[JURIST] The French parliament gave final approval Tuesday to a new version [text, in French] of a controversial Internet piracy law [text, in French] that would suspend users' Internet access after the third violation. The bill was approved by a joint legislative committee of the National Assembly and the Senate [official websites, in French] by a vote of 258-131. The new version, drafted after portions of it were rejected [judgment, in French; JURIST report] in June by the Constitutional Council [official website, in French], leaves discretion to suspend a user's Internet services to a judge instead of an administrative authority. The opposition Socialists, who brought the challenge against the original bill, vowed to challenge the new version [Reuters report] as well.

Other European governments are also taking steps to combat Internet piracy. Last month, the British Department for Business Innovation and Skills [official website] proposed stricter sanctions [JURIST report] against illegal file-sharing that would include restricting and suspending user Internet access. The proposed regulations would be managed by an administrative agency, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) [official website], which would report to Business Secretary Lord Peter Mandelson [BBC profile] recommending action against specific users. The measures could be implemented before initial year 2012 projections. While the proposal was welcomed by media industries, it provoked strong rejection among consumers and service providers. The government's consultation period on the subject is now due to close on September 29 after it was extended when changes to the proposal were announced.

[JURIST] The New York Court of Appeals [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Tuesday that Governor David Paterson [official website] has the authority to appoint a lieutenant governor, effectively making Richard Ravitch [NYT profile] the state's lieutenant governor. In a 4-3 decision, the court rejected the argument that Paterson had improperly relied on section 43 of the Public Officers Law [text] in making the appointment:

Where, as here, an office may not legally appear on the ballot except quadrennially, and there will be a lengthy period before the next election for the office may be held, plaintiff's reading of the durational limitation at issue would result in an extended vacancy running the balance of an elective term. This appears to be fundamentally incompatible with the main object of article XIII, § 3, expressed unequivocally in its first clause, which, of course, is to assure that vacancies are filled.

That election has been deemed impermissible as a means of filling a mid-term vacancy in the Lieutenant-Governorship does not, however, mean that the vacancy may not be filled. ... Filling the office by gubernatorial appointment is entirely consonant with the purpose of the post-Ward legislative and constitutional amendments, whereas requiring that the office be left vacant risked a scenario of the sort that the Legislature at Governor Dewey's behest sought to avoid - one in which a president pro tem of the Senate, quite possibly of a party other than the Governor, would, while performing the duties of the Lieutenant-Governor during a vacancy in the office, actively oppose the Governor's agenda and frustrate the work of the executive branch.

[JURIST] China appealed an August World Trade Organization (WTO) [official website] ruling [text, PDF] Tuesday, arguing that Chinese controls on US imports of books, music, and audiovisual materials do not violate international trade regulations. The dispute [case materials] originally arose in April 2007 when the US filed a complaint over Chinese restrictions allowing certain state-owned companies to reserve the right to import types of entertainment media, effectively forcing US companies to conduct business with only those business channels. The complaint also challenged market access restrictions on foreign service providers. The WTO held [Reuters report] that while China may still censor certain media content, it may not use censorship as a justification for barriers on trade. The WTO appellate body will have two to three months to scrutinize [Xinhua report] the case, after which it will decide to confirm, modify, or overturn the ruling.

The August ruling was the latest result in the struggle for intellectual property rights between the US and China. In January, a dispute settlement panel of the WTO found [report, PDF; JURIST report] for the US that large parts of China's intellectual property scheme are inconsistent with its obligations under several international treaties, including the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) [text]. The panel's findings came as the result of a process initiated against China by the US [JURIST report] in August 2007 for alleged lax enforcement of copyright and trademark violations [JURIST report; WTO backgrounder]. The panel's report concluded that certain provisions of China's copyright law as well as certain Chinese customs measures are inconsistent with TRIPS because they "nullify or impair benefits accruing to the United States."

[JURIST] Democratic Party fundraiser Hassan Nemazee, accused of orchestrating a $290 million pyramid scheme, pleaded not guilty to fraud charges Wednesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Federal prosecutors indicted [text; press release, PDF] Nemazee Monday on three counts of bank fraud, each of which carries a maximum prison term of 30 years, and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory prison term of two years. Nemazee could also face large fines and asset forfeitures. US Attorney Preet Bharara said:

For more than ten years, Hassan Nemazee projected the illusion of wealth, stealing more than $290 million so that he could lead a lavish lifestyle and play the part of heavyweight political fundraiser. ... Today's indictment exposes the sheer brazenness of Nemazee's schemes and marks the end of his decade of deception.

[JURIST] Taiwan prosecutors filed a new indictment against former president Chen Shui-bian [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] Wednesday, less than two weeks after Chen was sentenced to life in prison [JURIST report] on other corruption charges. The new charge accuses Chen of embezzling $330,000 [Taiwan News report] from funds he received to travel overseas while president. Chen denies the charge and is appealing for its dismissal. Chen, who has always maintained his innocence, now seeks to apply US law [AP report] in the case against him, claiming that former colonial power Japan never transferred power over Taiwan to its current government.

Earlier this month, the Taipei District Court denied [JURIST report] Chen's request for release pending appeal. Last month, Chen filed suit [JURIST report] against the three judges hearing his corruption case, accusing them of illegally prolonging his detention. Chen was indicted [JURIST report] on corruption charges in December. He has staged three hunger strikes in protest of the charges against him, and in January he unsuccessfully appealed [JURIST reports] his pretrial detention. 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.

[JURIST] Prosecutors for the case against Radovan Karadzic [ICTY materials; JURIST news archive] in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] announced Tuesday that they would not drop any charges against the accused in order to expedite the case. The UN-appointed tribunal is under pressure to wrap up proceedings within a year and asked prosecutors earlier this month to shorten the indictment. Prosecutors said that dropping any of the charges would prevent them from prosecuting him for all of his alleged crimes. The request to shorten the indictment caused rioting in Sarajevo [AP report]. Karadzic's trial, which may last up to three years, is set to begin [JURIST report] on October 19.

Karadzic faces 11 charges [amended indictment, PDF], including genocide and murder, for war crimes committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. Last month, Karadzic sued the Serbian government for allegedly kidnapping him prior to announcing his arrest [JURIST reports] last year. He claimed that Serbian authorities officially reported his arrest three days after he was actually detained, delaying his appearance before a judge. Karadzic's capture came 13 years after being indicted by the ICTY in 1995.

[JURIST] The accused leader of the military arm of Basque separatist group ETA [JURIST news archive] refused to make a statement at two hearings in the Spanish National Courts on Tuesday. Mikel Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina [BBC profile] faces a total of 21 charges for attacks and attempted attacks that took place between 2000 and 2008, but the proceedings [El Mundo report, in Spanish] Tuesday were specifically for five separate counts holding him responsible for five incidents in January and February of 2002. Aspiazu was captured [JURIST report] in France in November and was extradited to Spain on Monday. Spain is due to return him to French authorities by September 26 for further proceedings in the French legal system. The terms of the temporary extradition provided that Aspiazu would be entitled to the same legal rights as in France. The extradition is the first time France has agreed to transfer a suspect before investigation into charges against him has been completed.

In June, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] upheld [JURIST report] Spain's ban of Basque political groups Batasuna [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] and Herri Batasuna for their alleged ties to ETA. In April, alleged ETA leader Jurdan Martitegi Lizaso [El Pais backgrounder, in Spanish] was arrested in France, and a Spanish judge charged [JURIST reports] him with murder for a May 2008 car bombing that killed a Spanish policeman. In February, Spain's Supreme Court [official website, in Spanish] unanimously banned [JURIST report] the Basque separatist political groups Democracy 3 Million (D3M) and Askatasuna [orders, PDF, in Spanish] from participation in the coming March elections. In January, a Spanish court dismissed [JURIST report] the case against Basque Regional Prime Minister Juan Jose Ibarretxe. He and the two leaders of the Basque socialist party were charged [JURIST report] with illegally communicating with the banned. In September, the court banned [JURIST report] the Basque Nationalist Action Party (ANV) from taking part in political activities because of its alleged ties to Batasuna.