JURIST - Paper Chase: Saturday, July 21, 2012

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] on Friday upheld [opinion, PDF] Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [official website] regulations on sulfur dioxide emissions that restrict levels to 75 parts per billion over a one-hour period. The lawsuit, brought by North Dakota, Texas and three other states, challenged 75 Fed. Reg. 35520 [text, PDF] as unconstitutional because they claimed that the EPA violated notice-and-comment rulemaking provisions by not giving any indication in its proposed rule that it was considering changing its method of attaining sulfur dioxide standards and that the maximum level allowed was "arbitrary" because it is lower than necessary to protect the public from harm. The appeals court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to decide the rulemaking issue but found that the EPA's maximum level was not unconstitutionally arbitrary. The court ruled that the EPA acted within its power in determining that the regulation was necessary to protect those with asthmatic problems who are more sensitive to sulfur dioxide pollution and can be harmed more severely.

Federal courts have upheld multiple regulations made by the EPA that have been challenged by states and corporations. Earlier this week, the DC Circuit dismissed [JURIST report] a challenge to nitrogen dioxide regulations brought by the American Petroleum Institute [official website] because plaintiffs failed to show that the regulation was arbitrary. Last month the same court also upheld [JURIST report] the EPA's findings that carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping pollutants were dangerous to the public health and welfare. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] last year also upheld [JURIST report] EPA regulations on motor vehicle emissions in California.

[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the District of Hawaii [official website] on Friday dismissed human trafficking charges against six executives and other business associates. The charges relate to a 2010 indictment that alleged the defendants enticed approximately 600 Thai nationals to come to the US by falsely promising them job opportunities and then forcing them to work at farms in Washington and Hawaii by threatening economic harm and deportation. The case was dismissed [AP report] after it was found that prosecutors would not be able to prove the allegations. This was the US government's largest human trafficking case.

The charges were originally brought in 2010 [JURIST report] as a result of a grand jury investigation. In June, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) [official website] reported that human trafficking is a growing problem in Europe [JURIST report]. Earlier in June, the UNODC issued a report on the globalization of organized crime, which addressed, among other things, the global economic impact of human trafficking [JURIST report]. Also in June, the US State Department [official website] issued its annual report on human trafficking conditions [JURIST report] across the globe, which found the US "has a serious problem with human trafficking, both for labor and commercial sexual exploitation."

[JURIST] Russian President Vladimir Putin [official website] on Saturday signed into law a bill that labels all non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that engage in political activity as "foreign agents" and requires them to register with the Justice Ministry before receiving any foreign funding. Opponents of this new law, which was passed [JURIST report] by the Russian Federation Council [official website] on Wednesday, say that its purpose is to curb free speech [RFE/RL report] and limit information available to the public. The law has garnered international attention, as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay recently expressed concern [UN News Centre report] about "a worrying shift in the legislative environment governing the enjoyment of the freedoms of assembly, association, speech and information." US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton [official website] also recently expressed concern [transcript] over the impacts the law will have in restricting free speech. Putin, however, met with the State Duma two days after it approved [JURIST report] the law, and said [press release] he thought the decisions made by the Duma in its spring session "were the right ones" and commended all of the changes made to its political process.

Rights groups and politicians in Russia have expressed concern over other recently passed laws they say are aimed at restricting civil rights. Earlier this month, Russian politicians asked [JURIST report] the country's constitutional court to review a recently passed law that increases penalties against protesters who violate regulations. The State Duma also recently approved a bill regulating Internet use that some fear the government will use to oppress speech. In May Russia also for the first time convicted a gay rights activist [JURIST report] under a law prohibiting the spread of "homosexual propaganda" to minors, which caused concern from human rights groups.

[JURIST] A UN special committee, composed of representatives from Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Senegal, on Thursday condemned [press release] Israel's treatment of child detainees. The committee detailed law enforcement practices such as violent raids on homes without warrants, use of solitary confinement, and interrogators pressuring children to become informants. These findings prompted the UN to call for Israel to change their practices to conform to the human rights values outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child [text]. In particular, the committee called for an end to the use of solitary confinement [UN News Centre report] as punishment for children. According to committee findings, 12 percent of the estimated 500 to 700 underage Palestinians detained by Israel every year are subjected to this form of punishment. The statement also includes concern over general practices of the Israeli government, specifically the destruction of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem:

These Israeli practices lead the Special Committee to one over-arching and deeply troubling conclusion. ... The mass imprisonment of Palestinians; the routine demolition of homes and the displacement of Palestinians; the widespread violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians; and the blockade and resultant reliance on illegal smuggling to survive; these practices amount to a strategy to either force the Palestinian people off their land or so severely marginalize them as to establish and maintain a system of permanent oppression.

The full findings of the committee's mission will be presented to the UN General Assembly in November.

There has been a growing concern over human rights violation in Israel. Late last month UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk called on Israel to stop demolishing Palestinian homes [JURIST report]. The week before that the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression expressed concern over the freedom of speech in Israel and Palestine [JURIST report]. Also last month, 50 aid groups and UN offices signed a joint statement urging Israel to end its blockade of the Gaza Strip [JURIST report]. In May Falk expressed concern over Israeli prison conditions [JURIST report]. Last November the President of Defence for Children International (DCI) [advocacy website], Rifat Kassis, discussed Palestinian children's rights violations [JURIST comment].