Last year, African Union Commission (AUC) [official website] Chairperson Jean Ping accused [JURIST report] ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo of targeting citizens of African states for prosecution. The comments came in the wake of a vote by Africa's foreign ministers, who supported Kenya's bid to defer the trials of numerous suspects who allegedly planned the 2007 post-election violence [Reuters backgrounder]. In 2010 the Kenyan Parliament approved a motion to withdraw the country from the ICC [JURIST report]. The vote came a week after Ocampo presented cases against [JURIST report] six individuals believed to be responsible for the 2007 post-election violence that resulted in more than 1,000 deaths in the country. Although the vote was non-binding, it was a victory for the sponsor of the legislation, Isaac Ruto, who wanted the six suspects to be tried in Kenya.

Friday's order is seen as one of the first effects of the legal reform that took place in the recent months. In June Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) [party website] announced [JURIST report] its plan to present to the country's parliament before its recess a reform package including the proposed abolition of special courts. One of the most prominent cases before the special authority courts is the case of the Ergenekon [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] network. In January retired Turkish general Ilker Basbug, formerly the leader of all of Turkey's armed forces, was arrested [JURIST report] for his alleged involvement with the network. The group was accused of having planned to assassinate prominent members of Turkey's Christian and Jewish minority groups, blame Islamic terrorists for the deaths and use this to delegitimize the ruling AKP. The Ergenekon investigation has been criticized for its alleged purpose of silencing AKP's opponents and imposing Islamic principles [JURIST report].

The laws surrounding euthanasia and assisted suicide exist to protect all Canadians, including those who are most vulnerable, such as people who are sick or elderly or people with disabilities. The Supreme Court of Canada acknowledged the state interest in protecting human life and upheld the constitutionality of the existing legislation in [the 1993 Rodriguez case].

Justice Lynn Smith for the Supreme Court of British Columbia had ruled last month that the provisions of Canada's Criminal Code unjustly violate the rights to life, liberty and equality. She reasoned that physician-assisted suicide could be executed safely [JURIST report] if adequate safeguards were in place. Opinions regarding the right to die [JURIST news archive] have been sharply divided around the world. In May the Louisiana legislature passed a bill [JURIST report] strengthening the state's ban on euthanasia. Earlier that month Georgia Governor Nathan Deal [official website] signed legislation banning assisted suicide [JURIST report] in the state. In 2011 an India high court ruled passive euthanasia was permitted [JURIST report] under certain circumstances, but rejected a petition for a mercy killing. In 2010 a German court ruled that removing a patient from life support is not a criminal offense [JURIST report] if the patient had previously given consent. In 2009 the Italian president refused to sign [JURIST report] a government decree stopping the euthanasia of comatose women because it would violate the separation of power overturning a previous court ruling.

Plaintiffs seek a declaration that DOMA § 3 ... violates the [US] Constitution, as applied to plaintiffs and those similarly situated, by refusing to recognize their lawful marriages for purposes of conferring family-based immigration waivers and benefits. As a direct and proximate result of the violations of the Constitution alleged herein, plaintiffs have been denied, and will continue to be denied, legal protections and benefits under the [INA] that would be available to them were they spouses of different sexes.

This week 132 members of the US House of Representatives [official website] filed an amicus brief [JURIST report] arguing for DOMA to be overturned as unconstitutional. The brief was filed in the appeal of Karen Golinski v. Office of Personnel Management, the landmark case in which the US District Court for the Northern District of California [official website] ruled that DOMA is unconstitutional [JURIST report]. Last month 10 US senators filed their own amicus brief in the case, arguing in the opposite [JURIST report] that the federal government had a legitimate interest in creating a uniform federal definition of marriage to "[avoid] massive legal uncertainty." That filing came the week after the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) submitted its brief defending DOMA [JURIST report], arguing that laws relating to sexual orientation should be evaluated with a rational basis [Cornell LII backgrounder] test and that the government's denial of federal benefits to lawfully married same-sex couples is a rational means to preserving a single federal definition of marriage and preserving federal funds. The BLAG DOMA defense group of attorneys [JURIST report] was established by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) [official website] on a 3-2 BLAG vote in March of last year after the DOJ announced that it would no longer defend the constitutionality of Section 3 on order from President Obama, after he announced he would continue to fight for the repeal of DOMA [JURIST report].

[T]he number of both supportive and middle-ground states shrank considerably, while the number of hostile states ballooned. In 2000, 19 states were middle-ground and only 13 were hostile. By 2011, when states enacted a record-breaking number of new abortion restrictions, that picture had shifted dramatically: 26 states were hostile to abortion rights, and the number of middle-ground states had cut in half, to nine.

Reproductive rights controversy [JURIST backgrounder] has been an ongoing issue in the US. On Thursday the Center for Reproductive Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona [advocacy websites] filed a lawsuit challenging an Arizona law [JURIST reports] that prohibits abortions after 20 weeks into a pregnancy unless there is a medical emergency. On Wednesday a judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi [official website] extended his initial temporary injunction following a lawsuit [JURIST reports] brought by an abortion clinic, blocking a controversial Mississippi abortion law that was supposed to go in effect at the beginning of this month. In June Louisiana Governor Bob Jindal [official website] signed a bill [JURIST report] that would increase the waiting period between a mandatory ultrasound and the procedure itself from 2 to 24 hours thereby heightening abortion restrictions in the state.

Banks have faced a high volume of ATM and debit card litigation recently. Earlier this month US Bancorp, one of the 10 largest banks in the US, announced a $55 million settlement [JURIST report] to resolve lawsuits by customers over excessive overdraft fees. In May the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida approved a settlement in an overdraft case for JPMorgan Chase & Co requiring the company to pay $110 million to customers [JURIST report] in order to resolve the litigation. In November the court approved a settlement [JURIST report] in a class action suit against BOA for excessive overdraft fees. BOA was among more than two dozen US, Canadian and European lenders named as defendants in the class action lawsuit, which consolidated claims across the country in 2009. The plaintiffs claimed that BOA's practices were deceptive in that they did not reasonably notify customers that they had the option of opting out of the overdraft scheme and declining transactions. In November 2009, the UK Supreme Court [official website] ruled that the British government could not challenge the fairness of bank overdraft fees [JURIST report] as a matter of law.

Over the last century Congress has granted citizenship rights to Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Last year JURIST Guest Columnist Edsel Tupaz wrote about several areas of the international law of the seas [JURIST comment] and complex issues of multilateral diplomacy that must be dealt with in order to resolve the dispute, noting that Faleomavaega had introduced House Resolution 352 calling for "a peaceful and collaborative resolution to maritime territorial disputes in the South China Sea and other maritime areas adjacent to the East Asian mainland." In July 2010 American Samoa concluded a constitutional convention that approved several amendments to the territory's 1967 constitution [JURIST report]. The amendments removed much of the authority of the US Department of the Interior (DOI) in the country and shifted that power to local officials. Some of the specific changes approved by the convention included removing the DOI's ability to override vetoes of the American Samoan governor and removing the DOI's ability to reject amendments to the territory's constitution. American Samoa has been a US territory since 1900.

Russia has been criticized recently for controversial legislation. Three UN experts on Thursday urged the State Duma [JURIST report] not to adopt a controversial bill that will regulate the activities of non-commercial organizations (NCOs) that engage in political activity and receive foreign funding. Earlier this week the Duma approved [JURIST report] the third reading of a controversial Internet regulation bill. The online encyclopedia Wikipedia had shut down its site [JURIST report] on Tuesday in a one-day protest of the legislation, which it said in an article "may become the basis for real censorship on the internet." In May prominent Russian gay rights activist Nikolai Alekeyev became the first to be convicted [JURIST report] under a St. Petersburg city ordinance that prohibits the spreading "homosexual propaganda" to minors. People who oppose the new law, which was introduced in November and signed into law [JURIST reports] in April, claim it will prevent gay rights groups from being able to assemble in public.

There has been no progress in the investigation into her death in the past year, Human Rights Watch said. Despite repeated reassurances by federal authorities that Estemirova's case is close to being resolved, the investigation still appears to be based solely on the premise that Estemirova was killed by Chechen insurgents in retaliation for exposing some of their crimes. Along with leading Russian human rights activists, Human Rights Watch disputes that as the most likely scenario and has observed significant discrepancies in the evidence cited by the authorities.

Estemirova is one of several rights advocates to be gunned down in Russia in recent years. Prominent opposition leader and human rights activist in Russia's southern province of Ingushetia [official website, in Russian], Maksharip Aushev, was shot dead [JURIST report] in October 2009 while traveling on a highway in the North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria. In August 2009, Chechen human rights activist Zarema Sadulayeva and her husband Alik Dzhabrailov were found dead [JURIST report]. Sadulayeva's death came less than a month after Estemirova's death. The body of Russian human rights activist Andrei Kulagin [JURIST report] was found in a quarry in June 2009. Russian Human Rights Commissioner Vladimir Lukin expressed concern in April 2009 that activists in Russia were being attacked with greater frequency [JURIST report]. In January 2009, Russian human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov was shot and killed [JURIST report] in Moscow. Markelov represented journalist Anna Politkovskaya [BBC obituary], who was shot to death [JURIST report] in October 2006. JURIST Forum Guest Columnist Pamela A. Jordan argues that Estemirova's murder may help jolt average Russians into demanding that their leaders engage in legal reform in her op-ed Strong-arm Rule or Rule of Law? Prospects for Legal Reform in Russia [JURIST op-ed].

All three men are prisoners of conscience—convicted and imprisoned because of their legitimate and peaceful activities. They should be immediately and unconditionally released. The trial fell short of international standards of fair trial in a number of ways. The other five men also sentenced today should be retried or released. The Ethiopian government is treating calls for peaceful protest as a terrorist act and is outlawing the legitimate activity of journalists and opposition members.

In June, the Ethiopian Federal High Court [official website, in Amharic] convicted [JURIST report] 24 journalists, political opposition leaders and others under the country's Anti-Terrorism Proclamation of 2009 [text], according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website]. Ethiopia has faced consistent criticism since it passed [JURIST report] the anti-terrorism law in 2009. In January, the Ethiopian court convicted [JURIST report] three journalists, a political opposition leader and a politician's assistant for conspiring to commit acts of terrorism in violation of the controversial law. Human rights groups such as HRW have criticized the conviction and called the government to drop all charges. In December HRW stated [JURIST report] that the controversial law is "fundamentally flawed and being used to repress legitimate reporting." The statement came after two Swedish journalists were convicted [Bloomberg report] of supporting terrorism.

We call on the Government to ensure the consistency of the proposed new law, the National Harmony Act, with international human rights standards. There have been concerns in the past about the way in which some reforms have been rapidly processed, without much public consultation. We call on the Government to use this opportunity to conduct a genuine and meaningful consultation with relevant national institutions, including the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, and civil society, to ensure that the new legislation is indeed in full compliance with international law and norms. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights also stands ready to assist in this process.

Malaysia has taken measures to repeal and replace old colonial laws with new ones. In April, the lower chamber of the Malaysian Parliament [official website, in Malay] passed a law [JURIST report] that will replace the Internal Security Act of 1960 (ISA) [text, PDF; HRW backgrounder] that allows indefinite detention of terror suspects, dissidents and political opponents. A day earlier, the prime minister had pledged to review the ISA after the country's parliament announced [JURIST reports] that it was considering repealing and replacing the controversial law. The new act, the Security Offenses Act, requires detainees to be released or brought to court within 28 days in custody thereby significantly limiting the time period terror suspects have to serve in custody. Razak originally announced [JURIST report] that the government would repeal the ISA and the Banishment Act of 1959 [text] in September and initiated [JURIST report] the plan in October.

Circumcision remains a controversial throughout the world. In October California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that will prevent local governments from banning [JURIST report] male circumcision. The law was written in response to a ballot measure proposed in San Francisco that would have made male circumcision illegal if the recipient was under the age of 18, with perpetrators penalized by a fine of $1,000 or imprisonment.

The Chilean House of Deputies [official website, in Spanish] passed the hate crime bill [JURIST report] in early April. In late March, following Zamudio's death, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) [official website] had urged the Chilean government [JURIST report] to pass an anti-discrimination law. Earlier that month the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website] urged member states to put an end to sexual orientation-based violence [JURIST report] and discrimination. Last year the UNHRC passed the "Human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity" resolution [draft, PDF], the first resolution to call for an end to sexuality discrimination worldwide [JURIST report]. The UN has attempted to pass resolutions aimed at ending sexuality discrimination worldwide but has faced difficulty passing resolutions on gay rights issues.

[T]he opportunity to achieve basic proficiency in reading sufficient to allow a student to access curricular content is a constitutional "bottom lin," codified in statute by the Legislature consistent with its constitutional obligation to maintain and support a public education system. This bottom line applies to all students.

The lawsuit, apparently the first of its kind, also lists as defendants the state of Michigan, the Michigan Board of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Emergency Manager of Highland Park. The eight students listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit represent nearly 1,000 students in the Highland Park School District. The ACLU of Michigan is requesting immediate help from the state [press release] including research-based methods of instruction, highly trained educators and administrators, a process for monitoring progress, new educational materials and textbooks, and a clean and safe learning environment.

During the five-day visit which included visits to Thailand and Myanmar, Guterres told [mission briefing] Myanmar President Thein Sein [BBC profile; official website, in Burmese] and other officials that the UN body will support the countries' attempt to build peace between the two religious groups, especially in the southeastern and western parts of the nation. He also noted that the UNCHR will continue its humanitarian assistance to both groups without discrimination. The violence in Myanmar has become an international concern. In June, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] urged [JURIST report] the Chinese government to provide basic food and shelter needs to refugees from Myanmar after finding refugee abuse. Earlier in June, HRW also called on [JURIST report] Bangladesh to open its borders to Myanmar refugees a day after it demanded Myanmar ensure the safety of communities in the Arakan State subject to the violence between Arakan Buddhists and ethnic Rohingya Muslims. In March, HRW reported [JURIST report] that violence and rights abuses continue in Myanmar's northern state of Kachin due to the conflict between Myanmar's armed forces and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) [BBC backgrounder]. During the same month, Tomas Ojea Quintana [official profile], the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar urged [JURIST report] the country to ensure the protection of human rights. In November, Human rights group Partners Relief and Development [advocacy website] issued [JURIST report] a report [text, PDF, graphic content] which alleged that the army may be committing war crimes including torture and forced labor against ethnic communities in Kachin state.

There have been numerous challenges [JURIST timeline] to the constitutionality of various provisions of the PPACA. Last month, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 [opinion, PDF] that Act does not violate the constitution. The case centered on the "individual mandate" provision [text] of the act, which requires every person, with some exceptions for religious and other reasons, to purchase some form of health insurance by January 1, 2014, or be subject to a fee equal to either a percent of that individual's income or flat rate of $695. In his opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts held that individual mandate is not a requirement that Americans buy insurance, since individuals who choose to pay the flat-rate fee are in full compliance with the law. The court's decision resolved four consolidated cases accepted by the court [JURIST report] in November 2011. Following the court's decision in the case, reactions from law makers and parties of interest inundated press coverage [JURIST report]. US President Barack Obama, who has made the PPACA a cornerstone of his administration, held a press conference praising the decision. Several of the losing parties, 26 states and the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) [advocacy website], expressed their unhappiness with the decision. NFIB suggested [press release] that "Americans have lost the right to be left alone" and that they will continue to back the law's potential repeal in Congress. Indeed, several lawmakers vowed to repeal PPACA, including Speaker of the House John Boehner [press release].

Thailand's political system has remained unstable following the coup that ousted Thaksin, who left office after allegations of corruption and conflicts of interest. The ruling party has been constantly criticized and attacked by opposition parties since coming to power a year ago in a landslide election that was widely viewed as a referendum on Thaksin's rule. Last August a Thai court acquitted Pojamarn Shinawatra [JURIST news archive], Thaksin's ex-wife, overturning a 2008 tax evasion conviction [JURIST report]. She had been convicted for transferring stocks in the amount of $16.3 million to her step-brother and secretary, who were sentenced to three and two years, respectively. In July of last year opposition party lawyers filed documents with the Election Commission challenging [JURIST report] the Puea Thai party's victory in the 2011 election. They accused the party of having involved the former PM and other banned politicians during the campaign seeking the dissolution of the party. In February, seven "red shirt" [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] opposition leaders detained during anti-government protests [JURIST news archive] that began last March were released [JURIST report] on bail by a Thai court. They had been arrested on terrorism charges during the demonstration.

Under [SB 749], an insurance company would be allowed to impose its will, and deny inclusion of contraceptive coverage, even if that position is inconsistent with the rights and beliefs of the employee or employer. The moral, ethical and religious beliefs of Missourians, that are currently honored, should not become secondary to the will of an insurance company. Such an effort would signal a retreat from the liberties enjoyed by employers and employees under current law.

This is the latest development in the ongoing reproductive rights controversy [JURIST backgrounder]. Earlier in July, a federal judge blocked a Mississippi law [JURIST report] that would have effectively shut down the state's only abortion clinic. Two weeks ago, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt appealed a ruling [JURIST report] by a district court judge that held that an abortion ultrasound bill is unconstitutional. Earlier last month, Louisiana Governor Bob Jindal signed a bill increasing abortion restrictions in the state [JURIST report]. In May, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed a bill allowing pharmacists to refuse to dispense drugs [JURIST report] that they "reasonably believe" might result in the termination of a pregnancy. Earlier that month, a judge for the District Court of Oklahoma County ruled [JURIST report] that a law restricting how doctors may use abortion-inducing drugs to treat patients was a violation of the Oklahoma Constitution. In March, Utah passed a law requiring a woman seeking an abortion to wait 72 hours [JURIST report] prior to obtaining the procedure.

The ban on abortions beginning at 20 weeks ... violates the substantive due process rights of women seeking abortions. Under clearly established United States Supreme Court precedent, the State of Arizona cannot ban abortions prior to viability. With its narrowly defined medical emergency exception, the ban also unconstitutionally endangers women's health. Plaintiffs seek a declaration that the 20 week ban is unconstitutional and preliminary and permanent injunctive relief prohibiting its enforcement as to previability abortions.

This is the latest development in the ongoing reproductive rights controversy [JURIST backgrounder]. Earlier in July, a federal judge blocked a Mississippi law [JURIST report] that would have effectively shut down the state's only abortion clinic. Two weeks ago, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt appealed a ruling [JURIST report] by a district court judge that held that an abortion ultrasound bill is unconstitutional. Earlier last month, Louisiana Governor Bob Jindal signed a bill increasing abortion restrictions in the state [JURIST report]. In May, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed a bill allowing pharmacists to refuse to dispense drugs [JURIST report] that they "reasonably believe" might result in the termination of a pregnancy. Earlier that month, a judge for the District Court of Oklahoma County ruled [JURIST report] that a law restricting how doctors may use abortion-inducing drugs to treat patients was a violation of the Oklahoma Constitution. In March, Utah passed a law requiring a woman seeking an abortion to wait 72 hours [JURIST report] prior to obtaining the procedure.

Mladic's trial has been making slow progress after being postponed numerous times. On Monday the ICTY resumed [JURIST report] the trial with the testimony of witness Elvedin Pasic, who was a juvenile at the time of the Bosnian civil war [JURIST news archive] in the 1990s. Last month the ICTY postponed the trial after suspending proceedings [JURIST reports] due to an error in disclosing documents to the defense lawyers. The trial had been already postponed indefinitely [JURIST report] in May due to allegations of prosecutorial misconduct related to evidence disclosure. Judge Alphons Orie adjourned the trial to allow the defense lawyers more time to consider the evidence the prosecution will present. Earlier that month, chief prosecutor of the ICTY had told reporters that he believes Mladic is mentally and physically fit to stand trial [JURIST report]. The ICTY had ordered [JURIST report] a medical examination for Mladic after he missed a hearing before the court a week earlier. His first appearance [JURIST report] before the ICTY was in June of last year when he contested charges against him while simultaneously asking for more time to review them. A day after, during his second appearance [JURIST report], Mladic refused to enter a plea without lawyers of his choice representing him and he was removed from the court for disrupting the proceedings.

Russia has been criticized recently for controversial legislation. The Duma on Wednesday approved [JURIST report] the third reading of a controversial Internet regulation bill. The online encyclopedia Wikipedia had shut down its site [JURIST report] on Tuesday in a one-day protest of the legislation, which it said in an article "may become the basis for real censorship on the internet." In June Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law [JURIST report] a controversial bill which greatly increases penalties for protesters who violate demonstration regulations. In May prominent Russian gay rights activist Nikolai Alekeyev became the first to be convicted [JURIST report] under a St. Petersburg city ordinance that prohibits the spreading "homosexual propaganda" to minors. People who oppose the new law, which was introduced in November and signed into law [JURIST reports] in April, claim it will prevent gay rights groups from being able to assemble in public.

On Wednesday the Constitutional Court stated that at least 50 percent [JURIST report] of the electorate must turn out for the July 29 national referendum to decide whether Basescu should be ousted from the presidency. The Romanian Parliament [official website] voted to impeach [JURIST report] Basescu last Friday. Last week the Constitutional Court also accused Ponta of overstepping his authority [JURIST report] by attempting to seize control over the judiciary system. Also last week Ponta ignored a decision by the court finding Basescu should be the representative of the country at the European Council meeting in Brussels. In 2009 the Constitutional Court declared incumbent President Basescu winner of the country's disputed presidential election [JURIST report]. Basescu, who has been president of Romania since 2004, has survived impeachment once before. In 2007 Basescu was reinstated after the high court certified the results of a referendum in which 74 percent of voters rejected Basescu's impeachment [JURIST report].