Thailand's political system has been unstable since the 2006 military coup [AHRC backgrounder, PDF] by the Royal Thai Army against then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra [BBC profile], and the Bangkok crackdown has only exacerbated the instability. Following democratic party defeats in 2011, Abhisit resigned [Bangkok Post report] as prime minister. A month before his departure, he rejected a proposal [JURIST report] by the opposition party seeking a referendum to grant amnesty to those involved in the 2006 military coup. In February 2011, seven leaders of Thailand's "red-shirt" pro-democracy movement [BBC backgrounder], another group that opposes the country's current leadership, were released on bail [JURIST report] after being arrested on terrorism charges stemming from their involvement in the Bangkok protests. Earlier in the year, members of the movement also petitioned [JURIST report] the International Criminal Court [official website] to launch a preliminary investigation into whether the government committed crimes against humanity during those protests.

Since its establishment in 1993, the ICTY has indicted 161 people for violations of humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 2001. Similarly, since its founding in 1994 following the Rwandan genocide [BBC backgrounder], the ICTR has indicted 91 individuals and, thus far, finished 50 trials with 29 convictions. Earlier this month, the ICTY upheld the life sentence of Milan Lukic [JURIST report], a Bosnian Serb commander who was sentenced to life in prison for crimes that include burning more than 100 people alive during the 1992 Bosnian War. In November, the tribunal acquitted [JURIST report] former Kosovo Liberation Army commanders Ramush Haradinaj, Idriz Balaj, and Laji Brahimaj of war crimes related to abduction and torture of civilians. Also in November, the ICTY overturned the convictions [JURIST report] of two Croat generals for crimes against humanity and war crimes against Serb civilians committed during a 1995 military blitz. The ICTR, on the other hand, has been occupied with transfers. In July, the tribunal transferred four genocide convicts to the Republic of Mali [JURIST report] to serve their sentences. A month earlier, the tribunal transferred the case of Aloys Ndimbati [JURIST report], a former local government official in Rwanda who has been charged with genocide, complicity in genocide, incitement to commit genocide, and crimes against humanity including murder, rape, and persecution, to the authorities of the Republic of Rwanda. Earlier in the month, Bernard Munyagishari's case was the fifth to be transferred [JURIST report] to the country's court system.

In June Preserve Marriage Washington [advocacy website] presented more than 200,000 referendum signatures to put Referendum 74 on the ballot, submitting the signatures and thus suspending the legislation one day before [JURIST reports] the law was scheduled to take effect. Gregoire signed the legislation less than a week after the state House of Representatives approved the bill, subsequent to the Senate having passed [JURIST reports] it two weeks before that. Gregoire has been a consistent advocate for gay rights during her tenure as governor. In April 2011 she signed a bill [JURIST report] that recognized as legal same-sex marriage licenses from other states. In March 2007 Gregoire signed legislation [JURIST report] that recognized domestic partnership status for same-sex couples.

Out of the 26 million persons internally displaced due to conflict or human rights violence in 2011, an estimated 10 million were in Africa, with at least a further half million internally displaced due to sudden onset natural disasters, such as floods. ... However, I believe that the significance of the Kampala Convention goes beyond Africa—as an international model this comprehensive Convention represents the culmination of over two decades of work during which Governments, civil society and the international community have sought to improve the way we address the plight of millions of internally displaced persons across the globe.

In July the AU announced [JURIST report] that it will vote on whether to establish a continental criminal court to try human rights crimes. The African Court on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR) currently does not have jurisdiction to try criminals and asked the AU to pass a resolution granting it the authority to sentence human rights criminals. Last year, African Union Commission (AUC) [official website] Chairperson Jean Ping had accused [JURIST report] former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court [official website], Luis Moreno-Ocampo, of targeting African citizens for prosecution. The accusation came amid 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 [JURIST report] cases against six individuals believed to be responsible for the 2007 post-election violence that resulted in more than 1,000 deaths in the country.

Officer Fontanez had seen the defendant using the cellular telephone just before the observed drug transaction between the defendant and Claiborne took place; the police recognized Claiborne as a drug user and recovered cocaine from Claiborne; and Detective McCarthy testified that based on his experience, telephones are commonly used in the trug trade. Thus, the search of the call list in this case was a valid search incident to arrest.

Issues surrounding communications privacy and police use of technology have become controversial over the past several years in light of technological advancements. Last month, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill [JURIST report] that would require police officers to obtain a warrant before searching e-mails and other electronic content. Earlier this year, the US Supreme Court reversed [SCOTUSblog backgrounder; JURIST report] a drug trafficking conviction after police obtained evidence to convict the defendant by attaching a GPS tracking device to his car. In 2007, the Supreme Court ruled [JURIST report] that warrantless searches of e-mails stored by an Internet Service Provider violates the Fourth Amendment because email users maintain a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Same-sex marriage [JURIST backgrounder] is a contentious issue across the US, with several other cases currently pending before the Supreme Court. The court is expected to consider ten petitions dealing with the issue at its conference Friday. Eight of the petitions have to do with Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) [JURIST news archive], which defines marriage as between a man and a woman for federal purposes. One has to do with Proposition 8 [JURIST news archive], California's same-sex marriage ban, and the last case has to do with an Arizona law [JURIST report] regarding benefits for the spouses of state employees.

The Department of Justice is reviewing the legalization initiatives recently passed in Colorado and Washington State. The Department's responsibility to enforce the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged. Neither States nor the Executive branch can nullify a statute passed by Congress. In enacting the Controlled Substances Act, Congress determined that marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance.

Marijuana [JURIST news archive] was a hot-button issue in several states in the November 6 election [JURIST report], as Washington and Colorado legalized marijuana. The Colorado initiative [Amendment 64, PDF] actually introduces an amendment to the state constitution, allowing adults over 21 to possess up to an ounce and privately grow up to six plants, although public use will be banned. In Oregon the Cannabis Tax Act Initiative [Measure 80, PDF] failed by approximately 55-to-45 percent [Examiner.com report] of the vote. Medical marijuana was legalized in Massachusetts for the first time as over 60 percent of voters approved Question 3 [Petition 11-11, PDF], an indirect initiated statute that will allow marijuana use by patients [Harvard Crimson report] with "debilitating medical conditions" and create 35 medical marijuana dispensaries. Conversely, the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act [Issue 5, PDF] was rejected by voters [AP report] in that state by approximately a 52-to-48 percent margin. The measure would have allowed doctors to issue a certificate to anyone with a "qualifying medical condition" to grow, process and use marijuana. Also on the ballot in Montana was a veto referendum regarding a 2011 revision [SB 423] of a 2004 law that established medical marijuana use in the state.

Same-sex marriage [JURIST backgrounder] remains a controversial issue around the world. Earlier this week an Israeli court granted a same-sex divorce [JURIST report], even though Israel does not officially recognize same-sex marriage. In November Nigeria approved [JURIST report] a bill that criminalizes same-sex marriage. That same month, Malawi changed its position [JURIST report] on suspending its anti-homosexuality laws. Also in November, voters in Maryland, Maine and Washington [JURIST reports] legalized same-sex marriage. In the same election Minnesota voters struck down a ballot initiative that would have outlawed same-sex marriage in the state.

The Hague Convention, which has been ratified by 88 states [signatories, text], seeks to eliminate difficulties arising from custody disputes between parents of different nationalities, specifically problems occurring when courts refuse to recognize decisions of foreign courts. The US Supreme Court recently took on another case dealing with the Hague Convention, Abbott v. Abbott [opinion, PDF; JURIST report], which presented the issue of whether a ne exeat clause, which prohibits one parent from removing the child from the country without the other parent's consent, confers a "right of custody," which would require the other country to return the child if the clause was broken. The Supreme Court ruled that it did confer a "right of custody" within the meaning of the Hague Convention, reversing a lower court ruling on the issue.