[JURIST] Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney [official website] Friday filed a request with the state's Supreme Judicial Court [JURIST report] to put a measure effectively banning same-sex marriage [text, DOC] on the 2008 Massachusetts ballot if legislators fail to vote on the issue before the end of their term on January 2. Romney took the anticipated action [JURIST report] after state lawmakers voted 109-87 to recess an ongoing joint House-Senate session until that day. Opponents of the measure to define marriage as only between a man and a woman say they may not have the votes to block it, amounting to 151 of the 200 session members. Fifty members can approve the measure. AP has more.

Massachusetts [JURIST news archive] is currently the only US state to recognize same-sex marriage, after a November 2003 state high court ruling [JURIST report; background materials]. More than 8,000 same-sex couples have subsequently wed in the state, and the precedent has sparked a nationwide debate over gay marriage.

[JURIST] The UN Committee against Torture (CAT) [official website] urged Russia Friday to investigate and prosecute [press release] what it called the "widespread use of torture" in Chechnya [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. The human rights body cited "reliable reports" of the existence of secret detention facilities where "detainees faced torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment." CAT also expressed its concern that "numerous, ongoing and consistent allegations that abductions and enforced disappearances in the Chechen Republic were inflicted by or at the instigation of public officials."

The Committee against Torture (CAT) monitors implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment [text, in PDF] by states party to the 1984 convention. Earlier this month Human Rights Watch issued a report claiming that torture has become widespread in Chechnya [HRW report] with more than 100 known cases in both official and secret detention centers. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The International Bar Association (IBA) [official website], the leading global organization of legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies, announced [press release] Friday that it has canceled a training program for Cambodian lawyers representing defendants in the genocide trial of Khmer Rouge [JURIST news archive] leaders. The program had faced opposition from the Cambodian Bar Association, which saw the program as infringing on the Cambodian Bar's sovereignty and prohibited Cambodian lawyers from taking part. The IBA alleged that the Cambodian move was "part of a wider scheme of opposition designed to obstruct the operation of the [genocide tribunal]"; IBA head Mark Ellis commented:

The Bar’s actions represent a disturbing development in the functioning of international justice, placing obstacles in the path of bringing those accused of international crimes to trial. The IBA’s programme was intended to improve the quality of legal services and the administration of justice in Cambodia, and help educate and inform the Cambodian public about international justice. It is unacceptable that the Cambodian Bar, which should share these objectives, is seeking to frustrate them in this way.

[JURIST] Hartmut Nassauer [official website], German head of a European Parliament [official website] delegation visiting Indonesia, said Friday that adopting Sharia law [CFR backgrounder] would negatively affect Indonesia's relations with other states. Nassaeur emphasized that Islamic law should not affect Indonesia's legal code, stating that the liberty of faith "includes the right to live without faith and consequently [an individual should not] have to obey a faith which is not [theirs]." Nassauer's statements follow the partial implementation of Sharia law by the self-governed region of Aceh.

Aceh [JURIST news archive] has enforced Muslim dress codes and obligations like the Salat (ritual prayer), Zakat (alms-giving), and Siyam (fasting). The province was granted self-governance [JURIST report] in July by the passage of legislation in the Indonesian House of Representatives [official website, in Bahasa Indonesian]. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Two Turkish Christians have gone on trial for their alleged "public denigration of the Turkish identity." Hakan Tastan, 37, and Turan Topal, 46, allegedly made insults against Turkey while attempting to convert other Turks to Christianity. The two defendants are being charged under Article 301 [Amnesty backgrounder] of Turkey's penal code, which makes insulting "Turkishness" a crime. The two are also being charged under Article 312 [HRW backgrounder], which criminalizes inciting hatred based on class, race, religion, creed, or region.

The controversial Article 301 has been used to prosecute Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk [JURIST report], and has been a point of contention between the European Union and Turkey [JURIST report], which has an ongoing bid for EU membership [EC materials]. Turkish leaders say they have no immediate plans to make further changes to the law [JURIST report], which the EU deems an infringement on freedom of expression [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The government of Rwanda cut diplomatic ties with France Friday in protest at a French judge's recommendation that Rwandan President Paul Kagame [official website] face trial [JURIST report] in connection with the 1994 downing of a plane carrying then-President Juvenal Habyariman [Wikipedia profile], whose death triggered a genocide that killed over 800,000 people. French anti-terrorism judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere [BBC profile] also issued arrest warrants against nine top Rwanda officials on suspicion of involvement in the same incident. No warrant for Kagame's arrest was issued as he enjoys diplomatic immunity under French law. Rwandan Foreign Minister Charles Murigande told Reuters that the French ambassador to Rwanda has been ordered to leave the country in 24 hours and that other French diplomats were to be out in 72. The French Foreign Ministry has confirmed the break [press release, in French]. Earlier in the day Rwanda recalled its own ambassador from Paris [Reuters report] and issued a statement alleging that France was trying to overthrow its government. The Rwandan government claimed [press release] earlier in the week that the allegations were "an attempt to intimidate Rwanda using strong arm tactics and to use the superpower position to hide the truth of France’s involvement in genocide" in the wake of a Rwandan government probe [JURIST report] begun last month into accusations that France assisted the Hutu massacre of Tutsis.

Kagame has denied any involvement in the downing of his predecessor's plane and earlier in the week derided Bruguiere's tactics [JURIST report] as "bullying and arrogant." Friday's break of diplomatic ties came a day after a mass protest [JURIST report] against the French judge's orders by some 25,000 Rwandans gathered in a Kigali sports stadium. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The Beijing Higher People's Court Friday turned down an appeal by Hong Kong reporter Ching Cheong [advocacy website; SCMP Q/A] against his August conviction for passing state secrets. The presiding judge deemed the trial court's ruling "accurate in application of the law and appropriate in meting out punishment," according to a report by state news agency Xinhua. The ruling after a 30-minute hearing followed Ching's initial failure to get a hearing [JURIST report] in October. While working for Singapore's Straits Times [media website] in April of 2005, Ching was arrested in the Chinese city of Guangzhou for providing unnamed "state secrets and intelligence" to Taiwanese intelligence [BBC report] through an unspecified front organization. He was convicted after a two-week trial [JURIST report] behind closed doors. After Friday's ruling by the appeals court, Ching now faces a 5-year prison term [JURIST report].

The Straits Times has expressed disappointment with the decision and concern for the journalist's health. Ching's wife, Mary Lau, maintains her husband's innocence and believes that he was tried because he obtained politically-sensitive, unpublished interviews with late Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang [BBC profile], who was purged for opposing the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre [BBC backgrounder]. The government of Hong Kong, now a Chinese administrative region, refused to intervene in the mainland judicial process. AP has more. Xinhua has local coverage.

[JURIST] Legal services in the UK are set to be revolutionized after the British government Friday published [press release] a much-anticipated bill [DCA materials] that would remove the right of the legal profession to regulate itself and would allow other businesses - such as banks and even, in theory, supermarkets - to own law practices. The legislation, which would also allow law firms to operate in free association with other groups of professionals such as accountants and to receive investment, was formally introduced in the House of Lords Thursday and is expected to come into force in 2008.

Disciplinary authority over the legal profession will now vest in an independent body. Lord Falconer [official profile], the Lord Chancellor and head of the Department of Constitutional Affairs [official website], said of the change:

Today's proposals aim to increase public confidence in acquiring legal services that are fit for purpose. The Legal Services Board will oversee approved regulators who will be required to separate regulation and representation, thus removing any conflict of interest.

Currently, bodies that regulate legal services provision also act as representatives of their profession, a position that could raise the question of impartiality. The Office of Legal Complaints will further increase public confidence through handling consumer complaints against legal services providers and ensuring a quick and fair response.

[JURIST] Thailand Army Commander-in-Chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin [BBC profile], the leader of the military coup [JURIST report; AHRC backgrounder] that deposed civilian prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra [JURIST news archive] in September, told CNN in an interview broadcast Friday that the martial law imposed on the country [JURIST news archive] in the aftermath of the takeover would be lifted by the end of the year. He made the comment after being pressed to go beyond vaguer expressions of "when possible" and "soon". The country's Defense Secretary said afterwards that martial law would "definitely be lifted before the new year," but the head of the country's military council, the Council for National Security (CNS), added later that "This is not for the whole country as martial law will be maintained in some areas." VOA has more. The Bangkok Post has local coverage.

The country's National Legislative Assembly [JURIST report], convened to draft a new permanent constitution for Thailand, is meanwhile preparing to debate the possible dissolution of five Thai political parties, including Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party and the leading opposition Democrat party. The Assembly is chaired by Thailand Supreme Court president Panya Thanomrod. TNA has more.

[JURIST] Italian Minister of Culture Francesco Rutelli has demanded that the Getty Museum [official website] in Los Angeles return all the allegedly-looted Italian antiquities it is said to possess, and not just the 26 pieces of a total of 46 that it has already undertaken to hand back [Getty press release]. Negotiations with the Getty over the looted objects broke down earlier this week. Rutelli said his department was investigating evidence concerning the provenance of "dozens" of other works held by the Getty, perhaps as many as 250, according to Italian authorities. Reuters has more.

Earlier this year the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art [official website] signed an agreement [JURIST report] with the Culture Ministry [official website] under which it undertook to return several pieces of looted Hellenistic art in exchange for Italy loaning it other works of "equal beauty and importance." A similar agreement [MIBAC press release, in Italian] was recently signed with the Boston Museum of Fine Art. Under a 1939 Italian law, all archaeological property excavated in Italy belongs to the Italian state. Marion True, former director of the J. Paul Getty Museum, is currently on trial [NPR report] on charges of knowingly smuggling Italian artifacts in violation of the 1939 law.