[JURIST] The defense team for Pfc. Lynndie England [JURIST Newsmaker archive], accused in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, said Friday that military prosecutors have now filed a new and reduced set of charges against her that could substantially reduce any prison term sentence might receive. Nineteen counts of committing abusive and indecent acts that could have resuled in 38 years in jail have been cut back to just 9 counts with a maximum term of 16 1/2 years. No explanation of the reduction in charges has been given. Pfc. England became internationally notorious last spring when photographs taken at Abu Ghraib showed her with humiliated and degraded prisoners. England's pre-court martial Article 32 hearing has not yet been scheduled. AP has more.

[JURIST] US District Judge Emmet Sullivan [official bio] ruled Friday that two lawsuits against the Federal Election Commission [official website] should be combinced, calling their claims "virtually identical." The 2004 Bush campaign and Reps. Christopher Shays, R-Conn. and Marty Meehan, D-Mass. sued the FEC separately last year after it allowed partisan interest groups to spend tens of millions of dollars in support of presidential candidates opposing President Bush. If successful, the combined action would limit donation maximums and require registration by those wishing to spend money in federal elections. The FEC has said that the parties have no legal standing to raise such lawsuits. Reps. Shays and Meehan have worked in concert for campaign finance reform since 2001. Their positions on campaign finance issues may be found here and here, respectively. AP has more.

[JURIST] United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a statement Friday that an independent Commission of Experts would be appointed to access progress made in Timor-Leste (East Timor) and Indonesia in adjudicating human rights violations that occurred in 1999 when the former Indonesia territory of East Timor voted for independence. UN officials had expressed concern with rulings of the Indonesian Appeals Court that had overturned the convictions of several involved Indonesian officials, as well as at the 2002 sentencing of Timor-Leste Governor Abilio Soares to only three years in prison for crimes against humanity. The UN News Centre has more. Xinhua has more.

[JURIST] An auditing commission appointed by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops reported Friday that the past year has produced 1,092 new allegations of sexual abuse against at least 756 Catholic clergymen. The disclosure of figures came in the national audit [full 64-page report, PDF] of US dioceses examining their compliance with child protections policies [full text] passed by church officials in 2002. In a statement, a spokeswoman for the USCCB's Office of Child and Youth Protection [official website] noted that half of the most recently accused priests and deacons had been previously accused of sexual abuse and that 72% of the them are dead, defrocked, or have been removed from public interaction. While the auditors, consisting mostly of former FBI agents, concluded that most dioceses have demonstrated adequate measures taken to protecting children, some groups, such as the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) [official website], disagree. They claim the results to be "minimal and misleading" and stated that the bishops had too much control over those who participated. Read the SNAP press statement . AP has more.

[JURIST] Mark Thatcher [BBC News profile], son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, appeared in a South African court Friday to answer questions about his role in an alleged coup plot [BBC Q/A] in Equatorial Guinea [official website; US State Department backgrounder]. Last month, Thatcher pleaded guilty to charges to that he helped finance the plot and was fined for his role [JURIST report]. As part of his plea bargain, Thatcher agreed to answer questions submitted by Equatorial Guinea prosecutors who are trying to determine the scope of British involvement in the coup attempt. Speaking in court Friday, Thatcher emphasized that he did not know that his money was being used in the coup plot and that he had no direct knowledge of the plot, but did say that he knew many of the people allegedly involved. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Chief Justice William Rehnquist [JURIST Newsmaker archive] will not take part in oral arguments when the US Supreme Court [official website] resumes hearing cases next week, a court spokesperson said Friday. Rehnquist was diagnosed with thyroid cancer [JURIST report] last October and has missed the court's argument sessions in November, December and January while undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Rehnquist will continue to read briefs and oral argument transcripts and will participate in private court meetings and vote on cases. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] In a filing submitted to the Supreme Court on Thursday, attorneys from the Justice Department told the court that terror suspect Zacarias Moussaoui [JURIST Newsmaker archive] does not need direct access to al-Qaida witnesses to receive a fair trial. Moussaoui's attorneys are appealing a 4th Circuit ruling [PDF] on the point and are asking the court for full access to witnesses. The Justice Department maintains that access to government-prepared summaries of interrogation statements from potential witnesses is enough. The DOJ also argues that it is too early for the Supreme Court to hear the appeal because the case has not been fully resolved at the trial level. AP has more.

[JURIST] President Bush has signed the Class Action Fairness Act limiting class-action lawsuits, saying it will restore "common sense and balance to America's legal system."

[JURIST] The UN General Assembly's legal committee [official website] failed to reach a consensus Thursday on a nonbinding declaration that would have urged urge governments to adopt their own laws on human cloning. As a result, the committee is likely to adopt a proposal supported by the United States but opposed by proponents of stem-cell research that would ban therapeutic cloning [American Federation for Aging overview], which involves the harvesting of human embryos. The proposal is a follow-up to a failed 2001 initiative that did not include such a ban. The US, Costa Rica, and other countries have argued this type of research is a taking of human life and urge the UN to oppose any proposal that does not include a ban. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Leading Friday's corporations and securities law news, the New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation [official website] filed a complaint against AEFA, the personal finance advisory unit of American Express Co. [corporate website], for failing to disclose to investors that its financial advisors were given incentives to push certain mutual funds over better performing funds. The regulators are seeking a fine and restitution of $17.5 million. Read the New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation press release [PDF]. Reuters has more.

In other news...

• Following up on a story reported earlier this week on JURIST's Paper Chase, Artemis, the holding company of French tycoon Francois Pinault [Wikipedia profile], is the sole defendant in a $3.7 billion fraud trial involving the acquisition of failed California insurer Executive Life. This comes after the other remaining defendant MAAF [corporate website in French], walked away from the civil trial, which invoked a default judgment. California authorities will have to go to France to recover any money from MAAF. The original suit claims Credit Lyonnais [corporate website], who settled earlier this week, used MAAF as a front to buy Executive Life when California laws barred foreign governments from controlling insurance companies. Artemis allegedly acquired and profited from Executive Life's lucrative junk bond portfolio in 1995 after Credit Lyonnais sold off all its assets. AFP has more.
  
  
• Former Enron [corporate website; JURIST Hot Topic archive] Chairman Ken Lay [Wikipedia profile], who has wanted a speedy trial since his indictment last July, has now joined his co-defendant Rick Causey in asking for a December trial date. This comes in response to US District Judge Sim Lake's request for a date when all of the defendants and their lawyers are free. Read the indictment [PDF] and SEC complaint [PDF]against Lay and Causey. The Houston Chronicle has more and continuing coverage of the Enron scandal.
  
  
• The SEC has started a formal investigation into chip maker Sipex Corp. [corporate website] over the company's financial records for 2003 and 2004. The company, which is conducting an internal probe into the matter, will cooperate fully with the investigation. Read the Sipex press release. AP has more.
  
  
• The SEC announced Paul Roye, the head of the agency's division that oversees mutual funds, will leave his post. The SEC and Roye have come under intense scrutiny since New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer [official website] launched his probe of the mutual fund industry. Read the SEC press release. CBSMarketWatch has more.
  
  
• Former Qwest Communications International Inc. [corporate website] senior vice president Marc B. Weisberg was indicted on wire fraud and money laundering charges. The twelve-count indictment accuses Weisberg of personally profiting on investment opportunities at the expense of the company and its shareholders. AP has more.
  
  
• Qwest Chairman Richard Notebaert [corporate biography] announced the company will make a new bid for MCI [corporate website] after reviewing Verizon's winning bid [Verizon press release]. The bid could lead to a bidding war with Verizon [corporate website] for MCI, the number two long distance telecommunications company. Reuters has more.
  
  
• Former Boeing CFO Michael Sears was sentenced to four months in prison and fined $250,000 after pleading guilty [JURIST story] in his role in hiring Darleen Druyun [Wikipedia profile], the former Air Force official who was still involved in Boeing contracts with the Air Force. The St. Louis Business Journal has more.

[JURIST] In Friday's international brief, multiple allegations of sexual harassment have arisen against UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers [official profile]. Lubbers, a former Dutch prime minister, allegedly harassed five different female employees under his supervision according to an internal report authored last year by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services [official website] and publicly reported Friday by Britain's Independent newspaper. The report documented the five women's statements, though four refused to press charges and spoke only on the condition of anonymity. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan [official profile] reviewed the report in July of 2004, but concluded that there was insufficient evidence to bring formal charges against Lubbers. Annan did write a warning letter to Lubbers, advising him of his concern about the situation. Lubbers responded to a series of questions from the newspaper that obtained the report by stating that the charges lacked credibility and that the OIOS report was confidential for a reason and should remain so. The allegations come at a time when the UN is already receiving negative publicity from the Oil-for-Food scandal and the sexual exploitation of the Congolese population by UN peacekeepers. The Independent has more.

In other international legal news ...

• King Gyanendra [BBC profile] of Nepal has announced the formation of an Anti-Corruption Commission in the country that will have the power to conduct independent investigations into politicians and government officials for evidence of graft and bribery. The Commission, consisting of six members, will have the power of a Nepalese court, and will be able to 'take action' against those found to be violating anti-corruption laws. The Chairman of the new commission, Bhakta Bahadur Koirala, said the process would be successful if it received the support of the people in conducting its investigations. The move has been greeted with cautious optimism by other nations and human rights groups, but Gyanendra still faces worldwide condemnation for his earlier dissolution of the elected government [JURIST report] and establishment of draconian press restrictions [JURIST report]. Several EU countries, along with India and the US, have withdrawn their ambassadors from Nepal in protest. Read the King's official Notice of the Press Secretariat - February 17 [scroll if necessary] outlining the commission. Kantipur Online has local coverage
  
  
• Talks held Thursday between Togo President Faure Gnassingbe [BBC profile] and Nigerian President and African Union Chairman Olusegun Obasanjo [official profile] failed to result in any change in either side's position. The AU and ECOWAS are still calling for immediate national elections to be held in order to follow the orginal Togolese constitution, which required a new election for president after the death of the incumbent. Faure is still resisting elections, after having been named interim president by the nation's military and succeeding in having the National Assembly change the nation's constitution to allow Faure to finish out his incumbent father's term as president. Both leaders issued statements referring to the talks as a period of exchanging views and advice, and a spokesperson for Obasanjo said that the meetings were never about negotiations, so no real changes were expected. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage [JURIST Countries report] of Togo. Reuters has more.
  
  
• Serbian authorities have made six arrests in a test case for suspects alleged to have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 1990s Balkan conflicts. Serbian prosecutors are not releasing the identities of the suspects, but have confirmed that they are holding six individuals and are actively seeking three more. The arrests, made by the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs, are a result of a trial procedure in which the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia [official website] began investigations into the suspects, then passed off the files to the Serbian War Crimes Council of the Belgrade District Court. If successful, the process would see more cases given to Serbia [government website] in order to speed the process of trying those implicated in human rights abuses during the Balkan conflicts. The move is designed to help the ICTY finish its major prosecutions by its mandatory disbandment date of December, 2008. From Belgrade, B92 Radio has local coverage.

[JURIST] What appears to have been a legal oversight has prompted the office of the Prince of Wales at Clarence House to announce that the official wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles has been moved from Windsor Castle to Windsor's Guildhall [backgrounder, photos], the local town hall. Under Britain's 1994 Marriage Act [text], venues licensed for civil weddings must be made available to the general public on a regular basis for at least 3 years, a rule which raised the possibility that couples would apply for weddings at the royal residence. Read the official Clarence House announcement. AFP has more information. The Queen is reported to be unhappy with the change in venue, believing that Prince Charles has rushed through the planning process for the event. The Melbourne Herald Sun has more on the Royal reaction.

[JURIST] Ahmad Chalabi [JURIST Newsmaker archive], currently lobbying to be Iraq's Prime Minister in the wake of the recent elections which gave his Shiite party grouping a majority of seats in the new National Assembly, has promised to bring former dictator Saddam Hussein to speedy justice. Chalabi, one of two politicians vying for the top leadership position, stated that a trial of Hussein would help to unify the country. Chalabi is a one-time ally of the Pentagon, but his relationship with the US has suffered following an investigation into allegations that he provided information to Iran [JURIST report]. USA Today has the more.

[JURIST] The US Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] Thursday approved S. 256, the Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Prevention Act of 2005 [PDF], a measure that would make it tougher for consumers to erase debt in bankruptcy proceedings, but battle lines are being drawn on the Senate floor. Amendments will likely be introduced that further protect certain groups such as military personnel, along with an amendment that would prohibit abortion protesters from using bankruptcy as a shield to paying court fines. Such amendments have successfully derailed prior attempts to toughen the bankruptcy rules. AP has more information.

[JURIST] Documents from US military investigators obtained by the ACLU under Freedom of Information Act provisions and released Friday suggest that US personnel engaged in widespread abuse of prisoners in Afghanistan, and that US soldiers attempted to cover up evidence of the abuses in the wake of the Abu Ghraib prison [JURIST Hot Topic archive] scandal in Iraq last year. The documents suggest that Afghan prisoners were physically and sexually abused, subjected to mock executions, and were threatened with attack dogs. Read an ACLU press release and review the documents. The Guardian has more.

[JURIST] Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Friday, Feb. 18.

On Capitol Hill, the US Senate [official website] convenes at 10 AM ET for the reading of President George Washington's farewell address [text, PDF] from 1796. The reading is an annual tradition before the Senate recesses for President’s Day. Watch a live webcast of the session.

The US House [official website] is not in session today.

The 5th Annual Women and the Law Conference titled "The Global Impact of Feminist Legal Theory" begins today at 3 PM ET. The two-day conference is being hosted by the Thomas Jefferson School of Law [official website] in San Diego. Read an agenda of the conference, including speakers and forums.

At the UN daily press briefing, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland will provide a briefing on the humanitarian situation in Darfur, Sudan. Watch a live webcast beginning at 12 Noon ET.

At the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the trial of Enver Hadzihasanovic and Amir Kubura [ICTY case backgrounder] continues today. Watch a webcast of proceedings beginning at 9:30 AM local time [3:30 AM ET].