[JURIST] The 53-member UN Commission on Human Rights [official website] is set to start its yearly and probably last six-week session [UN backgrounder] in Geneva on Monday, but may not follow its customary agenda due to ongoing controversy over the formation of a new UN Human Rights Council [JURIST news archive] intended to replace it as part of an ongoing series of UN reforms. Proponents of the Council had hoped to pass a UN General Assembly resolution [JURIST document] establishing the new body by the time of the first meeting of the Commission scheduled for March 13, but that became an official impossibility Friday when UN General Assembly President Jan Eliasson postponed the General Assembly's approval meeting [JURIST report] after a disagreement with the United States over the shape of the new Council could not be quickly resolved. He said, however, that he would reschedule the approval meeting for next week, raising the prospect of the Commission postponing or downscaling its own proceedings in anticipation of a structural change. UN Human Rights Commission spokesman Jose Dias told reporters:

You have heard some reports about what was being envisaged for the opening of the session. That option, namely the suspension of the session, is still in the cards… For the Commission to take a decision as a Commission, it will have to open... So, it will have to meet, even if it is to say 'we are closing.' So, there will be an opening.

[JURIST] Wire services are reporting that initial results of an autopsy cited by an ICTY official at The Hague ahead of the public release of the findings indicate that Slobodan Milosevic died of "classical heart failure". Milosevic had a long history of heart trouble and his health had forced multiple delays of his trial. The autopsy was conducted Sunday and full results are expected to be released later.

Milosevic was found dead in his cell [JURIST report] Saturday. BBC News has more.

4:44 PM ET - The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia has just released this statement indicating that Milosevic died of a heart attack:

Under the authority of the Prosecution Service of The Hague, an autopsy of Slobodan Milosevic was conducted this afternoon. The autopsy was performed by Dutch forensic pathologists in The Hague.

Pursuant to a request from the government of Serbia and Montenegro, and with the concurrence of the Dutch authorities and the Tribunal Registrar, two pathologists from Belgrade attended the procedure.

The Tribunal has received a brief summary of the autopsy results. According to the pathologists, Slobodan Milosevic’s cause of death was a "myocardial infarction". Further, the pathologists identified two heart conditions that Slobodan Milosevic suffered from, which they said would explain the myocardial infarction.

The Prosecution Service of The Hague informed the Registrar that a toxicological examination will still be carried out. The Tribunal has been informed that the final report will be issued as soon as possible.

Slobodan Milosevic’s remains will be released to the family tomorrow.

[JURIST] Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) [official website] said Sunday on ABC's This Week that he plans to introduce a censure resolution [text, PDF; Feingold fact sheet] in the US Senate Monday condemning President Bush for approving the National Security Agency warrantless wiretapping program [JURIST news archive] and then misinforming the public about the program's existence and legality. Feingold has argued that the program is in direct violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) [text], which forbids wiretapping of citizens in the US without a warrant or a court order. Feingold asserted Sunday that the President's action in allowing warrantless wiretaps of terror suspects was an impeachable offense "right in the strike zone of the concept of high crimes and misdemeanors", but questioned whether removing the President from office would be right for the country at this time. Republican leaders have already responded to the proposal with derision. ABC News has more.

A censure resolution is a formal statement of disapproval by the Senate. Unlike impeachment, it has no formal legal impact but can be politically problematic. The Senate has only censured a President once - in 1834, members voted to censure President Andrew Jackson [US Senate backgrounder] for assuming power not granted by the Constitution in the context of the controversy over the failed Bank of the United States. After the political balance in the Senate changed, the censure motion was expunged in 1837. In 1999, Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced a resolution [text] to censure President Bill Clinton in the Lewinsky scandal but the measure was blocked [AP report] after the Senate acquitted Clinton of perjury and obstruction of justice in his impeachment trial.

[JURIST] A new investigatory report by the Associated Press [media website] shows an increasing trend among state legislatures to restrict access to information that was public before the 9/11 attacks. Security concerns were found to be the main driving force for state action, but concerns about identity theft, medical privacy and computer vulnerability to attack also drove legislatures. According to the report all 50 states have enacted legislation that affects public access to government information.

The report found that of 1,023 new laws about public access to government information, 60% closed access. In the last four years, according to AP, "36 states passed more restrictive laws than laws that loosened access; seven states passed more laws that eased barriers to access; seven states passed equal numbers." AP has more.

The growth in state-level restrictions reflects a similar growth in secrecy in the US federal government; a September 2005 report [PDF] by secrecy watchdog Openthegovernment.org [advocacy website] found that secrecy has expanded dramatically in all three branches - including the judiciary [JURIST report] - as authorities have classified documents, closed advisory meetings and approved secret surveillance warrants at an unprecedented rate.

[JURIST] A senior US State Department official has indicated that US officials are talking with their British counterparts about how to eventually close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]. US State Deputy Assistant Secretary Colleen Graffy [official profile] told the BBC Sunday that "continuous discussion" was going on and that “hopefully, over the years, we will find a way to either release them to their country of origin or they will declare that they no longer want to kill us.” London’s Independent newspaper meanwhile reported Sunday that on a visit to London [JURIST report] last week, US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [official profile] sought British advice on a UK initiative to deport [JURIST report] some UK terrorism suspects back to their countries of origins and sign agreements to avoid their torture or mistreatment.

The revelations come as Prime Minister Tony Blair [BBC profile] faces pressure to condemn the detention facility and take a tougher stance with President Bush. There are approximately 490 detainees in Guantanamo Bay, most of whom have been there for over three years. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Hague war crimes prosecutor Carla del Ponte [BBC profile] Sunday defended the over four year long trial of Slobodan Milosevic [JURIST news archive] before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia [official website], saying that although his sudden death in jail [JURIST report] Saturday "deprives the victims of the justice they need and deserve" and it was "a great pity ... that the trial will not be completed", the proceeding had nonetheless put critical evidence on the record. "During the prosecution case," she said in a statement [text] delivered at the start of a news conference [recorded video], "295 witnesses testified and 5000 exhibits were presented to the court. This represents a wealth of evidence...". Responding to criticism that the trial might have been too long, she later observed:

Of course it is possible to say let's accuse him only for the most important crimes -- those where we can faster obtain a verdict...But my view is that it is not only a question of convictions and sentencing, it is also a question of truth -- of facts and truth. It is important for the victims particularly that they have full knowledge of what happened.

According to the Tribunal’s Rules of Detention, the authorities of the host state of the Netherlands, are conducting an inquest, pursuant to their law. A Dutch forensic team, including coroners carried out an examination of Slobodan Milosevic and his cell yesterday. Because the Dutch coroners who examined Slobodan Milosevic were unable to establish a cause of death, an autopsy was ordered without delay, as required under Dutch law. The autopsy will take place in the course of today. The Registrar has requested that a full report of the Dutch authorities’ investigation be forwarded to the Tribunal as quickly as possible.

Pursuant to a request from the authorities of Serbia and Montenegro, and in concurrence with the Dutch authorities conducting the investigation, the Registrar agreed to have senior pathologists selected by the government of Serbia and Montenegro observe the autopsy.

[JURIST] The Saddam Hussein trial [JURIST news archive] resumed in Baghdad Sunday without any disruptions as three co-defendants took the stand to testify about the killings of 142 Shiites in the Iraqi town of Dujail after a failed 1982 attempt on Hussein's life. It was the first session of the proceeding since March 1, when Saddam denied he had committed any crime [JURIST report] connected with the deaths. Former Baath party officials Mizhar Abullah Ruwayyid, his father Abdullah Ruwayyid and Ali Daih Ali all testified Sunday, likewise insisting on their innocence. Iraqi High Criminal Court chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Moussawi said Saturday that he hoped to question Saddam Hussein himself [AP report] later this week. All the members of Hussein's defense team, including chief lawyer Khalil Dulaimi and former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark, were in court Sunday to hear the testimony of the co-accused. After some four hours of statements, the trial was adjourned until Monday. AP has more.

Meanwhile the Iraqi trial process continues to be the object of international criticism. On Friday Argentinean Leandro Despouy, UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers [official website], slammed the Saddam tribunal once again [JURIST report] in his latest report to the UN Human Rights Commission, pointing out what he called its "notorious failings", including security problems. Despouy called for the appointment of an international tribunal set up in co-operation with the UN. The UN has refused to support the current proceeding, in part because of concerns about partiality and the prospect of the death penalty against convicted defendants. AFP has more.