[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Israel [official website] on Sunday ordered [PDF text, in Hebrew] that foreign reporters be given open access to the Gaza Strip unless there is a "concrete" danger to their safety. The court gave the order in response to a petition filed by the Foreign Press Association (FPA) [association website], which claimed foreign reporters had been denied access to the area before, during and after the country's recent conflict [BBC materials] with Gaza Strip combatants. According to those denied access, government officials said the ban was for their own safety, but there has been speculation that the restrictions were also imposed to prevent reporting critical of Israel. In response to the order, the FPA released a statement [FPA materials] praising the decision:

The FPA welcomes today's ruling from the Supreme Court endorsing the principle of unfettered access to the Gaza Strip for the international media. We believe this decision upholds Israel's own stated commitment to freedom of the press. The denial for such access in recent months represented a clear violation of that commitment and we are hopeful that such a situation will not recur. This is a noteworthy decision for freedom of access to journalists in situations of conflict.

[JURIST] Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert [official website] pledged Sunday to protect members of his country's military [official website] involved in Gaza operations from prosecution by foreign entities in remarks [text] at a weekly cabinet meeting. After insisting that Israeli forces had gone out of their way to avoid injuring civilians during their Gaza actions [BBC materials], Olmert said:

The State of Israel will fully back those who acted on its behalf. [Justice] Minister [Daniel] Friedmann – along with senior civil-service jurists, international and military law experts – will formulate answers to possible questions regarding IDF operations, which the self-righteous are liable to raise concerning the character of the Israeli fighting and its results. The soldiers and commanders who were sent on missions in Gaza must know that they are safe from various tribunals and that the State of Israel will assist them on this issue and defend them just as they bodily defended us during Operation Cast Lead.

[JURIST] Bolivians began voting Sunday morning on a proposed constitution [PDF text, in Spanish] supported by President Evo Morales [official website, in Spanish; BBC profile]. The proposed changes [Reuters report] would give the state control over the country's natural gas deposits, would require members of the country's supreme court [official website, in Spanish] to be elected by national vote and would give Morales himself the option of remaining in power until 2014. The referendum is widely expected to succeed [AP report] with near-unanimous support from the country's indigenous majority, which stands to gain greater representation in the Bolivian National Congress [official website, in Spanish] than it enjoys under the current constitution [text, in Spanish]. Christian groups have opposed the referendum [Wall Street Journal report], which elevates Andean deity Pachamama [BBC backgrounder] to the same level of Christianity's God and does not explicitly ban gay marriage or abortion. In addition to the constitutional referendum, Bolivian voters also were asked to approve a cap on private land holdings.

In October 2008, the Bolivian National Congress ratified [JURIST report] the proposed reforms [JURIST news archive] after Morales agreed not to run for re-election in 2014, setting up the national referendum. In August 2008, Morales won a referendum to continue his presidency, which he personally proposed in a bid to legitimize his campaign [JURIST reports] for the constitutional changes.

[JURIST] Ousted Pakistani Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry [JURIST news archive] declared Saturday that he is still the chief justice [News report] of the country's Supreme Court [official website] under Pakistan's constitution [text]. Chaudhry made the statement during a lawyers' convention in Lahore organized by the Punjab Bar Council [official website]. Addressing attendees, he maintained his position that the removal of himself and other judges following the November 2007 declaration of emergency rule [JURIST report] by then-Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf had been constitutionally invalid. He also criticized some members of the country's current judiciary for allowing his removal to stand even though they had invalidated other actions taken by Musharraf during the emergency.

In December, the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) voted down [JURIST report] a challenge to the constitutionality of current Pakistan chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar's [official profile] appointment. The challenges to Dogar were introduced by recently-elected president of the Pakistan Supreme Court Bar Association Ali Ahmad Kurd, who has taken up the charge to reinstate Chaudhry [JURIST report] as the "constitutional" chief justice of Pakistan. In November, members of the Pakistan lawyers' movement [NYT backgrounder; JURIST news archive] renewed their demands for the reinstatement [JURIST report] of all superior court judges dismissed by Musharraf's emergency rule. Although Pakistani officials have now reinstated most of the over 60 judges ousted by Musharraf, law minister Farooq Naek has repeatedly insisted that Chaudhry will not be reinstated [JURIST report] because Dogar was legitimately appointed [JURIST report].