[JURIST] The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) [official website] announced [press release, PDF] Thursday that it will move forward with the first phase of its National Broadband Plan [official website, materials] in 2010. The 2010 Broadband Action Agenda [materials] lays out the steps the agency plans to take in order to make broadband internet access more available in the country. The announcement follows a federal court ruling [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] Tuesday that the FCC lacks authority to enforce net neutrality [Google backgrounder; JURIST news archive], a policy considered vital to the plan by many. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski [official profile] said the plan could proceed despite the ruling:

The Commission's Bureaus and Offices have already begun executing on the strategy the National Broadband Plan lays out . . . The court decision earlier this week does not change our broadband policy goals, or the ultimate authority of the FCC to achieve those goals. The court did not question the FCC's goals; it merely invalidated one technical, legal mechanism for broadband policy chosen by prior Commissions.

[JURIST] Italian prosecutors on Friday sought to indict Italy Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] on fraud and embezzlement charges [JURIST report] involving his media company, Mediatrade, despite a new law granting the executive temporary immunity. The law passed [JURIST report] in March and allows cabinet officials to postpone criminal proceedings against them for up to 18 months if the charges constitute a "legitimate impediment" to performing public duties. Prosecutors claim [Reuters report] that while Berlusconi was head of Mediatrade, it sold television rights at inflated prices to a US producer, resulting in illegitimate gains of approximately $47 million. Prosecutors also sought to charge [Corriere della Sera report, in Italian] Berlusconi's son, Pier Silvio Berlusconi, and nine others in connection to the case. Berlusconi's lawyers deny that he was in control of Mediatrade during the deals, and have not indicated whether they will invoke the immunity law.

The law granting Berlusconi immunity was approved [JURIST report] by the Chamber of Deputies [official website, in Italian] in February. In January, hundreds of Italy's judges walked out of their courtrooms to protest the passage of legislation that placed strict time limits [JURIST reports] on the trial and appeals process. Both laws have been criticized as being tailored for Berlusconi's benefit. He currently faces corruption and tax fraud trials, both of which have been postponed [JURIST report]. The leader has been previously acquitted of false accounting and bribery, and has had other charges against him dropped [JURIST reports].

[JURIST] The UK Parliament [official website] on Thursday approved legislation [text] authorizing the suspension of internet service for those who repeatedly download copyrighted material illegally. The act also received Royal Assent [text] and is now law. The Digital Economy Bill [legislative materials] calls on internet service providers (ISPs) to block download sites, reduce a user's broadband speeds, and ultimately shut down a user's internet access in order to prevent piracy of copyrighted materials. The bill, known as a three-strikes law, imposes stricter penalties on repeat digital offenders than had previously existed, and has received a great deal of public criticism [TimesOnline report]. Certain ISPs have even threatened to not comply with the law, but MPs who support it say it is a necessary step [Guardian report] to protect the creators of digital content.

Online piracy has assumed increasing importance in the eyes of legislators across Europe, and many countries, including France, have enacted similar legislation. A recent report, however, suggests that the French anti-piracy bill may actually lead to increased piracy [JURIST report]. The French bill was approved by the Constitutional Court in October after being given final approval by the French Parliament [JURIST reports] the previous month. Under the French law, the government could send notices to Internet service providers to terminate an individual's internet access for up to one year after a third violation of intellectual property laws for downloading or sharing movies and music.

[JURIST] The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] ruled [judgment; press release] Thursday that Azerbaijan violated parliamentary candidate Namat Aliyev’s rights to stand freely and fairly in the country's 2005 elections. Aliyev alleged that the government violated his rights under Article 3 of Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights [text, PDF], which ensures the free expression of the people in the selection of a country's legislature. Aliyev accused the Azerbaijan electoral commission and courts of failing to thoroughly investigate irregularities and breaches of electoral law in the election. The ECHR found:

What was at stake in those proceedings was not only the alleged infringement of the applicant's individual rights but also, on a more general level, the State's compliance with its positive duty to hold free and fair elections. Therefore, even assuming that the courts in the present case might have been unable to decide the case solely on the basis of the evidence submitted by the applicant, the material put before them was nevertheless strong enough to require them to take additional steps to obtain more information and verify the accuracy of the applicant's allegations which cast doubt on the free and fair character of the elections in his constituency.

[JURIST] Former South Korean Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook [Forbes profile] was acquitted Friday of bribery charges by the Seoul Central District Court. Han was accused [Korean Herald report] of accepting $50,000 from former Korea Express CEO Kwak Young-wook in 2007 in exchange for helping him become president of Korea South-East Power Co., an affiliate of the state-run Korea Electric Power Corporation [corporate websites]. The prosecution had relied on Kwak's testimony as the primary evidence against Han, but the court found his statements contradictory and unconvincing. It also found Kwak guilty of embezzlement charges unrelated to the bribery charges against Han. Han's supporters hope that the acquittal [Xinhua report] will help the opposition leader politically, as she plans to run for mayor in upcoming June elections. The prosecution plans to appeal the decision.

The acquittal temporarily ends legal troubles for the former prime minister. In December, Han was indicted for bribery the week after a court issued a warrant [JURIST reports] for her arrest. Han served as the country's first female prime minister under president Roh Moo-hyun [BBC obituary; JURIST news archive]. Roh, who was himself the target of a bribery investigation, died [JURIST report] in May from an apparent suicide. Shortly before his death, prosecutors had questioned Roh on suspicion that he accepted up to $6 million in bribes from Park Yeon-cha, a financial supporter who is also CEO of a shoe manufacturing company.

[JURIST] Justice John Paul Stevens [official profile; Cornell LII materials] of the US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] announced Friday that he plans to step down [press release] at the end of the court's 2009 term this summer. In a letter [text, PDF] to President Barack Obama, Stevens wrote, "it would be in the best interests of the Court to have my successor appointed and confirmed well in advance of the commencement of the Court's next Term." There had been much speculation about Stevens's possible retirement, and leading candidates for his replacement reportedly include Solicitor General Elena Kagan [official profile] and federal appellate Judges Merrick Garland and Diane Wood.

Stevens, 89, was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Gerald Ford and was seated in December 1975. He previously served on the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Stevens is the court's oldest and most senior member and has served as the leader of the court's liberal bloc. His retirement gives Obama his second opportunity to nominate a Supreme Court justice, following last year's retirement of Justice David Souter and confirmation of Justice Sonia Sotomayor [JURIST reports].

3:40 PM ET - In a statement [text] later Friday, Obama thanked Stevens for his service and said he would seek a successor with qualities similar to those he saw in Stevens:

Once again, I view the process of selecting a Supreme Court nominee as among my most serious responsibilities as President. And while we cannot replace Justice Stevens’ experience or wisdom, I will seek someone in the coming weeks with similar qualities -- an independent mind, a record of excellence and integrity, a fierce dedication to the rule of law, and a keen understanding of how the law affects the daily lives of the American people. It will also be someone who, like Justice Stevens, knows that in a democracy, powerful interests must not be allowed to drown out the voices of ordinary citizens. Much like they did with Justice Sotomayor, I hope the Senate will move quickly in the coming weeks to debate and then confirm my nominee so that the new Justice is seated in time for the fall term.

[JURIST] US district court judge James Robertson granted Congress additional time [transcript, PDF] Thursday to approve a $3.4 billion settlement [agreement, PDF] against the government in a class action lawsuit [complaint, PDF; JURIST news archive] brought for its alleged mismanagement of American Indian trust funds. The delay, the third since the settlement was reached [JURIST report] in December, moves the congressional approval date from April 16 to May 28. Though Roberston approved the latest delay, he warned [AP report] government lawyers that this is the last delay he will grant, stating that he will summon Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar [official profile] if Congress fails to act within the time granted. Pending congressional approval, the settlement will be the largest American Indian claim ever approved by the US government and will end a fourteen year legal battle.

Congress established the Indian trust in 1887 to hold proceeds from government-arranged leases of Indian lands. In July, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia [official website] ordered [opinion; JURIST report] the US Department of Interior [official website] to provide an accounting of the trust to the court. In 2008, Roberston rejected plaintiffs' claims that the government had engaged in fraud, but held [JURIST report] that the DOI "unreasonably delayed" the accounting of billions of dollars of American Indian money. The case went to trial [JURIST report] in June 2008, after the plaintiffs rejected [JURIST report] a 2007 settlement proposal from the government.

[JURIST] The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] on Thursday denied [judgment, PDF] the latest attempt [motion, PDF] by former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic [case materials; JURIST news archive] to delay his war crimes trial. Karadzic argued that there had been a violation of his right to a fair hearing because the court had rejected previous evidentiary challenges. The ICTY dismissed Kardzic's motion, reasoning that:

Until the final Judgement is issued in this case, the parties can only speculate as to what evidence the Chamber will admit, how that evidence will be evaluated, and what conclusions will be drawn from it. Should the Chamber base any conviction of the Accused solely on witness evidence that has not been subject to cross-examination, it will be for the Accused to raise that issue on appeal at the appropriate time.

For these reasons, the Chamber is not satisfied that there has been any violation of the Accused's right to a fair trial which would justify a stay of the proceedings.

[JURIST] A Thai court on Friday issued arrest warrants for at least 17 high-profile protesters in an attempt to put down violent protests. Among the accused are top leaders [TNA report] of the the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, also known as red shirts [BBC backgrounder]. The warrants are in addition to warrants issued Thursday for seven high-level protesters accused of being among a large group of protesters [Bangkok Post report] that entered the Parliament building during protests Wednesday. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva [official website, in Thai; BBC profile] said he hopes that the arrest of the high-profile leaders will cause other protesters to disperse [BBC report].

On Wednesday, Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency [JURIST report], giving the government increased ability to detain individuals and censor the media. The declaration came just days after a Thai court dismissed [JURIST report] the government's application for an injunction against protesters gathered in Bangkok's business district. The injunction would have ordered protest organizers to lead the group out of the area and would have banned rallies in 11 other areas. The court denied the request stating that the Internal Security Act [text, PDF], approved by the Thai Cabinet [JURIST report] in March, already gave the government eviction powers. The red shirts are supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], who was removed from power [JURIST report] in 2006 following a coup. The group is demanding that Abhisit dissolve parliament and call new elections. Last April, Abhisit declared a state of emergency [JURIST report] in Bangkok and several provinces following a similar outbreak of protests calling for his resignation.