The Michigan legislation has been controversial since its passage. Last month the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan (ALCUM) [advocacy website] and various labor organizations collectively filed a similar lawsuit in state court against both the private and public sector laws, claiming that while the legislation was debated and passed, the public was prohibited from entering the Capitol Building through the public entrance by Michigan state police, affecting a "total denial of public access to the Capitol for over four hours" in contravention of the Michigan Open Meetings Act [text], the Michigan Constitution [materials] and the First Amendment [Cornell LII backgrounder] of the US Constitution. Also last month Snyder requested an advisory opinion [JURIST report] by the Michigan Supreme Court [official website] on the constitutionality of the laws. Earlier in January Susan Bitensky [academic profile] of the Michigan State University College of Law criticized Michigan's right to work law [JURIST op-ed] as a bill that will "weaken the people and families who depend upon the benefits and protections negotiated by labor unions." In September the Michigan Supreme Court ordered [JURIST report], a union-backed measure to amend the state constitution to include a right to labor unionization and collective bargaining to appear on the November ballot. The measure was ultimately defeated [AP report] by a 57-43 margin.

Same-sex marriage [JURIST backgrounder] has been controversial globally in recent years. Earlier this month, the UK Parliament approved [JURIST report] a same-sex marriage bill. Last month, the US Supreme Court [official website] received briefs [JURIST report] in two separate cases defending the constitutionality of laws that define marriage as strictly between one man and one woman. Also last month, the Rhode Island House of Representatives approved a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state. In June of 2012, Denmark approved a same-sex marriage law [JURIST report], making it the eleventh country to do so. In May of 2012, the City of Buneos Aires passed a resolution [JURIST report] to recognize same-sex marriages for non-citizens,making it the fourth district in Argentina to legalize such marriages. That same month, the Israeli Knesset rejected a bill that would have legalized civil marriages not approved by Jewish Law, including same sex marriages.

The amendment was in response to six days of protests [JURIST report] that ensued after Abdul Quader Mollah, the leader of the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) [party website] party, was sentenced to life in prison [JURIST report] for convictions including murder, rape and torture—a decision which the demonstrates assert is too lenient. Mollah's sentence was the latest to be handed down for war crimes committed during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War [GlobalSecurity backgrounder] (BLW). Last week, UN officials expressed concern over a death sentence [JURIST reports] that was handed down last month against Abul Kalam Azad, another former leader of JI, for similar war crimes. Both Azad and Mollah's sentences were handed down by Bangladesh's second International Crimes Tribunal [JURIST news archive], which was established in March 2010 specifically to hear cases involving war crimes during the BLW.

Special rapporteurs hold unpaid honorary positions apart from UN staff, and are appointed by the Human Rights Council [official website] to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. Iran in particular has come under increased scrutiny in recent years over its record on human rights. Last week Ahmed Shaheed and El Hadji Malick Sow joined the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders [official websites] to collectively urge Iran to end its recent crackdown on journalists [JURIST report] and release those who have been already been detained. The group called the recent arrests of journalists a "flagrant violation of Iran's obligations under international human rights law." Last month UN rights experts urged [JURIST report] Iran not to execute Ahwazi activists. In October the UN Special Rapporteur for Iran accused the Iranian government of torturing human rights activists [JURIST report]. That same month the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights [official website] urged Iran to stop all executions [JURIST report] because the government had failed to comply with fair trial and due process guarantees. In June three UN Special Rapporteurs condemned [JURIST report] for executing four members of the Ahwazi Arab minority without providing them with fair trials.

Law 40 has not only been challenged for its ban on screening embryos, but also for its ban on using embryos for scientific research, which has been a controversial issue internationally. Last month the US Supreme Court [official website] denied certiorari [JURIST report] in a case challenging federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. In December a court in Florence struck down [JURIST report] Law 40's ban on research using embryos, saying that it unconstitutionally violates fundamental health and freedom of research rights. That case will next move up to be considered by the Italian Constitutional Court [official website]. In 2008 Brazil's high court upheld a law [JURIST report] allowing embryos to be used in stem cell research, rejecting a claim that the law infringed on the constitutional right to life.

Earlier this week a Milan appeals court convicted three Americans [JURIST report] for their role in Nasr's kidnapping and rendition. Due to diplomatic immunity, all three men had been acquitted in the previous trial where the Milan court convicted [JURIST report] 23 former CIA agents. Last September Italy's highest court upheld the convictions [JURIST report] of the 23 former CIA agents, whose sentences had been increased [JURIST report] in December 2010 by an Italian appeals court. Judge Oscar Magi of the Fourth Chamber of the Court of Milan [official website, in Italian] originally convicted [JURIST report] the 23 men in November 2009. The nearly three-year trial was delayed many times, and was the first in the world involving the CIA's extraordinary rendition flights.

Numerous states have recently increased restrictions on abortions, leading to several legal challenges. Last week the Arkansas House of Representatives [official website] approved a ban on abortions [JURIST report] after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The bill will now advance to the state Senate, which recently approved a ban on abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected [JURIST report]. In December a state judge in Georgia enjoined a law [JURIST report] banning doctors from providing abortions for women more than 20 weeks into gestation. In November Montana voters passed a referendum [JURIST report] requiring facilities and doctors to inform parents of minors 16 to 48 hours before a planned abortion procedure. Also that month the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] heard oral arguments [JURIST report] on a challenge to Arizona's law which, like Georgia's law, bans abortions after 20 weeks. Planned Parenthood also sued Texas [JURIST report] in October claiming that its law preventing state funding from going to any clinics affiliated with providing abortions violates another state law.

[JURIST] US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta [official profile] on Monday signed a memorandum [text, press release] extending government benefits to same-sex partners of military personnel that were previously available only to spouses. Some of the benefits now extended to same-sex partners include access to commissaries, family counseling, child care, disability and death compensation, payments to missing persons and legal assistance. Benefits such as housing and burials were not included because they "present complex legal and policy changes," but they will continue to be considered for the future. The benefits listed in the memorandum will be accessible to same-sex spouses and to partners who have signed a Declaration of Domestic Partnership, an accommodation for couples residing in states that do not allow same-sex marriage. This change is the most recent response to the 2011 repeal [JURIST report] of Don't Ask, Don't Tell [JURIST news archive], which prohibited openly gay individuals from serving in the armed forces. Panetta plans for these benefits to become available by the end of August, though he has given military services until October 1 to put these changes into effect.

Same-sex marriage [JURIST feature] and correlated rights remain a contentious issue both within the US and around the world. Earlier this month, France's National Assembly approved [JURIST report] an article that would redefine marriage as between two people, rather than one man and one woman. Also this month, JURIST guest columnist California Senator Ted Lieu [official website] discussed in detail [JURIST comment] a California law passed last year that bans reparative therapy, or "sexual orientation change efforts." In January, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] urged the Russian State Duma [official website, in Russian] to reject a proposed law [JURIST report] that would fine individuals or organizations, including government officials, who promote homosexuality to minors. The bill had been approved by the lower house [JURIST report] days earlier. Also in January, the Virginia Senate [official website] approved legislation [JURIST report] that would prohibit the state government from discriminating against its employees based on sexual orientation.