[JURIST] Mohammad Asif Mohseni, a key Shi'ite cleric in Afghanistan, defended a controversial law Saturday that critics say limits women's rights in the country. The measure, called the Shi'ite Personal Status Law [JURIST news archive], was signed into law [JURIST report] last month by President Hamid Karzai [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], but the law has yet to be published. Opponents of the law say that the law requires a woman to seek her husband's permission before leaving the house, and effectively condones rape [NYT report] within a marriage. Mohseni was critical of Western reaction to the law, characterizing the response [AFP report] as interference and a violation of Afghan democracy, and rejected a review of the law ordered last week [JURIST report] by Karzai. Afghanistan's constitution [text, PDF] requires equal rights for both both men and women, but allows for the country's Shia [BBC backgrounder] population to observe some of its own religious laws.

Signing the law was one of several legal actions that Karzai has been criticized for since his appointment as Afghanistan's interim president in 2002. In early March, the UN reported that the human rights situation in Afghanistan is worsening [JURIST report], one week after a similar US report rebuked Afghanistan for, among other problems, continued use of child labor [JURIST report]. In November, the UN urged Afghanistan to discontinue use of the death penalty [JURIST report], which Karzai had reinstated following a four-year moratorium [JURIST report]. In April 2008, the Taliban attempted to assassinate Karzai [Guardian report] during a military parade, the third attempt on his life since 2001.

[JURIST] A federal judge ruled Friday that investors who lost money in Bernard Madoff's [JURIST news archive] alleged Ponzi scheme can force Madoff into personal bankruptcy to recover lost funds. The ruling from Judge Louis Stanton of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [official website] removes a restriction on Madoff's bankruptcy that was established by Stanton in a December 2008 ruling [SEC press release] granting a preliminary injunction and asset freeze against Madoff. Stanton's ruling was opposed [Bloomberg report] by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official websites], which argued that the appointment of a personal bankruptcy trustee would cause unnecessary delay and complexity to the Madoff proceedings.

Last month, Madoff pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to security fraud charges for his alleged involvement in a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme. In February, Madoff consented [JURIST report] to a partial judgment [SEC press release] with the SEC over civil charges brought by the SEC to obtain a preliminary injunction and asset freeze against him. The same day, then-SEC Division of Enforcement Director Linda Thomsen announced she was stepping down from her post [SEC press release]. In the week following Madoff's charges, then-SEC Chairman Christopher Cox [official profile] said that he would launch an immediate investigation [press release; JURIST report] into how the fraud allegedly perpetrated by Madoff went undetected for so long.

[JURIST] Commodore Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama [BBC profile], the head of the Fijian military, was reappointed Saturday [Reuters report] as prime minister of the country by President Ratu Josefa Iloilo [official profile] a day after Iloilo suspended the country's constitution [JURIST report] following a Thursday ruling [JURIST report] by the Fiji Court of Appeals that declared Bainimarama's original appointment as prime minister unconstitutional. Bainimarama led a 2006 coup d'etat [JURIST report] against the country's civilian government, removing the leadership while keeping the Fijian constitution intact. The court's Thursday ruling ordered the president to appoint a civilian prime minister until democratic elections for the post could be held. The reappointment of the military chief as head of government was met with condemnation [ABC report] by the United Nations and members of the Australian government, including Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd [official profile].

After the Friday announcement of the suspension of the constitution, US State Department [official website] spokesman Richard Aker criticized [press release] Iloilo's decision, saying it was a step backwards for the country, and calling on Fiji to continue to recognize rights outlined in the suspended constitution. In October, a Fijian lower court dismissed [JURIST report] a legal challenge to the 2006 coup brought by deposed prime minister Laisenia Qarase [BBC profile]. The Fijian government has defended the coup as legal [JURIST report] because Iloilo had reserve powers that permitted him to dismiss the government and appoint new leaders, and he had given his permission to Bainimarama. Two days after the coup in December 2006, an interim prime minister had said that the coup was technically "illegal" [JURIST report] but necessary.

[JURIST] The administration of US President Barack Obama [official profile] will appeal a ruling made last week by Judge John Bates of the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] that allowed detainees being held by the US in Afghanistan to proceed with habeas corpus challenges [JURIST report] to their detention. Word of the appeal came Friday in a motion [text, PDF] filed by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) seeking certification of the court's order so that the DOJ can file an interlocutory appeal of the ruling, which approved habeas challenges by four foreign-born detainees being held at Bagram Air Base [official website; GlobalSecurity backgrounder]. The motion also asked the court to stay the proceedings pending forthcoming appellate review of the case. Solicitor General Elena Kagan [official profile] granted the case expedited status for review by the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit [official website]. In seeking a stay of the proceedings during the appellate review process, the DOJ motion concluded:

...any potential for harm to petitioners in continued detention during appellate proceedings does not outweigh the need for a stay. First, the Government intends to seek expedited appellate review of the jurisdictional ruling in the April 2, 2009 Order. Second, the President has established, by Executive Order, a deliberative process to address questions concerning Executive detention authority and options. See Executive Order 13,493: Review of Detention Policy Options, 74 Fed. Reg. 4901 (Jan. 22, 2009). That Executive Order commands the creation of a Special Interagency Task Force to “conduct a comprehensive review of the lawful options available to the Federal Government with respect to the apprehension, detention, trial, transfer, release, or other disposition of individuals captured or apprehended in connection with armed conflicts and counter-terrorism operations, and to identify such options as are consistent with the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and the interests of justice.” Id. ¶ (e). The Task Force is scheduled to provide preliminary reports to the President and a final report by July of this year. Id. In particular, the Task Force will be reviewing the processes currently in place at Bagram and elsewhere, and will make recommendations to the President regarding those processes.

In sum, the extensive harms to the Government and the public interest involved in further proceedings envisioned by the Court in these cases, and the likelihood of respondents’ success on the merits of appeal, strongly warrant a stay pending appeal.