[JURIST] Pakistani Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry [official website; JURIST news archive] resumed his duties on the Supreme Court of Pakistan [official website] Saturday, a day after the high court reinstated Chaudhry and dismissed all charges of misconduct [order; JURIST report] alleged by President Pervez Musharraf. A presidential spokesperson told state media that Musharraf respected the judicial verdict, and reiterated Musharraf's commitment to "work within the confines of the constitution" [JURIST report]. Thousands of lawyers and opposition members celebrated the verdict Friday, and the opposition has requested Musharraf step down from office.

Many Pakistani lawyers and opposition leaders have alleged that Chaudhry's March 9 suspension [JURIST report] was an indirect bid by Musharraf to forestall any legal challenges if Musharraf seeks to extend his eight-year rule by another five years later this year. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US District Court of the Western District of Virgina on Friday sentenced three former executives of the Purdue Frederick Company [corporate website], manufacturer of painkiller OxyContin [FDA materials], to three years of probation and 400 hours of community service in drug treatment programs. The three executives, including former president Michael Friedman, former chief in house counsel Howard R. Udell, and former medical director Paul D. Goldenheim [plea agreements, PDF], all pleaded guilty [JURIST report] in May to a misdemeanor offense of misbranding a drug. Prosecutors had alleged that the company and executives were aware in 1995 that doctors were concerned about the drug's high addiction risk, but its sales representatives continued to misrepresent OxyContin's effects to physicians. Purdue Frederick welcomed the sentencing [press release, PDF] as a conclusion of a agreed to pay $634.5 million [plea agreement, PDF] in fines for its role in misleading the public. OxyContin, which is a schedule II controlled substance [backgrounder] and is designed to release its active ingredient over a period of time, has become increasingly abused because its time-release mechanism can be easily disrupted for illicit use. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said Saturday that the government in Gaza Strip is replacing Palestinian Authority courts with a judicial panel consisting of an Islamic legal scholar, a military court lawyer, and a prison warden. Abu Zuhri said that the panel would not impose Islamic law, but will be able to apply it if all parties consent to its use in the resolution of their dispute. The judiciary in the Gaza Strip [BBC backgrounder], under orders from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas [BBC profile], has refused to cooperate with the Hamas government and ceased functioning since Hamas [BBC backgrounder] violently took over the territory in June. The committee is now expected to begin considering criminal cases that ordinarily would have been dealt with by the courts.

Palestinian infighting between the Islamist-Hamas and secular-Fatah Movement [BBC backgrounder] has led to the establishment of two parallel Palestinian governments in the West Bank and Gaza. Hamas, which was elected as the ruling party [JURIST report] of the Palestinian Authority in early 2006, has refused to distance itself from terrorism or recognize Israel's right to exist as a nation-state, resulting in increased ostracism by the United States, the European Union, and Israel. AP has more.

[JURIST] French authorities arrested five suspects accused of involvement in the 1994 Rwanda genocide [BBC backgrounder] Friday, including Rwandan Catholic priest Wenceslas Munyeshyaka [TrialWatch profile] and former civil servant Laurent Bucyibaruta, who may be extradited to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website] in Tanzania. Munyeshyaka is accused of repeatedly participating in the selection of Tutsi that were to be killed, as well as serving as an informant against Hutus who aided Tutsis. Munyeshyaka is also believed have participated in the rape of several women. Both suspects were arrested on international warrants issued by the ICTR on June 21.

Authorities said it is possible that the suspects will be tried in France, as magistrates have opened an investigation at the request of victims who survived the genocide. The ICTR, which is expected to complete its work by 2009, has transferred genocide cases [JURIST report] to Rwandan courts after the Rwandan government abolished the death penalty [JURIST report]. AP has more.