Last month UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official website] expressed concern [JURIST report] about threats to rule of law [press release] in Papua New Guinea. Pillay's concerns stemmed from actions taken by the government that she believed breach international human rights standards and adversely affect the judiciary and its ability to act independently. Pillay said the actions of both the legislature and the executive have curtailed the power of the judiciary and it can no longer function independently. In March, the Parliament passed a bill to refer judges to a system for dealing with misconduct. When the Supreme Court held that such a system was unconstitutional the legislature passed another law creating criminal sanctions [amendment text] against anyone who would not comply with the first law.

Ben Ali left office and the country in January 2011, seeking exile in Saudi Arabia during the protests. Just under one year later the military tribunal convened and began trying Ali for his alleged orders to shoot protesters, for which the prosecutor has now sought the death penalty. Ben Ali and his wife were tried and convicted [JURIST reports] in absentia on numerous charges related to corruption, including theft and unlawful possession of money and jewelry, and were sentenced to 35 years in prison and fined US$65.6 million. Justice Minister Lazhar Karoui Chebbi [profile, in French] announced the issuance of an arrest warrant for Ben Ali in January 2011, but the country has not received a response to its requests to extradite [JURIST reports] the former leader from Saudi Arabia.

MasterCard balances the interests of both consumers and retailers, so that each party pays its fair share of the costs for the benefits it receives. Today's ruling, if it stands, would upset that sharing and tip the balance decidedly against consumers. It would also threaten the continued delivery of the most advanced electronic payment technologies in Europe which, in turn, are essential to facilitating business and driving economic growth.

In 2010 the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] filed a civil antitrust lawsuit [JURIST report] against MasterCard, Visa and American Express [corporate websites]. The lawsuit challenged rules utilized by the companies that prevented merchants from providing discounts and rewards for using credit cards with lower merchant fees. The DOJ contended that these rules unfairly inflate costs for both consumers and merchants. Visa and MasterCard agreed to a settlement that required the companies to allow merchants using their cards to express a preference for types of payments accepted, to offer discounts to consumers for using a particular card or type of payment and to provide consumers with information regarding the costs incurred by the merchant when a particular type of credit card is used. In 2008 Visa and Mastercard settled an antitrust suit [JURIST report] with Discover Financial Services [corporate website] for $2.75 billion. The settlement was the result of a 2004 lawsuit filed by Discover after a DOJ suit [opinion] determined Visa and Mastercard were in violation of section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act by prohibiting banks from using Discover's services.

Despite the human rights imperative to employ lethal force only as a last resort to protect life, state security forces continued to use lethal force against anti-government demonstrations in Idlib, Homs, Aleppo, Hama, Damascus and Dar'a and in numerous villages throughout the country. The Commission recognizes that many such protests were accompanied by armed groups, who have described their role as providing protection for the demonstrators. The resulting clashes were deadly for demonstrators, members of these armed groups and security forces alike, yet too-often civilians bore the brunt of the violence.

The international community has continued to call for end to the violence in Syria. In April, the UN Security Council [official website] approved a resolution [JURIST report] to send 300 unarmed soldiers and civilian aid to Syria to implement a peace plan. Earlier in April, Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] released a report claiming the Syrian government has executed more than 100 civilians [JURIST report] and opposition fighters during recent attacks. Also in April UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon [official profile] reaffirmed his call for an end to the violence and condemned attacks [JURIST report] by pro-government troops against civilians. In March the UN Human Rights Council [official website] passed a non-binding resolution [JURIST report] condemning Syrian authorities for ongoing bloodshed and violations of human rights. This official condemnation from the rights body came after UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] demanded a cease-fire [JURIST report] in late February.

The ACLU has long been critical of government surveillance programs. Earlier this week the US Supreme Court [official website] granted certiorari [JURIST report] Monday in Clapper v. Amnesty International USA [docket] to determine whether plaintiffs have standing to challenge a federal eavesdropping law. The ACLU, one of the respondents in the case, expressed hope [press release] that the Supreme Court would affirm the Second Circuit and allow the lawsuit to proceed. In September the ACLU released a report [text, PDF] claiming that the US is diminishing its "core values" with regard to various counterterrorism measures [JURIST report] put in place during the 10 years since the 9/11 attacks [JURIST news archive]. To support this contention, the report cited to US policies regarding indefinite military detention for terrorism suspects, the use of torture on terrorism suspects and enemy combatants, racial and religious profiling, and domestic surveillance and wiretapping.

A number of countries around the world have been making attempts to solve the problem of maritime piracy. Earlier this week a United Arab Emirates court sentenced 10 Somali pirates [JURIST report] to 25 years in prison. Also this week six accused Somali pirates went on trial [JURIST report] in a Paris court for taking 30 crew members hostage in 2008 on the ship Le Ponant in the Gulf of Aden. The US government in March handed over [JURIST report] 15 suspected Somali pirates it captured in January to the Republic of Seychelles for prosecution. Italy ordered its first international piracy trial in February against nine Somali pirates, while France began its first international piracy trial [JURIST reports] in November. In October the UN Security Council adopted a resolution encouraging states to criminalize and punish piracy after maritime piracy reached an all-time high [JURIST reports] last year. The UN also donated $9.3 million [JURIST report] in 2010 to fund piracy courts in Seychelles and Kenya, the only two countries that have created such courts.

In February, a Tunisian court dropped charges [JURIST report] against al-Mahmoudi for illegally entering the country, but the former figurehead remains in jail until a final decision on his extradition to Libya. The court dismissed the charges after determining that al-Mahmoudi had lawfully crossed into Tunisia from Libya. Al-Mahmoudi's lawyer has indicated that he is attempting to have him released from custody while awaiting the extradition process. In January, the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch [advocacy websites], among other human rights groups, urged Tunisia not to extradite [JURIST report] al-Mahmoudi because he would be "at a real risk for torture" if returned to Libya. At the time, reports indicated that al-Mahmoudi feared for his safety and claimed to be the sole possessor of Libyan state secrets following Gaddafi's death in October [JURIST reports].

Bahrain's human rights record has been heavily criticized. Earlier this month human rights activist Nabeel Rajab, the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) [advocacy website], was arrested [JURIST report] for messages he posted on Twitter [website] criticizing Bahrain's Interior Ministry [official website, in Arabic]. The BCHR has been critical of the Bahraini regime's response to protests and demonstrations in Bahrain [BBC backgrounder] which have been ongoing since February 2011 [JURIST report]. Also this month Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] urged Bahrain to immediately release [JURIST report] the leaders of last year's anti-government protests, including Al-Khawaja. In April four independent UN human rights experts called for the immediate release [JURIST report] of Al-Khawaja over concerns that his conviction was related to his work promoting human rights.

The case went to trial [JURIST report] last month after settlement negotiations broke down. In addition to defending against patent claims, Google has also been under fire recently regarding its new privacy policy [JURIST news archive], which came into effect in March. EU data authorities are concerned [JURIST report] about the sharing and combination of personal data across services and its compliance with European data protection legislation.

A number of countries around the world have been making strides in helping to solve the problem of maritime piracy [JURIST news archive]. Earlier this week, six accused Somali pirates went on trial [JURIST report] in a Paris court for taking 30 crew members hostage in 2008 on the ship Le Ponant in the Gulf of Aden. The US government in March handed over [JURIST report] 15 suspected Somali pirates it captured in January to the Republic of Seychelles for prosecution. Italy ordered its first international piracy trial in February against nine Somali pirates, while France began its first international piracy trial [JURIST reports] in November. In October the UN Security Council adopted a resolution encouraging states to criminalize and punish piracy after maritime piracy reached an all-time high [JURIST reports] in April. The UN also donated $9.3 million [JURIST report] in 2010 to fund piracy courts in Seychelles and Kenya, the only two countries that have created such courts.

It is shocking and outrageous that Dr. Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani doctor who assisted the United States in the search for Osama bin Laden, has been sentenced to 33 years in prison for the crime of treason. What Dr. Afridi did is the furthest thing from treason. It was a courageous, heroic, and patriotic act, which helped to locate the most wanted terrorist in the world - a mass murderer who had the blood of many innocent Pakistanis on his hands.

Since controversy arose over the killing of Bin Laden [JURIST report] by US forces in Pakistan last May, Pakistan's alliance with the US has been questioned. In December the Supreme Court of Pakistan [official website] formed a judicial committee to investigate a secret memo sent from an unknown Pakistani source to US Admiral Mike Mullen in May asking for help in preventing a suspected army coup. Former Pakistan ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari [BBC profile] have been accused of writing or having knowledge of the memo, and both have denied these allegations. The growing conflict between the US and Pakistan was analyzed by JURIST guest columnist Sikander Ahmed Shah in Drone Strikes in Pakistan: Examining Consent in International Law [JURIST op-ed]. Pakistan has also faced an ongoing struggle with corruption that the courts have attempted to battle.