The Federal Senate [official website] in December voted 59-7 to pass the amendments [JURIST report] to the Forest Code. In February Jayme Mello, a Senior Attorney at Nogueira, Elias, Lakowski and Matias [corporate website], wrote that the new amendments are a threat to the Brazilian environment and should be declared unconstitutional [JURIST comment]. Mello predicts the Supreme Court of Brazil will likely address the code's constitutionality regarding two issues, the "social function of property" clause introduced into the Brazilian Constitution in 1988 and the "common use" nature of Brazilian swampland that precludes it from becoming private property subject to amnesty provisions. Mello further notes that there is no Brazilian Supreme Court precedent on either matter, making predictions regarding the outcome of a relevant lawsuit nearly impossible. The UN Security Council [official website] in July made its first official statement [JURIST report] that the climate change is most likely to pose a serious threat to world peace and security.

Last week the Wisconsin Supreme Court [official website] dismissed [JURIST report] its review of NAACP and another challenge to Act 23, League of Women Voters v. Walker [case materials], leaving the state appellate courts to decide whether to lift the injunctions currently in effect against the law. The Wisconsin Courts of Appeal for District II and District IV [certifications, PDFs] had sent the cases directly to the Supreme Court last month, stating the importance of deciding the issue before the upcoming May 8 primary elections, but the state Supreme Court declined to rule. Earlier in March, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Richard Neiss blocked the voter ID law, calling it unconstitutional, and ordered a permanent injunction [JURIST report] pending appeal. There are now 31 US states [NCSL backgrounder] that require voters to present some form of ID at the polls, including 15 states that require photo ID, and the issue remains controversial.

The Ontario Court of Appeal extended a stay in June that was previously extended in December 2010 of a lower court decision [JURIST reports] striking down laws banning prostitution-related activities. In March 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada agreed to review a BC Court of Appeal [official website] decision allowing a challenge to the country's anti-prostitution laws. In 2007 the Sex Professional of Canada [advocacy website] initiated an application [JURIST report] with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice [official website] challenging the three provisions on the grounds that they are inconsistent with the Charter. The challenge came on the heels of the trial of Robert Pickton [CBC case backgrounder], who was accused of murdering 26 women [indictment text], mostly prostitutes, in the Vancouver area in the 1990s. Pickton was convicted of six counts of murder [Globe and Mail report] in late 2007.

[T]he meeting expressed dismay that an elected Prime Minister of the country had been sentenced for upholding the Constitution and supremacy of the Parliament. It also noted with disappointment that while no dictator had been punished for suspension and abrogation of the Constitution a democratically and unanimously elected Prime Minister had been sentenced for upholding the Constitution. It expressed concern over attempts to dismiss an elected government and an elected Prime Minister.

The Supreme Court charged and issued a summons demanding Gilani appear [JURIST reports] in February. The month prior, Gilani honored previously issued summons by appearing before the Supreme Court to answer contempt charges [JURIST reports] and explain why he failed to purse corruption charges against Zardari, who is accused of using Swiss bank accounts to fund bribes. The conflict between the prime minister and the court stems from an order that struck down [JURIST report] the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) [text] in 2009, which granted immunity to Zardari and 8,000 other government officials from charges of corruption, embezzlement, money laundering, murder and terrorism between January 1986 and October 1999. These proceedings reflect an ongoing struggle between the government and the courts in Pakistan. In December, the Supreme Court formed a judicial committee to investigate a secret memo [JURIST report] sent from an unknown Pakistani source to US Admiral Mike Mullen in May asking for help in preventing a suspected army coup.

In June, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) [official website] selected five appointees [JURIST report], one woman and four men, to serve on the nation's first Supreme Court. Kenya has seen a relative transition to peace in recent years as the country has tried to curtail the president's powers and end the violence. President Mwai Kibaki signed a new constitution [JURIST report] into law in August 2010 as part of a reform movement aimed at curbing vast presidential powers. Kenya's new constitution includes numerous checks on presidential authority, among which are the creation of a supreme court and senate. The new constitution was approved [JURIST report] by popular referendum earlier that same month. The creation of a new constitution was part of a power-sharing agreement [JURIST report] reached in 2009 between Kibaki and opposition leader Prime Minister Raila Odinga [official website] that brought to an end the civil unrest that followed the contested election.

NGOs must be able to operate free from executive interference. They must be consulted and included in policy decisions, particularly when a state is undergoing major transformational or transitional processes. And they must not be penalized for criticizing or questioning state policies and processes. Governments need to understand that collaboration with civil society is not a sign of weakness. It is the way to build a better, more inclusive, society—something all governments should be trying to do, and something they cannot manage on their own.

The 2009 Ethiopian law has been met with harsh criticism from Amnesty International [JURIST report] in recent weeks, with the organization alleging that the law is sabotaging charity work and undermining human rights in the country. Egypt's crackdown on NGOs has drawn criticism for months. In January, the Egyptian government denied cracking down on pro-democracy NGOs after officials raided the offices of 17 different NGOs [JURIST reports] the previous week. In September 2011 the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia Surya Subedi [official profile] urged the Cambodian government to review [JURIST report] a proposed law that would hinder NGOs efforts in the country, while at the same time praises human rights efforts in the country.

In February Taylor's lawyers asked that the SCSL reopen the case [JURIST report] in light of new evidence, but the request was denied. The SCSL heard closing arguments [JURIST report] in March 2011. Closing arguments were originally set to begin a month earlier, but were postponed pending an appeals chamber decision to accept the defense's final written brief [JURIST reports]. The trial chamber originally disregarded the brief because it was 20 days late. Taylor has denied the charges [JURIST report] against him, which include murder, rape, sexual slavery and acts of terrorism stemming from from a "campaign to terrorize the civilian population" of Sierra Leone [JURIST news archive]. Taylor's defense lawyers opened their case [JURIST report] in July 2009 and have claimed that he could not have commanded rebel forces in Sierra Leone while acting as the president of Liberia. His trial continued after the court denied his motion for acquittal [JURIST report] in May 2009.