JURIST's legal news service, powered by a team of over 40 law student reporters and editors led by Professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. http://jurist.org/paperchase JURISTremove_this@pitt.edu (Jurist Webmaster) Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:56:19 -0500 [JURIST] The European Union's data protection authorities wrote a letter [text, PDF] to Google Thursday asking it to delay implementation of its new privacy policy, which is supposed to take effect March 1. The EU is concerned the privacy policy, which will combine various policies of more than 60 of its products into one, may be in violation of EU laws. Google released details of its new privacy policy [corporate website] last week, saying it will make it easier to... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/eu-asks-google-to-delay-new-privacy-policy.php Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:56:19 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/eu-asks-google-to-delay-new-privacy-policy.php Jaimie Cremeans ... [JURIST] Lawyers for two Guantanamo prisoners accused of planning the 9/11 attacks [JURIST backgrounders] asked the Pentagon Thursday to extend the filing deadline for pre-trial motions. There are currently two prisoners requesting extension, and they both cite the recent mail review controversy as to why they have been unable to meet the current deadline. Navy Cmdr. Walter Ruiz, the lawyer appointed to represent Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsaw,i claims that the new restrictions on legal mail between attorneys and their clients prevented... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/lawyers-for-911-suspects-seeking-further-trial-delay.php Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:54:11 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/lawyers-for-911-suspects-seeking-further-trial-delay.php Matthew Pomy ... [JURIST] War crimes suspect Leon Mugesera was charged with genocide planning, incitement and distribution of arms Thursday in a Kigali court in Rwanda. He was deported from Canada to Rwanda [JURIST report] nine days ago, following a 16-year battle in the Canadian court system in which Mugesera attempted to stay in Canada. The Quebec Superior Court ruled last month [judgment, in French] that it did not have jurisdiction over the case. Mugesera is facing charges relating to a speech he... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/rwanda-court-charges-genocide-suspect.php Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:33:16 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/rwanda-court-charges-genocide-suspect.php Jaimie Cremeans ... [JURIST] The French Commercial Tribunal [official website, in French] in Paris ruled Tuesday that Google Maps [corporate website] is anti-competitive because it is offered as a free service. The plaintiff, Bottin Cartographers [corporate website], alleged that Google provides its maps service for free, thereby undercutting competitors, in order to gain market control. The court ordered that Google must pay £415,000 to the plaintiff [Guardian report], as well as a €15,000 fine, totaling about $680,000. This is the first conviction against... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/france-court-rules-google-maps-practicing-unfair-competition.php Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:04:24 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/france-court-rules-google-maps-practicing-unfair-competition.php Matthew Pomy ... [JURIST] The Massachusetts Appeals Court [official website] held Thursday that same-sex [JURIST news archive] couples who marry and have a baby via artificial insemination are bound by the same child custody laws [opinion] as heterosexual couples. The decision came after an appeal by Della Corte, who tried to have the parental rights of her ex-wife, Angelica Rameriez, revoked in divorce proceedings since she could never be a "husband," as defined by the Massachusetts law. The court found that even though... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/massachusetts-court-rules-child-custody-laws-apply-to-same-sex-parents.php Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:43:37 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/massachusetts-court-rules-child-custody-laws-apply-to-same-sex-parents.php Katherine Getty ... [JURIST] The International Court of Justice (ICJ) [official website] on Friday ruled [judgment, PDF] that Germany has immunity from claims brought in foreign courts by victims of the Nazi regime. The Court found that a 2008 decision by Italy's Supreme Court [JURIST report] violated Germany's sovereign rights by allowing an Italian national to seek reparations in response to his deportation in 1944. Germany appealed this decision to the ICJ and oral arguments were heard [JURIST report] in September 2011. Germany... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/icj-rules-germany-immune-from-nazi-victim-claims.php Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:28:34 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/icj-rules-germany-immune-from-nazi-victim-claims.php Katherine Getty ... [JURIST] The Supreme Court Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) [official website] on Friday sentenced Kaing Guek Eav [Hague Justice profile; ECCC materials], also known as "Duch," to life imprisonment [press release] for crimes against humanity and violation of the 1949 Geneva Conventions [materials]. In a supermajority decision [summary, PDF], the Supreme Court Chamber overturned two decisions of the Trial Chamber. According to the Supreme Court Chamber, the July 2010 decision [JURIST report] imposing 35... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/ex-khmer-rouge-leader-sentenced-to-life.php Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:17:12 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/ex-khmer-rouge-leader-sentenced-to-life.php Sung Un Kim ... [JURIST] Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] said Friday that Syrian army and security officers have been engaged in the torture of children [press release]. The allegations stem from HRW's documentation of cases in which children were reportedly detained, tortured and shot in their homes. There are prior findings that the Syrian government has been involved in torturing and killing civilian protesters. HRW discovered that among those tortured protesters were children as young as 13. Interviews with juvenile victims and... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/hrw-syria-forces-torturing-children.php Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:11:40 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/hrw-syria-forces-torturing-children.php Sung Un Kim ... [JURIST] The Virginia Senate [official website] approve a bill [text] on Wednesday that would require a woman seeking an abortion [JURIST news archive] to have an ultrasound before the procedure. The new requirements include the audio provision of fetal heartbeat and a determination of the gestational age of the fetus. Additionally, a written record must be created to indicate that the woman was offered the ultrasound and whether she choose to view it. That record, along with a copy of... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/virginia-senate-approves-bill-requiring-ultrasound-before-abortion.php Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:02:21 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/virginia-senate-approves-bill-requiring-ultrasound-before-abortion.php Jerry Votava ... [JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] on Thursday ruled [opinion, PDF] that it will not release video recordings from Perry v. Schwarzenegger [opinion], California's 2010 trial which declared Proposition 8 [text, PDF; JURIST news archive], the state's same-sex marriage ban, to be unconstitutional. In reversing the opinion of the US District Court for the Northern District of California [official website], the circuit court concluded that recordings from the landmark case could not be released... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/ninth-circuit-seals-videos-from-california-same-sex-marriage-trial.php Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:12:02 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/ninth-circuit-seals-videos-from-california-same-sex-marriage-trial.php Brandon Gatto ... Four accused assassins of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri will be tried in absentia, a UN tribunal said Wednesday. The UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) said Wednesday that after considering the efforts taken by the prosecution and the authorities to apprehend the suspects, they would move forward with the trial. The four alleged Hezbollah members are accused of involvement in a February 2005 truck bomb that killed Hariri and 22 other people. The STL determined that the prosecution... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/lebanon-tribunal-to-try-accused-hariri-assassins-in-absentia.php Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:14:09 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/lebanon-tribunal-to-try-accused-hariri-assassins-in-absentia.php Rebecca DiLeonardo ... Lawyers for a suspect in the USS Cole bombing being held at Guantanamo Bay filed a motion Tuesday with the military commission overseeing detainee cases seeking to subpoena the president of Yemen for questioning. Lawyers for alleged al Qaeda senior leader Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri filed the motions seeking to question Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh while he is in the US receiving medical treatment. They argue that because Saleh will be in the jurisdiction of the US he can lawfully... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/lawyer-for-guantanamo-detainee-seeks-to-question-yemen-president.php Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:58:08 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/lawyer-for-guantanamo-detainee-seeks-to-question-yemen-president.php Jennie Ryan ... [JURIST] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official website] expressed concern [press release] Thursday about excessive force used by Senegalese authorities in response to protests that ensued after the announcement of presidential candidates. Reports of shooting at protestors have caused the death of at least one police officer and four other people this week. The reports were "disturbing" to Pillay given Senegal's tradition of respect for freedom of association, assembly and expression. She said, "[w]ith the presidential campaign... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/un-human-rights-chief-expresses-concern-over-senegal-protests.php Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:39:46 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/un-human-rights-chief-expresses-concern-over-senegal-protests.php Jamie Reese ... [JURIST] An Iraq war veteran filed suit [complaint, PDF] Wednesday in the US District Court for the Central District of California [official website] against the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) [official website] after it refused to pay her full disability benefits because she is in a same-sex marriage. Tracy Cooper-Harris, who served in the US Army [official website] for over a decade, argues that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) [text] is unconstitutional because it discriminates against legally married individuals.... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/us-army-veteran-sues-over-denial-of-benefits-to-same-sex-spouse.php Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:23:10 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/us-army-veteran-sues-over-denial-of-benefits-to-same-sex-spouse.php Jennie Ryan ... [JURIST] The Supreme Court of Pakistan [official website] on Thursday ordered Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] to appear in court on February 13 for a formal indictment on contempt charges. Gilani has failed to comply with the court's order to reopen a corruption case against President Asif Ali Zardari [official website], but Gilani maintains he did not comply with the court's order because Zardari is immune from prosecution [Al Jazeera report]. The conflict between... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/pakistan-high-court-orders-pm-to-appear-on-contempt-charges.php Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:07:38 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/pakistan-high-court-orders-pm-to-appear-on-contempt-charges.php Maureen Cosgrove ... [JURIST] The Washington state Senate [official website] approved Senate Bill 6239 [materials] to legalize same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive] by a vote of 28–21 late Wednesday evening. Washington currently grants expanded domestic partnership rights [JURIST report] rather than full marriage or civil union rights to same-sex couples. Several amendments affording protection of religious objection to same-sex marriage were added to the bill in debate. Others, that would have triggered a referendum on the issue, and would have allowed marriage-related business... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/washington-senate-approves-same-sex-marriage-bill.php Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:14:04 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/washington-senate-approves-same-sex-marriage-bill.php Julia Zebley ... [JURIST] The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] filed a lawsuit [complaint, PDF] on Wednesday under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) [text] demanding the US government release information about their targeted killing program [press release] of US citizens abroad. The lawsuit comes in response to the three American citizens that have been killed by drones in the past four months. In particular, the ACLU seeks specific evidence that provided the basis for the strikes in Yemen during the... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/aclu-sues-us-government-for-information-on-targeted-killings.php Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:06:48 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/aclu-sues-us-government-for-information-on-targeted-killings.php Sarah Posner ... [JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website; JURIST news archive] accepted a plea agreement [press release] on Tuesday in which Jelena Rasic, the case manager for Bosnian war criminal Milan Lukic, pleaded guilty [amended indictment, PDF] to five counts of contempt against the tribunal. According to the original indictment [PDF], the prosecutor of the tribunal charged Rasic with contempt for procuring false witness statements from three Bosnian citizens. In exchange for signing the pre-written witness... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/un-tribunal-accepts-war-crimes-lawyers-contempt-plea.php Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:28:41 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/un-tribunal-accepts-war-crimes-lawyers-contempt-plea.php Max Slater ... [JURIST] Lawyers for former Liberian president Charles Taylor [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] requested Tuesday that the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) [official website] reopen Taylor's war crimes case in light of new evidence, including a recent report [text, PDF] by the UN Panel of Experts on Liberia. Taylor's lawyers request this report be admitted as evidence in the case [AP report], claiming that the report may show that Taylor was not instrumental in directing mercenaries who committed war... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/lawyers-for-ex-liberia-president-Taylor-seek-to-reopen-war-crimes-case.php Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:28:18 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/lawyers-for-ex-liberia-president-Taylor-seek-to-reopen-war-crimes-case.php Rebecca DiLeonardo ... [JURIST] The Swedish Supreme Court [official website, in Swedish] announced Wednesday that it will not hear an appeal of the copyright convictions of Fredrik Neji, Peter Sunde and Carl Lundstroem for their involvement in running The Pirate Bay [website], a file-sharing website. After reviewing the case, the court found there were no special circumstances warranting review. The court could also have decided to hear the case if it determined a review by Sweden's highest court would be important for the... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/sweden-high-court-refuses-to-hear-appeal-in-pirate-bay-case.php Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:44:37 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/sweden-high-court-refuses-to-hear-appeal-in-pirate-bay-case.php Jennie Ryan ... [JURIST] Four British men pleaded guilty Wednesday to plotting an al Qaeda inspired attack against the London Stock Exchange (LSE) [official website]. In December 2010, nine men who met through radical Islamist groups were charged and taken into custody [JURIST report] in the UK for conspiring to bomb the US Embassy [official website] and the LSE. When the plot was uncovered, all nine men were picked up in raids. They denied all charges originally, but four of the men pleaded... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/british-men-plead-guilty-to-london-stock-exchange-terror-plot.php Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:21:53 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/british-men-plead-guilty-to-london-stock-exchange-terror-plot.php Katherine Getty ... [JURIST] Google issued a letter [text; press release] Tuesday in response to concerns raised by members of Congress regarding consumer privacy rights as impacted by the search giant's new privacy policy [corporate website; press release]. In its response Google replied to 11 specific questions posed in a letter sent last week [JURIST report] to CEO Larry Page [NYT backgrounder] by US Representative Edward Markey (D-MA) [official website] and seven other lawmakers. Google's response included a confirmation that no new types... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/google-defends-privacy-policy-in-response-to-concerns-from-us-lawmakers.php Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:10:33 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/google-defends-privacy-policy-in-response-to-concerns-from-us-lawmakers.php Jerry Votava ... [JURIST] Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] on Monday urged [press release] the Indian government to prosecute Border Security Force (BSF) [official website] soldiers that it has long implicated in torture and extrajudicial killings near the Bangladesh border. HRW's plea comes in response to the release of a YouTube video [warning: graphic content] capturing BSF soldiers stripping, tying up and beating a Bangladeshi national caught smuggling cattle from Bangladesh into India. Although Indian law requires the BSF to hand over such... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/01/jurist-human-rights-watch-advocacy.php Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:40:06 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/01/jurist-human-rights-watch-advocacy.php Brandon Gatto ... [JURIST] A French genocide denial ban [materials, in French] passed last week [JURIST report] stalled on Tuesday after two groups of French politicians challenged the law's constitutionality. The opposition groups, which include members in both the Senate and the National Assembly, gathered the necessary signatures to require the Constitutional council of the French Republic [official websites, in French] to determine if the law is constitutional. While France has already recognized the 1915 killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide,... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/01/france-lawmakers-seek-ruling-on-genocide-denial-ban.php Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:26:12 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/01/france-lawmakers-seek-ruling-on-genocide-denial-ban.php Max Slater ... [JURIST] Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] took the stand in his second trial [JURIST report] before the Spanish Supreme Court [official website, in Spanish] on Tuesday and defended his investigation into war crimes allegedly committed under Francisco Franco [BBC backgrounder] during the Spanish Civil War. Garzon has been charged with abusing power by ordering the exhumation [JURIST reports] of 19 mass graves in Spain in order to assemble a definitive national registry of Civil War victims,... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/01/spain-judge-garzon-defends-franco-era-probes.php Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:14:07 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/01/spain-judge-garzon-defends-franco-era-probes.php Hillary Stemple ...