[JURIST] Senate Republican leaders plan to negotiate with the White House through the weekend to resolve different versions of a bill that would legislatively authorize the establishment of military commissions [JURIST news archive] for suspected terrorists. Saturday's New York Times quotes Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-VA) [official website] as saying that most provisions of the White House-sponsored Military Commissions Act of 2006 [text; JURIST report] submitted to Congress on Wednesday match a similar bill [PDF text] he and other senators have drafted. The legislation is intended to address flaws in the presidentially-authorized military commission structure struck down by the US Supreme Court [official website] in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld [text, JURIST report] this past June.

Key differences in the two versions relate to the possibility of trying defendants in absentia and the type of evidence permitted. The White House proposal anticipates the presence of a military judge, a five-person jury, and allowance of evidence obtained by coercion if it were judged relevant. Warner expressed his hope that the improved tribunals would "pass federal court muster," and although he expects the bill to be ready for a vote next week, it is unclear whether it will reach the Senate floor if no agreement is reached with the White House. House Republicans have indicated they will vote to pass the White House bill as it stands. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] German Chancellor Angela Merkel [official website, in German, BBC profile] Saturday joined other Europeans in criticizing the Bush administration for admittedly operating clandestine Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) [official website] detention centers in Europe, a practice which she called "not compatible with my understanding of the rule of law." President Bush acknowledged the existence of secret CIA prisons outside the US [JURIST report] for the first time Wednesday. The announcement was followed by calls from human rights groups [JURIST report] and European officials to reveal more information about the prisons, and on Friday UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour [official profile] demanded that they be abolished [JURIST report]. In June, the Council of Europe passed a resolution [JURIST report] condemning alleged collusion between some European governments and the CIA after an investigation and report by Swiss legislator Dick Marty concluded that illegal US detention centers in Europe existed.

Apparently unmoved by the criticisms, President Bush nonetheless used his weekly radio address [recorded audio; transcript] Saturday to praise the program's achievements [AP report] in keeping Americans safe. "Were it not for this program," he insisted, "our intelligence community believes that al Qaeda and its allies would have succeeded in launching another attack against the American homeland." Merkel, who has tried to improve relations with the United States since assuming office in November, has commended the Bush administration for acknowledging the existence of the detention centers. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Utah Supreme Court [official website] ruled on Friday that a University of Utah [official website] policy banning firearms on campus violates state law. In a 4-1 opinion [PDF], the court rejected the university's argument that as an autonomous entity under Article X of the state constitution [text], it could disregard state law that conflicted with its internal academic affairs. Under Utah Code 63-98-102 [text], a state entity may not restrict the possession of firearms on public or private property unless it has a special statutory exception.

The university sued state Attorney General Mark Shurtleff [official profile] when he issued a formal opinion [text] in 2001 stating that the law applied to the university, which has banned firearms possession on campus for over thirty years. Shurtleff suggested that the university apply to lawmakers for an exception, but at present, it plans to take the case back to federal court [university press release], where it will argue that the First and Fourteenth Amendments grant it academic freedom to protect its students and the learning environment. While this claim is pending, the ban on the university's 44,000 students, faculty and staff is still in effect. AP has more. The Salt Lake Tribune has local coverage.

[JURIST] A Sudanese judge released American journalist Paul Salopek from detention Saturday the day after a meeting between Sudan President Omar al-Bashir [BBC profile] and visiting New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson [official profile]. Late last month Salopek and two others were arrested and charged [JURIST report] for espionage and printing false information after they allegedly crossed into the war-torn Darfur [JURIST news archive] region of Sudan [JURIST news archive] from Chad without a visa.

Salopek is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner [citations] on leave from the Chicago Tribune who was working in Africa on a National Geographic [media website] magazine assignment when he was arrested. His trial had been set to begin on September 10. The Chicago Tribune has more.

[JURIST] The City Council of Hazleton, Pennsylvania [official website] granted tentative approval to revisions to its controversial Illegal Immigration Relief Act [text, PDF; mayor's letter] on Friday in an attempt to help the law survive legal challenges. The changes shift burdens originally placed on businesses, now making it the city's responsibility to determine immigration statuses. The Council will vote Tuesday on whether to give the revised law final approval.

Hazleton, whose population of roughly 31,000 living 80 miles west of Philadelphia has become about 1/3 Hispanic in recent years, agreed to delay enforcement [JURIST report] of the law last week after it was challenged [JURIST report; complaint; ACLU materials] by the ACLU of Pennsylvania and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF) [advocacy websites] last month. The original version punished employers, landlords, and business merchants who employ, rent to, or sell products to illegal immigrants [JURIST news archive], and made English the official language of Hazleton. Mayor Lou Barletta says the measure was prompted by a local crime wave of shootings and drug dealing in which illegal aliens figured prominently [PBS Newshour report]. Barletta estimates that some 5000 Hazleton Hispanics are undocumented. Other US communities are now considering similar measures in the wake of the Hazleton ordinance. AP has more.

[JURIST] US and European representatives are set to continue talks next week on an airline passenger data-sharing deal after officials were unable to agree Friday on a replacement for a previous agreement [PDF text] struck down [JURIST report] by the European Court of Justice [official website] in May on privacy-related grounds. According to the court ruling, officials have until September 30 to make a new arrangement. EU Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini [official profile] has asked the US to reserve any requests for greater access to passenger information for talks planned for 2007.

In August, US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff [official profile] sharply criticized [JURIST report] European concerns over passenger data-sharing, stating that under the agreement information would not be inappropriately disclosed. The annulled agreement made in 2004 required European airlines to reveal the name, address, payment information, and itinerary details of passengers to US officials. The European Parliament [official website] challenged the deal [JURIST report], saying there were inadequate data security measures in the US and expressing concerns that the data would be used for purposes other than fighting terrorism and other serious crimes. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counterterrorism Martin Scheinin [official profile] has urged Jordan [JURIST news archive] to amend an anti-terrorism law approved [JURIST report] last month by the country's National Assembly [official website]. Scheinin noted in a statement Friday that human rights advocates and opposition party leaders continue to criticize [JURIST report] the measure [JURIST news archive] and flagged several issues with the new law:

One of the primary concerns is the overly broad definition of terrorism since it is vague regarding the elements of intent and aim and can be seen to be at variance with the principle of legality. There are also a number of procedural safeguards that appear to have been compromised which can negatively impact on the right to a fair trial and due process. For example, the law currently allows suspects to be detained for up to 30 days without access to a lawyer and without judicial review. Further, the law gives considerable powers to law enforcement, security forces and the Public Prosecutor with regard to detention, search and arrest that effectively negate the right to privacy, freedom and movement and the presumption of innocence. Finally, the law designates military courts as having sole jurisdiction of terrorism cases which may lack judicial independence and deny a number of procedural guarantees.

[JURIST] The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) [official website] announced Friday that it was fining the American Red Cross [NGO website] $4.2 million [press release] for "failure to comply with requirements under Federal laws and FDA regulations relating to the collection of blood products" that had prompted the recall of 12,000 units of blood between 2003 and 2005. Margaret Glavin, FDA associate commissioner for regulatory affairs, said the Red Cross allowed individuals who had visited areas with known cases of malaria to donate blood which was then distributed without appropriate testing. Glavin said the blood supply in the US remains safe and the Red Cross said it plans to comply with the penalty [press release], set under the terms of an amended 2003 consent decree.

The fine is the largest ever levied by the FDA following the 2003 court settlement, which empowered the government to impose heavy fines on the Red Cross if FDA rules were found to have been violated. Red Cross officials say they plan to reply to the FDA within the next 20 days. In 2005, the Canadian Red Cross pleaded guilty and publicly apologized [transcript] for allowing the distribution of blood and blood products contaminated with HIV and hepatitis C to thousands of Canadians in the 1980s. Responsibility for blood collection and distribution in Canada has been shifted to a new Canadian Blood Services [NGO website] organization. AP has more.

[JURIST] UN legal counsel Nicholas Michel [official profile] said Friday at the end of a two-day visit to Lebanon that a special tribunal [JURIST report] to try individuals connected with the February 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [JURIST news archive] was closer to realization after his latest round of talks with Lebanese officials. Michel, formally the UN Under- Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, noted that there are still issues to be sorted out before the international court is finalized, but also that there has been "rapid and substantial" progress over the last few months. Michel's comments echoed those made Thursday by Lebanese Justice Minister Charles Rizk [Arab Decision profile], who said some details of the tribunal plan needed clarification. Rizk indicated that the tribunal will likely have two chambers: a three-judge trial chamber and a five-judge appeals court chamber. International judges will predominate on both, but one Lebanese judge is expected to serve at the trial level and two are expected to sit on appeals.

A probe into Hariri's death by the UN International Independent Investigation Commission [UN materials] is ongoing [JURIST report]. Late last year the commission reported it had information that senior officials from Syria were involved [JURIST report] in the murder. AFP has more.