[The bill is] the strongest financial reform[] this country has considered since the Great Depression. ... [The] reforms will restore the banking system to its core purpose of helping Americans save for their future and channeling those savings to the entrepreneurs with the best ideas for building a stronger America. These reforms will allow the government to make sure that [banks] do not threaten the health of the economy as a whole.

[The bill] makes bailouts permanent, enshrines 'too big to fail' into law, and fails to reform the government mortgage companies that sparked the meltdown by giving high-risk loans to people who couldn't afford it, and it needs to be fixed. House Republicans offered a better solution to stop the Democrats' permanent bailouts, reform Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, and protect taxpayers and help small businesses create jobs.

Two weeks ago, the House of Representatives [official website] voted 237-192 [JURIST report] to approve the financial reform bill. The House and Senate reconciled their versions of the bill [JURIST report] last month but were forced to re-open negotiations, eventually removing a $17.9 billion tax on large financial institutions that was meant to cover the bill's costs. The Senate approved its version of the bill in May, after the House passed its version [JURIST reports] in December. The legislation closely mirrors a proposal put forth by the Obama administration [JURIST report] last June consisting of a broad series of regulatory reforms aimed at restoring confidence in the US financial system following the recent economic crisis [FT backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. Financial reform represents a cornerstone of Obama's legislative agenda since taking office in 2009, along with health care, immigration reform, climate change legislation, and the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" [JURIST news archives].

The Kyrgyz government announced Friday that it has opened more than 1,000 criminal cases [JURIST report] stemming from the recent violence. Regional officials in Osh, an area in southern Kyrgyzstan, announced that 106 individuals had already been detained [ITAR-TASS report]. The violence resulted from a clash between the Kyrgyz majority and the Uzbek minority and official estimates place the death toll at 309, with an additional 2,000 reportedly injured. Property damage estimates exceed $71 million. The interim government extended a curfew and state of emergency [UPI report] in the area until August. A new constitution took effect in Kyrgyzstan earlier this month after it was approved by voters [JURIST reports] in a nationwide referendum. In June, the interim government under Otunbayeva announced the referendum to reform the country's constitution would occur despite the ethnic violence [JURIST report] in Osh. The constitution was originally approved by the interim government [JURIST report] in May. The June rioting in Osh followed violent protests in the capital city of Bishkek in April that resulted in former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev being removed from office [JURIST report].

This is not the first instance of an ICTR defense lawyer facing hostilities. Last month, US lawyer and JURIST Forum [website] contributor Peter Erlinder [professional profile; JURIST news archive] returned to the US Tuesday after spending 21 days in a Rwandan prison. Erlinder was arrested [JURIST report] on charges that he denied the 1994 Rwandan genocide [HRW backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. He was in Rwanda to prepare his defense of opposition presidential candidate Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza [campaign website], who was arrested in April [JURIST report] on similar charges. Erlinder had pleaded not guilty [JURIST report]. Demanding Erlinder's release, more than 30 ICTR defense lawyers issued a joint statement [JURIST report; text] last month, threatening a boycott. According to the statement, Erlinder's arrest indicated a growing threat to the country's legal system, because, "anyone who is involved in the defence of an accused person - be they counsel, investigator, assistant or Defense witness - runs the same risks and is exposed to the same threats of being criminally categorized as a 'negationist' as defined in Rwandan legislation."

In May 2009, disgraced Democratic Party fundraiser Norman Hsu [JURIST news archive] was convicted [JURIST report] on charges of violating the Federal Elections Campaign Act (FECA) [text]. Hsu was accused of making illegal campaign contributions in other peoples' names in violation of the FECA. According to the indictment [JURIST report], Hsu also allegedly pressured clients to donate to his preferred democratic candidates and threatened to cut them off if they did not comply with his wishes. In September 2007, New York prosecutors charged [JURIST report] Hsu with orchestrating a $60 million Ponzi scheme in connection with the same events. Hsu pleaded guilty [NYT report] to those fraud charges in May. The FBI arrested Hsu in Colorado on federal charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution after Hsu failed to appear for a bail hearing in California on unrelated fraud charges on September 5, 2007. Hsu formerly raised funds for political candidates, including Clinton. Clinton agreed to return $850,000 she received from Hsu when news of the charges became public.

In May, the court heard arguments [JURIST report] after the Superior Court denied Reverend Harry Jackson's request to allow a vote on a measure defining marriage as between a man and a woman. The case was heard en banc by all nine judges of the appeals court, instead of the three-judge panels that usually hear cases. The ruling affirmed a November decision by the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics [official website], which held that putting the act to a public vote would violate the HRA. DC began recognizing same-sex marriages in March after the US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] denied an emergency appeal to block the law from taking effect, joining Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire [JURIST reports] in recognizing same-sex marriage.

The Jammeh administration was also the target of a coup attempt in 2006 that resulted in 10 military officers being jailed [BBC report] for threatening to overthrow the government. Critics contend that Jammeh maintains stability in the Gambia by suppressing any signs of dissent. In March, an opposition official complained of frequent incidents of indefinite detention [BBC report] of citizens, including government officials, without charges being filed. In February, Gambia ordered an envoy [Afrol report] from UNICEF [official website] to leave the country. Last September, Jammeh threatened to kill human rights workers [Newstime Africa] who threatened to destabilize his regime.

Lubanga is accused of war crimes for allegedly recruiting child soldiers to fight in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2002-2003. His trial began in January 2009 but was halted soon after when one of the child witnesses recanted his testimony [JURIST report] that Lubanga had recruited him for the militia. The prosecution concluded its case [JURIST report] last July after presenting 22 weeks of testimony. Lubanga maintains he is innocent [JURIST report] of the charges against him. He became the first war crimes defendant to appear before the ICC, formed in 2002, after he was taken into custody [JURIST report] in March 2006.

The Arizona law criminalizes illegal immigration and requires police officers to question an individual's immigration status if the officer has a "reasonable suspicion" to believe an individual is in the country illegally. It has been widely criticized in regard to the law's constitutionality and alleged "legalization" of racial profiling. Earlier this month, the American Bar Association (ABA) [official website] filed an amicus curiae brief [JURIST report] urging the federal district court in Arizona to block the enforcement of the state's immigration law. The brief was filed in support of a class-action lawsuit [JURIST report] led by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website]. The Mexican government has also filed an amicus curiae brief [JURIST report] supporting the ACLU suit, claiming a substantial interest in ensuring its "bilateral diplomatic relations" with the US remain "transparent, consistent and reliable, and not frustrated by the actions of individual US states." The government also claims an interest in ensuring that its citizens are "accorded human and civil rights when present in the US in accordance with federal immigration law." Brewer is also currently facing federal lawsuits filed by the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders and several Tuscon police officers [JURIST reports], who claim they cannot properly implement the law without racially profiling.

In March, the US military transferred Camp Taji prison [JURIST report] to Iraqi authorities. The US began to scale back its Iraq detention facilities in September when Camp Bucca [JURIST news archive] in southern Iraq was closed [JURIST report] pursuant to the Status of Forces Agreement [text, PDF]. According to the agreement, all US troops must be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2011, and the US must release all prisoners or transfer them to the control of Iraqi authorities. The Iraqi government must have arrest warrants or detention orders to accept transferred prisoners into Iraqi facilities, otherwise risking release. A fourth US-run prison, Abu Ghraib [JURIST news archive], was transferred back to Iraqi control [JURIST report] in 2006. The Iraqi government has recently faced criticism for its treatment of prisoners from Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website]. In April, the rights group claimed that Iraqi detainees were repeatedly tortured [JURIST report] in a secret prison in Baghdad.

In May, the Argentine Chamber of Deputies [official website, in Spanish] voted 126-109 in favor [JURIST report] of the bill after 12 hours of debate. The legislation has been under consideration since last year, with more than 50,000 marching in support [JURIST report] of it last November. In September, Uruguay approved a bill granting adoption rights to same-sex couples [JURIST report] and currently is the only country in the region to offer civil unions nationwide. Same-sex marriage is recognized in jurisdictions in Mexico and the US, and is recognized nationwide in Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and South Africa [JURIST reports].

[M]any companies are proud of their safety and environment records, and demonstrate a commitment to good behavior. They are the model for what my Amendment seeks to achieve. It is regrettable that BP is a company with extensive violations and no history of working to mend its ways. Unable to change on its own, my amendment would require BP, and any other company like it, to become a responsible actor or lose access to the valuable offshore assets that belong to the American people.

US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar [official website] on Tuesday issued a new six-month drilling moratorium [text, PDF; JURIST report] that prohibits deepwater drilling with certain technologies, citing new evidence regarding safety concerns after the BP oil spill. The new moratorium was issued after a federal judge placed a preliminary injunction against the original moratorium [JURIST reports] implemented by the Obama administration in May. The Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] appealed the ruling [JURIST report] arguing that the district judge abused his discretion in issuing the injunction and that another deepwater spill could overwhelm the ongoing efforts to clean up the spill with catastrophic results. The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit [official website] denied [JURIST report] the DOJ's request last week. More than 120 million gallons of oil have leaked already from the rig's broken pipe and has now surpassed the Exxon Valdez oil spill [JURIST news archive] as the worst in US history.

Recently, eBay has been scrutinized for various intellectual property infringements. In April, a federal appeals court ruled [JURIST report] that eBay is not required to actively monitor its website for the sale of counterfeit goods. The US appeals court ruling marked a dramatic contrast with other recent rulings in Europe. In February, the Paris District Court [official website, in French] ordered [JURIST report] eBay to pay LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) [corporate website] 200,000 euros (USD $275,000) in damages for paying search engines to direct customers to counterfeit LVMH products. In a separate case in September, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) [official website] issued an advisory opinion against LVMH [JURIST report] in its suit to collect damages from Google for Google's AdWords system, which allows companies and individuals to purchase advertising space when a user searches for a product or brand name. In 2008, a French court ordered eBay to pay LVMH USD $63 million [JURIST report] for failing to prevent the sale of counterfeit luxury goods.