[JURIST] The US Army on Tuesday set a trial date for Lt. Col. Steven Lee Jordan [Wikipedia profile; CBS profile], the only military officer to face charges in connection with abuses of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison [JURIST news archive] in Iraq [JURIST news archive]. In July 2008, Jordan will face a court-martial for seven violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) [text], including disobeying a superior commissioned officer, dereliction of duty, failure to obey a regulation, false swearing, cruelty and maltreatment, and interfering with an investigation. Jordan's lawyers seek dismissal of the charges, which carry a maximum sentence of 22 years.

Last month, the US Army announced Jordan would be court-martialed [JURIST report]. Jordan, the former director of Abu Ghraib's interrogation center, was charged [JURIST report] in April 2006 for failing to prevent the use of intimidating dogs, forced nudity, humiliating photography poses, and other abusive techniques. Prosecutors claim Jordan subsequently lied to investigators about the abuses. AP has more.

[JURIST] US Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) [official websites] introduced a bill [press release] Tuesday entitled the "Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2007" designed to protect the personal information of American consumers. The legislation resembles a bill [text] Leahy co-sponsored with then-Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) [JURIST news archive] in 2005, which was not enacted in the last Congress. Among its provisions, the new legislation would increase criminal penalties for identity theft and require institutions that maintain personal data to disclose when they suffer a breach affecting personal security information. AP has more.

In December Leahy outlined an ambitious agenda [JURIST report] for his tenure as incoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee [official website], highlighting increased oversight of the FBI and the Department of Justice, more effective protection of Americans' privacy rights in the face of security-driven government data collection and data-mining, support for the independence of the judiciary, and restoration of fundamental human rights protections he said had been most recently eroded in the Military Commissions Act [JURIST news archive].

[JURIST] Murat Kurnaz [Amnesty International case sheet; JURIST news archive], a Turkish citizen born in Germany and formerly held at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive], plans to request the release of secret military documents pertaining to his detention, according to his lawyer as reported in Wednesday's Der Tagesspiegel [media website, in German]. Kurnaz seeks the documents in relation to a lawsuit [complaint text, PDF] he filed [press release] in December against the US Department of Defense [official website]. Kurnaz lawyer Baher Azmy [official profile] claims the documents, originally sought under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) [text], could prove the US government believed Kurnaz was not a threat years before he was released last August [JURIST report] in response to repeated appeals to US authorities by current German Chancellor Angela Merkel [official website, in German].

In response to growing criticism [JURIST report] of the circumstances behind Kurnaz' detention, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier [BBC profile] has denied [JURIST report] that he knew about a US offer to release Kurnaz to Germany in 2002, notwithstanding a finding by a committee of the European parliament investigating CIA activity in Europe [JURIST report] that Germany refused the offer and extended Kurnaz' detention for three years. Kurnaz has alleged he suffered abuse and torture [Deutsche Welle report] as a detainee at Guantanamo Bay. US officials in Pakistan arrested Kurnaz shortly after September 11 and kept him in custody at Guantanamo from 2002 until 2006. AFP has more.

[JURIST] The Ku Klux Klan [JURIST news archive] is experiencing "a surprising and troubling resurgence" largely on the issue of Hispanic immigration, according to a report [summary text] released [press release] Tuesday by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) [advocacy website]. In addition to exploiting fears of non-white immigration, the KKK is also using gay marriage and urban crime to fuel the recent growth of existing Klan groups and to spark the formation of new cells in Mid-Atlantic and Great Plains towns which had previously been free of racial hatred. Breaking from the traditional robes and cross burnings, young Klan members are adopting the shaved heads and hardcore music usually associated with Neo-Nazi groups [JURIST news archive]. This youth movement has also embraced the Internet and "unity rallies" as forums for the hateful ideologies. The ADL also reports that modern Klan members are cooperating with Neo-Nazis and other white supremacy organizations.

The KKK regrouping represents a turnaround for an organization most believed to be dying a slow death. Once a powerful force in the United States [SPLC backgrounder], the organization has seen its membership dwindle in recent decades as other hate groups have taken up the white supremacy banner, and older members such as Bobby Frank Cherry and Edgar Ray Killen [JURIST reports] have been tried and convicted for past hate crimes. UPI has more.

[JURIST] US Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty [official website] testified [text] before the US Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] Tuesday that thirteen or more federal prosecutors who have been removed over the past two years were not victims of political retaliation, as some Democrats have alleged. McNulty specifically denied that the removal of former US Attorney Carol Lam [US Department of Justice profile], who prosecuted former Republican congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham [JURIST news archive], was motivated by political considerations.

McNulty also denied that the Department has filled vacant attorney positions in a way that circumvented the Senate confirmation process. Assuring the committee that the department is in the process of selecting attorneys, he cited time constraints imposed by the USA Patriot Act renewal [JURIST report] of March 2006. According to a provision in that reauthorization, if the Department of Justice has not appointed an interim attorney within 120 days of a vacancy, district court judges must appoint a replacement. McNulty also criticized the proposed S 214 [PDF text], which would completely transfer the power to fill vacancies to district judges. AP has more.

[JURIST] A judge has ruled that Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi [official website, in Italian] and former PM Silvio Berlusconi [BBC profile] will not give evidence at the preliminary hearing of Nicolo Pollari, the former head of Italian Intelligence and Security Services [official website], to determine his involvement in the alleged 2003 CIA kidnapping [JURIST news archive; WP timeline] and rendition of Egyptian cleric Moustafa Hassan Nasr [Wikipedia profile]. Claiming that the evidence proving his innocence is classified, Pollari had sought to prove his innocence through testimony by the current and former prime ministers. Judge Caterina Interlandi ruled, however, that such testimony is irrelevant to whether a trial against Pollari will be held. She also rejected an argument by Pollari that his own testimony would necessarily violate state secrecy laws [JURIST report].

If a trial against Pollari proceeds, it will be the first criminal trial to deal with the CIA rendition program [JURIST news archive]. Currently, over 30 Italian and American intelligence agents are being investigated in Italian courts [JURIST report]. Pollari has repeatedly denied his involvement [JURIST report] in the Nasr case. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The Inter-American Conference on Human Rights (IACHR) [official website] has scheduled a hearing to explore whether failing to curb greenhouse gas emissions [US DOE backgrounder] constitutes a human rights violation. The environmental group EarthJustice announced [press release] Tuesday that it had received a letter [PDF text] in which the IACHR said it would hold a hearing on the topic. The hearing, set for March 1 in Washington, was prompted by a petition filed in 2005 [JURIST report] by the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) [advocacy website], which represents indigenous peoples in Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Russia. The petition [PDF text; summary, PDF] alleges that the United States' failure to sign the Kyoto Protocol [text] or other agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is contributing to global warming that "jeopardize[s] the realization of the Inuit's rights to culture, life, health, physical integrity and security, property, and subsistence." The IACHR, a seven-member panel that advises the Organization of American States [official website], initially rejected the petition. "This is very good news," said Sheila Watt-Cloutier [official profile; Rolling Stone profile], an ICC leader and 2007 Nobel Peace Prize nominee. "In the Arctic regions of Canada and the United States, warmer temperatures are melting the ice and snow that have formed the basis of our culture and survival for millennia." CBC News has more.

Representatives of the Inuit, EarthJustice and the Center for International Environmental Law [advocacy website] have been invited to appear at the one-hour hearing. EarthJustice attorney Martin Wagner pointed to findings released last week [recorded video] by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) [official website] as evidence that "the human causes of global warming can no longer be denied." According to a summary of the IPCC's forthcoming climate change report [PDF text], it is "very likely" that global warming is caused by human activity. Responding to the findings, France and 45 other nations are planning to meet [AP report] in Morocco this spring to discuss forming an international environmental body to fight global warming.

This report was prepared in partnership with the Pittsburgh Journal of Environmental and Public Health Law.

[JURIST] The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights [official website] announced Tuesday that UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions [official website] Philip Alston [NYU Law profile] will go to the Philippines next week to investigate political murders in the country. Alston will report his conclusions to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour [official profile; JURIST profile]. According to the Philippines human rights group Karapatan [official website], more than 830 political activists, human-rights workers, trade union officials, lawyers and judges have been murdered throughout the country since President Arroyo came to power in 2001.

Philippines President Gloria Arroyo [official website; BBC profile] appointed an independent commission [press release; JURIST report] in August 2006 to investigate "the series of extrajudicial killings of journalists [Reporters without Borders 2006 annual report] and militant activists in the country." Amnesty International [advocacy website] has called on the Philippines to investigate the killings [AI report] and resolve "a continuing failure by the authorities to act with due diligence in investigating and prosecuting such violations." AFP has more.

[JURIST] Afghan President Hamid Karzai [BBC profile] is expected to reject a proposed amnesty resolution [JURIST report] that would grant pardons for crimes committed during the 25 years of war in Afghanistan [JURIST news archive], according to spokesman Karim Rahimi on Monday. Rahimi said the president believed the bill to be against basic constitutional principles and Islamic laws, because only victims of a crime have the authority to forgive it. To become law, the resolution must still be adopted by the upper house of the Afghan parliament and the president.

The measure, adopted by the lower house of the Afghan parliament earlier this month, stands in stark contrast to the Action Plan on Peace, Reconciliation and Justice [text] announced by President Karzai in December, which provides no amnesty for such criminals and calls for an end to the country's "culture of impunity." Last week, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour [official profile; JURIST news archive] criticized the resolution, stating that, to be effective, national reconciliation must uphold legal and international human rights standards [JURIST report]. AFP has more.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] ruled on Tuesday that a class-action lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. [corporate website] for allegedly discriminating against female employees should go to trial, upholding [opinion, PDF] a 2004 certification of the class [JURIST report]. The court stated that expert opinions, together with factual, statistical, and anecdotal evidence, presented significant proof of a corporate policy of discrimination against female employees nationwide. The court responded to Wal-Mart's claims that the size of the class made it impractical by stating that "although [the] size of this class action is large, mere size does not render a case unmanageable."

Wal-Mart appealed [JURIST report] to the Ninth Circuit in 2005, arguing that the six lead plaintiffs [plaintiffs' website] were not typical or common of the class. Wal-Mart also objected to the size of the class certified, which they say is the largest in US history and would violate its due process rights. Wal-Mart argued that its stores operate independently and should be sued individually; plaintiffs' lawyers countered that individual lawsuits would be impractical. The district court also rejected Wal-Mart's claim that the class size was "impractical on its face" and approved a statistical formula for paying damages if discrimination is proven. AP has more.

[JURIST] Texas Senator Jane Nelson (R) [official website], Chairwoman of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission [official website], urged Texas Governor Rick Perry [official website] Tuesday to rescind his executive order making Texas the first US state to require that girls be vaccinated [JURIST report] for the human papilloma virus (HPV) [US CDC fact sheet], which is the primary cause of cervical cancer. Gov. Rick Perry's order [text], which directs the state Department of Health and Human Services [official website] to promulgate rules mandating the vaccinations for girls entering the sixth grade next year, was issued in early February 2007 amongst strong opposition [Houston Chronicle report]. Nelson's concerns [press release] about the order are shared by other leading Republicans who believe that lawmakers should have been allowed to hear from doctors, scientists and patients before the state implemented such a sweeping mandate. Nelson commented that "We're moving way too fast. I would ask, very respectfully, our Governor to reconsider. This is something that we need to take time discussing, getting answers to, how we're going to pay for it." Three other Republican lawmakers filed bills that would override the Gov. Perry's mandate, and several others have promised to introduce similar legislation. Gov. Perry defended his mandate [press release], stating:

Never before have we had an opportunity to prevent cancer with a simple vaccine. While I understand the concerns expressed by some, I stand firmly on the side of protecting life. The HPV vaccine does not promote sex, it protects women’s health. Finally, parents need to know that they have the final decision about whether or not their daughter is vaccinated. I am a strong believer in protecting parental rights, which is why this executive order allows them to opt out.

[JURIST] UK senior judges have agreed that full Islamic veils should not be worn in British courts and tribunals, according to a report in Tuesday's London Times. After consulting with legal advisers, a panel of senior judges have included in a set of proposed new court guidelines the preference for Muslim women not to wear the niqab [Wikipedia backgrounder], but have stopped short of prohibiting the garments from the courtroom. Individual judges and magistrates will have the discretion to allow a full veil to be worn if it does not go against the "interests of justice." The new guidelines still have to be finalized by the equal treatment advisory committee of the Judicial Studies Board [official website]. If implemented, it will apply to all persons attending court proceedings, including judges, lawyers, jurors, and witnesses.

In November, the president of the UK Asylum and Immigration Tribunal [official website] told tribunal judges that they should allow Muslim lawyers to wear veils [JURIST report] in their courtrooms unless it interferes with the "interests of justice", as long as their clients approve and all parties to the proceedings can hear the representatives speak. The wearing of Muslim veils in court and in other social settings has been a focus of dispute in several cases recently, reflecting a more general international debate on the place of religious dress [JURIST news archive]. Last month, a Muslim teaching assistant was suspended by a British school [JURIST report] for refusing to remove her niqab after being told that her pupils were less likely to understand her when she spoke from behind her veil. A judge in Pakistan also forbade female lawyers [JURIST report] from wearing veils in courtrooms. The Times has more.

[JURIST] Australian Prime Minister John Howard [official profile] said Monday that the Australian government will do more to pressure the US to expedite the trial of David Hicks [JURIST news archive]. In a cabinet meeting on Monday, officials informed Howard of the growing public concern about the case [ABC News report], and Howard later told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that he was "very unhappy with the length of time it has taken and we will be harassing the Americans from now on at every point to ensure that the deadlines that are set under the new legislation are met." Lawyers representing Hicks have expressed anger and frustration [Herald report] over the new charges against their client, telling the Sydney Morning Herald Monday that waiting until after their latest visit to Hicks at Guantanamo to announce new charges [JURIST report] against him was an "act of bastardry."

Hicks is one of three high profile Guantanamo prisoners facing new charges announced by the US Friday. The original charges against Hicks, Canadian Omar Khadr and Yemeni Salim Hamdan [Trial Watch profiles] and other detainees had to be dropped after the US Supreme Court ruled the original military commissions system unconstitutional without Congressional authorization [JURIST report]. The new charges will not be considered formal until they are approved, a process expected to take another two weeks. AP has more.

[JURIST] About 60 nations pledged Tuesday to refrain from the illegal and unacceptable use of child soldiers in armed conflicts [JURIST report] during the second day of Free Children from War [conference materials], a global conference in Paris. Hosted by the French Foreign Ministry [official website] and UNICEF [official website], the conference adopted the Paris Commitments [text] and formally unveiled the more extensive Paris Principles [text, PDF], which recommend actions in affected countries to end the violation of children's rights. Among the signatories to the Paris Commitments were Sierra Leone, Liberia and Congo, all nations in which child soldiers have taken part in armed conflicts; all 27 nations of the European Union also signed.

According to UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman, the estimated 250,000 children [press release] recruited by armed forces and armed groups are "used as combatants, messengers, spies, porters, cooks, and girls in particular are forced to perform sexual services, depriving them of their rights and their childhood." Experts say that girls comprise up to 40 percent of child recruits and that twelve countries have used child soldiers on a massive scale. In 2005, the UN Security Council [official website] adopted Resolution 1612 [text] authorizing the UN to closely scrutinize and keep track [JURIST report] of all countries and rebel organizations that abuse children in any way or recruit children as soldiers [UN press release]. AP has more.

[JURIST] A proposed bill on corporate manslaughter came to a standstill in the UK House of Lords [official website] on Monday when Conservative and Liberal Democrats voted for an amendment which broadened the scope of the law to include deaths in prisons and police cells. The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill [Crown Prosecution Service backgrounder] was proposed by the government to make companies and organizations culpable for deaths under penalty of fines, but UK Home Secretary John Reid [official profile] said the Home Office would withdraw the bill if it was extended to deaths in prisons and cells. Lord Hunt [party profile], spokesperson for the Conservative Party, called the amendment a "triumph for natural justice" and labeled the Home Office's threat to withdraw the bill as "political blackmail."

Under the proposed law, corporations and limited companies could face fines for deaths caused within the course of their operations. Culpability would be attached solely to the company, and not to individual officers and directors. The Telegraph has more.

[JURIST] The government of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) [official website] promised to continue fighting to adopt legislation that would grant legal recognition to same-sex partnerships after Australia's attorney general recommended Tuesday that the country's federal government overturn a proposed civil unions law for the second time. In December 2006, ACT Attorney General Simon Corbell [official profile] introduced [JURIST report] the Civil Partnerships Bill 2006 [legislative materials] in the district's legislature, saying that the bill reflected the ACT government's belief that it is unacceptable "to discriminate against one part of society."

An earlier civil unions law [legislative materials] was overturned by the Australian federal government [JURIST report] because the law's attempt to equate civil unions with marriage was determined to be unacceptable. The latest bill tried to avoid the same objections by replacing the term "civil union" with "civil partnership" and stopping short of authorizing same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive]. Ruddock, however, said the changes were not sufficient [press release], and that "[t]he revised bill has not removed the concerns that the Commonwealth had about the Civil Unions Act." ACT has vowed to keep the bill and hope for a change in government in the next federal election.

The ACT is the federal district that includes the Australian capital, Canberra. Under a provision [text] of the ACT Self-Government Act of 1988, the federal government may disallow any ACT enactment within six months. AAP has more.

[JURIST] The US military judge in the court-martial of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada [advocacy website; JURIST news archive] prohibited international and constitutional law scholars from testifying Monday about the legality of the war. Watada faces charges of missing movement and conduct unbecoming an officer for his refusal to be deployed [JURIST report] to Iraq with his unit in June 2006. Last month, the judge ruled that Watada may not argue the legality of the war [JURIST report] as part of his defense. Watada's attorney, Eric Seitz, also said he will call Watada, a character witness, and an Army captain to testify. The Washington Times has more.

Watada, a 28-year-old Honolulu native who is the first commissioned officer in the US military to publicly refuse deployment to Iraq, refuses to be classified as a conscientious objector because he does not object to war in general, just to the "illegal" war in Iraq. He offered to serve in Afghanistan, but the US Army refused this request. His vocal protests and participation in rallies by Veterans for Peace [advocacy website] and Courage to Resist [advocacy website] led to the charges of conduct unbecoming an officer as well as the original charge of contempt toward officials.

[JURIST] Russian President Vladimir Putin [official profile] signed into law [press release] Monday a bill moving the Russian Constitutional Court [RIN backgrounder] from its current Moscow location to St. Petersburg. The bill received final parliamentary approval last month with a 147-2 vote [JURIST report] in Russia's Federation Council [official website.

The bill allows the Court to hold visiting sessions anywhere in the Russian Federation and the Court is also authorized to maintain a Moscow office "to ensure cooperation with the federal authorities," a provision seen as allowing some perhaps-recalcitrant judges [Kommersant backgrounder] to continue working from a Moscow base. Putin, a St. Petersburg native, has previously said that the Court is expected to begin operations in St. Petersburg in late 2007 or early 2008. AP has more.

[JURIST] Efforts by Russian prosecutors to bring new charges [MBK statement; JURIST report] against jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky [defense website; JURIST news archive] raise "serious questions about the rule of law in Russia," US State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said during a press briefing [transcript] Monday. Prosecutors charged the former Yukos CEO with money laundering and embezzlement Monday based on allegations that Khodorkovsky used his Open Russia Foundation [SourceWatch backgrounder] to funnel oil revenues away from Yukos. McCormack criticized prosecutors' actions as raising questions about the independence of Russia's judiciary, among other things, saying:

As we have commented in connection with the original trial, the continued prosecution of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the dismantlement of Yukos raise serious questions about the rule of law in Russia. Khodorkovsky and his associate, Platon Lebedev, would have been eligible to apply for parole this year, having served half of their terms. These new charges would likely preclude their early release. Many of the actions in the case against Khodorkovsky and Yukos have raised serious concerns about the independence of courts, sanctity of contracts and property rights, and the lack of a predictable tax regime. The conduct of Russian authorities in the Khodorkovsky Yukos affair has eroded Russia's reputation and confidence in Russian legal and judicial institutions. Such actions as this and other cases raise questions about Russia's commitment to the responsibilities which all democratic, free market economies countries embrace.

[JURIST] Archbishop of York John Sentamu [official website; BBC profile] criticized the British government Monday for its latest effort to extend the current 28-day maximum detention period for terror suspects [JURIST report]. UK Home Secretary John Reid said last week that in light of the complexity of the investigation of the August transatlantic airplane bombing plot [JURIST report] he would renew efforts to increase the period during which British police can hold a terror suspect without charge. In a television interview, Sentamu, the number-two cleric in the Church of England, said that a longer 90-day detention period would put the UK at risk of becoming "close to a police state" and said that the proposal reminded him of his native Uganda under the regime of notorious dictator Idi Amin [Guardian obituary]. The Yorkshire Post has more.

The terror detention limit has been an ongoing subject of controversy since 2005, when the House of Commons inflicted its first defeat [JURIST report] on the Blair government by cutting back its proposal for a 90-day period to the present 28, an extension over an earlier 14. The Blair government first re-floated the possibility of the longer limit [JURIST report] last March and in November, London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair suggested that provisions of the Terrorism Act 2006 [Home Office backgrounder] authorizing up to 28 days detention of suspects without trial - already the longest allowed in any western European country - need to be extended in the near future to improve Britain's counterterror efforts. Independent anti-terror law reviewer Lord Carlile has, however, warned lawmakers against "rushing" to make the change [JURIST report], and UK Attorney General Lord Goldsmith [official website] said during a media briefing late last year that he had not seen evidence to justify increasing the limit to 90 days [JURIST report].

[JURIST] The Canadian government has violated native Canadian children's human rights by underfunding child-welfare services for native peoples, according to the Canadian Assembly of First Nations (AFN) [advocacy website]. The group plans to file a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission this month against the federal government, alleging that the government has not adequately funded welfare programs, forcing 27,000 aboriginal children to remain in foster homes. Depending on the government's reaction, AFN may consider filing a class-action suit on behalf of native children alleging violations of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [text].

AFN National Chief Phil Fontaine [AFN profile] has said that the filing is the result of failed attempts for progress through dialogue with a disinterested government. Fontaine told the Globe & Mail that "we've always believed that it's better to negotiate appropriate arrangements. But when we discover an unresponsive government, as we have in this case, then we have to take action." The Canadian Human Rights Commission [official website] does not have the power to compel the federal government to allocate additional funds, but the AFN expects that a ruling from the Commission that the government is discriminating against aboriginals by underfunding programs for natives will persuade the federal government to increase funds.

Children on native reserves in Canada are in extremely deep poverty. The proportion of aboriginal children in foster care is 20 times the number of non-aboriginal children in foster care. First Nations child-welfare agencies also receive 22 percent less in government funds than do non-aboriginal agencies. According to an AFN Fact Sheet, native Canadian living conditions rank among those of Third World countries with unemployment rates nearly double that of their non-native counterparts. Despite this, AFN reports that First Nations receive less than half as much in federal services as non-native Canadians. The Globe & Mail has more.

[JURIST] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official profile] Monday urged the government of Lebanon to ratify an agreement with the UN to create a UN-supported international tribunal [JURIST news archive] to try suspects accused of assassinating former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [official website] in February 2005. The agreement was signed by Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Saniora [BBC profile] last week and is now with the UN for official approval. Once the document is signed by the UN, Lebanon [JURIST news archive] will need to ratify the agreement according to procedures dictated by the Lebanese constitution [text].

Nabih Berri [official profile], the pro-Syrian speaker of the Lebanese Parliament [Wikipedia backgrounder] opposes the UN agreement, which may create a barrier to its ratification since pro-Syrian Hezbollah militants [BBC backgrounder] have been staging demonstrations to increase their power in the Lebanese government. Saniora, an anti-Syrian, has so far refused to step down, but if the pro-Syrian movement takes control of the cabinet it will have veto power over government decisions including the proposed tribunal. Last November, the Lebanese cabinet approved a draft plan [JURIST report] for the tribunal despite the former resignation of all six pro-Syrian members. AP has more.

[JURIST] An American Bar Association (ABA) [profession website] panel has proposed revisions to its judicial code of conduct [DOC text] so that judges are advised to avoid impropriety but would no longer be subject to formal discipline for failing to do so. In the rewritten ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct [text, 2004 edition], judges are still instructed to "avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety," but changes in the code remove references to it being a mandatory rule, making the standard merely a suggestion to judges. The controversial amendment has both supporters and critics, and has led to the resignation of Robert Tembeckjian, administrator of the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct [official website] and a former adviser to the ABA commission. In his resignation letter Saturday, Tembeckjian said removing the mandatory language of the impropriety rule reduces the standard to a "virtually meaningless phrase."

The changes to the judicial code mark the first major revisions since 1990, but before it is formally adopted, it must be approved by the ABA's House of Delegates [ABA backgrounder] who are expected to vote on the revisions at a meeting [agenda] next week. Many states look to the ABA's code before revising their own canons for judicial conduct. Tuesday's New York Times has more.