[JURIST] US House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi [official website] and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) [official website] said Thursday that they have sent a letter [text] to President Bush asking if he knew when he signed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 [PDF text] that it suffered from a "fundamental constitutional problem." Due to a clerical error, identical versions of the legislation were not passed by both the US House and Senate and the text sent to Bush for his signature only matched what was passed in the Senate. After Bush signed the legislation [press release; fact sheet] last month, the Senate passed a resolution confirming that the version signed by the President was "deemed the true enrollment reflecting the intention of the Congress."

In their letter, Pelosi and Waxman wrote:

It is a basic constitutional principle - which every child learns in grade school - that a bill is not a law unless the same version is passed by both the House and the Senate and signed by the President. Yet there is now growing evidence that your actions on February 8 breached this fundamental tenet of our democracy with the full knowledge of high-ranking congressional and White House officials.

More than 100 years ago, the Supreme Court addressed whether a bill could become law if the version signed by the President differed from the version passed by the House and Senate. In the case of Field v. Clark, 143 U.S. 649 (1892), the Court held that the President could rely on the attestation of the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate that the legislation before the President was the same as the legislation that passed the Congress. But the Court also recognized that the outcome would be different if there were a "deliberate conspiracy" to ignore the Presentment Clause of the Constitution. ...

We all share a common responsibility to uphold the Constitution, a responsibility that may well have been breached in the manner by which the signing of the Deficit Reduction Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 2005 occurred. Given the seriousness of the breach that has been reported, we request that you provide the Congress, as well as the press and the public, with a full and candid explanation of the activities of February 8 that turned the "mock signing ceremony" that the Speaker and Senate Majority Leader expected into a real one.

[JURIST] The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) [official website] on Thursday urged the Iraqi government [press release] to take steps to "assert control over the security forces and all armed groups" in the country, noting that there has been an increase in allegations of "death squads," summary executions and torture during the first two months of 2006. In its bi-monthly human rights report [DOC text] released Thursday, UNAMI also expressed concern over the "conditions and the legality of detention," and said that "overcrowding and the lack of judicial oversight remain problematic."

The security situation in Iraq has deteriorated following the violence in late February [JURIST report], including the destruction of the Al Askari Shrine [Wikipedia backgrounder] in Samarra. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] President Bush Thursday called [White House transcript] for policymakers considering the incendiary issue of immigration reform to conduct themselves "in a civil way...that brings dignity to the process" and hammer out legislation that is "comprehensive and rational and achieves important objectives." While several bills have been proposed [JURIST report], the Senate is about to take up draft legislation [PDF summary; text] by Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) that would provide more immigrant visas, tighten border security, and increase civil penalties for employers caught hiring illegal workers. AP has more.

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) [official website] has meanwhile announced [press release] his opposition to the Frist proposal, saying that the problem cannot be solved with enforcement alone [Reid press release] and insisting that any reform proposal must include a guest worker provision left out of the Frist proposal albeit endorsed by the President [White House transcript], as well as a "path to citizenship" for the illegal immigrant population currently working in the US, currently estimated at 12 million people [JURIST report]. Reid also said he intended to "use every procedural means at my disposal" to prevent Frist from bypassing the Senate Judiciary Committee to bring the bill to a vote before the full Senate. Reid said he favored alternative legislation [summary] introduced by Sens. Edward Kennedy and John McCain. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Florida Supreme Court [official website] on Thursday released an advisory opinion [PDF text] to the state Attorney General that permits the 2008 ballot to contain a citizen initiative banning gay marriages, even though the initiative failed to collect enough petition signatures to place the constitutional amendment on the 2006 ballot. According to the ACLU, which brought the initiative challenge [ACLU case profile] on behalf of a labor union and six same-sex couples, the amendment would define marriage as "the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife," excluding official recognition of all other arrangements, including civil unions and corresponding domestic partner benefits. The ACLU challenged the initiative on the grounds that it violates the constitutional single-subject requirement of all Florida ballot initiatives, as it bans both gay marriages as well as all other legal protections for same-sex couples. 365Gay.com has more.

The Florida Supreme Court also released an advisory opinion [PDF text] on Thursday striking down another citizen ballot initiative that would create an "independent nonpartisan commission" to oversee congressional redistricting [advocacy website], as opposed to the current system run by the state legislature. The ruling found the initiative violated the single-subject requirement, as it required both single-member legislative districts as well as the establishment of the commission. Justices noted in both opinions that they were ruling not on the constitutional merits of the initiatives themselves, but only on whether they met constitutional requirements to appear on the ballots. AP has more.

[JURIST] Transportation Security Administration lawyer Carla Martin has been subpoenaed to testify in federal court next Monday regarding her conduct in the Zacarias Moussaoui sentencing trial [JURIST news archive], sources close to the case said Thursday. Martin has been accused of coaching witnesses [JURIST report] and disclosing the government's case to witnesses in violation of a sequestration order [PDF], for which the TSA has placed her on administrative leave [JURIST report]. Martin's lawyer has characterized public reaction to Martin's actions as unwarranted, and while Martin will defend her conduct during Monday's hearing, it is unclear exactly what that argument will be.

Martin's conduct initially caused US District Judge Leonie Brinkema to reject [JURIST report] all aviation witnesses, testimony and exhibits presented by the government, which would have essentially gutted the government's case against Moussaoui. Brinkema subsequently narrowed the order [JURIST report] to cover only evidence handled by Martin, in response to a governmental motion to reconsider [PDF text; JURIST report]. Moussaoui faces the death penalty if the government can prove that his disclosure of al Qaeda links to the US following his arrest in August 2001 might have prevented the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The Washington Post has more.

[JURIST] Leading Thursday's environmental law news, Judge William M. Hoeveler of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida [official website] has ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers [official website] and the US Fish and Wildlife Service [official website] failed to adequately study the environmental impacts before issuing mining permits in 2002. The permits allowed for a 10 year continuation of limestone mining on 5,000 acres of land at the edge of the Everglades National Park [official website]. The area has been mined since the 1950s, but critics claimed that the environmental impacts of the additional mining had not been studied. AP has more.

In other environmental law news...

• The Maine Senate [official website] approved two bills Wednesday that should decrease the amount of mercury being used in the state. The first, LD 1058, would make it illegal to sell or distribute mercury-added button cell batteries after June 30, 2011. The batteries are often found in toys and other novelty products. The second bill, LD 1338, would require dentists to annually report the amount of mercury amalgams they purchase and use to the state. Both bills are now waiting to be signed by the governor. Village Soup has more.
  
  
• British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown [official profile] released his 2006 budget [PDF text] Wednesday, which included increased excise taxes for vehicles based on their carbon emissions. The tax, applied to the sale of new vehicles, ranges from zero for electric cars to over US$364 for some sports cars and sport utility vehicles. BBC News has more.
  
  
• A Tennessee Blount County Circuit Court [official website] judge dismissed a suit Wednesday against ALCOA Inc. [corporate website] that alleged secondary exposure to asbestos caused the death of Amanda Satterfield on January 1, 2005. The suit was originally filed by Ms. Satterfield in 2003, alleging that she was exposed to asbestos brought home on the work clothes of her father, Doug Satterfield, which caused her to contract mesothelioma. After her death, her father continued the suit as representative of her estate. In his dismissal, Judge W. Dale Young, wrote that as a matter of law ALCOA owed no legal duty of care to Ms. Satterfield. The Maryville Daily Times has more.

[JURIST] New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer [official website] on Thursday announced [press release] a lawsuit against Gratis Internet [corporate website] that alleges the company illegally sold the personal information - including e-mail addresses - of between one and seven million survey participants who were promised confidentiality. Gratis induced consumers to provide the information by offering free DVDs, iPods, and video games in exchange for taking general marketing surveys. Experts speculate that the suit involves the largest deliberate breach of privacy via the Internet discovered by US authorities.

Spitzer settled [press release] another breach of privacy lawsuit earlier this month for $1.1 million with Datran Media [corporate website], who purchased user records from Gratis. Datran allegedly bought personal records from Gratis despite knowing that the company promised confidentiality for taking surveys. At the time of the settlement Gratis claimed it did not act inappropriately in its dealings with Datran. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Belarus Central Election Commission [official website] has dismissed a complaint contesting the results of Sunday's election, which provided a landslide victory for Alexander Lukashenko [official website; BBC profile], who garnered over 82 percent of the vote. The complaint, filed by presidential candidate Alexander Kozulin, who received less than 3 percent of the vote, alleged rigged results and other monitoring violations of election law, and demanded that the election be invalidated. In response to the election results, demonstrators continue to protest [JURIST report] against Lukashenko and the vote at the central square in Minsk, in spite of opposition reports of at least 100 arrests [JURIST report] and government plans to quickly inaugurate [AP report] the Soviet-style leader as early as March 31. Opposition candidate Alexander Milinkevich [campaign website; Wikipedia profile] has supported the protests and accused the government of orchestrating an assault on another of his aides in retaliation for organizing the demonstrations. Reuters has more. MosNews has local coverage.

In related news, Adrian Severin, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus [official website], reiterated his condemnation of the human rights violations [JURIST report] allegedly perpetrated by Lukashenko and added strong disapproval of the election results, citing the independent findings [JURIST report; EP press release] that the election results were flawed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) [official website] and the European Parliament (EP) [official website]. The European Union (EU) [official website] also condemned the election and said that it is considering visa sanctions for all Belarusian government leaders. Read the UNOG press release.

[JURIST] Kizza Besigye [BBC profile, JURIST news archive], the recently defeated presidential candidate in Uganda [JURIST news archive], has asked the Ugandan Supreme Court [official website] to order a new presidential election, saying results from the February 23 election [JURIST report] were unreliable due to fraud, violence and bribery. Besigye blamed the Ugandan Electoral Commission [official website] for fraudulent vote tallies [JURIST report] in his petition to the court Wednesday, saying they deleted names from the vote register and allowed multiple voting and ballot stuffing during the election. The vote resulted in a reelection of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni [BBC profile], who has ruled the country for 20 years.

Besigye contends that his supporters [Forum for Democratic Change website] counted ballots showing that he had 49 percent of the winning vote and that Museveni had 47 percent. In order to avoid a run-off, Ugandan electoral rules indicate that a candidate only needs a simple majority. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Philippines Army said Thursday that it would recommend court-martial for 20 soldiers in connection with last month's failed coup attempt [JURIST report] against Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo [official website; JURIST news archive], including Brigadier General Danilo Lim. The army is continuing to investigate [JURIST report] the actions of more than 100 other soldiers who may have been part of the plan.

The Philippine Justice Department [official website] has also filed charges [JURIST report] against a congressman for his alleged role in the coup attempt and similar arrests may follow. AP has more. The Philippine Star has local coverage.

[JURIST] Indonesia has threatened legal action against US mining company Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold [corporate website] if it does not improve environmental conditions near its gold mine in Papua. For the past few days, protestors have called for the government to take action against the mine in order to control the production of waste ore called tailings that could cause landslides or flooding. A landslide [Reuters report] near the plant on Thursday killed three workers and injured four others, but Freeport says the cause of the landslide was not related to its operation [PDF press release].

Indonesia earlier this year settled [JURIST report] a civil suit for environmental damage against Newmont Mining Corporation [corporate website; JURIST news archive] for $30 million. Criminal charges are still pending against Newmont's top executive in the region. Indonesia set a timetable of two to three years for Freeport to action and avoid litigation. AP has more. The Jakarta Post has local coverage.

[JURIST] An Ethiopian court dropped charges Wednesday against 18 people, including five American journalists, as the treason trial for 129 protestors [JURIST report] resumed. The charges against the 18 included treason, attempted genocide, and other crimes in connection with allegations that they attempted to overthrow the government. The five journalists work for the US government-run Voice of America [media website], and were charged in absentia as they were based in Washington.

Charges stand against 111 opposition leaders, aid workers, and journalists. Violent demonstrations [JURIST report] following Ethiopia's May 2005 elections led to mass detentions, and over 8,200 protestors have since been released [JURIST report]. Opponents of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi have accused him of election fraud. AP has more.

[JURIST] The state of Nevada [government website] filed a lawsuit [press release] against the federal government Wednesday, seeking documents related to the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump [advocacy website], including documents which allegedly contain information that the proposed site cannot meet radiation safety standards [JURIST report] mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [official website]. The Nevada Attorney General [official website] is seeking access to a draft application completed by contractors to obtain a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) [official website] to allow the dump. The state claims it is entitled to the documents under the Freedom of Information Act [text] and has made previous attempts to object to the draft application, including requests to President George Bush and the US Secretary of Energy.

A spokesman for the US Department of Energy [official website] said the department has already posted millions of pages of information regarding the planned dump [DOE materials] on the Internet, and that it is under no legal obligation to publicly release the application until it is formally sent to the NRC. The Energy Department had originally set 2010 as the year for the dump to open but licensing hearings are expected to take several years before the site can be approved. This is the fourth lawsuit that Nevada has filed to try and block the nuclear waste dump [JURIST report]. Nevada's Agency for Nuclear Projects [official website] has further information on the Yucca project. AP has more.

[JURIST] Leading Thursday's international brief, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland [official profile] has called on Sudan [government website] to accept the presence of a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur [JURIST news archive] as essential to protecting Sudan's citizens. Egeland said that the AU, while effective in the short-term, was incapable of meeting the long-term demands that Darfur calls for and that the UN was unable to fund the AU in any way that would ensure its effectiveness, meaning that a UN peacekeeping force was the only viable solution. Sudan has repeatedly expressed its rejection [JURIST report] of any international peacekeeping force in Darfur as a violation of its sovereignty. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Sudan [JURIST news archive]. The Sudan Tribune has local coverage.

In other international legal news ...

• The administration of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe [BBC profile] has instituted a "stop-loss" procedure in the nation's police and military forces to attempt to stem the flood of officers and enlisted personnel quitting law and security forces since their pay can no longer cover living expenses. The new hold on resignations will affect anyone who has not served at least ten years in uniform and will require any individual who has served over ten years and is leaving for "study abroad" opportunities to provide documentation of acceptance into an academic institution. Over 500 police officers resigned in February alone as the value of Zimbabwean currency continues to free fall and food becomes increasingly scarce. Unnamed sources in the military have told reporters that they have been informed that the decision is beyond judicial review as well, falling under executive powers of national security. The government has refused to comment on the stop-loss order. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Zimbabwe [JURIST news archive]. ZimOnline has local coverage.
  
  
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres [official profile] told the Chinese government that individuals fleeing from North Korea, even for economic reasons, faced such severe hardships and possible persecutions in the event of their deportation that they should be treated as refugees under the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees [PDF text]. China has continually refused to recognize individuals fleeing from North Korea as refugees under international law, instead referring to them as illegal aliens and routinely deporting them back to North Korea, where they allegedly face criminal prosecution for attempting to leave and even torture or death as examples of the penalty for abandoning North Korea. North Korea denies that any human rights violations occur within its territory and demands the return of all of its citizens, arguing that no possible justification for asylum status exists within its borders. Chosun Ilbo has local coverage.
  
  
• Kenyan Information and Communications Minister Mutahi Kagwe [official website] told reporters on Wednesday that three bills addressing regulation of media sources currently scheduled for presentation to the Kenyan Parliament [official website] late this year should be combined into two bills and passed as soon as possible. The Information and Communication Technologies Bill, the Private Member's Media Bill, and the Freedom of Information Bill all contain provisions concerning the regulation of media in Kenya and the access of the public to information. Kagwe said that the government is especially concerned to see legislation about cross-ownership passed, which would limit the ability of large media companies to own significant percentages of all operating media sources in Kenya. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Kenya [JURIST news archive]. Kenya's East African Standard has local coverage.

[JURIST] Afghanistan Supreme Court Judge Ansarullah Mawlavizada said Thursday that Afghan courts will not bow to outside pressure in the case of Abdul Rahman [JURIST report], who has been jailed for converting to Christianity and who could face the death penalty [JURIST report] under Islamic sharia law [CFR backgrounder] if convicted of apostasy. Mawlavizada said that the "judiciary will act independently and neutrally" and said that the court's will follow the country's constitution [text], but stressed that Afghanistan [JURIST news archive] is an Islamic country. Mawlavizada said that a court will begin to consider Rahman's case in the next several days and noted that if a court sentences Rahman to death, the sentence would have to be upheld by Afghan President Hamid Karzai [BBC profile].

The case has drawn international outcry and has caused problems for Karzai, who depends on the support of international troops [NATO ISAF website] to maintain stability in the country. President Bush on Wednesday called the case "deeply troubling" [transcript], saying he was concerned "that a country we helped liberate would hold a person to account because they chose a particular religion over another." Bush said that the US would use its influence to "remind [Afghanistan] that there are universal values." Reuters has more.

5:36 PM ET - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday that he had received assurances from Karzai that Rahman will not face the death penalty. According to Harper, Karzai assured him that the situation would be resolved "in a way that fully respects religious rights, religious freedoms and human rights." AFP has more. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, meanwhile, called Karzai Thursday to seek a "favorable resolution" of the case. AP has more.

[JURIST] The UK Terrorism Bill [text; JURIST news archive] is set to become law after the House of Lords Wednesday backed down on its objection to a controversial provision criminalizing the "glorification" of terrorism. The legislation, introduced in the wake of the July 7 London bombings [JURIST news archive], had gone back and forth between the two chambers six times, with the Lords insisting on two previous occasions - the last [JURIST report] in late February - that the glorification offense was too vague and threatened too much of an infringement on free expression. This time, however, the Lords voted 172-60 to reject a Liberal Democrat amendment that would have struck the term from the House of Commons text yet again.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke has committed to reconsidering the terrorism measures [JURIST report] next year, although it is not entirely clear whether the government sees such consideration as a potential opportunity to decrease or increase the severity of the law. The current legislation also includes a provision for up to 28 days detention without trial for terrorism suspects, the longest allowed in all western European countries. The Telegraph has more. BBC News provides additional coverage.

[JURIST] US Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) [official website], chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Wednesday that the Bush administration's domestic surveillance program [JURIST news archive] "without congressional intervention or judicial intervention is just plain wrong." In an interview with the Associated Press, Specter said he was not hopeful the White House would listen to members of Congress who want to write the program into law and also criticized the administration for not providing full briefings on the domestic surveillance to the full House and Senate Intelligence Committees. Specter's committee will hold a hearing [meeting notice] next week on two proposals aimed at regulating warrantless surveillance of international communications where one party is in the United States. Specter has proposed [JURIST report] legislation that would require the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court [FJC backgrounder] to oversee the program. An alternate proposal [PDF text; JURIST report], offered last week by a group of four Republican senators, would allow warrantless electronic surveillance for 45 days of the phone calls and e-mails of a suspected terrorists. Specter said he plans to shepherd both bills through the Judiciary Committee and the put them to the consideration of the full Senate by May.

The Senate Parliamentarian's decision to assign the bills to the Judiciary Committee instead of the Senate Intelligence Committee has caused some tension. An aide to Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) [official website], chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said that Roberts will probably demand that any legislation approved by the Judiciary Committee be referred to the Intelligence Committee for review. AP has more.

[JURIST] The UN Commission on Human Rights [official website] was formally abolished Wednesday by a resolution [ECOSOC press release] of the UN Economic and Social Council [official website] adopted without a formal vote. The resolution calls for the completion of the commission's currently-suspended [JURIST report] sixty-second session and the final shutdown of the organization on June 16, when it will be replaced by the new UN Human Rights Council [JURIST news archive] created [JURIST report] last week by a General Assembly resolution [JURIST document] that passed 170-4 over objections from the United States, Israel, the Marshall island and Palau. The first meeting of the Council is scheduled for June 19 in Geneva.

The Commission, created in 1946, had been sharply criticized for allowing countries with continued human rights violations to win seats and protect each other from inquiries. Elections for the smaller, somewhat more stringent Council will be held May 9. Reuters has more.