[JURIST] A lawyer who has worked with Saddam Hussein's defense team said Monday that the defense will likely begin pre-trial proceedings on Tuesday by once again requesting a six month delay. The defense is expected to argue that it has not been given 45 days to review all prosecution documents as provided by Rule 45 of the Iraqi Special Tribunal’s Rules for Proceedings and Evidence Gatherings [PDF text]. A previous delay request was rejected [JURIST report] by the Iraqi Special Tribunal [official website; the court is in the process of beig redesignated the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal] last Saturday. The trial [JURIST news archive] of the ousted Iraqi dictator is set to start Wednesday. The Financial Times has more.

Meanwhile Monday, a spokesman for the US State Department noted [briefing transcript] in the context of recent criticism {JURIST report] by rights groups {JURIST report] and even the UN that the US was satisfied with the legality of Hussein's trial process:

I think if you take a look at it, the basic elements for a trial that meet international standards are there. You have a defendant that has access to defense counsel. You have an appeals process. You have a process that is then set up in accordance with Iraqi laws. Now, we'll see how this process moves forward. It's certainly our expectation and our hope would be that it moves forward in accordance with the laws and the regulations that have been put in place.

[JURIST] Susan Wood, former director of the US Food and Drug Administration's Department of Women’s Health [official website] said Monday that the FDA’s refusal earlier this year to consider over-the-counter sales of Plan B [FDA backgrounder], also known as the morning-after pill, was based on political considerations rather than scientific facts. Wood, who resigned [JURIST report] in August in protest over a delay in the Plan B approval process, said that the “FDA was [not] acting independently” by refusing to approve the drug, though she is not sure exactly who was responsible. According to Wood, the decision was probably made by Lester Crawford [official profile], the then-FDA commissioner who resigned [JURIST report] in September. Wood also said that Andrew von Eschenbach [official profile], Crawford’s acting replacement as FDA commissioner, should approve the pill soon, and if he does not, “we'll know it isn't his decision.” Conservative activists have attacked Plan B, which they say will encourage promiscuity. Plan B is not an abortion pill, and is currently available with a prescription. Watch recorded video of Wood's panel presentation on Plan B Monday to the Center for American Progress. AP has more.

[JURIST] A tax reform interest group chairman says that the President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform [official site] created last January to consider alternatives to the current US income tax system will probably not recommend any major changes to the code when it submit its report to the Treasury Department [official site] by November 1st. The panel is considering two primary alternatives: a value-added tax system [Wikipedia backgrounder] similar to those employed in Europe and elsewhere, to be discussed by the group tomorrow, and a national sales tax [Washington Post report], which was rejected by the group last week due to concerns over high rates and potential tax evasion. Leo Linbeck, head of Americans for Fair Taxation [advocacy website], had been pushing the national federal sales tax option. The Congressional Research Service has published a report [CRS text] comparing the two proposals. AP has more.

[JURIST] According to an attorney for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) [official website; campaign website], prosecutors in his case offered DeLay a deal that would have allowed him to plead guilty to misdemeanor charges, thus avoiding felony charges of money laundering and criminal conspiracy. In a letter from defense attorney Dick DeGuerin to Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, [official website] DeGuerin alleged that Earle used the offer, which would have allowed DeLay to retain his position as majority leader, to force a guilty plea. AP has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase:

• DeLay attacks prosecutor on campaign website
• Prosecutor subpoenas DeLay telephone records
• DeLay lawyers subpoena Texas prosecutor to show improper grand jury conduct
• DeLay files motion to dismiss indictment

[JURIST] In a White House meeting Monday with visiting Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov [official profile], President Bush urged the Libyan government to release five Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death for intentionally causing an AIDS outbreak at a Benghazi children's hospital in 1999. The story made international headlines last year when the court deciding the case seemingly ignored testimony from several expert witnesses [BBC report] that the outbreak occurred prior to the arrival of the health professionals. During his meeting [White House transcript] with Parvanov, Bush said "the nurses ought to be not only spared their [lives], but [should be released from] prison." Earlier this year, a Libyan court acquitted nine police officers and one doctor [JURIST report] in the case. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul [official website, English version] has taken the unusual step of criticizing the state case against Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk [official website; TIME profile], calling his prosecution for "public denigration of Turkish identity" contrary to the efforts of the government to extend greater individual rights to citizens, including freedom of religion and expression. Pamuk, whose work often examines the clashes between society and the role of Islam, was charged after he made unfavorable remarks to Swiss magazine about Turkey's stance on the mass killing of Armenians during WWI. Under Turkish law, individual rights and freedoms may be restricted to preserve the "integrity of the state", and individuals are often charged with slander against the state. Gul insists that the government is actively seeking to reform the civil and penal code [JURIST report], an issue that has complicated its entry into the European Union. In September EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn accused Turkish authorities of deliberately provoking the EU [JURIST report] by planning to bring Pamuk to trial on December 16, the date of an EU summit. The Financial Times has more.

[JURIST] After being signed into law [JURIST report] by President Bush last April, an overhauled US bankruptcy law goes into effect Monday making it more difficult for consumers to prove that they should be allowed to clear their debts and make a "fresh start." The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 [PDF text] was prompted by concerns that an increase in personal bankruptcies was adversely affecting retail stores, banks and credit card companies who had to pick up the tab after consumers became insolvent. The changes make it harder for debtors to cast aside credit card and other debt by filing under Chapter 7 [text], the most common type of personal bankruptcy, which currently allows consumers to wipe out most of their unsecured debts. AFP has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Op-ed: Rebalancing the Bankruptcy Code

[JURIST] Iranian officials have approved the basic outlines of a "single-urgency" bill providing for the suspension of Iran's voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol [IAEA report] to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) [text]. Mahmoud Mohammadi, a member of the Iranian commission that approved the changes, said the government would suspend the Additional Protocol "if the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) [official website] reports Iran's nuclear case to the UN Security Council." Last month over 70% of Iranian MPs voted to support such a measure [JURIST report]. Arabic News has more.

[JURIST] Republican and Democratic sources said Monday that Senate Republicans have proposed the week of November 7th to begin confirmation hearings for beleaguered US Supreme Court candidate Harriet Miers [JURIST news archive]. Though Republicans are seeking a vote by the full Senate prior to Thanksgiving, it was not immediately clear whether Democrats would attempt to push back the vote.

In related Miers news, President Bush Monday tried to bolster support for Miers by holding a meeting at the White House [press release; JURIST report] with six former members of the Texas Supreme Court who back the nomination. Said Bush of his visitors,

We've got Republicans and Democrats, people who have been on the court, attorney generals. They're here to send a message here in Washington that the person I picked to take Sandra Day O'Connor's place is not only a person of high character and of integrity, but a person who can get the job done.

Harriet Miers is a uniquely qualified person to serve on the bench. She is smart, she is capable, she is a pioneer. She's been consistently ranked as one of the top 50 women lawyers in the United States. She has been a leader in the legal profession. She's impressed these folks. They know her well. They know that she'll bring excellence to the bench.

ALSO ON JURIST  Op-ed: Two Cheers for Harriet Miers | Op-ed: In Praise of Treachery: The Relevance of Prior Judicial Experience

[JURIST] Lawyers representing 10 terror suspects and 13 human rights groups, including Amnesty International [AI press release] and Human Rights Watch [HRW press release], appeared before Britain's House of Lords[official website] Monday arguing against a 2004 appeals court ruling [ABC report; JURIST report] allowing Special Immigration Appeals Commission [official website] tribunals hearing cases involving foreign terror suspects to consider evidence obtained by torture. Such evidence would not be admissible in a criminal court trial. The 2004 judgment [text] by the Court of Appeal for England and Wales allows the SIAC to hear evidence obtained by torture, provided it was not directly obtained by UK agents. Lawyers for the terror suspects currently being held in Britain without charge told the law lords Monday that allowing the use of evidence obtained by torture would be "an affront to the public conscience" and would serve as an incentive to the torturer "by making the act of torture worthwhile. The law lords are expected to hear arguments in the case for most of the week. Read Amnesty's Case for the Interveners on Appeal. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] An FBI report on US crime [PDF] released Monday found that while murders in the US fell for the first time in five years, 2004 saw an increase in the number of rapes. Overall the number of violent crimes fell by 1.2 percent and property crimes dropped 1.1 percent. The 350 fewer murders in 2004 compared to 2003 included a drop of 150 fewer murders in the city of Chicago, a large reason for the decrease. The number of rapes has increased in three of the past four years, including a .8 percent increase in 2004, 750 more than in 2003. Both categories are up from 2000 (rape - 5%; murder - 3.5%). The overall crime rate, however, is at a 30-year low and the rates of all violent crimes have dropped since 2000. The FBI has created a special report website. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [JURIST news archive] ruled Monday that death row inmates [JURIST news archive] do not have an automatic right to a jury trial to determine whether or not an inmate is mentally retarded and therefore ineligible for execution. The unsigned opinion [PDF text] comes three years after the Court barred executions of the mentally retarded [Atkins v. Virginia opinion] because they violated the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. In Monday's opinion, the Court reiterated its position that states have discretion to set up their own systems for determining whether an inmate is mentally retarded. The Court's ruling overturned a Ninth Circuit decision that said that Robert Smith, on death row for the 1980 murder of a mentally ill woman, was entitled to a jury trial on his claims that he is mentally retarded. In the petition for certiorari, Arizona state attorney Kent Cattani had argued that there is no basis in the constitution for requiring a jury, rather than a judge, to make that determination. AP has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that the Iraqi electoral commission [official website] says it will recheck "unusually high numbers" in constitutional referendum results from certain areas of the country to make sure the poll meets international standards. A Sunni leader Sunday claimed that Sunnis in four provinces had voted against [UPI report] the draft Iraqi constitution, and delivered a letter to UN officials expressing concern over "the possibility of fraud, especially with the delay in announcing the results of the referendum". A prominent Sunni legislator raised the fraud concern again Monday, alleging that some votes in swing areas had been cast by pro-constitution Shiites from elsewhere.

3:03 PM ET - The Electoral Commission will "recheck, compare and audit" results in several provinces after the ratio of "yes" to "no" votes appeared to be significantly higher or lower than expected. IECI officials said Monday that it was too early to determine what caused the unexpected results or whether figures were incorrect, but said that it would conduct random samples to check the results. AP has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Op-ed: The Iraqi Constitution: What Would Approval Really Mean? | Video: Remaking Iraq: Federalism and Rights

[JURIST] The British government on Monday proposed allowing non-lawyers to partner with lawyers to run combined firms and the creation of an independent body to handle complaints against legal professionals. The proposed reforms to the legal profession in England and Wales were outlined by the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) [official website] in a white paper, The Future of Legal Services: Putting Consumers First [PDF text], and are the result of a study into the regulatory framework [JURIST report] for legal services launched by the DCA last year. Professional legal associations, such as the Law Society [group website] and the Bar Council [group website], currently handle complaints against legal professionals. In its response [press release], the Bar Council said that the white paper contains many positives, but feared the high cost of establishing the new regulatory bodies, which it claims the government will not assume. The Law Society also praised the government's efforts to enact reforms [press release], but stated that "it would be better for regulatory powers to be vested directly in the front line regulators such as the Law Society, the Bar Council and ILEX." The Telegraph has more. BBC News provides additional coverage.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court Monday lifted [PDF order] a temporary stay [JURIST report] issued late Friday that blocked a lower court order allowing prison officials in Missouri to transport a pregnant inmate to a medical facility for an abortion. Justice Clarence Thomas had issued the stay pending a decision by the full Court, which unanimously refused Missouri's request to stay the lower court order, a step allowing the inmate, now in her 17th week of pregnancy, to receive the procedure. Missouri officials had refused to arrange for an abortion that was not medically necessary, but US Chief District Judge Dean Whipple ruled last week [St. Louis Post-Dispatch report] that prison officials were blocking the inmate's right to an abortion. Monday's ruling is the Supreme Court's first on abortion since John Roberts Jr. was sworn in as Chief Justice in late September. During his confirmation hearings Roberts ducked most questions about his views on abortion and Roe v. Wade, but he did emphasize his respect for stare decisis [JURIST report]. AP has more. SCOTUSblog has additional coverage.

4:41 PM ET - The Court's order [PDF] is now available.

[JURIST] The Dutch Equal Opportunities Commission will hear the nation's first case brought by a Muslim woman who was refused a job because she would not wear a headscarf [JURIST news archive]. The Islamic College in Amsterdam refused to hire Samira Haddad for an Arabic teaching job because she refused to wear a burka. Dutch law requires religious institutions to treat all employees equally. Haddad claims the school is discriminating between Muslim and non-Muslim staff because it requires Muslim teachers, but not non-Muslims, to wear the headscarf. Haddad's challenge comes as the Netherlands is considering Europe's first nationwide ban on burkas [JURIST report] in certain places, including schools. BBC News has more. Expatica has local coverage.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Netherlands considering Muslim burka ban
• Australian PM rejects school headscarf ban
• UK court upholds right to wear Muslim dress in schools
• Danish court allows employer to ban headscarves
• Malaysia court upholds expulsion of students for wearing turbans
• German high court: headscarf ban applies to Christian nuns
• French headscarf ban takes effect

[JURIST] France's former Interior Minister Charles Pasqua [BBC profile] said Monday that he did not profit from the now defunct UN Oil-for-Food Program [official website; JURIST news archive] in Iraq. A US Senate report [PDF text; JURIST report; BBC Q/A] released in May alleged that Pasqua, France's former UN Ambassador Jean-Bernard Merimee, and several other English and Russian officials received barrels of oil from Baghdad during the program, which ran from 1996 to 2003. The 78-year-old Pasqua, who was elected to the French Senate in September of last year, is immune from criminal prosecution in France until 2009. Pasqua said Monday that he never received oil vouchers from Saddam Hussein and that somebody else used his name. The UN program allowed Iraq to sell a limited amount of oil to finance the purchase of food and medicine for its people. It ended with the US-led invasion of Iraq, and the Senate estimates that Saddam Hussein's regime made $17.3 billion from the program. Merimee was detained [JURIST report] last week by authorities investigating allegations of fraud and corruption in connection with the oil-for-food program and appeared before a judge [BBC report] in a French inquiry into the scandal. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Australian Prime Minister John Howard [official profile] said Monday he will not be forced into weakening the government's tough new anti-terrorism measures [draft law text, PDF; JURIST news archive]. The draft legislation, leaked onto the Internet [JURIST report] last Friday by the concerned Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, has been severely criticized [JURIST report] by many who believe it erodes civil liberties and free speech, and a backbench coalition has already negotiated some changes. Howard, however, maintained Monday that the law has not been dramatically changed, saying "I announced that we were going to have preventive detention. I announced that we were going have control orders. I announced that we would be expanding the sedition offence to include incitement of violent behavior against the community. All of those things have been out in the public domain." At the same time Howard countered that the "idea that we have snuck in a whole lot of attacks on civil liberties beyond what I announced is completely wrong." The bill is expected to be introduced to Parliament by the end of the month, but some lawmakers are arguing for more time to study and consider the proposed laws. ABC News has more. Sydney Morning Herald has local coverage.

[JURIST] UK Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer [official website] said Sunday that although he agreed with the Government's position that extended periods of custody in detaining terror suspects were needed, detainments must be monitored by a judge. Speaking on BBC television's Sunday AM, Falconer said [transcript] that a judge overseeing the process on a regular basis would make sure that there was no abuse and that the detention was no longer than necessary. Falconer's comments were made after controversial new UK terror measures allowing for up to 90-day detention without charge for terror suspects came under fire by senior UK jurists [JURIST report]. The government has said, however, that it is willing to compromise on provisions [JURIST report] of the proposed Terrorism Bill [PDF text; Home Office overview]. From London, the Telegraph has more.

[JURIST] Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi [official website, English version] honored the country's war dead by praying at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine [official website] Monday, despite conflicting court decisions on the constitutionality of Koizumi's visits to the shrine. Last month, the Osaka High Court ruled [JURIST report] that the visits violate constitutional provisions for the separation of church and state, but earlier this month, the Takamatsu High Court upheld [JURIST report] a lower court decision [JURIST report] to dismiss a lawsuit against Koizumi over the visits. Monday's visit to Yasukuni, founded in 1869 to serve as a monument to Japan's war dead - including war criminals, is Koizumi's fifth since he became prime minister in 2001. However, the visits have further weakened [Xinhua report] already shaky relations with China and South Korea, who see Yasukuni as honoring war criminals who have inflicted suffering and pain. AP has more.

[JURIST] US Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers [JURIST news archive; Washington Post profile] will offer her first rebuttal to concerns over her qualifications [JURIST report] Monday in answers to a Senate questionnaire on several topics, including judicial activism. White House strategists say that Miers' approach will be to reassure conservative critics while at the same time not drawing fire from the liberal opposition. Miers has been criticized for her limited record of constitutional jurisprudence and curiosity abounds on how she might rule on an abortion case. This will be Miers' first opportunity to respond to her critics since her nomination earlier this month [JURIST report] to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor as an Associate Justice on the US Supreme Court. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] An official from Bali's Denpasar district court said Monday that politicians and legal officials will be sent to the prison which houses three men convicted in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings [BBC report] in an attempt to speed up their executions. In 2003, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra were sentenced to death [BBC trial timeline] by firing squad for their roles in the bombings which killed over 200 people. Nengah Suriada, head of the Denpasar court, on Monday told protesters that government and law officials had all agreed on a speedy execution of the men but noted that under Indonesian law, those on death row must first seek a presidential pardon prior to execution. The most recent Bali bombings have led to a call by victims [JURIST report] of the 2002 attacks and other protestors for the immediate execution [JURIST report] of those convicted. AFP has more.

[JURIST] The Egyptian government ordered Sunday that five members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood [party website in Arabic; Wikipedia backgrounder] be released after they had been detained for five months without charges. The Muslim Brotherhood, established in 1928 and banned in 1954, renounced violence in the 1970s and is thought to be Egypt's largest Islamist group. The order comes after the recent release of Mahmoud Ezzat [JURIST report], the Brotherhood's secretary-general. Ezzat, together with Yasser Abdou, Essam el-Erian [Al Ahram profile] and three other members, were arrested in May after being accused of instigating anti-government protests prior to the country's multi-candidate presidential elections [JURIST report]. The elections have been denounced by rights groups [JURIST report] amid accusations of voter fraud [JURIST report] after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak [official profile; BBC profile] was re-elected to another six-year term [JURIST report] in a landslide victory. The Muslim Brotherhood, opposed to Mubarak, has 15 supporters sitting as independents in parliament. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal (formerly known as the Iraqi Special Tribunal [official website]), the court established to try Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] and other former Iraqi officials, could violate international standards for fair trials, according to a briefing paper, The Former Iraqi Government on Trial [text], released Sunday by Human Rights Watch [advocacy website]. HRW warns that the court could violate international standards [HRW press release] because it does not require proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and lacks adequate protections for the accused. Disputes among Iraqi political factions over control of the court and requirements that prohibit reducing a death sentence for any Iraqi official and compel execution within 30 days of a final judgment may also violate international standards for fair trials. A senior UN judge has also echoed concerns [DPA report] that Hussein's trial will not meet fairness standards. Wolfgang Schomburg, who has served on UN war crimes tribunals in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, said that the IST has features of "victors' justice" and called for the creation of an international court. Last week, a UN human rights expert released a report [text] on the independence of judges and lawyers; the report expressed alarm [JURIST report] at IST procedures that contravene international human rights standards, including the tribunal's power to impose the death penalty. The trial of Saddam Hussein and seven other former Iraqi officials is scheduled to begin Wednesday for the alleged 1982 massacre of more than 140 people from Dujail. Hussein is expected to face multiple charges [JURIST report], including premeditated murder, torture and forced expulsion. AFP has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Topic: Iraqi Special Tribunal | Op-ed: Trying Saddam Hussein: Go International or Not?