The Office was informed that the new Libyan authorities are in the process of preparing a comprehensive strategy to address crimes, including the circumstances surrounding the death of Muammar Gaddafi. In accordance with the Rome Statute the International Criminal Court should not intervene if there are genuine national proceedings. Should the Libyan authorities decide to prosecute Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah Al Sanussi for the same crimes under investigation by the International Criminal Court, they should submit an admissibility challenge and it will be for the ICC Judges to decide.

Ocampo's statement comes as the conflict in Libya [JURIST backgrounder] is winding down with the overthrow [JURIST report] of the Gaddafi regime. It is also in response to the Gaddafi family filing a war crimes complaint [JURIST report] against NATO. The ICC is continuing to pursue [JURIST report] Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi on arrest warrants filed in June of this year. The ICC claims Saif Al-Islam was acting as Gaddafi's "de facto Prime Minister" and calles Al-Sanussi Gaddafi's "right-hand man" and "executioner." They have reportedly attempted to leave Libya in an effort to surrender themselves to the ICC [JURIST report], according to the National Transitional Council (NTC) [official website].

Rights groups have criticized the UAE recently for its conduct in the wake of calls for political reform. HRW urged the government of the UAE in April to reverse its decision to dissolve [JURIST report] the board of directors of the Jurist Association, a prominent civil rights group. HRW was critical of the UAE government [press release] when it arrested Mansoor in April for calling for democratic reform. HRW also urged international public institutions [HRW press release] that have a presence in the country, such as the Guggenheim, New York University and the Agence France Museum [official websites], to publicly condemn the UAE government's detention of rights activists. HRW has continued to monitor the UAE's compliance with international human rights standards following a 2010 report [HRW report] suggesting the human rights climate in the UAE has worsened. HRW has been particularly concerned about torture, the deterioration of conditions for migrant workers, restrictions on freedoms of expression and association, and violations of women's rights. In October 2010, HRW condemned [JURIST report] a ruling by the UAE Federal Supreme Court affirming a "husband['s] right to discipline his wife" as a violation of UAE treaty obligations.

Sprint is not the only entity attempting to block the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile. In August the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] filed an antitrust lawsuit to block the merger [JURIST report] and a month later seven states joined [JURIST report] the DOJ's suit. The government argued that "AT&T's elimination of T-Mobile as an independent, low-priced rival would remove a significant competitive force from the market." AT&T responded that acquiring T-Mobile will allow it to provide better services to its customers [JURIST report] as a result of the expansion of its mobile network and that smaller, regional carriers will still act as alternatives. The worldwide consolidation of media is an ongoing global concern. In August, a class action lawsuit was filed [JURIST report] against Apple [corporate website] and five major publishers for allegedly colluding to illegally fix electronic book (e-book) prices. Communication Director for Free Press, Dave Saldana argued last July [JURIST op-ed] that the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile deal is an example of the enormous influence large media corporations can bring to bear through massive public relations blitzes and the acquisition of political influence through the pouring of money into lobbying efforts and campaign contributions. Saldana said that, for these reasons, AT&T remains confident that its T-Mobile purchase will go through, "because it knows it has several hundred million reasons to push for the merger, and millions of means to get it." Saldana warned that media consolidation is dangerous because it gives the companies leverage to sway public opinion and dominate the narrative when their own practices are questioned.

Sanader's trial was postponed [JURIST report] last week for health reasons. Elected to parliament after he stepped down from the prime minister position in 2009, Sanader was indicted in September as part of an anti-corruption campaign launched his hand-picked successor Jadranka Kosor [official profile]. Croatia is close to achieving membership in the European Union (EU), and Kosor hopes Sanader's trial will help ease pressure from Brussels for Croatia to sort out corruption and speed investigations. Sanader was extradited [JURIST report] to Croatia in July in order to face these charges after he was arrested in Austria last December. Sanader had argued that it would be impossible to receive a fair trial in Croatia, but he dropped his stance after media speculation [JURIST report] suggested the appeal could harm EU Croatia's accession. The Kosor government completed accession talks with the EU in June, and is hoping to join in July 2013.

These prohibitions on the importation of power from new large energy facilities from outside Minnesota and new long-term power purchase agreements for power generated outside of Minnesota imposed by the NGEA are facially discriminatory and have been discriminatory as applied. . . . In practical effect, through the implementation and application of these statutes, Defendants have subjected energy projects located outside of Minnesota and/or in which Minnesota-based entities have no interests to onerous regulatory burdens.

Power stations in Minnesota generate approximately sixty percent of their electricity from coal, all of which is imported, and Minnesota imports electricity directly from other states like North Dakota. The NGEA was signed into law [JURIST report] by former governor Tim Pawlenty, and was intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while promoting renewable energy sources and greater energy efficiency. Such measures have traditionally met strong resistance from existing electricity producers and other industries and areas of business, as legislation of this kind is often accompanied by increased energy costs. Last month a federal court ruled that the US is not required to reduce emissions [JURIST report] to protect polar bears. That decision was handed down about a week after another federal judge ruled against [JURIST report] the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [official website] regarding stricter guidelines passed in 2009 for its process of granting permits used by coal companies for mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia. In September the US House of Representatives [official website] passed a bill [JURIST report] that would effectively block a number of proposed EPA regulations aimed at reducing emissions. Earlier in September, President Obama requested the withdrawal of national smog standards [JURIST report] proposed by the EPA. The stricter smog standards, proposed by the EPA in January 2010 [JURIST report], would have replaced the Bush administration's broader 2008 national smog regulations [text], complying with scientific recommendations. In his statement, Obama recognized recent efforts to improve environmental protection, but emphasized the need to trim down regulations in light of the economic downturn.

The Commission's exception for fleeting material under that regulatory scheme likewise treated images and words alike. Three decades of FCC action support this conclusion. Accordingly, we find the FCC's conclusion on this issue, even as an interpretation of its own policies and precedent, counter to the evidence before the agency and so implausible that it could not be ascribed to a difference in view or the product of agency expertise.

The $550,000 fine was directed [JURIST report] at CBS and 20 affiliates in September 2004 as a result of the broadcast. CBS appealed [JURIST report] the fine in July 2006. The Supreme Court remanded [JURIST report] the case to the Third Circuit in May 2009 for reconsideration in light of its decision in FCC v. Fox Television Stations [JURIST report]. This is also not the only issue CBS has had with the FCC. In March 2006 the FCC imposed [JURIST report] a record $3.6 million fine for indecency violations against CBS and its affiliates as a result of the network airing a graphic sex scene on one of its shows.

The UN Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries in July proposed [JURIST report] international legislation [UN News Centre report] to create mechanisms for prosecuting contractors and mercenaries when they violate the law. A former contractor for Blackwater [JURIST news archive], now known as Xe Services [corporate website], was sentenced [JURIST report] a month earlier to two-and-a-half years in prison for the 2009 shooting of an unarmed Afghan civilian in Kabul. Earlier in June, four former Blackwater contractors appealed the April decision to reinstate manslaughter charges against them in connection with their alleged roles in a 2007 shooting incident [JURIST reports] in Baghdad, Iraq. In April 2010, a federal grand jury indicted five former Blackwater executives [JURIST report] on charges of weapons violations and lying to investigators. In February 2010, the Iraqi government ordered 250 former Blackwater employees to leave Iraq [JURIST report] in reaction to the dismissal of charges against former Blackwater employees accused in the deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians [JURIST report] in 2007. Blackwater ceased operations in Baghdad [JURIST report] in May 2009 when its security contracts expired and were not renewed.

Al-Nashiri, the alleged plotter of the USS Cole bombing, has been at the center of controversy for many years. In May, lawyers for al-Nashiri filed suit against Poland [JURIST report] over his supposed torture in a secret CIA prison [JURIST news archive] in the country. In 2007, al-Nashiri declared that his confession to orchestrating the USS Cole bombing was elicited under torture [JURIST report]. Al-Nashiri, along with fellow militant Jamal al-Badawi [FBI backgrounder], was sentenced to death [JURIST report] by a Yemeni court in 2004 for his role in the attack on the Cole. At least 17 sailors were killed [BBC report] and 40 were wounded in the USS Cole bombing in Aden, Yemen, on October 12, 2000.

In Gonzalez v. Thaler [transcript, PDF; JURIST report], the court considered when jurisdiction exists pursuant to a certificate of appealability issued under 28 USC § 2253(c) [text] to adjudicate a petitioner's appeal and when time runs out for habeas corpus review under 28 USC § 2244(d)(1) [text]. Petitioner argued that a certificate of appealability (COA) that does not fully comply with all the requirements of the statute, nonetheless confers jurisdiction on the federal appeals court. Petitioner also argued that the one-year statute of limitations for federal habeas corpus review should not begin until the ruling is final according to State law, as opposed to a uniform federally-imposed definition of a final ruling. The state argued that, because the COA was incomplete due to the district court judge's error, it did not meet the requirements of the statute and, therefore, did not confer jurisdiction on the appeals court. The state also argued that the statute provides a two-prong to determine with the clock starts to run and that, even where that might start the clock running before state habeas corpus review becomes available, the clock should start nonetheless. The state noted the circumstances of this care occur only rarely and, in any event, the stay-and-abeyance procedure used in Rhines would resolve the issue, and should have been employed in this case.

Last November, Bout pleaded not guilty days after the Thai government extradited [JURIST reports] him to the US to stand trail. In October, Bout filed an appeal challenging the Bangkok Criminal Court's decision to dismiss [JURIST reports] money laundering and fraud charges against him, which removed obstacles to his US extradition. According to Bout's lawyer Lak Nitiwatanavichan, the arms dealer was seeking to have these charges reinstated [Bangkok Post report] to avoid extradition to the US. In August, an appeals court in Thailand ruled that Bout could be extradited [JURIST report] to the US. The court's ruling overturned a decision it issued a year earlier, refusing to extradite Bout [JURIST report] on the basis that the accusations made by the US were not cognizable under Thai law. Bout was the subject of the book "Merchant of Death" [Reuters report], which inspired a movie by the same name, and is suspected of involvement in arms trafficking to conflict zones in Africa, South America and Middle East since the 1990s.

The closure of the SCSL represents the international community's first opportunity to implement an appropriate exit strategy for international justice. This process will be observed by the other international courts due to close in the next few years: the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia and the Extraordinary Chambers for the Courts of Cambodia. The proper closing of the SCSL is the only way to guarantee the investment in justice in Sierra Leone is realized. The Sierra Leonean government, the UN, the SCSL, the court's donors, and Sierra Leonean civil society and legal organizations must act quickly to safeguard the court's legacy.

In June, the SCSL indicted [JURIST report] five people on contempt charges for witnesses tampering. Two of the indictees were former leaders of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), Ibrahim Bazzy Kamara and Santigie Borbor Kanu, who were convicted [JURIST report] by SCSL in June 2007. Their trial began [JURIST report] in March 2005. In 2007, the SCSL charged Charles Taylor with 11 counts [indictment, PDF] of war crimes and crimes against humanity, all of which he denied [JURIST report]. The closing argument [JURIST report] for the former Libyan president began in February of this year.