International pressure on Sri Lanka to conduct a thorough investigation into the civil war continues to mount, despite the government-backed commission. In July, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official profile] called on the Sri Lankan Government [press release; JURIST report] to improve conditions around UN offices in Colombo after a UN announcement [press release; JURIST report] of the formation of an international panel to investigate human rights abuses during the war resulted in days of pro-government protests [JURIST report] near UN offices. Sri Lanka has faced numerous allegations of human rights violations originating from incidents that took place during the final months of the 30-year civil war. In May, Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] announced it had acquired new evidence [JURIST report] supporting allegations of war crimes. Also in May, the International Crisis Group [official website] accused Sri Lankan security forces of war crimes [JURIST report], claiming that the violence of the war escalated in January 2009, leaving thousands more dead than projected by the UN.

Multiple investigations are already pending around the world in connection with accusations that Google unlawfully collected private data. The South Korean National Police Agency (SKNPA) [official website, in Korean] raided the Google South Korean headquarters in Seoul last week in connection with accusations that the company has been illegally acquiring user data [JURIST report]. Last month, Australian authorities completed an investigation [JURIST report] into the search giant's collection and storage of private data [JURIST news archive] over unsecured wireless networks, determining that the company violated the Australia Privacy Act. In June, the UK Metropolitan Police [official website] initiated an investigation [JURIST report] in response to a complaint filed [JURIST reports] by Privacy International (PI) [advocacy website], which claims that the information gathered in an independent audit [text, PDF] published by Google earlier that month proves that the company's interception of unencrypted data was not inadvertent [JURIST report] and should lead to prosecution. The US, Canada [JURIST reports], Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland have also asked Google to retain data collected in those respective nations.

The 2009 ECJ ruling mirrors a ruling issued in 2008 [JURIST report], which upheld the right of compensation to passengers whose flights are canceled. The legislation, which went into effect [JURIST report] in 2005, requires airlines to compensate travelers for cancellations, delays and denial of seats. It places the burden of proof on airlines if they wish to avoid payment. In 2006, the ECJ upheld [JURIST report] the airline passenger regulations in a challenge brought by International Air Transport Association [group website] and the European Low Fares Airline Association [group website; press release, PDF], which argued that the law was too costly to implement and some conditions were outside of the airlines' control.

In February, the head of the STL reassured [JURIST report] the Lebanese public that the investigation is on track. When asked about the progress of the investigation into the death of Hariri, the head of the STL "underlined the fact that the Tribunal already has in place all the legal and administrative instruments necessary for its work, and is fully operational so that justice may be dispensed with complete independence and impartiality in accordance with the highest international standards." The STL was established in 2005 at the request of the Lebanese government to try those alleged to be connected to the bombing in which Hariri was killed by explosions detonated near his motorcade in Beirut in February 2005.

In June, a German court ruled that a same-sex marriage performed abroad must be recognized as a registered partnership [JURIST report] in Germany. In the ruling, an administrative court in Berlin held that the marriage must be treated legally as a registered partnership [AFP report], after finding that authorities could not recognize the relationship as a marriage due to the requirement of different sexes for marriage under German law. In March, the Berlin government, sought to introduce legislation [DK report, in German] in the Bundesrat [official website, in German] that would legalize same-sex marriage nationwide. In October, the Constitutional Court ruled that surviving partners in a registered civil partnership have a right to collect [JURIST report] under the occupational pension scheme for civil service employees.

Selebi pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] at the beginning of his trial in October, claiming that the charges against him were fabricated in retaliation for his corruption investigation of two members of the NPA. The court rejected Selebi's defense of a conspiracy against him and found him guilty of granting favors to Agliotti in exchange for money and gifts totaling USD $156,000. Selebi was suspended from his police post and forced to resign as INTERPOL president after the NPA announced the impending charges [JURIST reports]. The NPA has alleged that Selebi ignored Agliotti's drug trafficking and warned Agliotti that he had been identified in a murder investigation.

Huvelle's rejection marks the second time this year the federal courts have questioned SEC settlements with banks charged with misleading investors during the 2007 financial crisis. In February, a judge in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [official website] accepted [JURIST report] a $150 million dollar settlement agreement between the SEC and Bank of America (BOA) [corporate website] after twice rejecting a $33 million settlement [JURIST report] between the two parties. The SEC had charged BOA with misleading investors [complaint, PDF; JURIST report] regarding billions of dollars paid to Merrill Lynch [corporate website] executives during the acquisition of the firm. In his ruling, Judge Jed Rakoff said he was "reluctantly agreeing" to the settlement, which he called "improved, but far from ideal" and "half-baked justice at best."

Earlier this month, Walker held that the same-sex marriage ban violated the guarantees of due process and equal protection [JURIST report] under the US Constitution, but immediately stayed the ruling. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Attorney General Jerry Brown and others filed motions [JURIST report] opposing the stay request, which led to Walker's refusal to issue a stay pending appeal. Schwarzenegger and Brown were originally defendants in the lawsuit against Proposition 8, and their refusal to oppose the stay request has left defendant-intervenors Protect Marriage [advocacy website] and other groups to defend the law. The remaining defendant-intervenors have indicated they will, if necessary, appeal the case to the US Supreme Court.

The DC district court ruling was the first decision to use the standard set forth last month by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Bensaya v. Obama [opinion, PDF], which requires the government to show a preponderance of evidence that an enemy combatant is "part of" a terrorist group [JURIST report]. The circuit court held that the government's authority under the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) [text, PDF] only extends to the detention of individuals who are "functionally part of" a terrorist organization. Bensayah was the only one of the six petitioners from the 2008 Boumediene v. Bush [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] decision who was not granted habeas relief after the Supreme Court remanded the case for further review of evidence. Under Boumediene, federal courts have jurisdiction to review habeas corpus petitions filed by Guantanamo detainees who have been classified as "enemy combatants." In May, the DC Circuit ruled in Al Maqaleh v. Gates that Boumediene was narrowly tailored to detainees being held at Guantanamo and that detainees held at Bagram Air Force Base [official website; JURIST news archive] in Afghanistan cannot bring habeas corpus challenges in US courts.

In June, 48 states and the District of Columbia filed an amicus curiae brief [text] supporting the right to limit protests around military funerals [JURIST report] in the separate case of Snyder v. Phelps [docket]. The Supreme Court granted certiorari [cert. petition, PDF; JURIST report] in the case to determine if the First Amendment right to freedom of speech can be limited in specific situations. The suit was brought [JURIST report] by the family of Marine Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder after Reverend Fred Phelps and members of his Westboro Baptist Church picketed his funeral. Phelps and members of his church have been traveling around the country picketing military funerals in recent years, claiming US soldiers have been killed because America tolerates homosexuals. A federal judge awarded the family [JURIST report] almost $11 million in damages, but the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed, holding that Phelps's speech was protected under the First Amendment.

Last week, the court ruled 9-2 that same-sex marriages [JURIST news archive] performed in Mexico City must be recognized nationwide [JURIST report]. The court found that although Mexico's 31 states are not required to allow same-sex marriages to be performed in their jurisdictions, they must confer marital rights to same-sex couples married in Mexico City. Earlier this month, the court ruled 8-2 that Mexico City's same-sex marriage law is constitutional [JURIST report]. The law, passed last year [JURIST report], was challenged by Chavez, who had argued that allowing same-sex marriages violates the guarantee of familial integrity under the Constitution. The court rejected this argument, finding that the constitution did not specify what constituted a family and found that the regulation of marriage licenses was a state function. In December, Mexico City's legislative assembly [official website, in Spanish] approved the same-sex marriage law. The legislation allows for marriage, adoption, inheritance and other economic and social rights. The provision also seeks to end discrimination based on sexual orientation.