Lawyers for detainees at Guantanamo have previously raised concerns with practices used at the prison. Last November, lawyers complained specifically about the infringement on attorney-client privilege [JURIST report] in a letter directed to the attention of the Deputy Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs. The attorneys alleged that those working with the Joint Task Force Guantanamo [JTF-GTMO) seize, open, interpret, read and review attorney-client privileged communications, actions which the attorneys argued are unlawful. The five detainees have been held at Guantanamo since 2006 when they were transferred there from the custody of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Last April, Attorney General Eric Holder [official website] announced that the trials [JURIST report] for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the four other detainees are set to be held before a military commission. This was a change from Holder's previous position to conduct the trials in federal civilian court [JURIST report]. Wednesday marked the tenth anniversary of operation at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST report].

In early December an American was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison [JURIST report] after he translated part of a banned biography and put the translation on the Internet. UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression Frank La Rue [official website] condemned the law [JURIST report] in October 2011 saying that it was too vague on what constituted an insult. In 2009, Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] called for a public trial [JURIST report] for a Thai political activist accused of violating the law, when the judge ordered the trial closed for national security reasons. Darunee Charnchoensilpakul [advocacy website] was convicted [BBC report] at the trial and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

In Roberts v. Sea-Land Services [transcript, PDF; JURIST report] the court will clarify when the period for compensation is under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act [text], which goes into effect after a worker is disabled on the job. The calculation for compensation is based on several factors, including the national average wage. Dana Roberts was disabled for a period between 2002 and 2005, but her claim was not adjudicated until 2007. Roberts argues that the national average wage when her claim was first adjudicated and decided in 2007 should be used, as opposed to the national average wage from 2002 when she was injured. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled [opinion, PDF] that Roberts misinterpreted the phrase "those newly awarded compensation during such period" and held that her compensation should be calculated based on the 2002 national average. The oral arguments focus on the ambiguity of the word "award," which counsel for the petitioner maintains is the compensation resulting from an administrative compensation order. The state argued that it would not make sense to compensate an employee who has not received an administrative order differently that one who has.

Senegal has been under pressure to send Habre to a country where he will face trial for his alleged war crimes committed during his rule of Chad. In July of last year, Senegal reversed [JURIST report] its decision to send the former dictator back to Chad after UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] warned he could be tortured. The decision came after Pillay issued a plea [JURIST report] not to return Habre to Chad, which has already sentenced him to death in absentia and where she fears he will be tortured. The plea from Pillay came just days after Senegal announced it was deporting Habre to Chad [JURIST report] to face charges for war crimes. Belgium has long sought Habre's extradition under a universal jurisdiction law that allows Belgian courts to hear cases over violations of international law. In 2009, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) [official website] denied [JURIST report] Belgium's request to compel Habre's extradition.

[T]he drilling technique of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas exploration and production has been found to use a variety of contaminating chemicals and materials that can suddenly and in an uncontrolled manner be introduced into the surface waters and ground water of the State; that the companies engaging in the use of this drilling technique have been less than forthcoming in revealing the "cocktail" of chemicals and their volume that can be introduced into these waters ... The Legislature therefore determines it is prudent and in the best interest of the people of the State of New Jersey to prohibit hydraulic fracturing in the State for the purpose of natural gas exploration or production.

Fracking has been a contentious issue recently, both in the US and abroad. Fracking is a process in which water, sand and chemicals are pumped into the ground to create fractures in rocks which allows trapped gas and oil to come to surface. Proponents trumpet the technique for providing people with abundant energy as well as for creating jobs in a tough economy. Opponents of fracking point out its negative consequences on the environment and public health. In October the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [official website] announced plans to develop standards [JURIST report] for wastewater discharge from fracking. In July JURIST contributor Joseph Schaeffer wrote extensively [JURIST op-ed] about communities in Appalachia preemptively passing laws to curb fracking. In June New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman [official profile] sued the US government [JURIST report] for its alleged failure to study the risks of fracking. In May France's lower house approved a nationwide ban on fracking [JURIST report].

In November the ICTB began its first trial [JURIST report] for crimes against humanity committed during the Bangladesh Liberation War. The defendant is Delwar Hossain Sayedee, a former member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Bangladesh [official website, in Bengali] and one of the former leaders of JI. Earlier that month ICTB prosecutors filed an application [JURIST report] for formal charges against Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, a former leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party [party website] who is also accused of crimes against humanity during the Liberation War. In May Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] sent a letter to the Bangladesh government praising its efforts through the ICTB to prosecute war crimes, but urging the government to ensure that the trials are carried out in accordance with international human rights expectations [JURIST report]. Bangladesh established the ICTB [JURIST report] in March 2010.