[JURIST] Lebanese President Emile Lahoud [official profile] formally announced Saturday that he would not approve the Lebanese cabinet's latest endorsement [JURIST report] of a plan to establish a UN-supported international tribunal [JURIST news archive] to try suspects accused of assassinating former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005. A statement from Lahoud's office called on the cabinet to take up the proposal again "when there is a legitimate and constitutional government." Lahoud labeled the cabinet's vote on the measure "null and void" soon after it was made last month and rejected an earlier cabinet approval [JURIST reports] of the tribunal as "unconstitutional" after all the cabinet's Shiite lawmakers resigned before the vote. The Shiites have not rejoined the government and the Hezbollah movement has recently mounted large demonstrations against it.

In an exclusive statement for JURIST last week, Lahoud said:

The Lebanese constitution stipulates clearly that Lebanon is based on consensus and on coexistence, and therefore the cabinet of [Prime Minister] Siniora breached the national pact and therefore in our view it is "inexistent".

Moreover, the cabinet has no right according to the constitution to ratify any international treaty. Article 52 of the Lebanese constitution, states clearly that the president has the sole power, to discuss, and ratify any international treaty, after coordinating with the Prime Minister. Only then would the cabinet be allowed to see the draft of the treaty.

[JURIST] Egypt officials announced Saturday that they will release from prison two leaders of the banned Muslim Brotherhood [party website; FAS backgrounder] who were jailed in May for their involvement in pro-judicial independence protests [JURIST report]. Essam el-Erian and Mohamed Mursi were previously arrested in 2005 for protesting a constitutional referendum [JURIST report] aimed at implementing multi-party elections, which they felt impermissibly favored longtime President Hosni Mubarak. Both will be restricted to house arrest upon release, which a Brotherhood spokesperson said should occur within several days.

Earlier this month Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif announced an 18-month timetable [JURIST report] for lifting the state of emergency that Egypt [JURIST news archive] has existed in the country since 1981. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The federal government of Germany [JURIST news archive] has scrapped a proposed nationwide ban on smoking in restaurants amidst concern that it would impermissibly intrude on police powers guaranteed to the states in the wake of landmark federalism reforms [JURIST report] approved [JURIST report] this summer. The government will instead ban smoking in federal buildings. The Interior and Justice ministries were unpersuaded by arguments from advocates of the ban that it ban addresses health issues over which the federal government retains jurisdiction. Under the new constitutional reforms, Germany's 16 states have the power to regulate restaurants and businesses.

The legislatures of England and France [JURIST reports] have approved nationwide smoking bans in public places to come into effect during 2007, and other European countries, such as Ireland, Finland, Italy, Spain, and Sweden have already implemented total or partial bans along those lines. In the US, voters approved three state-wide smoking bans [JURIST report] in the November elections, while Rhode Island will amend its smoking ban after a state judge struck down [JURIST report] several provisions of the law as irrational and therefore unconstitutional. DPA has more.

[JURIST] An Abuja High Court ruled Friday that Nigeria's ruling political party violated the country's constitution [text] by suspending Nigeria's Vice President from membership. The decision sustains the presidential hopes of Vice President Atiku Abubakar [official profile; official website], who has announced his intention to run in Nigeria's 2007 presidential election [INEC website]. The Nigerian constitution requires all presidential candidates to be members of a political party.

The People's Democratic Party (PDP) [BBC profile] expelled [Afrol report] Abubakar from the party over corruption allegations [AP report] linking the Vice President to US Congressman William Jefferson [JURIST news archive]. In October, Abubakar was formally charged [JURIST report] on twelve counts of corruption. The PDP has argued that Abubakar's expulsion was an internal party matter having nothing to do with Nigeria's constitution. In the wake of the court ruling Friday, however, the party said that its practical effect would be limited as Abubakar had still missed a nomination deadline and the party would not reopen that process [Nigerian Tribune report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Hundreds of people have lobbied Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office for the position of hangman for Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] if he is actually executed, according to the New York Times Saturday. A top aide to Maliki has speculated that so many people were interested in executing the former Iraqi dictator because they wanted to exact revenge for the loss of loved ones. As well as determining the executioner, the Iraqi government must assign a location for the hanging. With government officials reportedly concluding that a public execution could incite violence or a rescue attempt, many believe the most likely site for the Saddam's hanging would be Camp Cropper, the US military prison where he is currently incarcerated [Observer report].

Hussein and two of his government's top officials, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and Awad al-Bandar, were sentenced [judgment; JURIST report] to death by hanging in November for their involvement in crimes against humanity committed in the town of Dujail in 1982. Hussein's lawyers have filed a formal appeal [JURIST report] against the ruling. The appellate court has no time frame for its review but if the nine-judge court upholds the sentencing, the execution must be carried out within 30 days. The New York Times has more. UPI has more.

[JURIST] Mexican ex-president Luis Echeverria [Trial Watch profile; JURIST news archive] was found unable to undergo a psychological examination Friday due to his deteriorating health, according to his lawyer. The former president, who held office from 1970 to 1976, has been charged with genocide and other crimes committed during his time in the Mexican government. Last week, Echeverria was placed under house arrest on charges related to a massacre of student protesters [backgrounder] in 1968 when Echeverria was Interior Minister. Echeverria had previously been cleared of the charges [JURIST report] due to the statute of limitations but last week a Mexican appeals panel overruled [JURIST report] that determination.

Echeverria is accused [Mexico AG report, in Spanish] of involvement in the murders and disappearances of more than 500 leftist dissidents during the so-called dirty war [National Security Archive backgrounder] in the 1960s and 1970s. Echeverria's lawyer blames Echeverria's poor physical condition on a stroke last February. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Senate [official website] passed a bill [HR 4709 text] by voice vote Friday that would make obtaining phone records through fraud or lying a criminal act. People found guilty of so-called "pretexting" would face fines and imprisonment for up to 10 years. Punishment may be doubled if the violation involves more than $100,000 or more than 50 victims. Passage of the bill was propelled by the recent Hewlett-Packard scandal [JURIST news archive] in which company executives were charged with using deception to obtain the phone records of board members ssupected of leaking corporate information.

The House of Representatives passed the anti-pretexting legislation in April, but the Senate version was held up for months [AP report] because the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee backed two differing versions. The bill approved Friday was the House version favored by the Judiciary Committee; it now goes to the White House for President Bush's signature. AP has more.