[JURIST] The US Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] Thursday approved by a 12-6 vote S. 1768 [PDF], an amendment to 28 USC 45 [text] that would permit Supreme Court proceedings to be televised, "unless the Court decides by a vote of the majority of justices, that allowing such coverage in a particular case would constitute a violation of the due process rights of 1 or more of the parties before the Court." An identical bill [text] is in the House Judiciary Committee.

Judiciary Committee chairman and bill sponsor Arlen Specter (R-PA) [official website] said in a statement [text] that because the Supreme Court "holds the power to decide cutting-edge questions on public policy... the public had a right to know what the Supreme Court is doing." The Committee Thursday also approved 10-6 S. 829, the so-called Sunshine in the Courtroom Act [text] which would allow federal trial and appellate judges to permit cameras in the courtroom. The approvals follow a November committee hearing where Senators heard extensive testimony [witness statements] on the subject.

Although Chief Justice John Roberts said during his confirmation hearing last fall that he would remain open-minded on the question of cameras in courts, other justices, including Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Stephen Breyer and David Souter have spoken publicly against allowing cameras [AP report] in the Supreme Court, pointing out that the Court's decisional process is on paper and suggesting that court proceedings should not be considered "entertainment." AP has more.

[JURIST] Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [official website] has ruled that Bank of America [corporate website; press release] may proceed with a counterclaim for damages of over $1 billion against bankrupt Italian dairy giant Parmalat SpA [corporate website; JURIST news archive]. In its counterclaim, Bank of America charges Parmalat and its former management with fraud, misrepresentation, conspiracy and other illegal acts. The bank charges that the lawsuit [JURIST report], filed by Enrico Bondi, the administrator appointed by the Italian government to oversee Parmalat in bankruptcy, is simply an effort to "shift the blame for Parmalat's demise from the true culprit -- Parmalat itself -- to victims of the fraud, such as Bank of America."

Parmalat filed for bankruptcy in December 2003, with about $17.3 billion in debt, after realizing there was a $4.9 billion discrepancy in its books. According to Bank of America, Parmalat owed it $647 million at the time of the company's bankruptcy, $462 million of which was unsecured. Calisto Tanzi [OpenFacts profile; JURIST report], founder and former chairman of Parmalat, is currently standing trial in Milan, along with 15 other former executives of the company. Bank of America said that statements by Bondi and testimony emerging in the Milan trial of the former Parmalat executives have shown that in the early 1990s, senior Parmalat officials began hiding losses and engaging in widespread fraud. Reuters has more. Milano finanzo has local coverage.

[JURIST] Manfred Nowak [official profile, DOC], the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture [official website], told reporters Thursday that he is currently investigating allegations raised by the Falun Gong spiritual group [Wikipedia backgrounder], banned by the Chinese government, that thousands of its followers were being held in a Chinese "concentration camp" to be killed for organ-harvesting purposes. The Falun Gong allegations [Epoch Times report; WOIPFG report] are based on information provided by a former Chinese journalist, who says that these government camps, located in the Sujiatun district of the northern city of Shenyang, employed many doctors and housed a crematorium. AP has more.

Nowak also said Thursday that he intends to visit Russia, and specifically the province of Chechnya [JURIST news archive], in either September or October of this year, noting that "there are very, very serious allegations of torture and ill-treatment" in the region. The visit to the war-torn region, where over 100,000 Russian troops are currently posted, will be the first by a UN envoy in at least a decade. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe [official website] adopted a resolution [text] in January condemning the human rights situation in Chechnya [JURIST report], citing numerous cases of murder, disappearances, torture, and other human rights abuses [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] US District Judge Emmit G. Sullivan has ruled [PDF text] that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) [official website] has not provided adequate reasons for failing to more strictly regulate so-called 527 groups [Opensecrets.org backgrounder], nonprofits named for the tax code section under which they are organized. The groups are currently not subject to the same soft-money contribution restrictions as traditional political action committees, which allowed them to donate vast amounts of unregulated money to campaigns during the 2004 election cycle. Sullivan did not direct the FEC to develop new rules governing 527s, but instead ordered the FEC Wednesday to present a "reasoned explanation" for the current system, or to institute new rules "if necessary."

Reps. Christopher Shays (R-CT) and Martin Meehan (D-MA) filed the original complaint [PDF text] against the FEC in 2004, claiming that the FEC's failure to issue a rule governing when section 527 groups must register as political committees is arbitrary and capricious, thus violating the Administrative Procedure Act [text]. According to the nonpartisan campaign funding tracking service Political Money Line, 527 groups that supported Kerry or opposed Bush collected $266 million during the 2003-04 election cycle, as opposed to Republican groups that raised $144 million. AP has more.

[JURIST] Chilean President Michelle Bachelet [BBC profile] has said that Chile would continue to prosecute human rights abuse cases against those involved in the 1975 Operation Colombo [Wikipedia backgrounder] massacre. Bachelet's comments [press release] came during the 21st anniversary of the massacre, one of the most infamous assassination incidents in Chile's history. Recently, right-wing politicians have expressed criticism of the prosecutions, saying that Chile [JURIST news archive] should forgive and pardon some of the indicted officers accused of having a role in the atrocity that left more than 3,000 dead.

Former Chilean Dictator Augusto Pinochet [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] has been indicted at least 4 times and has faced hundreds of lawsuits regarding his involvement in Operation Colombo. An appeals court recently held that Pinochet is healthy enough to stand trial [JURIST report] and Chile has considered lifting Pinochet's sovereign immunity to allow prosecutions to proceed against him in multiple human rights cases, including alleged torture at Villa Grimaldi [JURIST report], crimes committed as part of the so-called Caravan of Death [JURIST report] and alleged kidnappings during Operation Condor [JURIST reports]. Pinochet has repeatedly claimed that those who were allegedly disappeared during his 21-year reign were killed in combat. AP has more.

[JURIST] The French Constitutional Council [official website] on Thursday declared [press release] that the First Employment Contract (CPE) [text], a controversial labor law which allows employers to hire workers under 26 for a conditional two-year period at the end of which they can be dismissed without cause, is constitutional. The ruling [decision, in French; case materials, in French] allows President Jacques Chirac [BBC profile], who will address the nation on Friday to discuss his views on the CPE, to approve the law, although he could decide to revise the proposal to appease trade unions, students, and other groups vehemently opposed to the CPE [official backgrounder, in English; JURIST news archive]. In response to the Council's decision, students and trade unions announced plans for another strike next Tuesday to demonstrate against the law.

The CPE has triggered a string of protests [JURIST report] across the country primarily by students and labor unionists who fear it will increase unemployment and destroy job security among younger workers, including some demonstrations that have turned violent [JURIST report]. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin [official profile] proposed the labor law to provide more job opportunities for French youth and has steadfastly supported the CPE without changes. BBC News has more. Le Monde has local coverage.

ALSO ON JURIST  Op-ed: Labor Law Protests in France: 1968 Encore?

[JURIST] A group of 27 Muslim organizations have filed a lawsuit against the two editors from Jyllands-Posten [media website] who were responsible for the Danish newspaper's publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad [JURIST news archive], which last month set off worldwide protests among Muslims leading to multiple deaths [JURIST report], the burning of Danish embassy buildings [JURIST report], and boycotts of Danish goods. The suit, filed in the Danish city of Aarhus, alleges defamation by editor-in-chief Carsten Juste and culture editor Flemming Rose and seeks over $16,000 in damages, according to the lawyer for the Muslim groups, Michael Christiani Havemann.

The lawsuit follows the announcement [text] by Denmark's Director of Public Prosecutions [official website] Henning Fode that the government would not press criminal charges [JURIST report] against the newspaper or its employees. Declining to file charges earlier this month, Fode maintained that the cartoons were protected by freedom of speech laws and did not violate bans on racist and blasphemous speech. Aljazeera has more.

[JURIST] Chief Justice Mawlavi Fazel Hadi Shinwari of the Afghanistan Supreme Court [Wikipedia backgrounder] on Thursday asserted the independence of the high court in response to criticism from members of Afghanistan's parliament for the release of Abdul Rahman [Wikipedia profile], the Afghan man who faced the death penalty [JURIST report] for converting from Islam to Christianity. Shinwari said that the parliament could not interfere with the court's rulings and that the court would continue to perform its duties free of influence from the newly-created legislature. On Wednesday, Parliamentary speaker Mohammed Younis Qanooni said that Rahman's release violated Afghan law and called for authorities to prevent Rahman from applying for asylum in other countries [JURIST report]. Qanooni also told reporters that a letter was sent to the Interior Ministry on behalf of the entire parliament demanding Rahman not be allowed to leave Afghanistan, although ministry spokesperson Yousif Stanikzai denied that any letter had been received. Nevertheless, the court has some supporters in parliament as MP Shukria Barikzai echoed Shinwari's contention that the Supreme Court is an independent office that cannot be compelled by the legislature. The Khaleej Times has more.

Rahman was released earlier this week [JURIST report] amid political pressure from Western nations [JURIST report] to put an end to the Christian convert's highly-publicized detention. Just hours after Qanooni's comments on Wednesday, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi [BBC profile] confirmed that Rahman arrived in Italy and would be granted political asylum. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Omri Sharon, son of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon [BBC profile], appealed his nine-month prison sentence [JURIST report] on Thursday, apologizing for his actions and arguing that his resignation from the Knesset was punishment enough. Sharon was convicted of illegally raising money [JURIST report] for his father's re-election campaign.

The start of Sharon's prison term was delayed until September 1 because of his father's poor health. Some believe his sentence would have been longer if not for Ariel Sharon's severe stroke in January. Xinhua has more. Haaretz has local coverage.

[JURIST] The European Union [official website] warned Serbia [JURIST news archive] Thursday that it must immediately make efforts to turn over Bosnian war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic [BBC profile, JURIST news archive] in order for April negotiations regarding Serbia's potential membership to the EU to take place as planned. EU Enlargement [official website] Commissioner Olli Rehn [official website] said that Serbia's cooperation in bringing Mladic to justice will decide whether the talks will move forward [JURIST report], despite Serbian officials' request for understanding [JURIST report] of the "complex political situation" now facing the country. Serbian officials said that the country's current moderate government could be overtaken by ultranationalists if the country cooperates with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [official website] by hastily handing over Mladic.

Rehn is expected to meet with lead ICTY war crimes prosecutor Carla del Ponte [official profile] on Friday in order to receive an update on the steps Serbia has taken to locate and arrest Mladic. Rehn said he would keep the possibility of membership discussions open until the last possible moment if Serbia complies with the request for Mladic's capture. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Civil rights, religious and community groups have asked the US Department of Justice [official website] to block a law that would require voters in Georgia to show photo identification before they could cast their ballots. The bill [PDF text; bill summary] was passed by the Georgia state legislature [official website] and approved by Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue [official website] in January, but under the federal Voting Rights Act [DOJ backgrounder], states with a past history of discrimination must have federal approval before making changes to their election laws. Perdue and other Republicans contend that the bill will lessen voter fraud, but Democrats argue that it will prevent blacks and members of the poor and elderly communities from voting since they are less likely to carry drivers licenses.

A previous version of the law was blocked by a federal judge [JURIST report] last year, and the revised bill offers to issue free photo IDs to voters who need them. If approved, Georgia would be the seventh state to have such a photo identification law for voters. However, even if the Justice Department allows the bill to move forward, it could be blocked by a federal judge again. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Australian government has threatened to overturn a proposed same-sex civil union bill [press release] in the Australian Capital Territory [government website] unless substantial changes are made. The bill, introduced by ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope [official profile], would be the first of its kind in Australia and would grant same-sex couples equality in wills and property [Reuters report]. It would not be valid outside the ACT or affect status under national laws.

Prime Minister John Howard and Attorney General Philip Ruddock say the bill blurs the line between marriages and civil unions and would be contrary to the Commonwealth Marriage Act [text]. Stanhope on Thursday called the government's statements "outrageous" [press release], saying:

The Federal Government has complained that that the legislation now being considered by the Legislative Assembly would create a parity with marriage. Civil Unions are not marriage and I have been at pains throughout the debate to make that point plainly. Legislating for marriage is the province of the Commonwealth, not of the States and Territories. The civil unions proposed for the ACT would, however, deliver functional and legal equality with marriage under ACT law - a fact from which I do not resile for one instant. That is the intent of the law, and that will be its effect, once it is passed.

[JURIST] US Rep. J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) [official website], speaker of the US House of Representatives [official website], has said that he and other House Republicans would be willing to consider an immigrant guest-worker program, which may lead to a compromise with the US Senate [official website] over the controversial immigration bill [text, PDF; bill summary] currently being debated on the Senate floor. Hastert said his party's first priority is to protect the border, but acknowledged there is a need for a temporary-worker program.

US Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) [official website], chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee [official website], said he was pleased with Hastert's remarks and called it a "significant shift" for the House, which passed a bill [JURIST report] last December that would treat illegal immigrants as criminals. A heated debate began Wednesday in the Senate on the revised immigration bill, which was approved [JURIST report] by the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday, with many Republicans voicing opposition to granting citizenship to illegal aliens. Rachel L. Swarns of the New York Times has more.

[JURIST] A Louisiana State Senate [official website] committee has rejected a bill that would have made it easier for residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina [JURIST report] to vote in next month's New Orleans municipal elections [JURIST news archive]. The bill would have created polling places in other states so that voters would not have to travel back to Louisiana. Opponents of the plan said that it could create legal problems stemming from any alleged disparate treatment at the satellite polling places, and pointed to the state's existing displaced voters plan [Sec. of State materials] as a solution.

Earlier this week, a federal judge refused to push the election back [JURIST report] from its scheduled April 22 date. The Department of Justice has also approved the date [JURIST report] over concerns from civil rights groups. Rev. Jesse Jackson testified before the state senate committee Wednesday that forcing the mostly-black voters to return to the city is equivalent to an illegal poll tax [Wikipedia backgrounder]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Belarus prosecutor general said Wednesday that there will be many trials for opposition supporters who protested the country's presidential elections [JURIST report] earlier this month. Pyotr Miklashevich indicated that over 500 protestors, including 21 foreigners, were detained for their part in protesting the reelection of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko [official website] during police raids on the demonstrations [JURIST report] last week. Miklashevich said that defeated opposition candidate Alexander Milinkevich [campaign website; Wikipedia profile] may also be charged with a misdemeanor for planning the protests, which would result in a sentence of 15 days in jail if he is found guilty.

Human rights advocates have estimated that the number of imprisoned protestors is closer to 1,000 and have been speaking out against conditions at one of the jails, where they say 20 prisoners have begun a hunger strike [JURIST report]. The US and the European Union [official website] have denounced the March 19 election as undemocratic and said they would seek sanctions [JURIST report] against President Lukashenko. The NATO [official website] alliance also said Wednesday that it was reconsidering its affiliation [NATO press release] with Belarus [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive], while a UN human rights team called for the names and locations [press release] of all those being held in connection with the protests. AP has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts [official website] ruled Thursday that same-sex couples from outside of Massachusetts cannot marry in the state. Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive] with the state high court's 2003 decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health [text; JURIST report].

At issue in the current case [JURIST report] was whether a 1913 law [text], which prohibits out-of-state couples from marrying in Massachusetts if their home states do not recognize the union, comports with the Massachusetts constitution [text]. Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has used the law, which had otherwise been rarely invoked, to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples from nearby states. AP has more.

10:44 AM ET - Read the court's decision [PDF text] in Cote-Whitacre v. Department of Public Health.

[JURIST] The UK Terrorism Act 2006 [PDF text; Home Office backgrounder] became law Thursday as the legislation received royal assent. A vote in the UK House of Lords last week cleared the way [JURIST report] for the bill to move forward, as the Lords backed down on their objections to including "glorification" of terrorism among the crimes covered in the new legislation. The legislation also authorizes up up to 28-days detention without trial [JURIST report] for terrorism suspects, the longest allowed by any western European country. The majority of the law's provisions will actually come into force on April 13 [press release].

The anti-terror legislation was presented for royal assent along with two other pieces of security-related legislation: the Identity Cards Act [PDF text; JURIST report] and the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act [PDF text]. UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke said Thursday that the legislation strikes a balance "between the rights and freedoms of individuals and the security of all our citizens" and that:

This new legislation together will allow us to uphold our democratic right to freedom of speech and to free movement within the United Kingdom, as well as encouraging managed migration which will benefit the UK economy. At the same time, it will strengthen our ability to keep our borders secure, tackle illegal working and to go about our day to day business safely and secure in the knowledge that people are who they say they are.

ALSO ON JURIST  Topic: United Kingdom | Op-ed: The UK Terrorism Bill: Defending Democracy's Core Values [UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke]

[JURIST] The UK House of Lords and House of Commons [official websites] ended a political standoff Wednesday by adopting a compromise on the controversial Identity Cards Bill [PDF text; JURIST news archive]. The legislation had bounced back and forth between both houses of parliament in recent months with the Lords objecting to a Commons provision to effectively make the cards mandatory by requiring ID registration for all British citizens applying for passports. Wednesday's compromise mitigated the provision somewhat by allowing passport applicants to opt out of taking an ID card [Home Office backgrounder] until January 2010 so long as they register in a national computer database. Amended legislation reflecting the compromise was passed in the Hose of Lords, and then by the House of Commons. The agreement between the houses of parliament averted a possible constitutional crisis [JURIST report], as UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke [official profile] had threatened to use the Parliament Act [Guardian Q/A; UK Parliament backgrounder, PDF] to force the legislation through.

If the British government wants to introduce compulsory ID cards for all British citizens, separate legislation will be required. Prime Minister Tony Blair [official profile] has insisted that the ID card scheme is critical to combating terrorism, illegal immigration, organized crime, and identity theft. The ID cards bill received royal assent [press release] Thursday and takes effect on April 1. AP has more. The Guardian has local coverage.

[JURIST] The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs [official website] said Thursday that the Special Court for Sierra Leone [official website] has asked the country to host the war crimes trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] in The Hague. A spokesman from the Dutch Foreign Ministry said that the request was based on concerns that keeping Taylor's trial in Sierra Leone could cause instability in the region or further threaten peace. Earlier this month, after Liberia formally requested that Nigeria transfer Taylor [JURIST report] to the war crimes court for trial, residents of Sierra Leone expressed similar concerns [JURIST report] that Taylor's presence in the country could stir up fresh violence and undermine peace.

The Dutch spokesman said that the Netherlands would consider the UN-backed court's request, but said that certain conditions would have to be met before the Netherlands would agree. A resolution from the UN Security Council or other legal basis would be needed for the Special Court to sit in The Hague and Taylor would be required to leave the country after a verdict has been delivered. The Sierra Leone court would also be required to work with one of the other international courts that sit in The Hague, such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or the International Criminal Court, to arrange for the use of a court room and prison facilities. Taylor faces 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity under an amended indictment [PDF summary; SCSL case timeline, PDF] for his role in supporting violent Sierra Leonian rebels and masterminding several West African regional conflicts which claimed up to 300,000 casualties. Reuters has more.

10:49 AM ET - A spokesman from the International Criminal Court [official website] has told the BBC that the ICC has been asked to host Taylor's trial and said that the request is being considered. Ernest Sagaga stressed that even if the trial were to be held at The Hague, the case would remain under the jurisdiction of the Sierra Leone court. In a radio address in her country, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf said that she supported "a change in venue to a more conducive environment" and said that Taylor must be ensured "the right of a vigorous self-defense." BBC News has more.

4:58 PM ET - According to a statement from the Sierra Leone tribunal, Special Court President Justice A. Raja N. Fernando requested that the trial be tried in The Hague due to "concerns about the stability in the region should Taylor be tried in Freetown." Fernando's request is in accordance with Rule 4 of the Special Court's Rules of Procedure and Evidence [PDF text], which allows the president to authorize a Trial Chamber to operate away from the seat of the court. According to the court:

A Headquarters Agreement would need to be secured to allow a chamber of the Special Court to sit outside of Freetown. A United Nations Security Council Resolution would also be required by the Government of the Netherlands to provide the legal basis for the Court to sit within its national jurisdiction.

[JURIST] The jury in the Zacarias Moussaoui [JURIST news archive] sentencing trial will resume deliberations Thursday to decide whether the al Qaeda conspirator should receive the death penalty for his role in the Sept. 11 attacks [JURIST news archive]. The case went to the jury late Wednesday afternoon and the jury must now decide whether Moussaoui was responsible for any deaths in the terror attacks and therefore eligible for the death penalty. If the jury reaches a unanimous decision that Moussaoui is eligible for execution, the sentencing trial will then move to a second phase to hear testimony from Sept. 11 victims and their families to determine whether the death penalty should be imposed in this case.

During closing arguments Wednesday, the prosecution stressed that had Moussaoui not lied to the FBI after he was arrested in August 2001, investigators would have been able to uncover the Sept. 11 plot and stop the attacks. Moussaoui's defense attorneys countered that there is no guarantee that the FBI "would have run a flawless investigation" and noted that FBI warnings that Moussaoui was a dangerous terrorist had been ignored. Moussaoui, who pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to six conspiracy charges [indictment] last year, took the stand in his own defense [JURIST report] earlier this week, testifying that he and "shoe bomber" Richard Reid [BBC profile] were meant to hijack a fifth airplane and fly it into the White House as part of the Sept. 11 attacks. That testimony, however, conflicted [JURIST report] with statements from Khalid Shaikh Mohammed [Wikipedia profile], the alleged mastermind behind the terror attacks. AP has more.