[JURIST] French labor and student groups Monday called a day of strikes for March 28 [CGT strike call, in French] after the French goverment refused to withdraw its recently passed First Employment Contract (CPE) [FAQ, in French], which allows French employers to hire workers under the age of 26 for a conditional two-year period during which they can be fired without cause. A strike call was first threatened over the weekend after some 500,000 protesters gathered [JURIST report] Saturday in more than 150 demonstrations across the country.

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin [official website] proposed the controversial CPE in an effort to provide jobs for young workers who suffer from staggering unemployment rates, as much as 20% for young people compared to 9.6% nationwide. Students, union members and left-wing politicians nonetheless contend [JURIST report] that the law erodes job stability and threatens France's strong workers' rights tradition. The Financial Times has more. Le Monde has local coverage.

[JURIST] The court-appointed advocates for the late Slobodan Milosevic [JURIST news archive] have asked the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia [official website] to release secret medical files that may provide further information on Milosevic's death. British barristers Steven Kay and Gillian Higgins say they are acting at the behest of Milosevic's son Marko. Milosevic died at The Hague [JURIST report] earlier this month from a heart attack [JURIST report] in the fifth year of his genocide and war crimes trial before the ICTY. The requested documents were used in an application [JURIST report] to the ICTY Trial Chamber for a provisional release [JURIST report] so that Milosevic might receive medical treatment for his heart condition in Russia. The ICTY judges denied the request because they were not satisfied that Milosevic would return to face the remainder of his trial.

While Milosevic complained [JURIST report] about his medical care he received in prison at The Hague and claimed he was being poisoned, toxicology results released [JURIST report] by the ICTY Friday showed "no indications" of poisoning. AFP has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] on Monday heard oral arguments on whether unsworn non-testimonial statements made by crime victims to 911 operators or to police officers at crime scenes are inadmissible at trials of criminal defendants. In the cases of Davis v. Washington [Duke Law case backgrounder, merit briefs] and Hammon v. Indiana [Duke Law case backgrounder, merit briefs], the Court focused on whether the rights of the accused were violated since these statements were not made under oath or subjected to cross-examination. The ruling could be significant because of its effect on prosecutors being able to still bring criminal charges even when victims or key witnesses are unable or not willing to testify. Justice Ginsburg pointed out that the outcome of these cases would profoundly affect domestic violence cases since "many women in these situations are scared to death" and do not want to testify.

Lawyers for both sides of the cases want a clarification of the 2004 Supreme Court decision in Crawford v. Washington [Duke Law case backgrounder], which held that the use of testimonial statements at trial is a violation of the so-called Confrontation Clause [U. Michigan Law backgrounder] of the Sixth Amendment [text] if the defendant is not able to cross examine the person making the statement. The Bush administration also filed an amicus brief [text] on behalf of the respondent in Davis v. Washington. Justice Scalia, who authored Crawford v. Washington, expressed concern about defendants who could be charged with crimes based on "false" statements from witnesses who would not be subject to cross-examination. AP has more.

[JURIST] A Somali advocacy group claimed Monday that the US Navy was illegally present in Somali waters when its ships launched an unprovoked attack on a small vessel over the weekend, taking twelve occupants into custody. The Navy said the vessel was being investigated for suspected piracy when it unexpectedly fired shots [AP report] at the USS Cape St. George and USS Gonzalez. According to a Fifth Fleet [official website] spokesman, five Somali men were wounded and one killed when US Navy ships "returned fire after being fired upon" 25 nautical miles off the Somalia coast. The boat burst into flames and burned to the waterline. Somali militia claimed afterwards that the boat had been patrolling the coastal waters to protect against illegal fishing.

The Somali Justice Advocacy Center has more. Read the Navy's press release on the action, with photographs of the Somali vessel and arms seized.

[JURIST] A federal appeals court has overturned the conviction of Frank Quattrone [profile], one of the dot-com era's most prominent investment bankers, on charges [indictment, PDF] of obstruction of justice and witness tampering on the grounds that the jury instructions were erroneous, court officials said Monday. Quattrone, who made as much as $120 million in a single year by helping companies such as Amazon.com go public, was convicted [JURIST report] in 2004 of forwarding emails to fellow employees at Credit Suisse [corporate website], encouraging them to "clean up" files and other evidence in the midst of an SEC investigation into whether the company was selling shares to preferential buyers during initial public offerings.

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held [ruling, PDF] that trial judge Richard Owen had improperly instructed the jury on the issue of whether Quattrone sent the emails with requisite degree of scienter. According to the appeals court, Owen's instructions allowed the jury to convict Quattrone "without any proof that the defendant knew the documents were subject to a subpoena" while Quattrone's convictions under 18 USC § 1505 [text] required that the defendant knew his actions are "likely to affect" the investigation. Prosecutors have not yet decided whether they will seek to re-try Quattrone. Bloomberg has more.

[JURIST] A District Court in Belgrade said Monday it would close an outstanding case against late Yugoslav ex-president Slobodan Milosevic for "organizing the murder" of former Serbian president Ivan Stambolic, according to private news agency BETA [media website in Serbian]. A court spokesman said the case, which opened in 2004 [BBC backgrounder], will be closed as soon as a death certificate for Milosevic is received. Prosecutors had argued that Milosevic's secret police abducted and murdered his political mentor and rival, whose body was discovered outside Belgrade [Guardian report] three years after his disappearance.

Milosevic died at The Hague [JURIST report] earlier this month from a heart attack [JURIST report] in the fifth year of his genocide and war crimes trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia [official website]. The ICTY has since formally closed its own proceedings [JURIST report] against him. UPI has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] declined certiorari in several high-profile appeals Monday but did not agree to consider any new cases. In Tucker v. United States, the Court refused to consider the appeal of former Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker [profile], who wanted to withdraw his 1998 guilty plea to tax conspiracy in connection with the Whitewater [Washington Post backgrounder] tax fraud investigation in which 14 were originally convicted. AP has more. The Court also refused to consider appeals involving a $50 million damage award to the family of a two-pack-a-day smoker who died of cancer in Philip Morris USA v. Boeken and Boeken v. Philip Morris Inc.. Philip Morris USA [corporate website] had asked the justices to declare the award unconstitutionally excessive and rule that the company should have been shielded from some of the smoker's claims. The Court declined both cases without comment. AP has more.

The Supreme Court also rejected a bid to give residents of Puerto Rico the right to vote in United States presidential elections, declining an appeal from an August 2005 decision of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit holding that to allow Puerto Ricans the right to vote would require amending the US Constitution or making the island the 51st state. Puerto Rico has voted in several referenda to keep its current territorial status. AFP has more. Read Monday's full Order List [PDF].

[JURIST] As anticipated [JURIST report], Thomas Lubanga [Trial Watch backgrounder], founder of the militant Union of Patriotic Congolese [Global Security backgrounder], appeared in the International Criminal Court [official website; JURIST news archive] at The Hague Monday, accused of using child soldiers [BBC report] in the violence-plagued Ituri district [HRW backgrounder]. In court the defendant confirmed his identity and heard his rights before he refused to hear the charges against him. His next hearing is scheduled for June 27 [ICC press release], at which point the court will specify the exact charges Lubanga faces.

Pressure to arrest warlords in the mineral-rich Ituri district increased with the February 2005 murder of nine UN peacekeepers [PBS report]; a month later Lubanga was arrested for human rights violations [JURIST report]. Congolese officials sent Lubanga to The Hague [JURIST report] last week, making him the first prisoner of the tribunal. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Trial proceedings began Monday in Turkey for Syrian al Qaeda militant Loa'i Mohammad Haj Bakr al-Saqa [BBC report], who is charged with masterminding and securing finances for the November 2003 bombings in Istanbul [BBC report]. Security forces say that al-Saqa was a bomb making expert and a top figure in Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network in Turkey. He was apprehended in the city of Diyanbakir this past August as he attempted to board a plane for Istanbul under a false identity.

Dozens of security forces were present at the Monday hearing, and the judge hearing the case ordered al-Saqa to leave the courtroom [AP report] for contempt of court after he refused to stand to address the court. Al-Saqa's lawyer, Osman Karahan, has also been charged with aiding and abetting al Qaeda, and the court has banned Karahan from representing al-Saqa. This is one of more than seventy trials [JURIST report] that have taken place in connection with the bombings. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Leading Monday's international brief, an Afghani man is on trial for criminal charges punishable by death related to his conversion from Islam to Christianity over 16 years ago while working for a Christian aid organization in Pakistan. Abdul Rahman has been charged with converting to a "false religion" under Afghanistan's criminal law, which incorporates Islamic Sharia [CFR backgrounder] as binding on all Afghan citizens. If convicted, Rahman could face the death penalty for false conversion and blasphemy. Trial judge Ansarullah Mawlazezadah told reporters that he felt the Afghani draft constitution [official text] was "perfect" in allowing the prosecution and that Rahman would be offered a chance to recant his faith before facing a punishment that could include death by hanging. Rahman's case received official notice after his family denounced him as a Christian during a custody hearing concerning his two children. The case is believed to be the first of its kind in Afghanistan [government website] since the fall of the Taliban regime, and has sparked tensions between conservative Islamic elements of society and more moderate groups calling for a non-Islamic judicial system. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Afghanistan [JURIST news archive]. The London Times has more.

In other international legal news ...

• Government officials in Japan have warned that the current perception of UN reform [JURIST news archive] of the Security Council [official website] has convinced Japan that any attempt to expand the number of permanent members on the Council is highly unlikely. The US has already expressed its belief that Japan should receive a permanent seat on the current 15-member council, but warned that it too failed to see any formula for reform that would garner the necessary approval. UN Charter amendments require the approval of the General Assembly and the Security Council and are subject to the veto authority of the five permanent members. Japanese officials said a final decision is expected this weekend after discussions with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of the United Nations [JURIST news archive]. The Japan Times has local coverage.
  
  
• The leading opposition political party in Thailand [government website] has filed arguments with the Election Commission of Thailand [official website] alleging it has proof already of attempts by the administration of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra [official profile] to commit election fraud, nearly two weeks before the currently scheduled emergency elections. Thai Democrats, who are planning to boycott the elections on allegations of government fraud, have submitted reports detailing attempts by the government to hire individuals to stand as candidates for small opposition parties in an attempt to give the April 2 elections more legitimacy in the eyes of observers. The elections are necessary to refill the parliament seats dissolved by Shinawatra [JURIST report] after continued protests of his administrations policies led to civil unrest in Thailand and an aborted attempt at impeachment [JURIST report]. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Thailand [JURIST news archive]. BBC News has more.
  
  
• The International Media Support (IMS) agency and the Federation for Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) [advocacy websites] issued a joint statement Monday warning that the current status of the right to free speech in Nepal is continuing to deteriorate at an alarming rate. Nepal has been under severe press restrictions since the removal of the democratic government [JURIST report] last February by Nepalese King Gyanendra [BBC profile]. The statement also detailed the ongoing battle by lawyers representing various journalistic entities in Nepal to challenge the freedom of press restrictions as contrary to the 1990 Nepal constitution. The announcement was made to coincide with the beginning of a week of protests about journalistic freedom in Nepal entitled "International Advocacy Mission for Press Freedom in Nepal." JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Nepal [JURIST news archive]. NepalNews.com has local coverage.

[JURIST] Libyan leader Colonel Muhamar Gaddafi [BBC profile] has declared that Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] remains the legal leader of Iraq, citing the US-led invasion of the country as "a war waged against the wishes of the United Nations." In an interview with an Italian television news program, Gaddafi, who having gained power in 1969 is the Arab world's longest serving leader, claimed that Saddam is a prisoner of war under the Geneva Convention [text] and cannot be tried.

Gaddafi also condemned the practice of removing heads of state by sending in international troops, saying that other leaders, including himself, could be next. AFP has more.

[JURIST] International election observers said Monday that this weekend's elections in Belarus [JURIST news archive], which secured a third term for Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko [official website; BBC profile], were "severely flawed" and failed to meet democratic standards. Lukashenko, whom the Bush administration has referred to as "the last dictator in Europe" was credited with 82.6 percent of the vote, citing total voter turnout of 92.6 percent. Leading opposition candidate Alexander Milinkevich [official website] received 6 percent. In its preliminary report [PDF text; press release] Monday, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) [official website] said that despite the presence of 500 international observers, harassment and detention of political activists [JURIST report] was rampant:

It is clear that this election did not meet OSCE commitments and international electoral standards. The arbitrary abuse of state power, obviously designed to protect the incumbent President, went far beyond acceptable practice. The incumbent President permitted State authority to be used in a manner which did not allow citizens to freely and fairly express their will at the ballot box.

The election campaign was conducted in a climate of fear. It included arrests and beatings and fraud. We applaud democrats in Belarus for their courage and peaceful stand to reclaim their freedom. We support their call for a new election. You heard from the OSCE earlier today when they declared that the elections did not meet international standards for free and fair elections.

In cooperation and coordination with the European Union, we're prepared to act against those officials responsible for election fraud and human rights abuses.

[JURIST] In the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks [JURIST news archive], US government lawyers discussed ways to search the homes and businesses of suspected terrorists without court approval at the same time they debated warrantless electronic surveillance [JURIST news archive], according to a report in the current issue of US News & World Report. A January 19, 2006 white paper [JURIST document] submitted to Congress by US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [official profile] makes clear reference to physical searches, stating "the President has inherent constitutional authority to conduct warrantless searches and surveillance within the United States for foreign intelligence purposes." While sources claim the proposal met with resistance from FBI Director John Mueller [official profile], FBI spokesmen have denied that the senior staff is aware of such discussions and claimed that no searches have been conducted without judicial orders.

In a September 2005 letter [PDF] to a US District Attorney, lawyer Thomas Nelson reported "strong indications" that his office and home had been searched in response to his representation of alleged terrorist Soliman H. Al-Buthi. The National Security Agency later denied [PDF] Nelson's Freedom of Information Act request for files on him and refused to confirm or deny the existence of such files. US News & World Report has more.

[JURIST] The last annual meeting [UN backgrounder] of the UN Commission on Human Rights [official website] in Geneva was delayed [press release] again Monday as the body waits for a procedural vote by the UN Economic and Social Council [official website] in order to proceed. The Commission met for only a few minutes when the chairman announced that the ECOSOC vote on substantive elements of the Commission's work, expected to be taken this week, is necessary for the body to continue its work. Listen to recorded audio [in French] of the Commission's press conference in Geneva. When the Commission does reconvene, it is only expected to meet for approximately one week instead of the usual six-week period. The Commission was initially scheduled to begin its current session on March 13, but delayed its session [JURIST report] in order to allow the UN General Assembly [official website] more time to debate a replacement human rights body.

The 191-member General Assembly approved [JURIST report] a resolution [JURIST document] last week that will replace the much-criticized Commission with a new Human Rights Council [JURIST news archive]. Rather than having 53 members as the current Commission does, the new body will be comprised of 47 member countries which will be elected through secret ballot by an absolute majority of the General Assembly. The new council will meet every 10 weeks, which is more often than the current Commission. AFP has more. The UN News Centre provides additional coverage.

[JURIST] The sentencing trial of Zacarias Moussaoui [JURIST news archive] will resume on Monday after being stayed [JURIST report] last week to allow for investigation of misconduct by Transportation Security Administration [official website] lawyer Carla Martin. Defense attorneys are set to cross-examine FBI Agent Harry Samit, who has testified that Moussaoui's lies after his August 2001 arrest prevented the government from taking steps that might have prevented the September 11 terrorist attacks [JURIST news archive].

On Friday, US District Judge Leonie Brinkema issued an order [PDF text] to strike old evidence [JURIST report] regarding the aviation portion of the case that had been tainted by Martin's misconduct, but agreed to allow the government to provide new untainted evidence. Moussaoui pleaded guilty last April to six conspiracy charges, and the current trial will determine whether he receives the death penalty or life in prison. AP has more.

[JURIST] Philippine Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz [official profile] said Monday that the country's military would not go on a "witch hunt" as it investigates the involvement of army soldiers in last month's failed coup attempt [JURIST report] against Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo [official website; JURIST news archive]. Cruz did indicate, however, that it was necessary for the army to cleanse its forces of violators and that amnesty would not be granted to soldiers who were involved in the coup plot. Approximately 100 soldiers, many of whom are part of the country's elite Scout Ranger regiment [Wikipedia backgrounder], are currently under investigation for their suspected affiliation with communist rebels to overthrow Arroyo.

The head of the Philippine Army [official website] said last week that 15 army officers, including Brigadier-General Danilo Lim, US-trained commander of the Scout Rangers, will face courts-martial [JURIST report] for violations of the military's Articles of War in connection with the coup attempt. The Philippine Justice Department [official website] has also filed charges [JURIST report] against a congressman for his involvement in the plot, while five other lawmakers have not left the Philippine Congress [official website] building for three weeks to avoid being similarly arrested. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] UK Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs Lord Falconer [official profile] has suggested that new laws should be enacted requiring loans to political parties to be publicly disclosed. In letters to all UK political parties, Lord Falconer has proposed that a ban on secret party loans be included in the Electoral Administration Bill [text] which returns to the UK House of Lords [official website] Tuesday. Falconer's request came after allegations [BBC Q&A] surfaced earlier this month that several businessmen who lent undisclosed sums to the governing Labour Party [party website] led by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair [official website] were recommended for peerages. Labour has denied all such allegations and Falconer has rejected contentions that the passage of such an amendment would force Blair out of Downing Street, saying other political parties have taken advantage of similar loans.

The Conservative Party [party website] also has plans to revise party funding policies, which include a proposal by leader David Cameron [official profile] to limit the amounts of party donations by individuals, businesses and unions, and also reduce the number of MPs by 10 percent to help fund political parties. ITV has more. BBC News has additional coverage.