[JURIST] A German court in Nuremberg has issued an arrest warrant for Argentina's former de-facto president Jorge Videla for helping to cover up the death of a German citizen in 1978, at the height of the "Dirty War" [JURIST news archive]. The Bayern prosecutor [official website, in German] reopened [DW report] the case in December and requested an order of arrest for Videla after the remains of Rolf Stawowiok [La Razon report, in Spanish] were identified through genetic testing in early 2009. The local Nuremberg court had closed [El Pais report, in Spanish] the case in 2008 citing a lack of physical evidence as well as an Argentine court ruling declining to extradite Videla for the deaths of another two German citizens [EFE report, in Spanish]. Stawowiok's remains were exhumed in 2004 and were found to have evidence of torture and bullets. Argentine authorities have said that Videla will remain in prison [El Mundo report, in Spanish] until he has served his prior sentence.

Videla has been in prison since 2008 while an investigation is underway for his role in the abduction of children born to political prisoners and forced disappearance victims during Argentina's Dirty War. He is also under investigation for the deaths of 31 political prisoners [El Pais report]. A court revoked the house arrest conditions he had been granted in 1998 when the investigation began. Previously, he had served five years from a life sentence for human rights violations committed during his term in power, until in 1990 he was pardoned by then-president Carlos Menem. In 2006, a federal judge ruled that the presidential pardon was unconstitutional [JURIST report]. Italy has also requested [JURIST news report] Videla's extradition to prosecute him for the deaths and forced disappearances of Italian citizens during the Dirty War. During the period Videla was head of the military junta (1976-1981), an estimated 90,000 civilians were killed or disappeared.

[JURIST] The Hawaii Senate [official website] voted 18-7 Friday in favor of legislation [text, PDF] allowing same-sex civil unions [JURIST news archive]. The act would confer upon homosexual and heterosexual couples rights and benefits equal to those afforded married couples in the state. Originally introduced [materials] last year, public notice requirements forced a vote on the matter to be delayed after an amendment was adopted one day prior to the close of the legislative session. The bill now returns to the House [official website], though leaders indicate that they may decline to act on it if they do not have sufficient support to override a potential veto from Governor Linda Lingle [official profile].

The New Jersey Senate defeated legislation to allow same-sex marriage earlier this month, and the New York Senate did so [JURIST reports] in December. In November, Maine voters vetoed a same-sex marriage bill passed by that state's legislature, while Washington voters approved expanded domestic partnership rights [JURIST reports]. Same-sex marriage is currently legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, and New Hampshire, and is set to become legal in Washington DC [JURIST reports], pending Congressional inaction. New Jersey has recognized same-sex civil unions [JURIST report] since 2006.

[JURIST] US President Barack Obama on Friday signed [press release] a bill [text, PDF] that will allow Americans to claim contributions made to Haitian earthquake [JURIST news archive] relief efforts as a deduction on their 2009 federal income tax returns. Under the new law, monetary donations made between January 11 and March 1, 2010, including those made by cellular telephone, are eligible for the exemption. The measure is designed to encourage additional contributions, as without the bill, taxpayers would not be able to receive credit until next year. Similar legislation [text, PDF] was passed in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami [JURIST news archive].

On January 12, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake [USGS backgrounder] caused massive damage to property and infrastructure in Haiti. The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti [official website] has said that up to 50 percent of buildings [statement, PDF] have been destroyed or damaged, including the presidential palace, the UN Mission headquarters, and the main prison, allowing nearly 4,000 inmates to escape [JURIST report]. Thousand of US military troops have been deployed to assist the Haitian police and international peacekeepers as they confront rising lawlessness [JURIST report] in the country. Haitian government officials estimate [Al Jazeera report] the death toll to be as high as 100,000 to 200,000.

[JURIST] The Swiss Federal Administrative Court [official website, in French] ruled [judgment, PDF, in German; press release, PDF, in French] Thursday that an American taxpayer's financial information at Swiss bank UBS [corporate website] may not be disclosed to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) [official website] pursuant to an August 2009 agreement [text, PDF; JURIST report]. The court ruled in favor of an undisclosed American taxpayer, who appealed a November decision by the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (AFC) [official website, in French] that would have allowed the disclosure. The Federal Administrative Court considered that in light of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties [text, PDF], the current US-Switzerland double taxation convention [text, PDF] controls the subject matter of the case. The 2009 agreement under which the AFC acted does not supersede or amend the tax convention. The court also held that the American taxpayer's failure to file a W-9 form with information about her off-shore finances is akin to failing to declare taxes, even if it pertains to significant amounts of money, and does not rise to the level of tax fraud, which would grant US authorities access. The decision applies to the cases of 25 other American clients of UBS and may not be appealed to the Federal Supreme Court [official website, in French].

The Swiss Federal Administrative Court ruled [JURIST report] earlier this month that the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) [official website, in German] violated the law in February 2009 when it ordered UBS to disclose information to the US on more than 250 of the bank's clients without the authority to do so. In September, the US and Switzerland signed a treaty [JURIST report] that would increase the amount of information shared between the two nations on would-be tax evaders. The agreement, constructed in accordance with Article 26 of the Model Tax Convention [text, PDF], came one month after a Swiss banker and lawyer were indicted in US federal court [JURIST report] for helping clients hide assets. In March, the Swiss announced their intention to adopt a more stringent definition [JURIST report] of tax evasion and to work with other countries to investigate such claims.

[JURIST] Lithuanian Foreign Minister Vygaudas Usackas [official profile] resigned [press release] Thursday in the midst of a dispute with President Dalia Grybauskaite [official profile] over secret US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) [official website] secret prisons [JURIST news archive] in the country. Grybauskaite has publicly said that she believes there were prisoners held in Lithuania, but Usackas has denied this. The dispute follows a parliamentary report [JURIST report] that found that the CIA had been provided two facilities in Lithuania to interrogate al Qaeda [JURIST news archives] suspects. Usackas has maintained [EUobserver report] that no prisoners were actually held at the locations. On Wednesday, Grybauskaite had urged [press release] Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius to dismiss Usackas because he had lost the President's confidence and trust.

In December, the Lithuanian Parliament [official website, in Lithuanian] National Security Committee reported that the CIA had established secret prisons for al Qaeda suspects in the Baltic country. Lawmakers demanded the investigation [JURIST report] in October after ABC News reported in August that former CIA officials said that Lithuania provided the CIA with facilities [ABC News report] for a secret prison for high-value al Qaeda suspects in order to improve relations with the US. The parliamentary committee concluded that the Lithuanian State Security Department provided the CIA with two secret facilities [AP report], but it is unclear whether either facility was used to interrogate detainees. The committee uncovered no evidence that former president Valdus Adamkus and former prime minister Algirdas Brazauskas, who were both in office during the specified time period, were told about the secret detention centers.