The Directive in question amends the Capital Requirements Directives (2006/48/EC and 2006/49/EC). The aim of these Directives is to ensure the financial soundness of banks and investment firms. Together they stipulate how much of their own financial resources banks and investment firms must have in order to cover their risks and protect their depositors.

Principal changes include remuneration policies and practices within banks, capital requirements for resecuritisations, disclosure of securitisation exposures and capital requirements for the trading book. Specifically, the law restricts payments of "bank bonuses" and forces banks to disclose employees earning more than one million euro. The law, which has only been partially implemented in Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Sweden, concerns a requirement that banks have a certain amount of capital on hand at all times. The EC is responsible for ensuring European Union (EU) [official website] law is applied throughout all member states.

We commend Citizens for their diligence in bringing these issues to the attention of the Board and the NRC. We also recognize that the Board and the NRC provided hundreds of pages detailing their decision making and gave due consideration to Citizens' concerns. We are confident that the NRC's review of Exelon's application was well-reasoned, and we will not second-guess technical decisions within the realm of its unique expertise.

Prosecution of Nazis and their collaborators continues internationally. A Hungarian court began the trial [JURIST report] of accused Nazi Sandor Kepiro earlier this month, charged with war crimes committed during the 1942 Novi Sad massacre in Serbia. The trial of accused Nazi guard John Demjanjuk [NNDB profile, JURIST news archive] ended when he was convicted [JURIST report] but released because of his advanced age [DW report]. An appeal [JURIST report] is pending. In November, Nazi guard Samuel Kunz [Trial Watch profile], 89, passed away [JURIST report] in his home before he could be brought to trial. He was accused of aiding in the killing of hundreds of thousands of Jewish people at the Belzec concentration camp [HRP backgrounder].

Kepiro's trial is likely one of the last of an accused Nazi. Earlier this month, the trial of accused Nazi guard John Demjanjuk [NNDB profile, JURIST news archive] ended when he was convicted [JURIST report] but released because of his advanced age [DW report]. An appeal [JURIST report] is pending. In November, Nazi guard Samuel Kunz [Trial Watch profile], 89, passed away [JURIST report] in his home before he could be brought to trial. He was accused of aiding in the killing of hundreds of thousands of Jewish people at the Belzec concentration camp [HRP backgrounder].

Six opposition leaders were arrested [JURIST report] in March after the government, backed by foreign troops from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) [official website], violently dispersed protesters in the capital of Manana. Many protesters are calling for the removal of the royal family, which has been in power since the 18th century. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] urged the government of Bahrain to release detained activists [JURIST report] and exercise restraint against protesters. She expressed concern over the prosecution of medical professionals and the death sentences [JURIST report] handed to four activists last month. In April, human rights organizations including HRW and Doctors Without Borders (DWB) [advocacy website] criticized Bahrain [JURIST report] for rampant human rights abuses related to anti-government protests.

Earlier this month, a petition was filed [bdnews24.com report] in the High Court challenging two sections of the ICA that were amended in 2009. The petition raises questions over whether the tribunal can prosecute any persons or only military personnel and over who may serve on the Supreme Court. In July 2010, the Bangladesh ICT issued four arrest warrants [JURIST report] for the leaders of the Islamist group Jamaat e Islami for crimes committed during 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War [GlobalSecurity backgrounders]. The Bangladesh ICT was established in March 2010 to hear cases against individuals accused of war crimes during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War [GlobalSecurity backgrounder]. According to Law Minister Shafique Ahmed [official profile], the tribunal will include [AP report] three high court judges and six investigators retired from civilian, law enforcement, and military careers.

The reality is that in an increasingly complex and globalized economy, international corporations such as DCAG reap enormous profits from the sale of their goods in the United States. The sales are achieved through the use of major distributors, frequently in the form of subsidiaries. Many international companies organize their corporate structure and establish subsidiaries for the sole purpose of obtaining the maximum benefit from the American market. To the ordinary American, and certainly to us, it would seem odd, indeed, if the manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, which are sold in California in vast numbers by its American subsidiary, for use on the state's streets and highways, could not be required to appear in the federal courts of that state.

Argentina continues to prosecute those accused of committing human rights abuses during the Dirty War. Earlier this week, eight former Argentine military officers were convicted for the massacre of Margarita Belen [JURIST report]. An Argentine federal court in April sentenced [JURIST report] former general Eduardo Cabanillas to life in prison for his involvement in the Dirty War. Former general Luciano Benjamin Menendez, already serving a life sentence, was sentenced to an additional life sentence [JURIST report] in March for the attack and murder of five urban guerrilla group members. Also in March, an Argentine court commenced the trial of former dictators Jorge Videla [Trial Watch profile; JURIST news archive] and Reynaldo Bignone [JURIST news archive] for allegedly overseeing a systematic plan to steal babies [JURIST report] born to political prisoners. In December, Videla was sentenced to life in prison [JURIST report] for crimes against humanity. Also last May, Argentine authorities arrested [JURIST report] former secret service agent Miguel Angel Furci on charges of human rights abuses. Furci, a former agent of the Secretariat of State Intelligence (SIDE), was charged with 70 kidnappings and the torture of detainees at Orletti.

Earlier this month, former Egyptian interior minister Habib el-Adly was convicted [JURIST report] on charges of corruption and money laundering and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He is also set to face a separate trial this Saturday over his involvement in the killing of protesters. Mubarak is also facing charges [JURIST report] over the killings of protesters and could face the death penalty if convicted. He also faces charges [Ahram report] of corruption and embezzlement of public funds. Zakaria Shalash, head judge of the Cairo Court of Appeals, said this month that Mubarak may face execution [Ahram report] and that Adly's testimony could help prove Mubarak was an accomplice to the killings. In February, AI reported new evidence that the Supreme Military Council of Egypt had been torturing protester-detainees [JURIST report]. Through various detainee accounts, AI stated that individuals were tortured "to intimidate protesters and to obtain information about plans for the protests." Also in February, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] reported that the Egyptian military was improperly detaining protesters and allowing prisoner abuse [JURIST report].

Plaintiffs do not dispute that the commerce power allows Congress to regulate how people pay for services in the vast interstate health care services market, which is quintessential economic activity. They take issue, instead, with the means that Congress chose to regulate this economic activity. Plaintiffs urge that the correct way to ensure that people pay for the medical services they consume is not by imposing an insurance requirement, but by "imposing restrictions or penalties on individuals who attempt to consume health care services without insurance." ... Congress did not exceed its commerce power by opting to require minimum insurance coverage or the payment of a tax, instead of conditioning access to health care on the purchase of insurance and thereby denying the sick and injured access to medical care if they do not have coverage. Plaintiffs' proposed regulatory scheme disregards both the essential characteristics of the health care services market and the nature of insurance. Because the need for health care is unpredictable, plaintiffs' approach would require that individuals obtain insurance or else risk being left on the street after a car accident. Thus, under plaintiffs' scheme, the penalty for failing to maintain minimum coverage—denial of treatment—would be far more draconian than the tax penalty that Congress enacted.

Court challenges to the PPACA continue across the nation. Earlier this week, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) [advocacy website] sought reinstatement [JURIST report] of its dismissed lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the health care reform law. In April, the US Supreme Court denied [JURIST report] Virginia's request for the court to rule on the constitutionality of the health care reform law on an expedited basis. A judge for the US District Court for the District of New Jersey [official website] rejected [JURIST report] a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality, on jurisdictional grounds of standing [Cornell LII backgrounder], similar to a dismissal [JURIST report] in the US District Court for the District of New Hampshire [official website]. A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida [official website] struck down the law in January, while in October, a judge in Michigan upheld the law [JURIST report]. US Courts of Appeal for the Third, Sixth and Fourth circuits are all hearing oral arguments in appeals of lower court rulings, while appeals are pending in the DC circuit as well as the Eighth and Ninth circuits.

Numerous deaths and apparent suicides at Guantanamo have fueled critics arguing for the shut down of the controversial detention facility. In February, the Center for Constitutional Rights said the death of Guantanamo detainee Awal Gul, from a heart attack, highlighted the problems [JURIST report] with the facility. Gul had been detained at Guantanamo since October 2002. In January, Human Rights Watch criticized President Barack Obama [JURIST report] for failing to shut down the facility as he promised during the 2008 presidential campaign. In May 2008, detainee Mohammad al-Qahtani [JURIST news archive], a Saudi Arabian citizen known as the "20th hijacker" for his alleged role in 9/11, attempted suicide after he was reportedly upset about the charges the DOD brought against him. In June 2006, three detainees died [JURIST report] in apparent suicides. In 2005, American lawyer Joshua Colangelo-Bryan [professional profile] representing six Bahraini men who were being held without charges, said he witnessed an attempted suicide, which he argued was a sign of the desperation of the detainees.

This does not mark the first time Bram will face charges before a military tribunal for misconduct. Bram was court-martialed in November [JURIST report] for charges unrelated to the murders. He was accused of severely beating an Army private in his unit to keep the soldier from informing superiors about alleged drug abuse within the unit. The charges included conspiracy to commit assault and battery, unlawfully striking another soldier, violating a lawful order, dereliction of duty, cruelty, maltreatment and endeavoring to impede an investigation. The probe into 12 members of the 5th Stryker Brigade regarding the civilian deaths began in May 2010 [JURIST report]. Staff Sgt. Robert Stevens, another member of the brigade, pleaded guilty in December [JURIST report] to shooting two unarmed Afghan farmers following a plea agreement that will allow him to remain in the military after serving a nine month sentence and testifying against other soldiers accused of terrorizing civilians.