[JURIST] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] on Tuesday called for an increased effort to uphold the "fundamental human right" to food for some 854 million around the world who suffer from chronic hunger. In a message marking World Food Day [official website], Ban called for cooperation to uphold the right to food [text], saying that:

Enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, the right to food has been strengthened through legislative measures at the international and national levels...

And yet, progress towards eradicating hunger is slow. We need to do far more to place the integrity and rights of every human being at the centre of all our efforts. We need to combine current efforts with stepped up measures to ensure participation and empowerment, accountability and transparency, human dignity and the rule of law.

[JURIST] The US House of representatives Tuesday voted 398-21 [roll call] to pass a shield bill [HR 2102 materials] that would prevent courts from compelling reporters to disclose confidential sources. The Free Flow of Information Act of 2007, sponsored by Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Rick Boucher (D-Va) [press releases], would generally allow reporters to refuse to testify as to their sources without being subject to contempt of court, but nonetheless contains exceptions for situations where the information sought is needed to prevent a terrorist act or to protect national security. The White House has threatened to veto the bill, saying that the exceptions are too narrow. The bill now goes to the Senate.

The US Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] last week voted 15-2 to send a similar shield bill [S 2035 materials] to the full Senate for consideration. The Bush administration and the US Department of Justice have continuously opposed the enactment of a federal reporter shield law [JURIST news archive] citing national security concerns, while proponents, including media outlets, argue the legislation is necessary to protect freedom of the press. AP has more.

[JURIST] US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos Tuesday summoned [press release] Jerry Yang, chief executive of Yahoo! Inc. [corporate website], to testify before a hearing next month regarding allegations that the Internet giant gave false information to Congress about its role in human rights violations committed by the Chinese government. Yahoo! had testified in a hearing [PDF text] last February in front of the House International Relations Committee [official website], where it admitted that it turned over users' personal information to the Chinese officials but argued that it could not be held liable for complying with a lawful request by a foreign government. The hearing is set for November 6.

In April, the World Organization for Human Rights USA [advocacy website] filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] against Yahoo! on behalf of an incarcerated Chinese activist, alleging that the company aided and abetted human rights violations committed by the Chinese government by providing Chinese officials with information, including e-mail records and user ID numbers, that helped them to identify pro-democracy activists. A 2006 Amnesty International report criticized [JURIST report] Yahoo! and other Internet companies for so-called "Internet oppression," alleging that Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Google have been complicit in efforts by the Chinese government to silence government critics in violation of stated corporate policies.

[JURIST] New York City is willing to discuss settlement in a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of over 9,000 firefighters and cleanup workers who may have inhaled toxic dust during the post-9/11 World Trade Center cleanup, Mayor Michael Bloomberg [official website] said Tuesday:"Every time we are sued we will always take a look and see whether there is a way to come to a settlement in everybody's interests....Plain and simple: We're just going to talk and explore." Bloomberg's statement to reporters came in response to a New York Daily News report on a client letter sent from Marc Bern [law firm profile], a lawyer representing the workers, that the city was willing to negotiate and giving them one month to allow him to enter into talks on their behalf. Until recently, the city had been reluctant to enter into settlement talks and it is still supporting a congressional measure, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act [summary, PDF; text, PDF], that would provide blanket compensation and health care for those exposed to the dust and smoke in the World Trade Centre collapse. Reuters has more. The New York Times has additional coverage.

Last October, a federal judge allowed the lawsuit to proceed [JURIST report] over city objections that it had immunity; he also dismissed claims against the previous leaseholders on the site, because they did not participate in the cleanup. The original suit was brought [JURIST report] in September 2004, on the last day possible before the statute of limitations on the action would have run out.

[JURIST] An Hispanic advocacy group filed a federal lawsuit Monday against Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry and Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson [official profiles], claiming that a recently approved state law limiting government privileges allowed illegal immigrants is unfair to all immigrants. Lawyers for the National Coalition of Latino Clergy & Christian Leaders (CONLAMIC) [advocacy website] announced the suit [CONLAMIC statement] at a press conference in front of the federal court in Tulsa, OK. The suit, though directed against Henry and Edmondson, generally attacks the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007 [HB 1804 text, RTF], which denies illegal immigrants state identification and requires all Oklahoma government agencies to verify immigrants' citizenship before conferring benefits. The bill is considered one of the toughest on illegal immigration [JURIST news archive] in the country, but CONLAMIC's legal action focuses more on the impact the bill could have after it takes effect on November 1. CONLAMIC President Miguel Rivera [advocacy profile] says that Oklahoma Hispanic evangelical churches have already lost an average of 12 percent of their membership since the state legislature passed the bill, and suggested that Hispanic emigration from the state in general has followed a similar trend [CONLAMIC bulletin].

Henry signed the bill [JURIST report] in May. Supporters praised the measure as a way to save taxpayer money, but immigrant groups criticized it for saddling Latinos with new discriminatory barriers in housing and jobs. Along with CONLAMIC, the League of United Latin American Citizens [advocacy website] and other advocacy groups have said they may challenge the law's constitutionality on the grounds that immigration policy is the responsibility of the federal government, not the state. The Tulsa World has more.

[JURIST] Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa [official website, BBC profile] said Monday that the country's newly elected Constituent Assembly [JURIST report] will consider transforming the current Constitutional Tribunal [official website] into a Constitutional Court insulated from political pressure. While the new court would still determine the constitutionality of laws, its members would be selected on the basis of merit rather than by congressional appointment. The membership of the court, now presided over by an ally of Correa, turned over [JURIST report] in June after its judges were dismissed [JURIST report] by the Ecuadorean Congress [official website] during a political battle [JURIST report] over a constitutional referendum.

The day after his party appeared to win a landslide victory in the Constituent Assembly elections earlier this month, Correa announced his intention to disband the Ecuadoran Congress [JURUST report] and rewrite the country's constitution [text, in Spanish]. The results of the elections will not be final until the Supreme Electoral Tribunal certifies them. The assembly will begin drafting a new constitution on October 31, and the final document will be subjected to a national referendum in 2008. Bloomberg has more. El Comercio has local coverage [in Spanish].

[JURIST] The United Nations Legal Counsel [official website] said Monday that an international convention may be the solution to jurisdictional problems of criminal accountability of UN officials and experts on mission [press release; background materials]. Addressing the General Assembly’s Sixth Committee, Under-Secretary-General Nicolas Michel [JURIST news archive] said that offenders comprise a very small percentage of UN workers but remain a significant concern, particularly where a country is unable to prosecute alleged criminal conduct. In September, a group of legal experts presented recommendations [UN Secretariat note] on the issue, emphasizing the need for as many member states as possible "to be able to assert and exercise criminal jurisdiction." As a short-term solution, Michel suggested that the General Assembly encourage member states to prosecute their nationals accused of committing crimes while on UN missions. The General Assembly will revisit the issue October 26.

UN officials and mission workers have been involved in a number of high-profile scandals recently. In August, Bangladesh sentenced UN Special Rapporteur Sigma Huda [JURIST report] to a three-year jail term for her involvement in a corruption scheme. While UN experts are generally granted immunity from prosecution under the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations [PDF text], UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon refused to extend immunity to Huda [JURIST report] in July, saying that the allegations against her "appear not to be related to, or otherwise fall within, her functions as special rapporteur." In January, the government of Southern Sudan joined a UN probe [JURIST report] of alleged sex crimes committed by international peacekeepers against at least twenty Sudanese children in Juba.

[JURIST] The US District Court for the District of Maryland [official website] ruled Tuesday that three of the five counts of a suit filed by the father of a fallen Marine against the renegade Westboro Baptist Church [WARNING: readers may find material at this church website offensive; BBC report] may proceed to trial. Albert Snyder sued Westboro [JURIST report] in 2006 after the church led a protest at the funeral of his son, Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder [case website] in Westminster, Maryland. Judge Richard D. Bennett dismissed claims of invasion of privacy and defamation arising from comments posted about Snyder on the Westboro website, calling them protected speech. The remainder of the suit set to begin next Monday will consider Westboro's liability for intentional infliction of emotional distress and violation of the expectation of privacy at the funeral. The Baltimore Sun has more.

Westboro and its leader Rev. Fred Phelps have staged several protests at military funerals in recent years, saying US soldiers have been killed because America tolerates homosexuals. While a spokesman for Westboro said that they are "exercising [their] First Amendment rights," the lawyer for Albert Snyder said that there is no right to interrupt a private funeral. In 2006, President Bush signed into law [JURIST report] the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act [HR 5037 summary; PDF text], prohibiting any demonstration within 300 feet of the entrance of a national cemetery and within 150 feet of an entrance into the cemetery for one hour before and after a military funeral.

[JURIST] The Nevada Supreme Court Monday issued a stay of all executions [order, PDF; press release] pending a US Supreme Court ruling in a case challenging lethal injection as unconstitutional [Baze v. Rees (07-5439) docket; certiorari petition, PDF] under the Eighth Amendment. The order issued after oral arguments [recorded audio] arrived just hours before the scheduled execution of convicted murderer William Castillo, currently the only Nevada convict facing a warrant of execution. In recent weeks, similar stays have been granted in Arizona and Texas [JURIST reports]. AP has more.

The Georgia Supreme Court Tuesday denied [order, PDF; press release, PDF] convicted killed Jack Alderman's motion to stay his scheduled Friday execution. The order said that if the United States Supreme Court

stays the execution in this and similar cases in order to consider the issue raised herein, this Court will of course comply with that determination and will closely follow every directive from that Court.

[JURIST] US Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) [official website] said Tuesday after a meeting with Attorney General nominee Michael B. Mukasey [WH fact sheet; PBWT profile] that the Senate will likely approve Mukasey without undue delay. Mukasey's confirmation hearings before the Judiciary Committee are scheduled to begin Wednesday [JURIST report; hearing notice]. Mukasey is expected to face questions on controversial issues including the US Attorney firings scandal [JURIST news archive], the investigation of alleged election crimes, the executive use of secrecy and expansion of power, and his willingness to share materials related to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) [text; JURIST news archive] investigations.

President George W. Bush formally nominated [JURIST report] Mukasey on September 17 to replace former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [JURIST news archive], who submitted his resignation [JURIST report] in August. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague Tuesday affirmed [judgment summary; press release] the November 2005 lower court acquittal [JURIST report] of former Bosnian Army commander Sefer Halilovic [ICTY case backgrounder] on war crimes charges [indictment]. In dismissing the prosecution's appeal, the five-judge panel held that prosecutors failed to demonstrate at trial that Halilovic exercised effective command over troops who allegedly murdered Bosnian Croat civilians during the 1992-1995 Bosnian civil war.

In 2005, the ICTY ruled [judgment text, PDF; press release] that prosecutors had failed to prove that Halilovic, at the time the most senior Bosnian Muslim commander to face trial at the tribunal, had a "superior-subordinate relationship" with troops that killed 62 Croat civilians in 1993 during an operation by Muslim forces to end the blockade of the city of Mostar. AP has more.

[JURIST] Microsoft said Tuesday that it will withdraw its Seoul High Court appeal of a 2006 antitrust ruling by the South Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) [official website]. Last July, Microsoft said it would comply with sanctions [JURIST report] imposed by the KFTC after the Seoul High Court rejected its request to stay the penalties pending an appeal [JURIST report; press release] and Microsoft later indicated that it has made changes to its product to meet the KFTC's requirements.

In 2005, the KFTC found that Microsoft [corporate website; JURIST news archive] had abused its dominant market position [JURIST report; KFTC findings, PDF]. The KFTC fined Microsoft the equivalent of $34 million and ordered it to provide consumers a version of Windows without bundled software. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The European Court of Justice [official website] upheld [judgment text] mandatory retirement ages in the European Union Tuesday, saying that mandatory retirement policies do not violate the prohibition against age discrimination if the policy is intended to further the legitimate public interest of increasing employment and the retirees are provided with full pensions.

The European Union [official website] prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, and sexual orientation. The EU Framework Directive for Equal Treatment in Employment and Occupation [Directive 2000/78/EC text], which is intended to implement the principle of equal treatment and eliminate inequalities within the European Union, does not prohibit national governments from instituting retirement ages. AP has more. Dow Jones has additional coverage.

[JURIST] The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) wants access to thousands of people that have been detained in Myanmar [press release] in an ongoing crackdown [JURIST report] on opponents of the ruling military junta, ICRC Director of Operations Pierre Kraehenbuehl said Tuesday. Kraehenbuehl said the ICRC has not been able to communicate with the ruling junta, and is "deeply worried" about the fate of the people arrested in Myanmar. At least 10 people have been killed by soldiers shooting into crowds during demonstrations, and a protester died during interrogation [JURIST reports] last week. Dissident groups have suggested that some hundreds and perhaps even thousands have been killed. Reuters has more.

On Monday, UN Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Myanmar Ibrahim Gambari [official profile] criticized Myanmar's detention of four more pro-democracy activists [JURIST report], urging the military government to release political prisoners and end the detention of peaceful democracy activists. Gambari is currently visiting Asian states to solicit greater support for multilateral sanctions against Myanmar. The latest detainees, all members of the 1988 Generation Students group [BBC backgrounder], were detained after Myanmar's military government rejected [JURIST report] a UN Security Council statement [text; UN News report] denouncing the country's violent reaction against peaceful demonstrators.

[JURIST] Three telecommunications companies have declined to provide information to Congress [press release] about the role they played in the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program [JURIST news archive], citing White House objections to their disclosures, national security and pending litigation. Responding by letter to a request [PDF text] made by the House Energy and Commerce Committee [official website] to disclose their involvement in the surveillance program, AT&T [PDF text], Verizon [PDF text] and Qwest [PDF text] declined to answer specific questions about their roles in domestic surveillance, according to statements released by the committee Monday. All three companies face litigation relating to the information they did disclose to the government. Verizon and other telecommunications companies have acknowledged that they usually comply with lawful demands for call records, and the companies responded to the government requests in a timely fashion without determining the legality or necessity of the requests because their compliance could save lives in criminal investigations.

AT&T told Congress that they would not answer questions in what was essentially an "oversight dispute between the Congress and the executive," and Verizon and AT&T argued that the government should be required to prove that their information requests were lawful instead of placing the burden on the telecommunications companies. AT&T said "there are important and practical reasons" for refusing to verify information requested by Congress, arguing that they ensure that a subpoena for information has been properly executed, but that their responsibilities to ensure the legality of releasing the information requested "remains procedural in nature." AT&T added that "companies in the private sector almost certainly will not have access to the underlying operational information that would be necessary to decide complex constitutional questions about the scope of presidential power" and that "the law does not assign [telecommunications companies] the primary responsibility for policing government agencies." The Energy and Commerce Committee released the response letters from the telecommunications companies as Congress prepares to debate whether to grant telecommunications companies immunity [JURIST report] in pending litigation against them for disclosing phone records and other personal information to the government. The New York Times has more. AP has additional coverage. The Washington Post has local coverage.

[JURIST] Former Alaska state Representative Tom Anderson [official profile] was sentenced to five years in prison Monday for his conviction on seven counts of bribery and corruption [JURIST report] by an Anchorage federal jury in July. Anderson, a Republican, was accused of accepting nearly $26,000 he believed to be from private correctional facilities firm Cornell Industries [corporate website] in exchange for Anderson's influence on then-pending measures on halfway houses. The deal was in fact arranged by an FBI informant inside Cornell who recorded incriminating conversations with Anderson and former lobbyist Bill Bobrick. Anderson's lawyers called the conduct entrapment, but an 11-person jury found him guilty on all counts, including extortion, bribery and money laundering. US District Judge John Sedwick sentenced Anderson to five years in prison instead of the eight years and one month the prosecution requested because Sedwick has long been an involved community member.

Anderson and Bobrick were accused of conspiring to arrange payments to Anderson from a false website dedicated to legislative issues. Bobrick, charged and convicted on one count of bribery, faces up to two and a half years in prison. Bobrick has cooperated with government officials throughout the investigation and testified against Anderson [KTUU report]. Three other Alaska state congressmen have faced federal bribery charges related to oil field services company VECO Corp [corporate website]. Former House Speaker Pete Kott was convicted in September of conspiracy to solicit financial benefits, extortion and bribery, while former Rep. Vic Kohring will begin his corruption trial next week. The trial date of the third, state Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch, has not been determined. AP has more. The Anchorage Daily News has local coverage.

[JURIST] Mercury Interactive on Monday settled [press release] derivative lawsuits filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California regarding allegations of stock options backdating. The software company, acquired [CNET report] by Hewlett Packard (HP) [corporate website] in November 2006, will pay $117.5 million as part of the largest stock option backdating settlement, which resulted from mediation and is still subject to court approval. According to the lawsuits, senior executives and general counsel backdated stock option grants to themselves and other executives and employees without accounting for the backdated options in its financial reports to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) [official website] and to stockholders. The backdated options allowed option grantees to purchase shares at a price below their market value on the date of the grant, and resulted in illicit compensation as well as the provision of false accounting and reporting information to investors. The backdating occurred from 1997 to 2005 despite a mandate instituted by stockholder vote in 1998 providing that all option grants must be priced according to the market value of Mercury stock on the grant date.

In May, the SEC settled [press release; litigation release] a lawsuit against Mercury based on allegedly improper option grants. Pursuant to the settlement with the SEC, Mercury agreed to pay $28 million in penalties and to consent to a permanent injunction against violating federal securities laws. The former senior executives and general counsel implicated in the backdating scheme still face civil fraud charges filed by the SEC. According to the SEC's allegations [complaint, PDF], the defendants approved the backdated option grants, made fraudulent disclosures to the SEC and to investors, and prepared false meeting minutes and written consents to perpetrate the scheme. In connection with those suits, the SEC seeks to bar the defendants from serving as officers or directors in public corporations, to recover profit from stock sales, and to impose civil monetary penalties and disgorgement with prejudgment interest.

HP, Mercury’s acquirer, is no stranger to allegations of corporate malfeasance. In March, a California judge dismissed felony charges [JURIST report] against four defendants who pleaded guilty to misdemeanors in the pretexting scandal [JURIST news archive] that wracked the technology giant. In December 2006, HP settled [JURIST report] an unfair business practices suit brought by California Attorney General Bill Lockyer for $14.5 million. The backdating of Mercury option grants occurred before HP's acquisition of the company, but HP nevertheless asserted that all liabilities for the backdating scandal would be handled without decreasing the value of HP's stock. AP has more. Reuters has additional coverage. The San Jose Mercury News has local coverage.