[JURIST] The Iraqi High Tribunal (IHT) - formerly known as the Iraqi Special Tribunal [official website] - has approved the disinterment of bodies buried in mass graves [AHR backgrounder] southwest of Baghdad, where forensic experts worked over the weekend to unearth alleged victims of a suppressed 1991 Shiite uprising [Washington Post backgrounder] encouraged by the US that occurred in the aftermath of the Gulf War. The Iraqi court ordered the latest exhumations as it gathers evidence against former members of the regime of Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] that might be used in a new trial after current proceedings focused on the 1982 execution of 148 Shiites in Dujail [JURIST report] are concluded.

Documents gather by the tribunal indicate that over 100,000 people were killed in the 1991 rebellion and its aftermath; other evidence in the tribunal's possession puts the figure as high as 180,000. AFP has more.

[JURIST] The American Bar Association [profession website] Board of Governors [ABA backgrounder] voted unanimously Saturday to launch an inquiry into President Bush's frequent use of signing statements [1993 US DOJ backgrounder] to bypass new laws because of his interpretation of presidential and executive powers under the US Constitution. The President has used such statements some 750 times [Boston Globe report] since taking office in 2001. In January this year, he controversially reserved the right to bypass a ban on torture [JURIST report] when he signed the 2006 defense spending bill [JURIST report], prompting even top Republican leaders to criticize him [JURIST report].

The ABA has assembled a bipartisan task force of legal professionals and scholars, including former federal judges and Justice Department officials, to research whether Bush, who has appended more signing statements to bills than any other US president, has exceeded his constitutional authority and circumvented the system of checks and balances with the signing statements. The committee is expected to report its findings to the ABA's House of Delegates, which will decide whether to adopt the recommendations, in August. In February, the ABA adopted the findings of a similar task force [ABA Journal report] investigating the warrantless domestic surveillance program [JURIST news archive], which recommended [JURIST report] that Bush abide by the constitutional limitations placed on the president or work with Congress to enact new legislation if he believes current laws are inadequate. The Boston Globe has more.

[JURIST] An Iraqi lawyer related to several Iraqi civilians who were among the 24 allegedly killed by US Marines in Haditha [JURIST report] last November denounced the US military Saturday via videotape, claiming US "compensation money" of $2,500 per victim to the families of each casualty were insufficient. Khaled Salem Rsayef also claimed that during the initial meeting between the Haditha families and US military officials in November the two sides clashed as officers present told family members that the Haditha victims had been killed by an insurgent's roadside bomb, not gunfire from the US military. AP has more.

Iraqi lawyers and family members of Iraqi civilians killed or injured have previously expressed frustration [New Standard article] with the US compensation process [2003 DOD backgrounder; 2003 HRW backgrounder; OW/NADHRI report, PDF] for "wrongful death". Payments technically provided as "sympathy" or "solace" by local US commanders without admission of legal liability are limited to a maximum of $2,500 per individual, and under the US Foreign Claims Act [text] which authorizes payments, the US has no obligation to pay if a claim "did not arise from action by an enemy or result directly or indirectly from an act of the armed forces of the United States in combat." Claims for compensation in access of $50,000 are adjudicated by the US Army Claims Service [official website].

The Iraqi cabinet decided to launch its own probe into the Haditha killings Thursday, prompting new Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki [BBC profile] to announce [JURIST report] Friday that he will ask the US to turn over its files on the investigation.

[JURIST] The Parliament [official website] of Montenegro [JURIST news archive; government website] issued a declaration of independence [text in Serbian; declaration to citizens, in English] Saturday on the basis of the May 21 referendum [JURIST report; CDT materials] in which 55.5% of Montenegrins voted in favor of independence from Serbia [JURIST news archive]. The new country's government, the last spin-off from the former Yugoslavia, says it plans to apply for membership to organizations such as the United Nations [official website], European Union [official website], and NATO [official website]. Serbian President Boris Tadic [personal website in Serbian; Wikipedia profile] offered good wishes to the newest European nation. AP has more.

Montenegro's referendum commission [official website] confirmed [JURIST report] the results of the independence referendum May 31, formally satisfying the controversial 55% threshold requirement [JURIST report] for independence set by the EU.