[JURIST] Drug maker Pfizer [corporate website] reached a settlement Friday with the Nigerian state of Kano in a lawsuit over allegedly illegal clinical trials the company conducted in Nigeria in 1996. The national government and the state of Kano filed separate lawsuits [BBC backgrounder] against Pfizer in 2007, accusing the company of administering meningitis medication to 200 Nigerian children, including 100 with the then-experimental antibiotic Trovan [FDA backgrounder], without the authorization of the Nigerian government or the consent of the patients' guardians. They also alleged that the testing killed 11 children and incapacitated 181 others, demanding a total of $8.5 billion in damages. Pfizer has consistently denied the allegations [statement of defense, PDF], and has said that the company's actions were both ethical and beneficial [press release]. Under the agreement, Pfizer is expected to pay $75 million [AFP report] in compensation. The details of the settlement have not yet been finalized [Reuters report], but the Nigerian federal government is expected to withdraw its case once they have been.

In October, Pfizer expressed hope [JURIST report] that a settlement could be reached after ongoing negotiations [JURIST report] in the case. In 2007, a Nigerian court rejected a request by Pfizer [JURIST report] to dismiss the Nigerian government's lawsuit on technical grounds. Also last year, criminal court proceedings against Pfizer were suspended [JURIST report] at the request of prosecutors, who asked for more time to prepare for trial.

[JURIST] French President Nicholas Sarkozy [official profile; JURIST news archive] said Friday that his country would accept one Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainee in a symbolic effort to aid the closure of the detention center. Sarkozy made the announcement ahead of this weekend's North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) [official website] summit in Strasbourg, France and Kehl, Germany. According to reports, the detainee that would be taken in by France could be of Algerian origin [AFP report]. Sarkozy congratulated US President Barack Obama [official profile] on his January decision to order the closure of Guantanamo [executive order; JURIST report] during the first meeting between the two heads of state this week.

Obama's order directed that the military prison be closed "as soon as practicable, and no later than 1 year from the date of this order," and also instructed Secretary of Defense Robert Gates immediately to halt military commission [DOD materials; JURIST news archive] proceedings pending a comprehensive review of all Guantanamo detentions under the supervision of the Attorney General. The order did not specify where detainees would go upon release, but did call for diplomatic efforts with foreign states in order to facilitate the closure of the facility. Last month, top officials from the Obama administration met with leaders from the European Union (EU) [official website; JURIST news archive] to discuss plans to transfer [JURIST report] Guantanamo Bay detainees to European countries. Individual member states have also indicated their openness to accepting detainees, including Lithuania, Ireland, Germany, and Portugal [JURIST reports]. Other states have expressed reservations about accepting detainees, including Poland and Spain, while Italy [JURIST reports] and the Netherlands [AFP report] have said they will not accept detainees.

[JURIST] Australian Minister of Indigenous Affairs Jenny Macklin [official profile] announced Friday that the country has endorsed [statement] the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [text, PDF]. The move reverses the position of the country's former administration on the declaration. Macklin said the decision by the country's current Labor Party [official website] government to sign the declaration was rooted in its desire to improve relations with the nation's indigenous people:

Today we celebrate the great privilege all Australians have to live alongside the custodians of the oldest continuing cultures in human history. We recognise the right of Indigenous Australians to practise, revitalise and sustain their cultural, religious and spiritual traditions and customs. We celebrate the vital positive contribution of Indigenous culture to Australia. And we honour Indigenous Australians who so generously share their culture, knowledge and traditions. We pay tribute to them, to their ancestors and the generations to come. In supporting the Declaration, Australia today takes another important step towards re-setting relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Working together to close the gap.

[JURIST] The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website] on Friday announced the appointment [press release] of South African judge Richard Goldstone to head a UN fact-finding mission to investigate alleged Israeli war crimes [JURIST news archive] in the Gaza Strip. Goldstone previously served as the chief UN prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda [official websites]. British law professor Christine Chinkin [official profile], Pakistani lawyer Hina Jilani, and retired Irish army colonel Desmond Travers have been appointed to travel with Goldstone to Gaza. In comments after being appointed, Goldstone said he hoped to be able to accurately answer whether Israel committed war crimes in Gaza:

It is in the interest of all Palestinians and Israelis that the allegations of war crimes and serious human rights violations related to the recent conflict on all sides be investigated. It is my hope that the findings of this mission will make a meaningful contribution to the peace process in the Middle East and to providing justice for the victims.

[JURIST] The French National Assembly [official website, in French] voted 29-4 Thursday to accept a provision in a new bill [materials, in French] that would cut off internet access for those who repeatedly illegally download copyrighted material. Under the bill, any internet user tagged by an ISP as downloading the material would initially receive a warning, followed by up to a one-year ban for the second offense. Users would be responsible for controlling the use of their own connections, and the High Authority for the Distribution of Works and the Protection of Rights on the Internet [materials, in French], referred to as "Hadopi" by local media, would use discretion in determining whether to ban offending users. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry [organization website], representing the worldwide recording industry, has welcomed the legislation [press release], while French consumer interest group UFC-Que Choisir [advocacy website] has denounced it [press release, in French] as ineffective. The final text of the legislation in its entirety is due to be debated next Thursday.

The assembly began considering the bill [JURIST report] in March after it passed through the French senate in October 2008, following in the wake of other nations' attempts to balance protecting copyrighted materials with privacy concerns. In December, the Recording Industry Association of America [association website] dropped [JURIST report] a number of lawsuits against illegal file-sharers after some of the defendants counter-sued the association [JURIST report] for tactics it used to track their internet use. In January 2008, the European Court of Justice [official website] held [judgment; JURIST report] that telecommunication companies operating in Spain were not obligated to disclose the identities of internet users suspected of illegal file sharing. In July 2007, a Belgium court ordered a file sharing website to filter or block access [JURIST report] to users sharing copyrighted material.

[JURIST] The Mexican Senate [official website, in Spanish] on Thursday passed an amendment [Article 107 draft, in Spanish] to the country's constitution [text, PDF, in Spanish] that would permit seizure of property from suspected drug traffickers and other criminals prior to conviction. Under the proposed amendment, which will now be sent to the lower house, prosecutors may seek the seizure [Jornada report, in Spanish] of property and income derived from organized crime, including illegal narcotic sales and kidnapping. Currently, a conviction on the charges is required before property can be seized. The proceeds of the seizures will be used to pay for criminal investigations and to compensate victims. The bill passed only after safeguards for tenants and landlords who are uninvolved in crime were included.

The proposed amendment is part of Mexico's latest effort to combat drug-related violence and corruption. In October, reports indicated that both the Assistant Attorney General’s Office Specializing in Organized Crime (SIEDO) and the US Embassy in Mexico had been infiltrated [JURIST report] by a branch of the Sinaloa drug cartel, which payed officials to turn over confidential information. The chief of Mexico's Federal Preventative Police resigned [JURIST report] in connection to the investigation. In November, Mexican authorities detained [JURIST report] former assistant attorney general Noe Ramirez, one-time head of SIEDO, on accusations of receiving monthly payments of $450,000 from the Pacifico drug cartel.

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Iowa [official website] held [opinion, PDF] Friday that a statute [Iowa Code § 595.2 text] banning same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive] violates the state's constitution [text]. In the ruling, the court affirmed a lower court's decision that the statute's limitation of civil marriage to opposite-sex couples violated the equal protection rights of same-sex couples. The case was brought by advocacy group Lambda Legal [advocacy website], which argued that disallowing the marriages denied same-sex couples the right to make end-of-life decisions regarding their partner, access to numerous tax and employer benefits, and certain public recognition that comes with marriage. In defense of the law, the state said the limitation promoted procreation, child rearing by both biological parents, conservation of state resources, and the traditional definition of marriage. The court held that, where the limitation did serve state interests, it did not adequately target those interests to justify the ban on same-sex marriage:

We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective. The legislature has excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification. There is no material fact, genuinely in dispute, that can affect this determination.

We have a constitutional duty to ensure equal protection of the law. Faithfulness to that duty requires us to hold Iowa’s marriage statute, Iowa Code section 595.2, violates the Iowa Constitution. To decide otherwise would be an abdication of our constitutional duty. If gay and lesbian people must submit to different treatment without an exceedingly persuasive justification, they are deprived of the benefits of the principle of equal protection upon which the rule of law is founded. Iowa Code section 595.2 denies gay and lesbian people the equal protection of the law promised by the Iowa Constitution.

[JURIST] The Vermont House of Representatives [official website] on Thursday passed a bill [S-115, PDF] approving same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive]. The bill, aimed at "promot[ing] legal equality in the civil marriage laws and ... protect[ing] the religious freedom of clergy and religious societies authorized to solemnize civil marriages," was approved by a margin of 95-52 [roll call vote], which falls short of the two-thirds majority needed to override an expected veto [JURIST report] from Governor Jim Douglas (R) [official website]. According to Vermont Freedom to Marry [advocacy website], the approval followed a five hour debate [text] in front of numerous supporters. The bill must be voted on again [AP report] by the House for final approval, but is expected to pass.

The Vermont State Senate approved the bill [JURIST report] last week by a vote of 26-4. If the proposed legislation passes, Vermont would join Massachusetts [JURIST news archive] and Connecticut [JURIST report] in extending marriage rights to same-sex couples. Previously, Vermont became the first state to offer civil unions to same-sex couples when then-Governor Howard Dean signed H.B.847 [text] into law in April 2000.

4:50 PM ET: The Vermont House has given final approval to the bill in 94-52 roll call vote.

[JURIST] Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich [JURIST news archive], his brother Robert Blagojevich, and four associates were indicted [press release] on corruption charges Thursday by a federal grand jury. Rod Blagojevich was charged with 16 felonies including wire fraud, attempted extortion, racketeering conspiracy, extortion conspiracy, and making false statements. Others indicted include Blagojevich's former chief of staff John Harris, former general counsel and campaign fund chairman Alonzo Monk, campaign fundraiser and former fund chairman Christopher Kelly, and fundraiser William Cellini. In addition to prior charges, the indictment alleges that the suspects systematically planned to use Blagojevich's office for their own gain:

[B]eginning in 2002 and continuing after Blagojevich was first elected governor, Blagojevich and Monk, along with Kelly and previously convicted co-schemer Antoin “Tony” Rezko, agreed that they would use the offices of governor and chief of staff for financial gain, which would be divided among them with the understanding that the money would be distributed after
Blagojevich left public office;

[I]n 2003, Blagojevich, Monk, Kelly, Rezko and other co-schemers implemented this agreement by directing lucrative state business relating to the refinancing of billions of dollars in State of Illinois Pension Obligation Bonds to a company whose lobbyist agreed to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars to Rezko out of the fee the lobbyist would collect, and Rezko in turn agreed to split the money with Blagojevich, Monk and Kelly...

[JURIST] A group of immigrants being detained in a Los Angles facility on Wednesday filed a complaint [text, PDF] against the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) [official website] agency for allegedly violating the constitutional rights of immigrants detained at the facility. The suit was filed in the US District Court Southern District of California  [official website] by the National Lawyers Guild [advocacy website] and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California [press release], who are seeking class action status for the lawsuit. The groups allege that the detainees were denied access to basic necessities such as soap, changes of clothing, and showers, and that the facility's overcrowding caused violence and safety hazards. They also said that immigrant detainees were often held in these conditions for weeks or months at a time without the ability to lodge administrative complaints or have private conversations with legal counsel.

The suit follows a March report [text, PDF; JURIST report] by Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] stating there was a substantial increase in the number of immigrants detained by the US over the last decade, and that the length of their detentions "falls short of international human rights law." Also in March, an AP report [text; JURIST report] highlighted the increased number of detainees and the extended period of time that individuals have faced detention, noting that though the average detention period is 31 days, nearly 10,000 detainees have been in custody for longer. In February, the ICE's tactics during the Bush administration were criticized [JURIST report] by the Cardozo School of Law's Immigration Justice Clinic [official website] for being overly-aggressive and ineffective. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano [official profile] issued a directive [text] in January calling for review and assessment of the ICE fugitive operation teams.