[JURIST] Hundreds of supporters of suspended Pakistani Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry [official website; JURIST news archive] gathered in the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore Saturday, showering Chaudhry with rose petals as he prepared to depart to the city of Multan to address a group of lawyers. Supporters and members of the opposition party also waved banners urging Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to resign and supporting judicial independence.

On Thursday, an estimated 5,000 lawyers and opposition members protested Chaudhry's March 9 suspension [JURIST report] in Lahore. The lawyers were participating in a once-a-week boycott in cities across Pakistan. In May, similar demonstrations led to clashes between protesters and police [JURIST report]. On Tuesday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid M. Kasuri [official profile] said that Musharraf will not resort to martial law [JURIST report] in the midst of the protests because it would be "unconstitutional." Anne Woods Patterson, current nominee to serve as US ambassador to Pakistan, testified before Congress Wednesday that the State Department is confident that Musharraf's government will respect the ruling of the Supreme Court of Pakistan [official website] on the chief justice's removal, adding that she was confident that Musharraf will not declare a state of emergency and suspend the constitution. AFP has more.

[JURIST] EU leaders reached an agreement on a proposed constitutional treaty [JURIST news archive] following two days of tough negotiations early Saturday, compromising to reach a deal which will be the basis for the Intergovernmental Conference to author the text of the treaty at the end of 2007. The proposed treaty, which EU leaders hope will be ratified before 2009 EU parliamentary elections, satisfied key objections from the UK and Polish government. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair [official website] outlined four-non-negotiable "red lines" [JURIST report] earlier this week, objecting in particular to any proposed incorporation of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights [European Parliament materials], which EU leaders agreed will not affect UK law. The agreement also delayed the adoption of a proposed "double majority" voting system until 2014, which will be phased in a period of three years. Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski has previously threatened to veto any proposed treaty [JURIST report] unless it were voting rights similar to those established in the 200 Nice Treaty, which established a qualified majority voting system [BBC backgrounder] that gave Poland more power. The "double majority" proposal will require at least 55 percent of the ministers inn the Council of the European Union to vote in favor of a measure, but also requires that the minister voting in favor represent at least 65 percent of the EU's total population.

The treaty - in effect a cut-down version of the stalled European constitution [JURIST news archive] - will create a full time EU president, as well as organize regular meetings of EU heads of states. A European office for an unified foreign minister will also be created, and will be provided the resources and support to represent the EU as a single body. The reforms will also slim down the European Commission beginning in 2014, and transfer more power to the European Parliament. Current EU Council President and German Chancellor Angela Merkel [official website] described as a "significant step" forward [press release] for the European Union to act as a unified body. BBC News has more. AP as additional coverage.

[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website] began judicial proceedings Friday in the trial of Rwandan Catholic priest Hormisdas Nsengimana [ICTR case backgrounder], who is indicted [PDF text] on four counts including genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, and crimes against humanity for murder and extermination for allegedly collaborating and ordering students to collaborate with the marauding Rwandan interahamwe [BBC backgrounder], as well as personally killing Tutsis during the 1994 Rwandan genocide [BBC backgrounder]. AFP has more.

On Thursday, the ICTR issued an arrest warrant against another Rwandan Catholic priest, Wenceslas Munyeshyaka [ICTR case backgrounder], who has been indicted [PDF text] with four counts including genocide and crimes against humanity for rape, extermination, and murder. Munyeshyaka, currently believed to be residing in France, is the fourth Roman Catholic clergyman to be charged by the ICTR. The ICTR is expected to finish its work by 2009, and has already moved to transfer some genocide cases [JURIST report] to Rwandan courts after the Rwandan parliament abolished the death penalty [JURIST report]. AFP has more.