his views of executive power. Alito said the Constitution applied at all times, although he refused to answer questions about the revelation that President Bush had authorized warrantless domestic wiretaps in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. AP has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Op-ed: Alito Day 1: The Shape of Things to Come | Op-ed: Alito Day 1: Of Kabuki Dances and Subtle Minuets

[JURIST] South Korean prosecutors said Tuesday that they will open a criminal investigation into South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-Suk [BBC profile], a day after an investigation concluded that Hwang's acclaimed research on stem cells was fake. Reports suggest that prosecutors could pursue charges of fraud and embezzlement after Hwang won more than $60 million in government funding after his surprise announcement in 2005 that his research team had created patient-specific stem cell lines. According to a report [report summary] by scientists at Seoul National University [official website], Hwang's claims to have created the stem-cell lines and to have produced stem cells from a human embryo were both bogus. Hwang has also been accused of violating medical ethics by using human eggs from researchers on his staff. The scandal has caused fallout for the South Korean government, embarrassing the administration of President Roh Moo-Hyun [BBC profile] for supporting Hwang and resulting in the resignation of science secretary Park Ky-Young, who co-wrote parts of the research with Hwang. Hwang apologized last month and resigned from posts in the science community. AFP has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] on Tuesday ruled that states have no immunity from private lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) [text] if the state has violated the Fourteenth Amendment. In United States v. Georgia [Duke Law case backgrounder; JURIST report], 04-1203, the Court unanimously ruled that where lawsuits for monetary damages were permitted under the ADA, states were not immune. In the opinion, Justice Scalia wrote that the Court accepted the 11th Circuit's ruling that the plaintiff had alleged a violation of the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment. In the case, Tony Goodman alleged that prison officials kept him for 23 hours a day in a cell so small that he could not turn his wheelchair. The Court remanded the case to allow Goodman to pursue his Title II claims. Read the Court's opinion [text] and Justice Stevens' concurrence [text]. AP has more.

The Court also issued two other opinions, including one in Volvo Trucks v. Reeder-Simco [Duke Law case backgrounder], 04-905, in which the Court ruled that under the Robinson-Patman Act, a product manufacturer is not liable for price discrimination between dealers reselling the product unless they compete for the same retail customers. The Court decided the case in a 7-2 ruling. Read the Court's opinion [text], per Justice Ginsburg, and Justice Stevens' dissent [text], joined by Justice Thomas. In Evans v. Chavis [Duke Law case backgrounder], 04-712, the Court barred a California inmate's habeas appeal after the inmate waited three years before appealing a lower court ruling to the state supreme court. The Court unanimously held that the three years constituted unreasonable delay for a habeas petition. Read Justice Breyer's opinion [text] for the Court, and Justice Stevens' concurrence [text]. SCOTUSBlog has more.

[JURIST] Two British officials charged with leaking a UK government memo in which President Bush reportedly suggested bombing the offices of Arab satellite news channel Aljazeera [media website] will stand trial by the end of the month, the judge in the trial ordered at a hearing Tuesday. Judge Timothy Workman of the UK Central Criminal Court [official website] ordered a preliminary hearing in the case for January 24. David Keogh, a civil servant, has been charged under Section 3 of the Official Secrets Act [text] for allegedly disclosing the memo. Leo O'Connor, a former legislative assistant to former Labour MP Tony Clarke, was charged with receiving the memo. O'Connor is expected to plead not guilty, while Keogh has not indicated his intentions. Both have been released on bail following their arraignment. The revelation led to a Daily Mirror report [text] that President Bush was talked out of bombing Aljazeera's offices by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair [official profile] in April 2004, although it was unclear whether President Bush's suggestion was serious. The White House has denied the report, while No. 10 Downing Street refused to comment. AP has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Aljazeera considering legal action against Bush after bombing memo
• UK Attorney General threatens papers with secrets prosecutions over Iraq leak
• Two charged for leaking UK government memo to paper

[JURIST] The European Court of Justice [official website] on Tuesday upheld a law [text] that requires airlines to pay compensation to passengers [JURIST report] who experience long flight delays, overbooking and cancellation on flights to and from the European Union. The International Air Transport Association [group website] and the European Low Fares Airline Association [group website; press release, PDF] had challenged the EU regulation, arguing the law was too costly to implement and some conditions were outside of the airlines' control. Under the law, passengers may be compensated up to $725 (600 euros) if they are denied a seat because of overbooking. In other cases, airlines must provide food, lodging or a trip back to the point of departure. The court ruled [judgment; press release, PDF] that the regulation does not violate the Montreal Convention [text] and does not violate the principle of proportionality. View the EU air passenger rights website. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] US District Judge Sim Lake on Monday refused to dismiss the criminal case against former Enron founder Kenneth Lay [Chronicle profile] and former CEO Jeffrey Skilling Chronicle profile], saying that the defense had failed to prove that there was "deliberate, systematic prosecutorial misconduct" that has interfered with the defendants' efforts to prepare for trial. Lay and Skilling face conspiracy and fraud charges [PDF indictment] in connection with the fall of Enron [JURIST news archive] and Skilling also faces insider trading charges [JURIST report]. Defense lawyers argued that prosecutors have intimidated witnesses by threatening indictments or harsh sentences if the witnesses talk to the defense teams, allegations which prosecutors have denied. In September, Judge Lake told witnesses they were free to work with the defense and offered to meet with witnesses to discuss concerns about government retribution, and Lake said Monday that his efforts "remedied any harm to defendants." The trial is scheduled to begin January 30. AP has more.

[JURIST] Judges who serve on the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) [FJC backgrounder] met with officials from the Department of Justice Monday for a closed-door briefing [JURIST report] on the president's decision to allow warrantless domestic eavesdropping [JURIST news archive]. While members of the court declined to comment on the meeting, the judges were expected to voice strong concerns about the legality of National Security Agency (NSA) [agency website] wiretaps in terror cases. Last month, US District Judge James Robertson [official profile], one of the 11 FISC judges, resigned in protest [JURIST report] over the program. The Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan arm of Congress, also voiced concerns [JURIST report] last week, finding that the legal justification [JURIST document] for the program "does not seem to be as well-grounded" as the Bush administration has asserted. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] Mehmet Ali Agca [Wikipedia profile], the man who shot Pope John Paul II [official website; JURIST news archive] in 1981, may face new charges in Turkey of draft dodging and escaping military custody after he is released from prison on Thursday [JURIST report], an official said Monday. Agca shot the Pope after escaping from a Turkish military prison in 1979, where he was serving a 36-year sentence for the murder of Turkish journalist Abdi Ipekci. In 2000, after serving a 20-year sentence in Italy for shooting the Pope, Agca was transferred to a Turkish prison in 2000 to serve additional time [BBC report] for Ipekci's murder. AP has more.

[JURIST] General Sir Michael Rose [Wikipedia profile], a retired British military leader and the former UN military commander in Bosnia, has said that UK Prime Minister Tony Blair [official profile; JURIST news archive] should be impeached for making the decision to go to war in Iraq based on flawed claims that the regime there possessed weapons of mass destruction. In a BBC radio interview [recorded audio; BBC report], Rose called for politicians to be held accountable, saying it would "prevent politicians treating quite so carelessly the subject of taking a country into war." A 2004 British report [text] pointed to serious flaws in the intelligence used to justify the war, but cleared Blair [JURIST report], citing no evidence of "deliberate distortion" of intelligence. AP has more.