[JURIST] Suspected terrorist Babar Ahmad [advocacy website] announced Wednesday through his political party that he will run for election to the UK parliament on May 5 from his cell in Woodhill Prison [official website] in Buckinghamshire. Ahmad has been indicted in the US [arrest warrant and criminal complaint, PDF] for operating a website that raised funds for Muslim militants in Afghanistan and Chechnya. Ahmad is running on the human rights platform of the tiny Peace and Progress Party [official website], which is also fielding Azmat Begg, father of former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg [JURIST report]. Corin Redgrave, founder of Peace and Progress, said that Ahmad will be a popular candidate because of the deep-seated sense of injustice about what has happened in Guantanamo. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Robert Parton and Miranda Duncan, two investigators from a special panel appointed by the UN to investigate the United Nations Oil-For-Food program [official website], resigned Wednesday in protest over a March report [PDF] that they said was too lax on UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Parton and Duncan accused the Independent Inquiry Committee [offical website] headed by former US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker improperly down-played criticisms of Annan and allegations of impropriety against his son Kojo. Mark Pieth, a Committee spokesman, said the parting was amicable. AP has more. JURIST's Paper Chase has background on the Oil-For-Food program here.

[JURIST] The Italian Supreme Court [Corte Suprema di Cassazione; offical website in Italian] Wednesday confirmed a lower court ruling to keep tube-feeding Eluana Englaro, in a vegetative state since a 1992 car accident. The appeal was brought by Englaro's father, who believes that she would have preferred to die. The court rejected the argument because there was no specific evidence on Englaro's views of life and death. In addition, the court's opinion stated that to remove the tube required, "valuations of life and death that are rooted in concepts of an ethical or religious nature, which are extrajudicial." The ruling comes just weeks after US courts struggled with the analogous case of Terri Schiavo [JURIST news archive], who died March 31. Reuters has more. Agenzia Giornalistica Italia has local coverage.

[JURIST] The Connecticut Senate [official website] Wednesday voted 26-8 to approve legislation that would allow civil unions [SB 963 bill summary] for same-sex couples but specifically defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The Connecticut House [official website] has already approved the bill [JURIST report] and the measure will now go to Governor M. Jodi Rell [official website] for her signature. Rell has said she will sign the bill, making Connecticut the second state, after Vermont, to allow civil unions. AP has more.

5:48 PM ET - Wire services are reporting that Governor Rell has now signed the bill into law.

[JURIST] The Council on American-Islamic Relations [advocacy website], the New York Civil Liberties Union [advocacy website] and the American Civil Liberties Union [advocacy website] filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against the Department of Homeland Security [official website], saying DHS unlawfully detained, interrogated, fingerprinted and photographed a group of Muslim-American citizens who were returning from the 2004 Reviving the Islamic Spirit Conference in Canada. According to the complaint [PDF text], the treatment violated the plaintiffs' constitutional rights to practice religion and against unlawful searches. At the time of the incident, a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said that agents were acting on information that Islamic conferences like the one the plaintiffs attended can be a means for terrorists to promote their cause. Read the NYCLU press release on the lawsuit and more from AP.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that House ethics committee Republicans say they are prepared to open an investigation into allegations against House Majority Leader Tom DeLay [official website].

4:02 PM ET - Republican Rep. Doc Hastings [official website], chairman of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct [official website] said Wednesday that four of the five Republicans on the ethics committee are "prepared to vote at the earliest opportunity to empanel an investigations subcommittee to review various allegations concerning travel and other actions" by Tom DeLay. Hastings' announcement was made in the hopes of breaking a deadlock that has kept the committee from operating since committee Republicans pushed through changes to ethics rules last year. Committee Democrats argued that the rule changes were specifically designed to shield DeLay and so have refused to allow the ethics committee to begin its work this year. Hastings said Wednesday that in order for the investigation against DeLay to proceed, Democrats must end the stalemate over the rules. AP has more.

[JURIST] In a special session Wednesday, the Ecuadorian Congress [official website] voted 62-0 (there are 100 congressional seats) to remove President Lucio Gutierrez from office under a constitutional provision that allows congress to remove a president when there has been "abandonment of the position." Wednesday's vote avoids a lengthy impeachment process and under the constitution, Vice President Alfredo Palacio will now take over the position. AP has more. From Quito, Diario Hoy provides local coverage.

Previously on JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Ecuador president refuses resignation in face of protests, impeachment threats
• Ecuador congress to consider presidential impeachment
• Ecuador Congress fires Supreme Court again
• Ecuador supreme court dismissed by president

[JURIST] AP is reporting that President Bush has signed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 [PDF text, as reported in House], legislation that will make it harder for those in debt to wipe out their obligations.

3:53 PM ET - A transcript of the President's remarks on signing the bill is now available. President Bush said:

Under the new law, Americans who have the ability to pay will be required to pay back at least a portion of their debts. Those who fall behind their state's median income will not be required to pay back their debts. This practical reform will help ensure that debtors make a good-faith effort to repay as much as they can afford. This new law will help make credit more affordable, because when bankruptcy is less common, credit can be extended to more people at better rates.

The new law will also require credit card companies to let card holders know up front what they are expected to pay, and what the penalties they will face if they are late on a payment. When people get a credit card, they should not be trapped by a provision in the fine print.

To make the system more fair, the new law will also make it more difficult for serial filers to abuse the most generous bankruptcy protections. Debtors seeking to erase all debts will now have to wait eight years from their last bankruptcy before they can file again. The law will also allow us to clamp down on bankruptcy mills that make their money by advising abusers on how to game the system.

America is a nation of personal responsibility where people are expected to meet their obligations. We're also a nation of fairness and compassion where those who need it most are afforded a fresh start. The act of Congress I sign today will protect those who legitimately need help, stop those who try to commit fraud, and bring greater stability and fairness to our financial system.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said Wednesday that it will not reconsider its earlier decision [PDF opinion; JURIST report] barring the DOJ from seeking a $280 billion penalty in its racketeering lawsuit against tobacco companies. In February, the court ruled that the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act [text] permits the government to seek only forward-looking remedies and does not allow disgorgement penalties. The appeals court divided 3-3 on whether to grant the DOJ's request for a full court reconsideration of the panel decision, and Associate Attorney General Robert McCallum said Wednesday "In the wake of the tied vote ... the United States will carefully review its options and make a determination in the near future as to what course of action it will pursue." The DOJ provides background on the tobacco litigation, including case documents. AP has more.

[JURIST] The National Education Association [union website] and individual school districts in Texas, Michigan and Vermont filed a lawsuit Wednesday [NEA press release] seeking to force the federal government to pay more of the costs incurred under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) [PDF text; executive summary; US Dept. Ed. fact sheet]. According to the complaint [PDF, NEA case summary], NCLB requirements force school districts to divert resources or risk being shut down. Wednesday's action is the first-ever national lawsuit to be filed, but individual states are also taking steps to challenge the Education Department's mandate under NCLB. Earlier this month, Connecticut's attorney general announced that state's intention to file a constitutional challenge [JURIST report] to the law and yesterday, Utah's legislature passed a bill [JURIST report] requiring state education officials to comply with the state's goals before considering NCLB provisions. The NEA has set up a NCLB lawsuit website. Bloomberg has more.

[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [official website] Wednesday charged a defense witness for Slobodan Milosevic [JURIST news archive] with contempt of court for refusing to testify while Milosevic was not in court due to illness. Judge Patrick Robinson charged Kosovo Serb leader Kosta Bulatovic with contempt for "knowingly and willfully interfered with the administration of justice by contumaciously refusing to answer questions asked by the prosecutor." Bulatovic now faces a maximum prison sentence of 7 years or a 100,000 euro fine, or both. The contempt hearing will resume May 5, allowing Bulatovic more time to consult a lawyer. Meanwhile, defense lawyers appointed by the ICTY to help Milosevic conduct his defense have told the court that the tribunal should not continue the trial while Milosevic is ill because it would amount to an impermissible trial in absentia. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Twelve NGOs representing Iraq's minority ethnic groups have promised to work together with the transitional government to ensure that minority rights will be protected under the permanent Iraqi constitution [JURIST news archive] to be drafted by the new National Assembly. The groups concluded a two-day conference in Baghdad Tuesday called "to highlight the fact that Iraqi minorities have the right to be involved in the preparation and writing of the new constitution to ensure our rights are the same as other groups such as the Muslims and Christians." Citing concerns that there has been little follow-through on promises of government participation given by larger parties, conference participants said if they did nothing they were "afraid that we will lose our rights when they write the constitution." IRIN News has more.

[JURIST] Leading Wednesday's corporations and securities law news, KPMG LLP [corporate website], the US unit of accounting firm KPMG International [corporate website], has agreed to pay $22.5 million to settle with the SEC [official website] over charges that it allowed Xerox Corp. [corporate website] to manipulate its accounting practices to close a $3 billion gap between actual operating results and the results reported to the investing public. The settlement resolves the civil suit brought by the agency which implicated KPMG and certain partners in the accounting fraud. KPMG will pay a $10 million civil fine, $9.8 million in restitution, and $2.6 million in interest. KPMG will neither admit nor deny wrongdoing but will make a series of reforms to prevent future violations of securities laws. Read the KPMG LLP press release [PDF]. Read the SEC press release, litigation release, and administrative proceeding [PDF]. AP has more.

In other news...

• Doral Financial Corp. [corporate website] announced the SEC has started an informal investigation into the company's planned financial restatements and other issues concerning its valuation of interest-only securities. Doral will cooperate fully with the inquiry. Read the Doral press release. The announcement comes a day after Doral said it would reduce past earnings by $435 million to account for the overvaluation of certain interest-only securities. Read the Doral press release. AP has more.
  
  
• Agrochemical company Monsanto Co. [corporate website] announced it has received a subpoena from the Illinois Attorney General for information related to its pricing and licensing of genetically modified seeds. Monsanto said the inquiry is similar to requests made in the past. Read the Monsanto press release. AP has more.
  
  
• Enron [corporate website; JURIST Hot Topic news archive] chief executive Stephen Cooper will reopen negotiations to sell Portland General Electric (PGE) [corporate website] in talks with Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski [official website], Portland Mayor Tom Potter [official website] and representatives of Oregon Mutual Utility Development Inc [advocacy website]. The new negotiations are result of Enron's failed attempts to sell the utility to the Texas Pacific Group after Oregon's utility regulators, Oregon Public Utility Commission [official website], quashed the deal [Oregon Public Utility Commission documents]. The city of Portland is attempting to step directly into the deal with a $2.35 billion offer, matching the offer made by Texas Pacific Group. However, Cooper has indicated the company is looking for more money this time around and may only be interested in selling stock, not assets. If negotiations fail, Enron may give its creditors stock in PGE and let financial markets decide what the company is worth. The Oregonian has more.
  
  
• US Airways Group Inc. [corporate website] announced it is in advanced negotiations with America West [corporate website] to merge thereby creating a national low-cost airline that could compete with discount rivals and also complement each other geographically. US Airways is planning to emerge from bankruptcy court protection later this year. AP has more.
  
  
• The CEO's of mortgage giants Fannie Mae [official website] and Freddie Mac told the Senate Banking Committee [official website] today that overregulation combined with a severe reduction of their multibillion-dollar portfolio holdings will hurt the US housing market. The moves could cut off billions of dollars from investors who help make housing more affordable for moderate-income Americans. Read the prepared testimony of Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd. AP has more.
  
  
• The Delaware Supreme Court [official website] has upheld a a Chancery Court ruling against media magnate Conrad Black. The Chancery Court ruling blocked Black's plan to sell his control of his publisher Hollinger Inc. [corporate website] to the Barclay Brothers, and found that Black violated his duties at Hollinger. The Canadian Press has more.
  
  
• The SEC announced a settlement with four people over insider trading charges. The charges stem from a Florida woman's tips to her husband who later told two others about upcoming corporate acquisitions that she learned about while working at Deloitte & Touche and another public auditing firm more than five years ago. The four will pay a total of $1.27 million to settle the charges. Read the SEC litigation release and complaint [PDF]. Dow Jones has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that US District Judge Leonie Brinkema has scheduled a Friday hearing [AP story] to accept the guilty plea [JURIST report] of 9/11 terror suspect Zacarias Moussaoui [JURIST news archive].

3:31 PM ET - The order noting that "the court finds that the defendant is fully competent to plead guilty to the indictment" is now online [PDF].

[JURIST] In the latest of several attacks on the federal judiciary, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay [official website] has called the work of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy [Oyez biography] "incredibly outrageous." In a Tuesday interview with Fox News Radio, DeLay said that it's outrageous that Justice Kennedy is "writing decisions based upon international law, not the Constitution of the United States." DeLay also criticized Kennedy's statement during a Court session that he does his own research on the Internet. Repeating his calls for the US House to find a way to increase the accountability of the federal judiciary, DeLay said that the House Judiciary Committee [official website] should investigate the clause in the Constitution that says "judges can serve as long as they serve with good behavior" and should seek to define "good behavior." Listen to recorded audio of DeLay's remarks on the judiciary. AP has more.

[JURIST] A legal challenge to the UK postal voting system [Royal Mail guide] set for Thursday could delay the scheduled May 5 national elections [10 Downing Street release]. John Hemming, deputy leader of Birmingham city council, is filing the High Court challenge, alleging that the postal voting system fails to protect the right to a secret ballot guaranteed by the Human Rights Act 1998 [official text]. Postal voting became a focus of attention in Birmingham in 2004 after six Labour councillors were accused of abusing the postal ballot system; a judge investigating the matter last month derisively labelled postal voting "an open invitation to fraud" [BBC report]. The UK Royal Mail [official website] estimates that nearly 6.5 million individuals will vote via the postal ballot system, representing nearly 15% of expected voter turnout. If the High Court rules in Hemming's favor, it is unlikely that sufficient steps could be taken by May 5 to ensure the validity of all postal votes, requiring either a delay in the election or a decision to remove postal balloting as a method for voting. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Ecuador President Lucio Gutierrez [Wikipedia profile] says he is not even considering resigning, despite massive civil unrest and threats of impeachment aimed at his administration. Gutierrez has faced increasing civilian protests against his government, especially since his announcement of a state of emergency [JURIST report] Friday and his firing of the Ecuador Supreme Court [official website in Spanish]. Gutierrez said Tuesday he had no fear of a renewed attempt at impeachment [JURIST report]. He said he planned to finish his elected term, scheduled to end in January, 2007. AP has more.

[JURIST] Political parties in Spain [government website] are in an uproar after the ruling Socialist Party [official website] Wednesday initiated a process for officially pardoning victims of former fascist Spanish dictator Generalissimo Francisco Franco Bahamonde [profile]. Franco signed orders for thousands of executions while he ruled Spain between 1938 and 1975, often consigning convicts to death by strangulation with a garrotte. The Socialists have set up a committee of ministers to examine Franco's execution warrants and issue pardons for those where the "minimum standards of a fair trial" were not observed. Right-wing politicians are angered by the refusal of the Socialist party to undertake the same review of individuals executed by the self-proclaimed Republican (anti-Franco rebel) government. Critics from all sides have voiced concern over whether the pardon plan would merely reopen old wounds and violate the unofficial 'pact of silence' currently in place concerning the country's history from the 1930s to the 1970s. Expactica.com has more.

[JURIST] The Iraqi Interim National Assembly [Wikipedia backgrounder] Wednesday demanded prosecution of a US soldier and an apology from the American Embassy [official website] after representative Fattah al-Sheik tearfully described being handcuffed and humiliated at a US checkpoint. Al-Sheik, a Shi'ite, is linked to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr [Wikipedia profile], who led several uprisings against the US military in 2004. The Iraqi National Assembly, meeting for only the third day of its session to develop an Iraqi constitution, adjourned for an hour in protest. A US military spokesman said that al-Sheik and a coalition translator had gotten into an 'altercation' at the checkpoint and US soldiers had stepped in and seperated the two men. He said that full investigation into the incident would be conducted and that the US military had nothing but the highest respect for the Transitional National Assembly and its elected members. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Iraq [JURIST news archive]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Utah Legislature [government website] passed House Bill 1001 [legislation status page] Tuesday directing state education officials to comply with state education goals before they consider the provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind [DOE backgrounder] legislation. Utah is the first of many states unhappy with the federal education law [JURIST report] to pass a legislative challenge to it. Parts of the No Child Left Behind Act require states to fund federal education standards with their own monies. Utah legislators are relying on a small provision of federal education law passed by Republicans in the Clinton administration that holds that states cannot be required to spend their own funds to implement federal education provisions. Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. [official profile] says he will sign the state bill when it is presented to him. US Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings [official profile] has warned Utah Senator Orrin Hatch [official profile] in a letter that if Utah applies the provisions of their legislation in contradiction with federal law, it may forfeit $76 million in federal education monies. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice [official profile] said Wednesday that Russian needs to increase its democratic development in order for the US-Russia relationship to deepen. In an interview [transcript, in Russian] with Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy, Rice said that there needs to be an independent media and that President Vladimir Putin should not have so much personal power. Rice also said that the US is following the fraud trial of Mikhail Khodorkovksy [trial website; JURIST news archive] to see what the outcome says about the rule of law in Russia. At a press briefing [transcript] Tuesday, Rice said that her agenda while in Russia included talking about "domestic developments in Russia and about continuing concerns about the course of both democratization in Russia and issues concerning the rule of law." Reuters has more. MosNews has local coverage.

[JURIST] Following up on a story reported yesterday afternoon on JURIST's Paper Chase, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee [official website] late Thursday postponed until next month its scheduled confirmation vote on the nomination of John Bolton [official profile] as US ambassador to the United Nations [US Mission to the UN official website] after a Republican senator stunned colleagues by asking for more time to consider the nomination. Senator George Voinovich [official website] of Ohio said that "I don't feel comfortable about voting for Mr. Bolton" because arguments made by Democrats, who oppose the nomination, persuaded him to take more time to consider the matter. During last week's confirmation hearings, allegations [JURIST report] were made that Bolton was a "serial abuser" of lower-level officials who challenged his views, prompting Democrats to argue that Bolton's behavior makes him unsuitable for the UN post. Bolton has also been criticized less aggressively on some of his harsh views of the UN as an institution. Without support from all 10 Republicans, the 18-member committee seems likely to remain deadlocked preventing Bolton's nomination from advancing to the full Senate. Reuters has more.

2:55 PM ET - White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Wednesday that Senate Democrats are trumping up "unsubstantiated accusations" against John Bolton as part of their efforts to derail his nomination. McClellan said that the White House is confident that Bolton's nomination will ultimately be confirmed by the Senate. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Wednesday, April 20.

The US Supreme Court [official website] hears oral arguments in two cases beginning at 10 AM ET today. In the first, Merck KGaA v. Integra Lifesciences I, Ltd. [Duke Law School case backgrounder], 03-1237, the Court will consider whether patent law exceptions for pharmaceutical development cover animal studies related to new drug development. The ABA has merit briefs in the case. In the second, Graham County Water District v. US [Duke Law School case backgrounder], 04-169, the Court will consider whether the six-year statute of limitations under the False Claims Act [text] applies to retaliatory discharge claims under the Act. The ABA has merit briefs in the case.

The US Senate [official website] convenes at 9:30 AM ET today, when it will consider H.R. 1268 [bill summary], the Iraq/Afghanistan Supplemental Appropriations bill. Watch a live webcast of the session. The Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security Subcommittee is holding a hearing at 2:30 PM ET today to review the Material Support to the Terrorism Prohibition Improvements Act. Watch a live webcast of the hearing.

The US House [official website] convenes at 10 AM ET today. Watch a live webcast of the session. The House Judiciary Committee [official website] will mark up H.R. 1279 [bill summary], the Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act, at 10 AM ET today. Watch a live webcast of the session. The Committee is also holding a hearing at 2 PM ET today to consider competition in the telecommunications industry following the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Watch a live webcast of the hearing. The Courts, Internet and Intellectual Property Subcommittee is holding an oversight hearing at 4:30 PM ET today on the committee print regarding patent quality improvement. Watch a live webcast of the hearing. The House International Relations Committee [official website] Middle East and Central Asia Subcommittee is holding a hearing at 1:30 PM ET today on the Middle East and the UN. Watch a live webcast of the hearing.

The Eleventh UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice [official website] continues today in Bangkok, Thailand. View the agenda for the session.

At the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the trial of Slobodan Milosevic [ICTY case backgrounder] continues at 9:30 AM local time [3:30 AM ET] today. Also today, the trial of Enver Hadzihasanovic and Amir Kubura [ICTY case backgrounder] continues at 2:45 PM local time [8:45 AM ET]. Watch a webcast of proceedings.