[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] on Monday appointed a special master [order, PDF] to investigate and oversee a water rights case [JURIST report; Supreme Court docket] brought by Montana against Wyoming and North Dakota. Montana officials argued in February 2007 filings [text, PDF] that Wyoming officials breached the 1950 Yellowstone River Compact [text, DOC; materials] by failing to keep consumption of water from the Tongue and Powder rivers within the compact's limits, specifically by allowing the construction of water storage facilities and the expansion of irrigation. The Court on Monday appointed lawyer Barton H. Thompson [profile] as special master

...with authority to fix the time and conditions for the filing of additional pleadings, to direct subsequent proceedings, to summon witnesses, to issue subpoenas, and to take such evidence as may be introduced and such as he may deem it necessary to call for. The Special Master is directed to submit Reports as he may deem appropriate.

[JURIST] A Bulgarian court on Monday began criminal proceedings against nine people accused of embezzling millions of dollars from European Union (EU) [official website, English] aid funds. The defendants are accused of stealing 14 million leva ($9.6 million) from funds made available to Bulgaria by the EU as part of the Special Accession Program for Agricultural and Rural Development (SAPARD) [official website]. The suspected criminal network, made up of more than 50 Bulgarian, European, and offshore companies, is allegedly controlled by Mario Nikolov and Lyudmil Stoykov. Charges were filed against Nikolov and his wife, but no charges have been filed against Stoykov. The Sofia Echo has local coverage.

A probe was launched more than two years ago on a tip from the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) [official website]. The reported widespread abuse spurred the EU into freezing projects [JURIST report] worth millions of dollars in July. This is reportedly the first case of its kind in Bulgaria, which only joined the EU in 2007.

[JURIST] US military and civilian prosecutors have petitioned [motion, PDF] to have the prison term for Salim Ahmed Hamdan [DOD materials; JURIST news archive] reconsidered, arguing that the Guantanamo military commission which heard his case improperly gave him credit for time spent in custody, according to documents released [WSJ report] to the Wall Street Journal last week. Hamdan was sentenced to five and a half years in prison in August, following his conviction [JURIST reports] of providing material support for terrorism [charge sheet, PDF], but was credited for the five years he has been detained since charges were first brought against him. In the filing, prosecutors argued that Hamdan's detention in Guantanamo Bay was as an enemy combatant, and therefore was unconnected to the charges for which he was convicted. Hamdan's defense has argued [filing, PDF] in opposition that the commission had appropriately exercised its discretion by granting the credit, and that the government's motion violated procedural rules of the commission. The government has now filed a reply [PDF text] to the defense's filing. SCOTUSblog has more.

Hamdan has been in US custody since 2001, when he was captured in Afghanistan and accused of working as Osama Bin Laden's driver. In 2006 he successfully challenged US President George W. Bush's military commission system when the Supreme Court ruled [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] that the commission system as initially constituted violated US and international law. Congress subsequently passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 [DOD materials], which established the current military commissions system. In April, Hamdan announced that he planned to boycott his military commission trial, and in May a military judge delayed the trial [JURIST reports] until July. A judge in the US District Court for the District of Columbia later rejected [JURIST report] a bid by Hamdan's lawyers to stay his trial, ruling that a civilian court should refrain from reviewing the case until the military commission issues a final judgment. In July, the military court denied [JURIST report] Hamdan's motion to dismiss the charges against him, holding that the military commission assigned to his trial had jurisdiction to hear the case.

[JURIST] The High Criminal Court in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday began the trial [Turkish Daily News report] of 86 defendants accused of attempting to destabilize and overthrow the country's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) [party website]. The accused are said to belong to the secular Ergenekon [BBC backgrounder] group, believed responsible for bombing the headquarters of the newspaper Cumhuriyet [newspaper website, in Turkish], assassinating Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink [BBC obituary; JURIST news archive], and planning other attacks to provoke a military coup to topple the AKP. Among those on trial are journalists, intellectuals, and Turkish Workers' Party [party website, in Turkish] leader Dogu Perincek [personal website, in Turkish; JURIST report]. Shortly after the trial began on Monday, protests disrupted the proceedings, causing them to be temporarily suspended. The trial is scheduled to resume on Thursday when the presiding judge will consider a defense motion that he be removed for bias. BBC News has more. Anatolian Agency has local coverage.

When the defendants in the case were indicted in July, the court's chief prosecutor said that he planned to make additional indictments, but that the trials for those suspects [JURIST reports] would be held separately. Critics allege that the AKP has improperly investigated secular groups as part of a drive to impose Islamic principles [Ha'aretz report] in violation of the country's secular constitution [text], and that the link between the group and the alleged plots is weak [Hürriyet op-ed]. In March, Turkish Chief Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya petitioned the country's Constitutional Court to disband the AKP [JURIST report] for allegedly working to undermine the nation's secular principles. The Court rejected his bid [JURIST report] in August.

[JURIST] Spanish prosecutors Monday challenged a probe launched by Judge Baltasar Garzon [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] into the disappearances of tens of thousands of people from the beginning of the Spanish Civil War [BBC backgrounder] through the early years of Francisco Franco's dictatorship [BBC backgrounder], asserting that any wartime disappearances and executions are covered by Spain's 1977 amnesty law, passed to aid Spain in moving past Franco. Garzon, who launched his investigation last week [JURIST report], has argued that the mass disappearances constituted crimes against humanity and there is no applicable statute of limitations. Members of Spain's conservative minority Popular Party [official website, in Spanish] have also voiced their objection to the investigation, arguing [AFP report] that it would reopen old wounds. Reuters has more; the International Herald Tribune has additional coverage.

The Spanish parliament passed legislation [JURIST report; text] in 2007 condemning the Franco government, acknowledging its victims and setting aside money to compensate them. Garzon, widely known for his high-profile investigations of terror and human rights cases, previously called for the creation of a "truth commission" [JURIST report] to uncover Franco-era abuses. In September he began assembling a definitive registry [JURIST report] of the tens of thousands of victims of the Spanish Civil War and the Franco regime.

[JURIST] The Communist Party of China (CPC) [official website; CFR backgrounder] Central Committee Sunday issued a new policy paper liberalizing the country's land use laws in an effort to decrease rural poverty and increase the country's agricultural capacity. The CPC announced its approval [JURIST report] of the Decision on Major Issues Concerning the Advancement of Rural Reform and Development last week. The reforms give farmers - for the first time - broader autonomy to sell or borrow against their land use rights and establish a financial infrastructure to allow for larger and more efficient farms. Critics worry that the new system will leave some landlords and many landless farmers without land to work. In response, the CPC maintained [Xinhua report] that the government would vigilantly protect the nation's farmland by adhering to a "most stringent land conservation system" to control the total area of land that is not used for farming. AP has additional coverage.

These reforms come as the Chinese government continues to take steps towards a more democratic, capitalist structure while addressing international criticism for alleged human rights abuses. In September, the State Council of China [official website] issued regulations [JURIST report] implementing ambiguous provisions of the Labor Contract Law [backgrounder] that was viewed as a major advancement [Bloomberg report] in China's protection of workers' rights.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] on Monday granted certiorari [order list, PDF] in the case of Flores-Figueroa v. United States (08-108) [docket; cert. petition, PDF]. The Court will consider whether the government must show that the defendant had actual knowledge that the means of identification he used belonged to another person in order to prove aggravated identity theft under 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1) [text]. The Justice Department [official website] has used this law to bring aggravated identity theft cases against illegal immigrants, many of whom do not know that their fake identifications belong to someone else.

Also Monday, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in the capital case of Walker v. Georgia (08-5385) [docket; cert. petition, PDF], in which the Court was asked to consider whether Georgia's current administration of the state's death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment standard, prohibiting arbitrariness and discrimination. The petitioner alleged that the Georgia Supreme Court failed to conduct meaningful proportionality review, and to enforce reporting requirements. Justice John Paul Stevens issued a statement [PDF] in which he emphasized that the Court’s denial has no precedential effect and said that the petitioner’s submission was supported by the Court's prior opinions evaluating the constitutionality of the Georgia statute. Justice Clarence Thomas concurred [PDF] in the denial of certiorari.

[JURIST] Opening arguments began Monday in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey in the criminal trial [materials] of five men accused of plotting to kill US soldiers at Fort Dix [official website]. The accused, all foreign-born Muslims in their 20s, are charged [JURIST report] with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and weapons offenses. In his opening arguments, Deputy US Attorney William Fitzpatrick argued that the accused were inspired by al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. Defense lawyers are expected to question the role of two paid government informants who made hundreds of hours of secret recordings in the case. The defense contends there was no plot but the government paid informants to get the accused to discuss one. AP has more.

The five suspects, Serdar Tatar, Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, Dritan Duka, Eljvir Duka, and Shain Duka, were arrested [JURIST report] in May 2007 for allegedly plotting to sneak onto the New Jersey military base and kill soldiers. They pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] in January. Their trial is expected to last into December. In March an accomplice, Agron Abdullahu, was sentenced [JURIST report] to 20 months in prison after pleading guilty [JURIST report] to charges of conspiring to provide firearms and ammunitions to the other five men.

[JURIST] The former vice mayor of Beijing, Liu Zhihua, has been given a suspended death sentence for bribery and corruption, according to state media reports [Xinhua report] Sunday. Liu had been in charge of construction projects for China's capital city in preparation for the 2008 Olympic games. He had been elected to the position in 1999 and served until June 2006, when it was alleged that he received 6.97 million yuan ($1.02 million) in exchange for providing contracts, loans, and other favorable promotions for others. Six months after his removal, Liu was dismissed from the Communist Party of China (CPC) [official website; CFR backgrounder]. The death sentence was delayed for two years, which likely means that if Liu exhibits good behavior he will given life imprisonment. Liu's lawyer said he will likely appeal the verdict. AP has more. BBC News has additional coverage.

China has ramped up its anti-corruption efforts in the last couple of years. In 2007 the country established [Xinhua report] a National Bureau of Corruption Prevention (NBCP) to stop abuses of power and ensure China's compliance with the UN Convention Against Corruption [UN materials], which China signed in 2005. In 2006 over 97,000 Chinese officials were found guilty of bribery and other financial misconduct [BBC report].