[JURIST] Mexican President-elect Felipe Calderon [campaign website, in Spanish; BBC profile] was formally sworn in [transcript] as President of Mexico [official website] in a hasty ceremony before the Mexican Congress [official website, in Spanish] Friday after a midnight swearing in by outgoing President Vicente Fox [BBC profile] several hours earlier. Officials previously declared Calderon the winner of Mexico's July 2 presidential election [JURIST news archive] by a margin of 0.6 percent, sparking protest and allegations of fraud from opponents. Lawmakers still bitterly divided over the results of the presidential election tussled with one before the ceremony and continued to argue and heckle Friday as Calderon took the oath of office.

Losing leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador [campaign website, in Spanish; BBC profile] held an alternative ceremony [JURIST report] Nov. 21 in which he swore himself in as president of the parallel government [JURIST report] he claims to have established for the country. The Federal Electoral Tribunal [official website, in Spanish] rejected [JURIST report] most of Obrador's electoral fraud allegations [JURIST report] in late July after finding no evidence of systematic fraud. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Iraqi Interior Ministry [JURIST news archive] has announced that it is forming a specialized unit to monitor news coverage. A ministry spokesman told AP the unit was designed to correct “fabricated and false news” that he claims gives the Iraqi people the wrong idea that the situation is worse than it actually is. The Ministry further threatened to sue journalists who do not modify stories that the ministry deems inaccurate upon receiving a demand to do so.

The spokesman cited a recent AP story [text] on the Nov. 24 burning deaths of six worshipers at the Mustafa Sunni mosque, dragged outside by suspected Shiite militiamen, doused with kerosene and set alight, as an example of an undesirable and allegedly inaccurate news story. The Iraq Interior Ministry claims the AP quoted a source on its staff who does not exist and further alleged that witnesses fabricated the story. US Navy Lt. Michael B. Dean, a public affairs officer for the Multi-National Force, also demanded the story be retracted. AP stood by its story as its reporters claim to visited the mosque in question and confirmed the stories of witnesses. AP has more.

Media reportage of sensitive events and opinions has recently become the focus of intense concern in Iraq in the context of escalating sectarian violence that some now publicly call "civil war." On Monday, the Iraqi parliament indefinitely barred journalists [JURIST report] from its sessions as part of efforts by Iraq's National Security Council to stop contradictory and potentially incendiary statements made by some Iraqi politicians. The Baghdad-based Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, an independent press freedoms association, said Friday in a statement that it would be challenging the move: "(We) did not expect the house of representatives to deprive journalists from one of their most important and safest sources of information in addition to accusing them publicly of being behind fomenting sectarian divisions in Iraq." The group has threatened to file a formal legal complaint with the country's Supreme Court if the decision is not rescinded. VOI has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] granted certiorari in three cases Friday, most notably Morse v. Frederick (06-278) [docket; cert. petition, PDF], which addresses whether a school board had the right to suspend a then-high school senior for holding a banner that read "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" away from school property while the Olympic torch made its way through Juneau, Alaska, en route to the Salt Lake City Winter Games in 2002. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled [opinion text, PDF] in March that the student, Frederick, could maintain a civil rights lawsuit against the school board and its principal under 42 USC 1983 [text] for their alleged violation of his First Amendment [text] rights. Former US solicitor general and Whitewater special prosecutor Kenneth Starr [Wikipedia profile] is representing the Juneau School Board and Principal Morse in their appeal to the high court.

The Supreme Court also agreed to hear [Order List, PDF] two additional cases Friday, namely Grace v. Freedom from Religion Foundation (06-157) [docket; cert. petition, PDF] and Wilkie v. Robbins (06-219) [docket; cert. petition, PDF]. These cases challenge federal support for "faith-based" religious initiatives and liability under the US Constitution and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) [text], respectively. AP has more. SCOTUSblog has additional coverage.

[JURIST] Four of six Dutch terror suspects on trial [JURIST report] for planning attacks against Dutch politicians and government facilities were found guilty in Amsterdam Friday. The convicted include 20-year-old Samir Azzouz [Wikipedia profile], who was sentenced to a prison term of eight years for his central role in the plot and the making of a suicide-bomber video. Defendants Nouredine al Fatmi and Mohammed Chentouf each received four-year sentences for aiding the preparation for the attacks. Soumaya Sahla was given three-years for being an accomplice, while the fifth defendant was given a three-month sentence for passport fraud. The sixth defendant was acquitted of all charges. Trial judges ruled that the defendants, while sharing an militant radical interpretation of jihad, were not guilty of the additional charges of belonging to or recruiting for a terrorist organization.

Azzouz has been arrested three times in the Netherlands [JURIST news archive] and was acquitted last year of participating in a terrorist conspiracy [JURIST report]. The acquittal was met with public outcry, and Dutch legislators adopted more stringent anti-terror measures [JURIST report] prohibiting membership in terrorist organizations and recruiting for such groups. In October 2005, Azzouz was rearrested with his co-defendants for being in possession of a self-recorded suicide-bomber video, automatic weapons, ammunition, jihad training materials, and a list of home addresses for Dutch politicians [AP report], including Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende [official website]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles [diocesan website; diocesan website on clergy abuse] announced [statement] Friday that it has settled 45 lawsuits concerning 22 priests accused of clergy sexual abuse [JURIST news archive] for $60 million. Ray Boucher [profile], the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, told AP that the archdiocese would pay more than $50 million, while approximately $8 million would come from other religious orders. The settlement is the second largest per-person in California, and the fourth largest per-person in the United States.

The LA archdiocese is the largest in the US, and still faces more than 500 lawsuits from people claiming abuse from approximately 200 members of the church hierarchy, starting as early as the 1930s. In 2002 in Stogner v. California [text, PDF] the US Supreme Court struck down a California law lifting the statute of limitations for criminal trials of sexual abusers of children on the grounds that it violated the Constitution’s Ex Post Facto Clause, but the same year state legislators added §340.1 [text] to the California Code of Civil Procedure [text] lifting the time bar on civil cases for one year following January 1, 2003, a move which resulted in almost 1000 cases being brought against California’s Catholic church. AP has more.

[JURIST] Serb nationalist war crimes suspect Vojislav Seselj [BBC profile; ICTY case backgrounder], who has been on hunger strike [JURIST report] for since Nov. 11, agreed Friday to medical examination by an "independent" team of doctors composed of a Serb, a French and a Russian national. Seselj had previously refused medical attention [JURIST report] by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] and said he didn't want ICTY staff to force feed him, provide medical treatment or resuscitate him should it become necessary. Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica released a letter [text] Friday expressing the Serbian government's deep concern that "Seselj's basic rights [to choose defence counsel and to life] may be endangered and breached" and placing "all responsibility... in the hands of the Tribunal."

Seselj [JURIST news archive] was transferred to a Dutch prison hospital [JURIST report] adjoining the tribunal's detention center [ICTY backgrounder] at Scheveningen near The Hague Wednesday so that his medical condition could be more closely monitored. When Seselj went on hunger strike in early November, he demanded [statement, DOC] that the ICTY dismiss his court-appointed lawyers and allow him to conduct his defense to nine war crimes charges [indictment, PDF]. Since then, the court stripped Seselj of his right to defend himself [JURIST report] after he failed to appear in court. Seselj's lawyers said Wednesday that their client had decided to continue boycotting his trial against their advice [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf [official website; BBC profile] signed new legislation Friday allows rape cases to be tried in either secular or Islamic courts, reduces the evidentiary burden necessary for conviction, and substitutes a fine and five-year prison term for persons found guilty of having sex outside of marriage. The Protection of Women Bill, approved by Pakistan's Senate [JURIST report], replaces the Hudood Ordinances [Pakistan government backgrounder], which had previously required rape victims to produce four male witnesses against the accused, or face potential prosecution for adultery.

The new bill has faced opposition from traditionalists, including opposition lawmakers that have threatened to resign from the government. Small protests supporting the opposition have received little support from the public. The bill has been praised by women's and human rights groups as being a step in the right direction in reforming the inherent discrimination and inadequacy of the Sharia system at protecting women. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Maryland's solicitor general urged the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit [official website] Thursday to overturn a district court decision [PDF text; JURIST report] striking down Maryland's Fair Share Health Care Fund Act [PDF text]. The law would have required companies with more than 10,000 employees to spend at least eight percent of their payroll on employee health care or pay the difference of that amount into the state Medicaid fund. Maryland was the first state to pass such legislation aimed at Wal-Mart [JURIST news archive] and other large employers accused of providing inadequate health care coverage for employees.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) [trade website], a trade association which includes Wal-Mart as a member, filed a challenge to the health care law [JURIST report] early this year, arguing that the law is preempted by the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) [text], and that the law violates the equal protection clause of the constitution. RILA asked the federal appeals court Thursday to uphold the district court's grant of summary judgment, saying that states cannot compel the health care expenditure of companies. AP has more.

[JURIST] A California appeals court has ruled [PDF text] that a 2005 referendum authorizing the transfer of land, on which a 29-foot cross commemorating veterans [background] sits, to the federal government did not violate the California constitution [text]. The land, owned by the city of San Diego, has been the subject of a legal battle since 1989 [Paulson commentary]. A lower court ruled that the referendum authorizing the transfer of title violated constitutional prohibitions of government involvement in religion, but the appeals court overturned that ruling Thursday.

In August, President Bush signed a bill [PDF text; JURIST report] transferring ownership of the property to the federal government. Philip Paulson, an atheist and Vietnam War veteran, challenged the cross for more than 16 years before his death last month [Union Tribune report]. The Washington Times has more.

[JURIST] Lebanese President Emile Lahoud [official website] Friday reiterated his rejection [JURIST comment] of the Lebanese cabinet's approval [JURIST report] of a measure that would establish a UN-supported international tribunal [JURIST news archive] to try suspects accused of assassinating former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, telling JURIST that he "considered the cabinet of [Prime Minister Fouad] Siniora's vote on the second draft for establishing the tribunal as both 'unconstitutional and illegitimate', simply because the cabinet lost its legitimacy after a main sect 'the Shiites' withdrew its ministers."

In a statement sent exclusively to JURIST, Lahoud said:

The Lebanese constitution stipulates clearly that Lebanon is based on consensus and on coexistence, and therefore the cabinet of Siniora breached the national pact and therefore in our view it is "inexistent".

Moreover, the cabinet has no right according to the constitution to ratify any international treaty. Article 52 of the Lebanese constitution, states clearly that the president has the sole power, to discuss, and ratify any international treaty, after coordinating with the Prime Minister. Only then would the cabinet be allowed to see the draft of the treaty.

ALSO ON JURIST  Comment: EXCLUSIVE: Lebanese President Lahoud on the Hariri tribunal

[JURIST] A Japanese court on Friday ordered the government of Japan [JURIST news archive] to pay 468 million yen to 61 Japanese plaintiffs who were displaced as children in China after World War II. The plaintiffs - known as "war orphans" - alleged that the government failed to promptly remove them from China after the war, causing them to face hardship as foreigners in China. They also claim that they endured difficulty acclimating to Japanese culture when they were repatriated in the 1970s. According to the lawsuit, the government failed to assist the repatriation process although many of the plaintiffs did not speak Japanese or were shunned by living relatives. In the 1930s, the government transported 320,000 settlers to the Manchuria province to establish a base of operations for Japan's 1937 invasion of China [Wikipedia backgrounder]. Many Japanese settlers were left behind after the war, however, and many children were raised by Chinese citizens. The plaintiffs remained displaced until 1975 when the government began locating them.

In 1994, the Japanese government passed legislation providing financial assistance to Japanese nationals who returned to Japan. Last year, an Osaka court rejected similar claims [JURIST report] from a different group of plaintiffs, declaring that the government had no obligation to provide compensation. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [official website] has abandoned plans to decrease the frequency of reporting requirements for the release of toxic chemicals by polluting companies, it was announced Thursday. The changes would have required polluters to report every other year rather than the current mandate of annual submissions. The EPA also asserted, however, that it will push next year for an increase in the amount of pollutants that triggers the requirement for companies to report, essentially exempting about one-third of 23,000 companies from the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) [EPA materials] reporting established in the 1986 Emergency Planning & Community Right to Know Act [text]. Under existing standards, polluters must report any release over 500 pounds, while the proposed change would only require reporting after the release of 5,000 pounds. The EPA's move follows criticism from US Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) [official websites], who staunchly oppose the proposed changes [press release]. Lautenberg, who penned the Right to Know law, called the changes a "giveaway to corporate polluters at the cost of everyday Americans' health" and an "irresponsible policy stand."

The chemicals that must be reported under TRI requirements include DDT, mercury, PCBs [EPA backgrounders] and other chemicals that do not substantially dissipate. The lower TRI standard would exempt many companies in the mining, utility, oil, rubber, plastics, printing, textile, leather tanning and semiconductor industries. AP has more.

[JURIST] Protestors demonstrated Thursday outside the Dutch Parliament building against the Netherlands' plan to completely ban [JURIST report] the wearing of the full-length Muslim burqa [Wikipedia backgrounder] and the niqab [BBC backgrounder], the Muslim headscarf for women that leaves only the eyes visible. Twenty-seven of the approximately 80 demonstrators wore one of the garments targeted for prohibition in the proposed legislation. The government, which already prohibits wearing burqas and other religious dress [JURIST news archive] that covers the entire body in public schools and transportation, is pushing for the total ban as an anti-terror security measure. Although only about 50 Dutch residents wear the burqa or niqab and would be affected by the prohibition, opponents contend that the legislation will further divide the Netherlands, which has in place the strictest immigration controls in Europe.

Earlier this month, Dutch Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk [official profile, in Dutch] said the government cannot currently enforce a total ban [JURIST report] on the garments because of laws governing religious freedom. Verdonk, known domestically as the "Iron Lady" for her tough anti-immigration initiatives, first floated [JURIST report] the ban last year and a majority of lawmakers endorsed a ban [NOS report] in December. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] In two separate rulings on Friday, Chinese courts rejected the appeals of a journalist and rights activist who challenged the government. In a five-minute session, the Beijing High Court rejected an appeal by Zhao Yan [JURIST news archive], a New York Times researcher who was sentenced to three years in prison [JURIST report] for fraud in August. Zhao was acquitted of more serious charges of revealing state secrets at that time. Last week, the same court rejected another appeal [JURIST report] from a reporter who was arrested for spying and revealing state secrets.

Also Friday, the Yinan County Court in Shandong province upheld the sentence of Chen Guangcheng [HRW case backgrounder], a blind human rights activist who wrote about forced abortions in the Chinese countryside. No witnesses or evidence were presented during the thirty-minute trial. Separate charges [JURIST report] of organizing a public disturbance and damaging property are also pending against Chen in a lower court. Chen claims the charges are retribution for his documentation of forced sterilizations and abortions [TIME feature] performed by Chinese officials to enforce China's one-child policy. A Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] spokesperson told AP that "the decisisions . . . have very little to do with justice and have everything to do with politics." AP has more.

[JURIST] The Central African Republic (CAR) [CIA backgrounder] has violated international law by arbitrarily detaining people, holding detainees for extended periods without charges and trials, and maintaining prisons in degrading conditions, according to a study [text] released Thursday by Amnesty International [advocacy website]. The study documents the cases of over 40 people [AI press release] who have been arrested in 2006 for their alleged connections with armed rebel groups. Once detained, the prisoners have been denied medical care and subjected to unsanitary conditions, making the prisons "among the worst ever witnessed by members of the Amnesty International delegation." Although pressure from human rights groups has led to the release of 34 detainees who were acquitted, more than 20 individuals remain in prison without charges.

According to Amnesty, general instability has pervaded the CAR since former President Ange Felix Patasse [Wikipedia profile] was overthrown by a coup. After coup leader Francois Bozize [BBC profile] won elections in 2005, Patasse was convicted in absentia for fraud and referred to the International Criminal Court [JURIST reports] for human rights violations committed by state troops in 2002. The CAR government has blamed the conflict on Sudan for trying to destabilize its government. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts [official website] Justice Judith Cowin [official profile] ruled Thursday that all seven of the court's justices will hear a request to put a measure effectively banning same-sex marriage [text, DOC] on the 2008 Massachusetts ballot if legislators fail to vote on the issue before the end of their term on January 2. Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney [official website] last week asked the court [JURIST report] to put same-sex marriage on the ballot, after calling the legislature's failure to act on the issue a "form of ... tyranny" [speech, DOC; JURIST report]. Cowin, who voted in 2003 to legalize same-sex marriages, sat as the lone justice at Thursday's hearing [docket], but ruled that the entire court should take up the matter at a December 20 hearing.

In 2003, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive] with the state high court's decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health [text; JURIST report]. The proposed constitutional amendment, which has garnered over 170,000 signatures, would strictly define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, though it would leave existing Massachusetts same-sex marriages intact. It would need 50 votes in the 2007 House and again in 2008 to be put on the November 2008 electoral ballot. When the state legislature last considered the amendment earlier this month opponents of the measure failed to amass the 151 votes necessary to kill the matter, instead voting 109-87 to recess [JURIST report] a joint session with the Senate until January. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals [official website] heard arguments Thursday on whether unintroduced non-sensitive evidence from the criminal trial of Zacarias Moussaoui [JURIST news archive] should be turned over to families of 9/11 [JURIST news archive] victims as requested [motion 1, PDF; motion 2, PDF] by and promised [order, PDF] to them for use in a civil negligence lawsuit against the airline industry and other defendants. Department of Justice attorney Steven Lane argued that US District Judge Leonie Brinkema had no power to order to the government to turn over the evidence and that no precedent exists for allowing civil plaintiffs to interfere with a criminal proceeding. Plaintiffs attorney Nathan Lewin [profile] countered that Brinkema's use of judicial discretion was proper in this case. Lewin is representing about 6,600 plaintiffs in 3 lawsuits against the airline industry and against parties alleged to have funded the terror attacks.

Zacarias Moussaoui pleaded guilty [JURIST report] in April 2005 to six conspiracy charges in connection with the 9/11 attacks and was sentenced to life in prison [JURIST report] in May 2006. AP has more.