Karman, a Yemeni journalist and activist, won her Nobel Peace Prize [JURIST report] for aiding the protest movement in Yemen that forced Saleh from the presidency. While Karman will have to wait for further action by the UN, the Security Council in September called on Yemen to comply with international law [JURIST report] and end ongoing violence against protesters that resulted in the deaths of at least 49 people [Al Jazeera report] shortly following Saleh's return as president after a three-month absence. Also in September, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights [official website] urged an intervention [JURIST report] in Yemen after verifying that the Yemeni government was indeed firing on peaceful protesters. Saleh clung to the presidency throughout nearly 10 months of protests and violence despite agreeing to step down [JURIST report] in April, shortly following his attempt to remove presidential term limits and expand his political authority.

Most African nations, excluding South Africa, have criminalized same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive], and Nigeria in particular has long discriminated against gays and lesbians. Earlier this month, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard [official website] proposed a vote on same-sex marriage, and Brazil granted its first citizenship based on same-sex marriage [JURIST reports]. In August, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera [official profile, in Spanish] proposed legislation that would legalize same-sex civil unions [JURIST report]. In June, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website] passed its first gay rights resolution [JURIST report]. Despite these advances, other countries have stood strongly against same-sex marriage. In April, Hungary added a prohibition against gay marriage [JURIST report] to its constitution, and in January, France upheld a same-sex marriage ban [JURIST report]. As of a 2011 International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) [advocacy website] State-Sponsored Homophobia report [text, PDF], 76 countries still criminalize same-sex relationships, and five enforce the death penalty against homosexuals.

This case is ultimately about free speech and equal treatment for all North Carolinians, regardless of their point of view on abortion. The state should not be allowed to use its authority to promote one side of a debate while denying the same opportunity to the other side. We look forward to continuing our arguments in this case, and hope the court agrees that the First Amendment prohibits the blatant type of viewpoint discrimination the state has proposed through this one-sided license plate scheme.

Abortion continues to be an extremely controversial issue in North Carolina. In October, a federal district court judge blocked [JURIST report] a provision of a state abortion law [HB 854 materials] that required a physician to perform an ultrasound and describe the images to the patient. This law, known as the "Woman's Right to Know Act" also requires a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking an abortion. In June, North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue [official website] vetoed the bill [JURIST report], calling it "a dangerous intrusion into the confidential relationship that exists between women and their doctors." In July, however, both the House and Senate [JURIST reports] voted to override the veto, allowing the legislation to become North Carolina law. Opponents of the law have called it "draconian" and have stated that women seeking abortions will face dramatic changes once the law takes effect, while supporters contend that the new law will give women the opportunity to "know all the facts" about abortion.

It is not fair, because, despite Citigroup's nominal consent, the potential for abuse in imposing penalties on the basis of facts that are neither proven nor acknowledged patent. It is not adequate, because, in the absence of any facts, the Court lacks a framework for determining adequacy. And, most obviously, the proposed Consent Judgment does not serve the public interest, because it asks the Court to employ its power and assert its authority when it does not know the facts. An application of judicial power that does not rest on facts is worse than mindless, it is inherently dangerous. The injunctive power of the judiciary is not a free roving remedy to be invoked at the whim of a regulatory agency, even with the consent of the regulated. If its deployment does not rest on facts—cold, hard, solid facts, established either by admissions or by trials—it serves no lawful or moral purpose and is simply an engine of opposition.

In October, the judge ordered [text, PDF] the SEC and Citigroup to defend their recent settlement agreement [JURIST report]. The agreement concluded the dispute that charged Citigroup with having misled its investors about a $1 billion loan that defaulted. The result left investors to bear the burden while Citigroup reaped $160 million in profits from trading and fees. Rakoff directed both parties to answer nine questions pertaining to the $285 million settlement. One of Rakoff's principal issues is why the SEC imposed a $95 million penalty on Citigroup but imposed a $535 million penalty [settlement agreement, PDF] on Goldman Sachs in a July 2010 suit.

I was particularly heartened by the determination of the representatives of the Lebanese people to work for the rule of law and long-term stability. ... I am convinced that the strength of the legal and academic communities of Lebanon will allow the administration of justice in the country to attain new heights. The support we are receiving will allow the STL to contribute to securing the stability that everybody, the killers aside, so earnestly desires, which will open new opportunities for Lebanon.

The STL has faced great difficulty [JURIST report] trying to arrest the members of Hezbollah in Lebanon where the Shiite militia Hezbollah, backed by Iran, is the country's most powerful political force. Hezbollah has denied involvement in the suicide bombing on February 14, 2005, which killed former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] in addition to 22 other people. If the trial commences, this would be the first trial in absentia at an international court since the prosecution of Nazis during the Nuremberg trials. In 2007, the UN Security Council approved a resolution to establish an ad hoc international tribunal to investigate and try suspects in the assassination of Hariri.

In early August, a Vietnamese appeals court upheld the seven-year sentence of prominent rights lawyer and dissident Cu Huy Ha Vu, convicted in April [JURIST report] of carrying out anti-state propaganda. The court dismissed the appeal [AP report] despite Vu's arguments that his advocating for a multi-party system did not mean he was against the Communist party. In January 2010, a Vietnamese court sentenced [JURIST report] writer and democracy activist Pham Thanh Nghien to four years in prison on charges of spreading anti-state propaganda. That same month, a Vietnamese court convicted four democracy activists [JURIST report] of subversion. Following the one-day trial, human rights lawyer Le Cong Dinh [JURIST news archive] was sentenced to five years in prison. The four defendants were accused of activities aimed at ending communist rule in Vietnam. Dinh admitted to advocating multi-party democracy in Vietnam and joining the banned Democracy Party. Prior to Dinh's conviction, a Vietnamese court sentenced [JURIST report] pro-democracy dissident Tran Anh Kim in December 2009 to five-and-a-half years in prison for subversion.

While the National Transitional Council has taken some steps towards transferring responsibility for detainees from brigades to proper State authorities, much remains to be done to regularize detention, prevent abuse, bring about the release of persons whose detention should not be prolonged and ensure that future arrests are carried out only within the law. ... I believe that the leaders of the new Libya are truly committed to building a society based on respect for human rights. However difficult the circumstances, it is essential to take the earliest possible action to end arbitrary detention and prevent abuses and discrimination against third country nationals and against any group of Libya's own citizens.

Last week, International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo [official profile] said the ICC would allow Libya to conduct the trial of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi [JURIST report], son of Muammar Gaddafi. Ocampo said he trusts the new Libyan government will be able to try him fairly [AP report] despite concern expressed by human rights groups. Ocampo had traveled to Libya [JURIST report] to discuss the details of the Saif al-Islam trial with Libyan officials. Earlier this month, Saif al-Islam was captured in southern Libya, and Libyan Prime Minister Abdurrahim al-Keib subsequently pledged that he would receive a fair trial [JURIST reports]. Also this month, Ottilia Maunganidze [profile], a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies [website], wrote that the NTC must meet its international obligations [JURIST op-ed] and ensure justice for human rights violations by surrendering Saif al-Islam to the ICC. Edsel Tupaz of Tupaz & Associates and Daniel Wagner [profiles] of Country Risk Solutions wrote this month that while Libya needs a "strategically targeted court system" with a specialized war crimes court [JURIST op-ed] at its core, currently there is no avoiding "the fact that there are no domestic judicial mechanisms [in Libya] ... to enforce the voice of the ICC."

Several other laws have been challenged recently in Malaysian courts. Late last month, the Malaysian Court of Appeal [official website] ruled that a law prohibiting college students from taking part in political activities is unconstitutional [JURIST report]. The suit, filed by four International Islamic University of Malaysia [official website] students in 2010, challenged the constitutionality of the 1971 Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) [text, PDF] prohibiting students from political participation. Also last month, Malaysia's government released 125 prisoners [JURIST report] who were being held under a decades-old security law that has been widely criticized by human rights and opposition groups. In September, Razak announced that the government would repeal two strict security laws [JURIST report] that had allowed extended detention of suspects without trial. The government also said that it will review other laws dealing with freedom of the press.

Shortly after the convictions were handed down, the medics urged the UN to investigate claims of abuse [JURIST report] and due process violations. Earlier this week, Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa [official profile] ordered a special commission [JURIST report] to look into recommendations made following an independent investigation into the alleged crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in the country. The announcement follows a report [JURIST report] released last week by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) [official website] that Bahrain authorities used excessive force and tortured detainees involved in the pro-democracy demonstrations earlier this year.

Al-Bashir remains an extremely controversial figure in international politics for his actions during the Darfur conflict. The ICC requested last month that the Republic of Malawi explain [JURIST report] why that country's authorities failed to arrest al-Bashir during his widely reported visit there for a trade summit. Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website], in a press release on the day of al-Bashir's visit, urged Malawi to arrest the Sudanese president [JURIST report] and surrender him to the ICC for prosecution. In June, AI urged Malaysia to withdraw an invitation for al-Bashir to participate in an event there and to arrest him if he travels to the country [JURIST report]. Also in June, ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo issued a statement claiming that al-Bashir has continued to commit crimes against humanity [JURIST report] in Darfur. In May, the ICC urged Djibouti to arrest al-Bashir [JURIST report].