Rapid changes in technology have left legal questions about the extent of digital privacy protection. The Senate Judiciary Committee last month approved a bill [JURIST report] that would prevent police from searching e-mails and other electronic content without a warrant. Currently, law enforcement agents only need a warrant to access e-mails less than six months old. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in September asked the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to reconsider a case [JURIST report] in which it decided that police use of GPS tracking on a person's cell phone is not an illegal search under the Fourth Amendment. In July a member of the US House of Representatives released a report showing an increase in requests by law enforcement [JURIST report] agencies to access cell phone records from major wireless carriers. In March the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled [JURIST report] that a warrantless search of a suspect's cell phone to obtain the suspect's phone number is not a violation of the Fourth Amendment. Last year a federal court ordered the Department of Justice to release information [JURIST report] about when it had used cell phone location data to track down suspects in a suit filed by the ACLU.

Urges all States, especially States where fugitives are suspected to be at large, to intensify further their cooperation with and render all necessary assistance to the International Tribunal, in particular to achieve the arrest and surrender of all remaining fugitives as soon as possible; ... [and] Commends States that have accepted the relocation of acquitted persons or convicted persons who have completed serving their sentences to their territories, and reiterates its call upon all States in a position to do so to cooperate with and render all necessary assistance to the International Tribunal for its increased efforts towards the relocation of acquitted persons and convicted persons who have completed serving their sentences.

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. In July the ICTR 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 that month Bernard Munyagishari's case was the fifth to be transferred [JURIST report] to the country's court system.

Tension between the three branches of government in Honduras has risen recently, and Lobo has expressed concern that he may be forced out of office like his predecessor, who was removed during the 2009 military coup [JURIST report]. The Honduran Truth and Reconciliation Commission declared last June that the coup was unconstitutional [JURIST report] but stated that former president Manuel Zelaya was culpable when he ignored orders of the Supreme Court. Zelaya signed an agreement [JURIST report] in May 2011 allowing his return to the country after nearly two years in exile. Earlier that month a Honduran court dismissed the two remaining conspiracy charges [JURIST report] against Zelaya, clearing the way for his return to the country. In July 2010 a Honduran court dismissed abuse of power charges against Zelaya after his successor granted amnesty [JURIST reports] to Zelaya and those involved in his removal.

Section 1021(b)(2) of the NDAA affirms the authority of the president under the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) to detain indefinitely any "person who was a part of or substantially supported al Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners, including any person who has committed a belligerent act or has directly supported such hostilities in aid of such enemy forces." President Barack Obama signed the NDAA into law [JURIST report] on December 31, 2011. Upon signing, he noted [statement], "I want to clarify that my Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens. Indeed, I believe that doing so would break with our most important traditions and values as a Nation." Both houses of Congress reached an agreement [JURIST report] on the language of the NDAA's most controversial sections in mid-December.

Last month the ICC unsealed an indictment [JURIST report] for Gbagbo's wife, Simone, marking the first time that the court has charged a female. Also in November the court found Laurent Gbagbo fit to stand trial [JURIST report]. In October, the ICC denied Gbagbo's motion asking the court for allowance to leave the Netherlands while he recovers from alleged maltreatment received while detained by national authorities in the Ivory Coast before being surrendered to the ICC [JURIST reports] in November. The court denied Gbagbo's leave request upon a determination that he posed a flight risk. The violence that followed the 2010 election claimed approximately 3,000 lives. Gbagbo's rival Alassane Ouattara [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] was declared the winner of the 2010 election and is now president.

Although the el-Masri case focused on Macedonia, the issue of CIA extraordinary rendition has been a sensitive one across Europe. In September the Italian Court of Cassation [official website, in Italian] upheld the convictions [JURIST report] of 23 former CIA officers for the 2003 kidnapping and rendition of Egyptian terror suspect Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr. In April UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism Ben Emmerson [official profile] expressed regret over a US court decision denying Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) [National Security Archive] requests by a member of the UK parliament and the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition [official website], made as part of an investigation into extrajudicial capture by the US [JURIST report] of foreign terrorism suspects for detention and interrogation. In March in a hearing before the European Parliament (EP) [official website], Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] asked EU member states to reconsider their involvement in the extraordinary rendition program [JURIST report], intending to create the foundation of an EP report that will divulge details of a five-year investigation into each nation's involvement in supporting CIA renditions.

This would make Uruguay only the second Latin American country to allow same-sex marriage, following Argentina [JURIST report]. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Mexico City since 2009, and last week the Supreme Court of Mexico struck down [JURIST reports] Oaxaca's same-sex marriage ban, which could pave the way for legalization across the country.

The German Cabinet [official website] approved a draft law in October to legalize circumcision nationwide. the German Federal Ministry of Justice (BMJ) [official website, in German] drafted [JURIST report] a similar law to allow circumcisions. Earlier that month a German state official stated that circumcision for religious reasons is legal [JURIST report] in Berlin, after a Jewish hospital in Berlin asked the justice minister to clarify the legality surrounding the circumcision procedure. The German government announced [JURIST report] that it would act swiftly to lift criminal sanctions imposed on circumcision shortly after the controversial Cologne court ruling.

Law 40 has been controversial due to its ban on in vitro fertilization, a type of fertility treatment for couples who have had difficulty conceiving children or wish to avoid passing genetic traits on to their children. In November the Italian government appealed a ruling [JURIST report] by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website], which struck down [judgment, in French] parts of Law 40 in August. In that case, a couple already having one child with cystic fibrosis brought suit after seeking an embryo screening as a precautionary method for future children. The ECHR ruling that denying the couple access to such a screening violates Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights for failing to recognize the right to privacy and family life. The ECHR ordered the Italian government to pay the couple €17,500 (USD $21,900) in damages and court fees.

Colombia has drawn attention from UN rights bodies several times recently. In October UN experts urged [JURIST report] Colombia to reconsider this constitutional reform. In August UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous people James Anaya [official website] also called upon [JURIST report] the government of Colombia to advance its negotiations with indigenous authorities in northern Cauca regarding the military presence in the area, as well as other pressing issues. Last December the representative to Colombia for the OHCHR called for a peaceful solution [JURIST report] to the country's ongoing armed conflict involving hostages held by paramilitary rebels.