On Friday, the UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) [official website] expressed concern that security forces in Guinea "committed serious human rights violations" [JURIST report] in subduing demonstrations. This is the third time the runoff election has been postponed. The first election, scheduled for July 18, was canceled due to allegations of misconduct during balloting [BBC report]. The second election, scheduled for September 19, was canceled amid violence [BBC report] sparked by the election fraud conviction [JURIST report] of two senior election officials. The votes have divided primarily along ethnic lines, with all candidates running on a similar platform of economic expansion and the rule of law. The presidential election is seen as the first free election in Guinea since attaining independence in 1958. In May, the International Criminal Court [official website] sent a delegation from the Office of the Prosecutor [official website] to Guinea to further investigate the killing [JURIST report] of more than 150 pro-democracy protesters in Conakry [BBC backgrounder] in September 2009. The protesters had rallied against Guinean military leader Moussa Dadis Camara [BBC profile], who announced in October that he intended to push elections forward three months and stand for election, breaking a promise not to run made shortly after he took power. An assassination attempt on Camara two months later eventually drove him into exile.

the Republic of Kenya to inform the Chamber, no later than 29 October 2010, about any problem which would impede or prevent the arrest and surrender of Omar Al Bashir in case he visits the Republic of Kenya on 30 October 2010; and the Republic of Kenya to take any necessary measure to ensure that Omar Al Bashir, in the event that he visits the country, be arrested and surrendered to the Court in accordance with its obligations under the Statute.

Al-Bashir last visited Kenya in August for the signing of the country's new constitution [JURIST report]. Following his visit, the ICC reported Kenya [decision, PDF; JURIST report] to the UN Security Council and the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute for the violation in not arresting al-Bashir. Also following his August visit, former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan urged Kenya to reaffirm its cooperation with the ICC by arresting al-Bashir [JURIST report]. In July, the ICC called for al-Bashir's arrest [JURIST report] during his visit to Chad, marking the first visit to an ICC member state since the warrants were issued. The ICC also reported Chad [decision, PDF] to the Security Council and Assembly of States Parties. The warrants against al-Bashir have been controversial, with Egypt, Sudan, the African Union and others calling for the proceedings to be delayed, and African Union leaders agreeing not to cooperate [JURIST reports] with the warrant.

The vanishing space for freedom of expression is particularly alarming given the upcoming November 7, 2010 parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, as vibrant public discourse is crucial for a free and fair vote. Azerbaijan has a history of curtailing free speech in the run up to elections, which have overall failed to meet international standards.

According to HRW, over the last several years, at least nine journalists have fled Azerbaijan due to pressure and concerns about their safety. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev is recognized by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) [advocacy website] as a Predator of Press Freedom [RSF report]. In 2007, Azerbaijan convicted two journalists of defaming Islam [JURIST report]. Well-known Azerbaijani journalist Elmar Huseynov was murdered in 2005, and his murder remains unsolved [CPJ report]. Azerbaijan also has a record of conducting elections that do not comport with international standards, and the European Rights Court recently issued decisions indicating that Azerbaijan violated the rights of parliamentary candidates Namat Aliyev [decision; JURIST report] and Flora Kerimova [decision] during the 2005 elections.

Spain and France continue to combat active Basque separatists, who fight for full nationhood for the Basque region of Spain and France. The area is considered an autonomous region of both nations. France has arrested and filed terrorism charges against two separate Basque separatists leaders in 2010, while Spain has dealt with ETA plots to kill their prime minister and has accused Venezuala [JURIST reports] of intervening on behalf of the ETA. The European Court of Human Rights has upheld Spain's ban of separatist parties [JURIST report].

Here, the trial court reasonably could find that the lack of a number of judges sufficient to timely try the present case (and the 17 other criminal cases that were dismissed at the same time in the Riverside Superior Court) was fairly attributable to the state's failure, over a considerable period of time, to provide a number of judges sufficient to meet the needs of Riverside County's rapidly growing population and caseload - a circumstance fairly attributable to the fault or neglect of the state.

California has employed a number of money-saving tactics to reduce the state's $20.7 billion budget deficit [California LAO report]. In September 2009, California courts implemented monthly closures [JURIST report] to ease the budget crisis. California Code 68070 [text] authorizes closure of the courts, "for the transaction of judicial business for one day per month and may adopt rules of court to implement this section." California court employees rallied [Marketplace report] in protest of the closures, arguing that court closures harm the public. George has also voiced similar concerns [SDNN report] about the court closures.

These results signal that significantly greater efforts must go into strengthening governance across the globe. With the livelihoods of so many at stake, governments' commitments to anti-corruption, transparency and accountability must speak through their actions. Good governance is an essential part of the solution to the global policy challenges governments face today.

Despite the call for greater efforts, there have been improvements since the 2009 CPI report, [JURIST report] including in the countries of Bhutan, Chile, Ecuador, FYR Macedonia, Gambia, Haiti, Jamaica, Kuwait and Qatar. Most notably, Haiti has made a statistically significant jump from 1.8 to 2.2, continuing a steady climb since 2008. However, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Madagascar and Niger have made drops that, according to Labelle, are potentially attributable to the financial crisis that has prevented countries from strictly enforcing their anti-corruption measures. The 2008 CPI [text, PDF] also found Somalia, Myanmar, Iraq and Afghanistan at the bottom of the list. The 2007 and 2006 CPIs [JURIST reports] had similar findings.

Figures were provided to the court which indicate there are about 76,000 such cases - or are being held in the system pending the hearing of an appeal although not all of them may be affected by the decision in this case. There is no doubt that a ruling that the assumption was erroneous will have profound consequences. But there is no room, in the situation which confronts this court, for a decision that favours the status quo simply on grounds of expediency.

The issue of a right to a lawyer during custodial interrogations has been addressed in two other recent high court decisions in both France and Canada. Last week, the French Court of Cassation [official website, in French] ruled [judgment text, in French; press release, in French] that all persons in custody of French law enforcement, including terrorism suspects, are entitled to consult with lawyers [JURIST report] from the outset of criminal proceedings. The decision expanded on a July 30 decision [text, in French] issued by France's Constitutional Court [official website, in French], according to which all persons in custody are entitled to a lawyer from the outset except for people suspected of engaging in terrorism, drug trafficking or organized crime. Also this month, the Supreme Court of Canada [official website] ruled [judgment text] that Canadians do not have the right to have counsel [JURIST report] present during custodial interrogations. The court held that § 10(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms [text], which states that those under arrest have the right "to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be informed of that right," is typically satisfied once the suspect is advised of the right and, if invoked, permitted "reasonable opportunity to consult counsel." The court went on to say, however, that the charter does not extend so far as to necessitate counsel's presence for the duration of the interview.

The so called Iraqi Supreme Court have sentenced Mr Aziz to death on allegations that are frankly nothing short of malicious, capricious and non existent. The trial was nothing short of a farce. In September I applied to the IAHRC for emergency procedures to safeguard the life of Mr Aziz. That application was refused but with leave to supply further evidence. Today I have filed a further application with the said IAHRC to safeguard the life of Mr Aziz and I expect the US Government to comply with any order that is or maybe granted.

In July, the US transferred 26 Saddam-era Iraqi officials [JURIST report], including Aziz, from Camp Cropper [JURIST news archive] to the Iraqi-controlled Kadhimiya prison in Baghdad. Aziz has said he fears for his life while in the custody of the current Iraqi government. Aziz's family has called for his release on health grounds, claiming he has had two heart attacks and suffered a stroke [JURIST report] in January. In August 2009, Aziz was convicted of forcing Kurdish displacement [JURIST report] from northeast Iraq during the late 1980s, and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Prior to his March conviction, Aziz was acquitted of charges [JURIST report] in connection with the 1999 killing of protesters who rioted in Baghdad and Amarah following the alleged assassination of Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr.

The public has a right to know how long the U.S. has kept people locked up in military detention and under what circumstances. The lack of transparency about these key facts is even more disturbing considering the possibility that the U.S. will continue holding and interrogating prisoners at Bagram well into the future. Unfortunately, today's ruling will allow the government to continue hiding this vital information.

In May, a panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] ruled that detainees held at Bagram cannot bring habeas corpus challenges in US courts [JURIST report]. In April, the Red Cross confirmed the existence of a secret detention facility [JURIST report] at Bagram. The existence of secret prisons has also drawn criticism from the human rights experts. In June, UN rights experts called on the UN Human Rights Council [official website] to investigate findings from a report [JURIST report] released earlier this year detailing the secret imprisonment of terrorism suspects by 66 countries including the US, Ethiopia, Romania and Pakistan. UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment Manfred Nowak [official website] indicated that secret prisons [JURIST news archive] remain a widespread problem and can often lead to torture.