[JURIST] The trial chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] on Friday convicted [press release; judgment summary, PDF] Serbian nationalist Volislav Seselj [ICTY materials; JURIST news archive] of contempt and sentenced him to 15 months in prison for authoring a book revealing pertinent information about several key witnesses. Seselj, leader of the ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party, is currently on trial in the ICTY, charged [indictment, PDF] with three counts of crimes against humanity and six counts of war crimes. He is accused of establishing rogue paramilitary units affiliated with the SRS, which are believed to have massacred and otherwise persecuted Croats and other non-Serbs during the Balkan conflict. Seselj was charged with contempt [JURIST report] in January. Seselj's criminal trial was indefinitely suspended [JURIST report] in February over concerns of witness intimidation.

Volislav Seselj photo courtesy ICTY

This is the second contempt charge brought in the ICTY's trial of Seselj. In September, key witness Ljubisa Petkovic [ICTY backgrounder, PDF] was found guilty of contempt [JURIST report] for refusing to testify against Seselj. Last August, the ICTY suspended [JURIST report] Seselj's trial pending an appellate ruling on whether the defendant could represent himself. The ICTY had previously stripped Seselj of his right to defend himself after he failed to appear in court, despite an earlier appeals court ruling that he could represent himself [JURIST reports] provided he did not engage in courtroom behavior that "substantially obstruct[ed] the proper and expeditious proceedings in his case."

[JURIST] The Taipei District court said Friday that a verdict in the corruption cases against former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] will be delivered on September 11. Presiding judge Tsai Shou-hsum said that the trial had entered its final stages [Xinhua report] and would conclude July 28. Tsai said the verdict for all four charges would be delivered at the same time [China Post report]. Chen, who was indicted [JURIST report] in December, faces possible life in prison on charges of embezzlement, receiving bribes, forgery, and money laundering. Chen dismissed his defense lawyers in May and announced he would not call any witnesses in protest of what he sees as a politically motivated prosecution.

Chen has long argued that current Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou [official website; JURIST news archive] is using Chen's trial to distance himself from Chen's anti-China views. Chen called the proceedings against him "political persecution" when his trial began [JURIST report] in March. Chen has staged three hunger strikes [JURIST report] in protest of the charges against him, and in January he unsuccessfully appealed [JURIST report] his pretrial detention. In February, Chen's wife, Wu Shu-Chen, pleaded guilty to charges [JURIST reports] of money-laundering and forgery, but denied charges that she embezzled from the presidential state affairs fund. Chen's sister-in-law has also pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to charges that she had forged documents and transferred money to bank accounts upon orders from Chen and Wu. Chen has asserted that he was unaware of Wu's actions. In September 2008, Chen was cleared [JURIST report] of separate defamation charges.

[JURIST] Defense lawyers for Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] presented their closing arguments Friday with the prosecution expected to offer its closing arguments Monday. Suu Kyi was reportedly disappointed [Al Jazeera report] with the court's decision to allow the prosecution more time to prepare their closing, as it is customary for both parties to give their closing arguments on the same day. Suu Kyi faces charges of violating the terms of her house arrest for allowing an American to stay with her after he swam across a lake to visit. Her lawyers did not know when a verdict [Reuters report] could be expected.

Earlier this month, Suu Kyi's trial resumed after a delay [JURIST reports] with the testimony of Khin Moe Moe, a member of Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy (NLD) [party website] party, who claimed the charges were politically motivated. Last month, a Myanmar court sentenced [JURIST report] two members of the NLD to 18 months in prison after leading prayers for Suu Kyi's release. Her arrest was controversial and highly criticized [JURIST report] by the international community. She has spent 12 of the past 18 years in prison or under house arrest for alleged violations of an anti-subversion law [text, PDF]. News of Suu Kyi's trial has been met with criticism from numerous agencies and governments around the world. Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] has said the charges [HRW report] against Suu Kyi are "trumped up."

[JURIST] Spanish police announced Friday that they have arrested Jorge Alberto Soza, wanted in his home country of Argentina on torture charges stemming from his service in the police force during the country's military dictatorship. From 1976 to 1983, a period known as the "Dirty War" [GlobalSecurity backgrounder; JURIST news archive], an estimated 20,000-30,000 people were forcibly kidnapped or "disappeared" in a campaign against suspected dissidents. The elderly Soza, who had been living in Spain for nearly two decades, was arrested [El Pais report, in Spanish] earlier this month after an Argentine court filed an arrest warrant an extradition request with the Spanish Foreign Ministry [official website, in Spanish]. Soza is being held in Spain while he awaits extradition to Argentina.

In February, Argentine defense officials announced the implementation of a new law [JURIST report] aimed at increasing civilian control over the military and its justice system. The law was seen by many as a response to the return of democracy and the rise of independent political institutions following the widespread human rights violations of the Dirty War era. In February, an Argentine court suspended its decision to release up to 20 suspects who are accused of committing human rights violations during the Dirty War after releasing the men pending bail [JURIST report]. In August, a court convicted former general Luciano Benjamin Mendendez and another former general [JURIST reports] and sentenced them to life terms for kidnapping, torturing, and murdering Peronist politician Guillermo Vargas Aignasse in 1976 during the coup. Last July, an Argentine court sentenced Menendez and four others to life in prison for the 1977 kidnapping, torture, and killing of four political dissidents during the Dirty War. In March 2008, Argentine politician and former police chief Luis Abelardo Patti was arrested for crimes allegedly committed during the period. In 2005, Argentina's Supreme Court struck down amnesty laws [JURIST report] adopted in the 1980s to protect potential defendants, prompting the government to reopen hundreds of human rights cases.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Friday that the US Department of the Interior (DOI) [official website] must provide an accounting in a 13-year class action lawsuit [plaintiffs' website; JURIST news archive] concerning the US government's alleged mismanagement of trust funds [DOI materials] for a group of some 500,000 American Indians. Both parties appealed two separate rulings from the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website]. In January 2008, district judge James Robertson ruled [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] that the DOI "unreasonably delayed" the accounting of billions of dollars of American Indian money, holding that it was impossible for the DOI or for Congress to remedy the breach. In August 2008, Robertson ordered [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] the federal government to pay $455.6 million in restitution, despite plaintiffs' claims that they were owed $58 billion. The DC Circuit vacated both orders and remanded for further proceedings, holding, "that while the district court's analysis of duty and breach are generally correct, the court erred in freeing the Department of the Interior from its burden to make an accounting." Lead plaintiff Elouise Cobell said that Friday's ruling shows that the government "cannot simply throw up its hands and stop the accounting. She added, "[w]e will continue to seek justice, no matter how long that takes. Tens of thousands of beneficiaries have died while this case has been pending without ever receiving an accounting of their trust assets."

Congress established the Indian Trust in 1887 to hold proceeds from government-arranged leases of Indian lands. In an incendiary opinion [text, PDF] in 2005, district judge Royce Lamberth required the DOI to apologize to the plaintiffs [JURIST report] for its handling of the Trust, and to admit that information being provided to them regarding outstanding lost royalties on earnings from Indian land may be unreliable. In 2006, the DC Circuit removed Lamberth [JURIST report] from the case and reassigned it to Robertson. In March 2007, the plaintiffs rejected [JURIST report] a $7 billion settlement proposal from the US government.

[JURIST] US financial regulators and scholars advised [hearing materials; recorded video] the Senate Banking Committee [official website] on Thursday that "safety and soundness" can be restored to the financial system through increased regulatory oversight, but did not agree on the form that oversight should take. In his opening statement [text], committee Chair Christopher Dodd (D-CT) [official website] expressed doubt about the Obama administration's plan to control systemic risk to the economy by charging a Federal Reserve [official website] advisory panel with overseeing certain financial companies:

The Fed hasn't done a perfect job, to put it mildly, with the responsibilities it already has. This new authority could compromise the independence the Fed needs to carry out effective monetary policy. Additionally, systemic risk regulation involves too broad a range of issues for any one regulator to oversee.

[E]ffective regulation should await evidence and conclusions about the causes of the recent crisis...[R]eform should start by increasing a banker's responsibility for losses. The administration's proposal does the opposite by making the Federal Reserve responsible for systemic risk.

[M]ajor institutions engage in enormous, virtually unregulated trading in synthetic versions of other, often regulated financial products. We can do much to reduce systemic risk if we close these gaps and ensure that similar products are regulated similarly.

[JURIST] The French Senate [official website, in French] on Thursday approved a controversial bill [materials, in French] that allows more businesses in Lille, Marseilles, and Paris to open on Sundays by a vote of 165-159. Under the bill, employees who work Sundays are to be paid at least twice what they normally would be paid. Absent a collective agreement, employees who work Sundays retain the right to take off three Sundays per year. The bill also provides that workers who seek employment and who would be opposed to working Sundays shall not be disqualified as candidates for jobs that would require them to work Sundays. French President Nicolas Sarkozy [official website, in French] and his Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) [party website, in French] supported the measure as a means of increasing economic activity. However, the Socialist party [party website, in French], which opposes the bill, appealed [CNN report] the bill’s constitutionality to the Constitutional Council [official website, in French], which is expected to rule in the next two weeks.

The French National Assembly [official website, in French] approved the bill [JURIST report] last week by a 282-238 vote. The bill alters a 1906 law that established the principle of "Sunday rest." The measure was defeated [Guardian report] last year after some UMP members opposed it. The Catholic church also condemned the measure. Sarkozy was elected [BBC report] in May 2007 on a platform that included the liberalization of France's economic policies, urging [Times report] citizens to "work more to earn more" as a way to stimulate economic growth.

[JURIST] Terrorism suspects should be prosecuted in US federal courts [press release] instead of military commissions, according to a report [text, PDF] released Thursday by Human Rights First [advocacy website]. The report, prepared by two former federal prosecutors, claims that the civilian court system is fully equipped to try terrorism cases and argues against the creation of a new security court system or indefinite detention of certain individuals. According to the report, there is a 91 percent conviction rate for terrorism suspects in federal courts:

In sum, the federal courts, while not perfect, are a fit and flexible resource that should be used along with other government resources — including military force, intelligence gathering, diplomatic efforts, and cultural and economic initiatives — as an important part of a multi-pronged counterterrorism strategy. In contrast, the creation of a brand-new court system or preventive detention scheme from scratch would be expensive, uncertain, and almost certainly controversial.

[JURIST] The Obama administration sent Congress draft legislation [press release and materials] Wednesday that would put the Federal Reserve [official website] in charge of regulating the largest financial firms [text, PDF]. The proposed legislation would create an eight-member Financial Services Oversight Council [text, PDF] to pinpoint risks in financial markets and would establish a National Bank Supervisor and Resolution Authority. It would also create within the Department of the Treasury [official website] an Office of National Insurance, the director of which would be charged [text, PDF] with identifying gaps in industry regulation that could lead to crises in the insurance or financial systems. The draft legislation would also amend the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 [text] to give the Federal Reserve more power to regulate investment companies or advisors [text, PDF] registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission [official website] under the Investment Company Act of 1940 [text]. The purpose of the legislation is to prevent the recurrence of a crisis such as the one currently plaguing the financial system.

US President Barack Obama [official profile] proposed similar changes [JURIST report] in June. In March, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner [official profile] indicated that the Department of the Treasury would propose stronger rules [JURIST report] in response to the current economic crisis. Geithner suggested that the Reserve and Treasury be given broader powers. In February, Geithner emphasized increasing restrictions on financial institutions [JURIST report] receiving government assistance.

[JURIST] The European Commission (EC) [official website] on Thursday announced [press release] new rules including a number of specific criteria [communication, PDF] that European banks seeking government assistance must meet. Under the new guidelines, banks are required to show they will become viable without further state support, banks and their owners are required to pay a share of the restructuring costs, and the restructuring must limit distortions in the European single market. The restructuring of banks is permitted under Article 87.3b) [text] of the EC treaty, which allows governments to "remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State." Competition Minister Neelie Kroes [official profile] said:

The financial crisis may not be over yet, but we need to start working seriously with Member States to restructure European banks. We need to make banks viable again without state support and to re-invigorate competition in the Single Market. The guidelines adopted today will be a useful tool for banks and Member States by explaining the criteria the Commission will apply to restructuring aid for banks in the current period. It complements our previous guidance on state guarantees, recapitalisation and the treatment of impaired assets.

[JURIST] The FBI arrested and charged 44 people [press release; complaints, PDF] on a variety of conspiracy, extortion, money laundering, and corruption counts Thursday, including several local politicians. The FBI said that the investigation, which began as an investigation of a money laundering ring run by rabbis operating between New Jersey and Israel, only began to focus on public corruption when a cooperating witness went undercover and began contacting local politicians. Those charged include [NYT report] Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, Ridgefield Mayor Anthony Suarez, State Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt, Jersey City City Council President Antonio Vega [official profiles], and Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine [official profile] said [press release], "[a]ny corruption is unacceptable - anywhere, anytime, by anybody. The scale of corruption we're seeing as this unfolds is simply outrageous and cannot be tolerated." Those arrested arraigned Thursday afternoon.

A number of public figures have faced corruption charges recently. Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojavich [JURIST news archive] was indicted [JURIST report] in April on corruption charges. In February, two Pennsylvania judges pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to accepting kickbacks in exchange for sentencing juveniles to certain facilities. FBI director Robert Mueller [official profile] said in April of last year that the FBI was investigating 2,500 public corruption cases [JURIST report], a 50 percent increase from five years prior.