[JURIST] The Chinese People's Court in Chamdo prefecture sentenced eight Tibetan monks to prison last month, including two to life sentences, according to Tibetan activist group Free Tibet [advocacy website] Tuesday. The eight monks were arrested by Chinese authorities in April [JURIST news archive] in connection with the March bombing of a government building. The bombing took place during widespread protests against Chinese rule in Tibet [BBC backgrounder]. Free Tibet cited [Free Tibet press release] a "very reliable source in the region," saying:

The legal proceedings against the monks have been shrouded in complete secrecy, according to the source. Normally relatives of the accused would be informed of the nature of the alleged charges, and also of the sentencing. It is also unusual that, in a case concerning an alleged bombing, the sentencing of the convicted is not carried out in a public court.

According to the source, the case against the monks has been mounted in the absence of even the most basic level of legal oversight and due process: from the time of arrest to sentencing the monks were denied all access to family and legal counsel; the nature of the charges and the eventual sentencing has not been made public by the court. Relatives of the monks had expected them to be released after the Olympics. Instead the monks were sentenced following the Games, although family relatives were not informed of the sentences. Details of the sentencing had come from an undisclosed contact of the source.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] heard oral arguments [day call] Monday in three cases, including Pearson v. Callahan [Cornell LII backgrounder; merit briefs], 07-751, in which the Court will review a July 2007 ruling [opinion, PDF] by the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit allowing individuals to directly sue police officers who enter their home without a search warrant to conduct a search and seizure. The Court will consider whether there exists a "consent once removed" exception to the Fourth Amendment [LII materials] that would allow police to enter a home without a warrant when an undercover informant inside the home signals that a drug sale is in progress. Supporting the petitioners during Monday's arguments [transcript], Deputy Solicitor General Malcolm Stewart said:

[O]ur principal contention is ... that once a person has, even unknowingly, admitted a government agent into his home, his expectation of privacy is sharply reduced and the entry of the officers works an insubstantial incremental invasion of privacy.... It's true that the informant here lacked the training and skills that - and integrity, for that matter, that you would expect a police officer to have. But he was for Fourth Amendment purposes a government agent a State actor.

[JURIST] Bolivian President Evo Morales [official website, in Spanish; BBC profile] on Monday joined [press release, in Spanish] an estimated 10,000 supporters [AP report] as they began a 120-mile march from Caracollo to La Paz seeking congressional approval [JURIST report] of a national referendum on proposed reforms to the country's constitution [text]. Morales, who will not participate in the entire walk, said the demonstration was intended to persuade the Bolivian National Congress [official website, in Spanish] to set a date for the referendum, which cannot move forward without the support of two-thirds of Congress. Morales said he expected the march to grow to more than a million participants by the time it reaches La Paz next week. BBC News has more. La Razon has local coverage, in Spanish.

Controversy has surrounded Morales' proposed constitutional amendments, which would distribute more of Bolivia's land and energy resource income to the country's indigenous population. Weeks of regional protests in affluent states opposing such income redistribution culminated in the president's accusation [AFP report] in September that opposition governors were engaged in a "civil coup against democracy." Several states have declared autonomy, and a provincial governor who refused to recognize Morales' September 12 declaration of martial law [Reuters report] in Pando province was later arrested [JURIST report] on genocide charges in connection with the deaths of several Morales supporters [CBC report] during demonstrations. Morales defended the governor's arrest [Reuters report] as "legal and constitutional."

[JURIST] The Constitutional Court of Thailand [official website, in Thai] on Tuesday agreed to consider [Bangkok Post report] dissolving the ruling People's Power Party (PPP) [party website, in Thai] and two others because of election fraud allegedly committed by one of the PPP's top officers. Former PPP deputy leader Yongyuth Tiyapairat was convicted of organizing a vote-buying scheme [Bangkok Post report] by the court in July, and under Thai law the PPP and associated parties could be banned for connection with the crime. The case was brought before the court [JURIST report] by the country's Office of the Attorney General (OAG) last week after a September recommendation [Bangkok Post report] by the country's Election Commission [official website, in Thai] to break up the party because of the alleged fraud. If disbanded, a number of high-ranking government officials, including prime minister Somchai Wongsawat [Nation backgrounder], would lose their positions and be barred from political office for five years. AFP has more. The Straits Times has additional coverage.

The issue comes before the court as the PPP party faces broad public criticism and protests [AFP report] opposing its rule. In late September, the Election Commission said it would begin an investigation [Bangkok post report; JURIST report] into allegations that Wongsawat illegally holds stocks in companies which operate under government contracts. Earlier that month, then-prime minister and PPP founder Samak Sundaravej [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] instituted a controversial state of emergency [JURIST report] to quell the demonstrations, but was later removed from office after receiving illegal compensation for an appearance on a television cooking show. The PPP has also been closely associated with ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive], now on trial in absentia for corruption. In May 2007 the Constitutional Court dissolved Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party [JURIST report].

[JURIST] Four former Bosnian Serb officers have been arrested on suspicions of crimes against humanity [BiH Criminal Code Article 172, PDF] in connection with the August 1992 massacre of 200 civilians in Koricanske Stijene, the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia & Herzegovina said [press release] Tuesday. Milorad Skrbic, Milorad Radakovic, Gordan Duric, and Ljubisa Cetic were arrested on allegations that they, along with members of the so-called "Intervention Squad" and the police force SJB Prijedor [UNSC report], removed more than 200 civilian Bosnian Muslims and Croats from buses as they were transported from Prijedor and shot them. The suspects' homes have been searched and they will now be questioned by the Prosecutor's Office [official website] as further action is considered. Reuters has more.

In 2004, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] sentenced [press release] former Bosnian Serb "Intervention Squad" officer Darko Mrdja [ICTY backgrounder, PDF] to 17 years in prison for "unloading, guarding, escorting, shooting and killing" the victims at Koricanske Stijene. The Bosnian Prosecutor's Office works in tandem with the War Crimes Chamber [HRW backgrounder] of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina [official website; JURIST news archive], which was established to alleviate the caseload of the ICTY. The War Crimes Chamber will continue to hear cases as the ICTY winds down in 2010.

[JURIST] US President George W. Bush Monday signed into law [WH press release] a bill that will provide for additional intellectual property (IP) rights enforcement resources and stronger penalties for violators of those rights. The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008 [PDF text; LOC materials], allows for three times the assessed damages to be awarded against those who counterfeit protected goods, strengthens criminal laws relating to IP infringement, and allows the government broad authority to seize any materials or goods relating to infringement investigations. It also provides additional funding for investigations into alleged infringement and creates a position for an Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, a presidential appointee who would coordinate IP investigations among government agencies. The Recording Industry Association of America [trade website] had strongly supported [press release] the bill, saying that it will help protect the interest of copyright holders. Advocacy group Public Knowledge [advocacy website] has criticized [press release] the bill, saying that it will exacerbate problems with existing US IP laws which put too many restrictions on the use of what should be public information. Reuters has more. Out-Law has additional coverage.

Other countries are also increasing efforts to expand the scope of protected intellectual property, largely in response to US concerns. In July Canadian Industry Minister Jim Prentice [official profile] introduced new federal copyright legislation [press release, JURIST report] designed to strengthen penalties against infringement. In February, the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), released a report [text, PDF] asserting that China, Russia and Canada are the main violators of US copyright law [JURIST report]. IIPA and US officials have described Canadian copyright law as the most lax among the G7 nations.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] on Monday rejected a petition [order list, PDF] to hear a Georgia death row inmate's appeal, lifting a stay on his execution, while agreeing to hear a case dealing with supplemental jurisdiction. The court declined to grant certiorari in the case of Troy Anthony Davis [defense website], who was convicted of killing an off-duty police officer in 1989. According to defense lawyers, key witnesses against Davis have recanted their testimony, and others say another person has since confessed to the killing. The Court stayed Davis' execution [JURIST report], which had been scheduled for September [GA AG press release], pending consideration of his case. The certiorari denial lifts that stay, allowing Georgia to set a new execution date. The Court had previously denied a petition for certiorari in the case, and the Georgia Supreme Court [official website] in March denied [court docket; opinion summary] Davis's request for a new trial. The Atlanta Journal Constitution has more.

In the case granted certiorari, Carlsbad Technology, Inc. v. HIF Bio, Inc. (07-1437) [docket; cert. petition], the Court will consider whether a district court's order remanding a case to state court following its discretionary decision not to exercise supplemental jurisdiction [text, 28 USC 1367(c)] is subject to appellate review. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled [opinion, PDF] that such an order is barred from review [text, 28 USC 1447(d)] as a remand for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

[JURIST] Ukrainian president Victor Yushchenko [official website] Monday abolished the Kiev District Court by decree [decree 922/2008 text, in Ukrainian] after it decided Saturday to block a previous presidential decree dissolving parliament and directing parliamentary elections in the wake of the collapse of the governing coalition. The Kiev court made the ruling against the elections in response to a lawsuit brought by Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko [personal website] against Yushchenko and Ukraine's Central Election Commission (CEC) [official website] claiming that the election was called earlier than indicated by law. Monday's decree establishes two administrative courts to replace the district court. Additionally, Yushchenko issued another decree [decree 923/2008 text, in Ukrainian] designed to further safeguard the voting rights of citizens and the vote itself, which is scheduled for December 7. Political allies of Tymoshenko have said they will continue to oppose the elections. AP has more. RIA Novosti has additional coverage.

Ukraine's leadership is seriously divided in the wake of the 2004 Orange Revolution [backgrounder] that brought Yushchenko to power as president. The populist Tymoshenko was originally a Yushchenko ally, but more recently has become disaffected, leading to the collapse of the government [press release] over disagreements on both domestic and international issues.

[JURIST] Sudan Justice Minister Abdel-Basit Sabdarat said Monday that a special prosecutor named [JURIST report] to investigate and try war crimes suspects from the country's Darfur region [JURIST news archive] has almost completed reports on some crimes in the region, though a time frame for trials has not yet been established. Sabdarat did specify that militia commander Ali Kushayb [TrialWatch profile; ICC arrest warrant, PDF], wanted by the ICC on suspicion of 51 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, will be among those tried by the country's war crimes tribunal. The International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] in The Netherlands currently handles such proceedings, but if Sudanese domestic courts are created with appropriate human rights and accountability safeguards, the ICC is required to hand over jurisdiction under Article 16 of the Rome Statute [text, PDF]. AP has more. The Sudan Tribune has local coverage.

The Sudanese announcement is seen largely as a reaction to the controversial effort [JURIST report] by ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo to seek an arrest warrant [application, PDF; ICC press release] for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir [BBC profile, JURIST news archive]. Both the League of Arab States (LAS) and the African Union (AU) [official websites] have criticized [JURIST report] the warrant bid and underlying indictment, saying they threaten peace in the unstable country.