[JURIST] A majority of the Senate has voted in favor of the Sept. 11 intelligence bill, although AP is reporting that the vote is not over yet.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled Friday that the US Interior Department does not have to disconnect its computers from the Internet despite the possibility of tampering by hackers. The dispute arose regarding the security of a US Interior Department website that contains information about royalty payments owed to American Indians for use of their land. In March, the Interior Department was ordered to take its websites and email systems offline after an expert testified that the Indian trust funds could be tampered with; it was, however, given permission to stay online until the Court of Appeals heard the case. The court today said that there was no evidence of actual tampering. A lawyer for the Indian plaintiffs said he would go back to the lower court and ask for a full hearing to determine the security of the Interior Department's computers. The appeals court ruling is online here [PDF]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] In Friday's environmental law news, John Thwaites, Minister of the Environment for the state of Victoria in Australia, has announced that he will be calling on the national Environment and Heritage Protection Council (EHPC) to adopt a plan that would require large emitters to report their greenhouse gas emissions annually. Currently, emitters have to report the emission of gasses listed on the National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) in accordance with a set of regulations adopted by the EHPC. The EHPC had considered adding greenhouse gasses to the NPI last April, but have not yet taken any action. The Australian has more....

In other news, Sri Lanka Environment and Natural Resources Minister A.H.M. Fowzie has announced a plan that that would completely ban the use of vehicles that do not comply with new emissions standards. The New Vehicle Emissions standards are currently set to take effect on January 1, 2006. The Minister's plan to ban noncompliant vehicles will need to be approved by the full Cabinet before taking effect. The UN has background[PDF] on Sri Lanka vehicle emission policies. The Sri Lanka Daily News has more.... The Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) on Thursday approved a plan that would adopt the California Zero Emission Vehicle program. If passed by the Maine legislature this winter, the program would require, starting in 2009, 6 percent of all vehicles sold in Maine to have the newest available emissions control technology (ie. clean-burning gasoline) and an additional 4 percent to have essentially zero emissions, as found in gas-electric hybid vehicles. Critics of the plan point out that it may be difficult to comply with the program in Maine, where trucks make up 60 percent of the vehicles sold each year. The Bangor Daily News has more.

[JURIST] KGW-TV in Portland is reporting that Washington state Democrats have said they will pay for a full statewide hand recount of the ballots cast in the November Washington governor's race, which Republican Dino Rossi won on the night by 261 votes, but by only 42 votes after a machine recount. The hand recount, which will cost the party some $700,000, will start Monday and be complete by December 23. The state Democrats have been using their website to actively canvas for funds to cover the recount cost.

5:33 PM ET - KATU-TV in Portland now has a full story here.

[JURIST] President Bush Friday signed into law H.R. 1350, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 [PDF] (IDEA), designed among other things to ensure that students with disabilities will have special education teachers with the skills and training to teach special education and their subject area. The President's remarks at this morning's signing are online from the White House here. More information on the IDEA legislation, including the Congressional conference committee report, is available from the Council for Exceptional Children. In the wake of IDEA's passage, however, the Council sharply critized Congress for in fact appropriating $1.7 billion less for special education than it had initially promised:

Congress's actions will exacerbate the funding shortfalls--and the fallout from inadequate funding--schools and districts already face, such as a shortage of licensed special educators to teach children with disabilities and the strain placed on local communities and states as they struggle to pay the balance of special education costs.

Congress also failed to appropriate additional dollars for gifted programs, which are essential for the educational progress and wellbeing of students with gifts and talents. Without adequate funding districts are unable to provide comprehensive gifted education services for students, or their programs are disbanded entirely.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court announced at midday Friday that it would hear appeals from the Federal Communications Commission and the cable industry on whether broadband services that offer computer users high-speed links to the Internet via cable are an "information service" subject to minimal regulation by federal or local authorities or whether, following lower court rulings, they constitute a telecommunications service, a finding that would require a cable operator to open its facilities to all Internet Service Providers, not just its own. The cases are FCC v. Brand X and National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X. The certiorari order is here [PDF]. The NCTA has issued a press release welcoming the order here, saying that

Establishing a deregulatory environment for cable modem service is critical to the universal deployment in the U.S. of broadband services, including emerging services such as Voice over Internet Protocol service. This case presents a fundamental question of communications law, carefully decided by the FCC and then overturned by a circuit court that simply ignored what the agency had done, refusing to accord the FCC the deference Supreme Court precedent requires. Classifying cable modem service as an interstate information service, as the FCC did, puts this innovative service on the right deregulatory path

[JURIST] In Friday's corporations and securities law news, the Canadian unit of Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) will pay Canadian regulators $1.5 million Canadian to settle allegations it improperly traded shares of BCE, Canada's biggest phone company. This is the second-largest fine given by Market Regulation Services, Canada's stock market regulator. The MRS press release is here. Bloomberg has more.

In other news, the UK Office of Fair Trading has filed a complaint with the European Commission that Apple's iTunes is charging too much for its music downloading service in the UK. Currently iTunes downloading service charges UK customers 20% more than French and German customers and bars customers in the UK from logging onto French and German sites to get a cheaper deal. The Financial Times has more.... The SEC announced enforcement actions this week against Eisner Securities of St. Louis after a branch manager embezzled more than $2 million from clients. The St. Louis Post Dispatch has more.... IBM has hired Merrill Lynch to find a buyer for its personal computer unit. The asking price is expected to be $1-2 billion. Bloomberg has more.... European Union officials are asking United States to clarify its position in its complaint to the WTO over alleged unfair subsidies given to Airbus after the US announced it would not bring an action in 2004. AP has more.... ABA Ltd, the world's largest maker of electricity transformers, was dealt a serious blow when a US court threw out the company's $1.3 billion plan to resolve more than 135,000 asbestos lawsuits. The court said the company would have given the company too much protection in future suits. Bloomberg has more.... As previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase, the Department of Justice announced four executives of German computer chipmaker Infineon Technologies have agreed to plead guilty to charges of participating in a price-fixing scheme. A DOJ press release on the plea deal is available here. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson has resigned from his post.

[JURIST] BBC News is reporting that the Ukrainian Supreme Court has invalidated the disputed presidential election poll and ordered fresh elections.

11:21 AM ET - Ukraine Channel 5 is broadcasting live video from Kyiv of crowds in the main square celebrating the ruling. They can be heard to chant "Yushchenko", the name of the opposition leader who made the fraud claim.

11:28 AM ET - Live webcam shots of crowds gathered in Kyiv's Independence Square are here, courtesy Kyiv's 1Plus1-TV. From Kyiv, the Maidan civic activist website now reports in English:

Actions and inactions of Central Electoral Committee were declared to be illegal since they contradict to plenty of articles of the Law about presidential elections.

The Court has cancelled CEC decisions No. 12-64 and 12-65 (about declaring of the President of Ukraine and declaring or election results).

The Court decided that the re-run should be held within 3 weeks according to the Article 85 of the Law about presidential elections.

People scan “Yushchenko” in the hall.

The head justice [JURIST editor's note: presiding judge Anatoliy Yarema] read the opinion and he was noticeably nervous reading it out. This is the judge who had no trouble at all during any of the hearings. He was forceful and no nonsense. But while reading this opinion, his voice quavered and he cleared his throat a number of times. I can only imagine the pressure these people were under. But these justices deserve credit for this. It was a unanimous vote.

Tens of thousands of opposition protesters who had massed in central Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) in anticipation of the decision cheered, waving blue-and-yellow Ukrainian and orange Yushchenko flags and chanting "Yushchenko! Yushchenko!" The crackle of fireworks could be heard in the distance.

Yushchenko's lawyers in court were jubilant.

"This is a great victory of all people who have been standing at the square, a great victory for Ukrainian democracy," said Mykola Katerinchuk, the Yushchenko lawyer who wrote the appeal....

Representatives from Yanukovych and the Central Election Commission (CEC) left the courthouse before the judges announced their decision....

In its ruling, the court slammed Ukraine's CEC, citing massive lapses by the government in the run-up to the election and in the vote counting that followed.

Particular attention was paid in the ruling to the numerous documented cases of fraud brought by the opposition. Among them were the improper transportation and handling of ballots; improperly or inadequately compiled voters lists; abuse of administrative resources in favor of the government-backed candidate, and lack of equal media access for both candidates.

Taking into consideration the impossibility of being able to establish, in a reliable manner, the will of voters in the single nationwide seat by drawing up the results of the election run-off, and taking into account that the election run-off held on 21 November 2004 did not change the status of the candidates who, in accordance with the results of the election on 31 October obtained the most votes, the court regards it necessary to renew the rights of the subjects of the electoral process by holding a run-off in line with the rights accorded by Article 85 of the law of Ukraine on the presidential election.

[JURIST] The Catholic Diocese of Orange County, CA, has reached a settlement with 87 victims over alleged clergy abuse that is larger than the $85 million settlement agreed to by the Boston Archdiocese last year. The terms of the agreement reached Thursday were not released under an order by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Owen Lee Kwong. Church officials said the settlement would not bankrupt the diocese or require the closing of any parishes. Settlement negotiations have been underway for two years, but picked up again this week after months of being stalled.The diocese has more on sexual misconduct claims. AP has more.

[JURIST] A divided California Supreme Court has ruled that lawyers participating in cases that benefit the public, including those representing advocacy groups, should have their legal fees paid by defendants. In two 4-3 decisions, the court ruled Thursday that lawyers needed some incentive to bring cases that will likely result in little or no money from damages but that still benefit the public. Defendants should still pay the attorneys' fees in cases that are settled and not tried in court. The dissenting judges in the cases argued that the practice would simply encourage frivolous lawsuits. Read the court's opinion in Graham v. DaimlerChrysler Corp. [PDF] and in the companion case Tipton-Wittingham v. Los Angeles [PDF]. The Los Angeles Times has more (registration required).

[JURIST] Four executives of German computer chipmaker Infineon Technologies have agreed to plead guilty to charges of participating in a price-fixing scheme, the Department of Justice reported Thursday. Under the terms of the deal, the four men, who include three Germans and one American, will serve up to six months in jail and pay $250,000 in fines. The deal was the first guilty plea in a two-year investigation into alleged price-fixing by makers of dynamic random access memory for computers. Infineon previously reached a $160 million settlement over the pricing conspiracy with the DOJ in September. Reuters has more.

11:05 AM ET - A DOJ press release on the plea deal is available.

[JURIST] Former rebel leader Ramush Haradinaj is expected to be named Kosovo's prime minister as a new parliamentary session begins Friday, but a recent interview by UN war crimes investigators has prompted some question as to whether Haradinaj would be indicted for his role in the war with the former Yugoslavia. Haradinaj's nomination was achieved by a coalition formed between the winning party of the elections and Haradinaj's smaller Alliance for the Future of Kosovo party. Kosovo is currently administered by the UN, but the top UN official there, Soren Jessen-Petersen, said that blocking Haradinaj's nomination would go against the will of the people. Read Jessen-Petersen's address [PDF] before the inaugural session of the Kosovar parliament. AP has more.

[JURIST] A former Serb military officer indicted for his role in the shelling of civilians in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war has surrendered and is being transported Friday to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte said. Dragomir Milosevic was indicted in 1998, but has remained in hiding since. It was unclear whether Milosevic, who is not related to former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, surrendered voluntarily. The Serbian government has been under increasing pressure from the ICTY to cooperate in apprehending 18 war crimes suspects who remain at large. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] German police arrested three Iraqi men Friday for a suspected plot to assassinate Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi while he was visiting Germany. Chief Federal Prosecutor Kay Nehm said the three were under surveillance, and police noticed an increase in suspicious activity that suggested the men were plotting an attack. The three were reported to be members of the militant group Ansar al-Islam. AP has more.

[JURIST] US military panels reviewing the detention of 550 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay may use evidence obtained by torture in deciding whether the detainees are enemy combatants, the US government has said. Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Brian Boyle said the practice was allowed during a Thursday hearing at a district court reviewing the detention of some foreigners at the US naval base in Cuba. Statements obtained by torture have been barred from admission in US courts for about 70 years. Attorneys for the detainees argued that the use of such evidence violated due process and fundamental fairness, but Boyle argued that the detainees were not protected under the constitution. The review panels are allowed to use evidence that is determined to be reliable, Boyle said. Earlier this week the International Committee of the Red Cross issued a report finding that the US had used tactics "tantamount to torture" on detainees at Guantanamo. The challenges to the detentions are being heard by District Judge Richard J. Leon of the US District Court for the District of Columbia. JURIST's Paper Chase has ongoing coverage of developments at Guantanamo Bay. AP has more.

[JURIST] Still wracked by an electoral crisis, the Ukrainian parliament Friday passed a resolution calling on outgoing President Leonid Kuchma to withdraw Ukraine's 1600-strong contingent of troops from Iraq. The resolution was supported by both pro-government and pro-opposition deputies. Under domestic political pressure other East European states have recently indicated a similar intent to withdraw forces from the US-led coalition; Hungary will pull out its troops by the end of the year while, Poland and the Czech Republic have said they will bring home their forces next year. UPI has more. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense maintains a special website on its Iraq operations (in Ukrainian).

8:01 AM ET - In a late development in the electoral crisis, the Ukrainian Supreme Court, with final arguments completed, has now retired to consider its much-anticipated ruling in the election fraud case. AP has more.

[JURIST] Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Friday, December 3.

The US House and Senate are in recess. The US House will reconvene on Monday, December 6 at 2 PM. The US Senate will reconvene on Tuesday, December 7 at 9:30 AM.

The trial of Fatmir Limaj and his co-defendants continues Friday at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Watch a webcast of the trial beginning at 9:30 AM local time (3:30 AM ET); the webcast is on a 30-minute tape delay. The ICTY has background on the case.... Also Friday, the trial of Naser Oric continues at the ICTY. Watch a webcast beginning at 2:45 PM local time (8:45 AM ET); the webcast is on a 30-minute tape delay. The ICTY has case information.

At the United Nations, the General Assembly will hear reports from the First (Disarmament and International Security) Committee. Watch a live webcast beginning at 10 AM ET.

In Fiji, a court hearing is scheduled Friday for former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and other ministers who are seeking compensation for the 56 days they were held hostage during the May 2000 coup.