[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Pakistan [official website] on Saturday deferred the appointment of two judges by President Asif Ali Zardari [official website] in an emergency ruling [press release, PDF] which has once again pitched the country's judiciary against its executive. Current Lahore High Court Justices Khawaja Muhammad Sharif and Mian Saqib Nisar were to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court and as Acting Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court respectively. The Supreme Court denied the nominations because Zadir had not consulted Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry [official profile; JURIST news archive] over the appointment of Sharif to the Supreme Court as required by Article 177 of the Pakistani Constitution [text]. Nisar's assignment was dependent on Sharif's placement to the Supreme Court. Minister of Information Qamar Zaman Kaira said that Zardari did consult [AP report] with the Chief Justice, but it has also been reported that the judges questioned the validity [Dawn report] of their appointments.

Last month, the Pakistani Supreme Court released a detailed judgment [judgment, PDF] in the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) [text] case, ruling unconstitutional an ordinance granting immunity to President Zardari and 8,000 other government officials from charges of corruption, embezzlement, money laundering, murder, and terrorism between January 1986 and October 1999. A special 17-member panel of the court rendered the original unanimous decision [JURIST report] in December, paving the way for corruption charges to be brought against Zardari. Zardari is immune from prosecution while in office, but challenges to his eligibility as a presidential candidate are expected. Many other government officials could face immediate prosecution.

[JURIST] Ivory Coast [JURIST news archive] President Laurent Gbagbo [BBC profile] on Friday dissolved [France24 report, video] the country's parliament and electoral commission based on allegations of voter fraud in the long delayed presidential elections in the African nation. On disbanding the government, Gbagbo charged Prime Minister Guillaume Soro [BBC profile] with creation of new government and deciding on a new election format. Gbagbo had accused Beugre Mambe, the head of the independent electoral commission, of fraud by attempting to register over 400,000 whom Gbagbo considers to be foreigners. Opposition parties such as the Ivory Coast Democratic Party (PDCI) [party website, in French] and Republican Gathering Party (RDR) [party website, in French] have said that most of those voters are ethnic groups in the north of the country, who would likely have voted against Gbagbo.

Gbagbo was elected president in 2000 to serve a five-year term, but he has managed to stay in office after elections after six successive elections have been delayed. The now deposed government had been the product of peace negotiations [AFP report] in 2007 between Gbagbo's government and northern rebels. Prior to 2007, the Ivory Coast had been divided into a southern region controlled by the government and a northern region controlled by rebel forces after a failed coup attempt in 2002, which started the country's Civil War [Reuters timeline].

[JURIST] The government of Myanmar released [BBC report] 82-year old democracy activist U Tin Oo from six years of house arrest [CNN report] on Friday, just days before UN special envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana [official profile] is to visit the country [AFP report]. Oo, a decorated general, is the Vice-Chairman of the National League of Democracy (NLD) [advocacy website], the opposition party headed by Aung San Syu Kyii [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], currently under house arrest herself. Opposition activists have been expecting his release [Mizzima report] after word leaked out the general was undergoing eye surgery at the American Eye Vision Hospital in Rangoon. Thant Zin Oo, the general's son, said the release was a calculated political move [Irrawaddy report] designed to appease the UN.

The Burmese government announced last year that it was processing grants of immunity [JURIST report] to allow prisoners to participate in the 2010 general elections [BBC report] but it is unclear if the NLD will take part in them [AP report]. Burmese Home Minister Major General Maung Oo [official website] recently announced that Suu Kyi will be released from house arrest in November when her sentence is scheduled to expire.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] Friday ordered [text, PDF] the Obama administration and lawyers for Chinese Uighurs detained at Guantanamo Bay to file briefs explaining how [AP report] Switzerland's decision to accept [JURIST report] two Uighurs as refugees affects their pending habeas petition [petitioner's brief, PDF; government brief in opposition, PDF]. The Court originally granted certiorari [JURIST report] in Kiyemba v. Obama [docket; Center for Constitutional Rights backgrounder] to determine whether it is within the power of the judicial branch to order the release of detainees into the United States. The Department of Justice argued last week that the Uighurs appeals were moot [JURIST report] after Switzerland announced its decision to accept the two Uighurs into its Country

The Obama administration has refused to repatriate [BBC report] the Chinese Uighurs due to fears that they may be mistreated in China, where they are considered terrorists. Of the 22 Uighurs originally detained at Guantanamo Bay, 17 have been relocated to other countries. Six Uighurs were transferred to Palau , four to Bermuda, five to Albania [JURIST reports], and two were accepted by Switzerland last week despite objections [Reuters report] from the Chinese government. Palau announced last week that it would accept [AFP report] the remaining five Uighurs.