[JURIST] Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora [BBC profile] told reporters Wednesday that "the door remains open" for possible changes to the structure and procedure of a divisive UN-supported international tribunal [JURIST news archive] being proposed to try suspects accused of assassinating former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [JURIST news archive] in February 2005. Siniora didn't specify what the possible amendments were, but said they would have to be advanced clearly and in writing.

The Lebanese cabinet approved a draft plan [JURIST report] for the tribunal late last month despite resignations by all six of its pro-Syrian members. Earlier this month, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud [official profile] formally refused to endorse the document [JURIST report], calling on the cabinet to take up the proposal again "when there is a legitimate and constitutional government." The measure has been approved by the UN but requires backing by both Lahoud and the Lebanese parliament before the tribunal can said to have been formally accepted. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts [official website] ruled unanimously Wednesday that it could not force the state legislature to vote on a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. After lawmakers failed to vote on the ballot initiative in November, Governor Mitt Romney [official profile] sued the Commonwealth [JURIST report]. In its opinion [PDF text], the court wrote:

We have no statutory authority to issue a declaratory judgment concerning the constitutionality of legislative action, or inaction, in this matter . . . The only remedy set forth in art. 48 for the failure of a joint session to act is a direction to the Governor to call a joint session or a continuance of a joint session if the joint session fails in its duty. . .The plaintiffs have not set forth any legally tenable judicial enforcement role in ensuring that the members of the joint session comply with their constitutional duties under art. 48, and . . . case law provides no enforcement mechanisms.

The members of the General Court are the people's elected representatives, and each one of them has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution of the Commonwealth. Those members who now seek to avoid their lawful obligations, by a vote to recess without a roll call vote by yeas and nays on the merits of the initiative amendment . . . ultimately will have to answer to the people who elected them.

The court has ruled on this question repeatedly, and today’s decision is consistent with what they’ve said before: that the legislature cannot be compelled to vote. The ruling maintains the critical separation of powers between the branches of government.

The Legislature has consistently refused to insert discrimination into the Constitution. Legislators have not only the freedom, but the right and the responsibility to vote their conscience. It is never right for the majority to vote on the rights of minorities.

[JURIST] Iraqi judges and lawyers Wednesday mulled over a potential constitutional complication in the wake of Tuesday's Iraqi High Tribunal [official website] appeals chamber affirmation of a death sentence [JURIST report] against ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] for crimes against humanity committed in the town of Dujail in 1982. Under the Iraqi constitution, such a death sentence requires the authorization of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani [official website, in Arabic; JURIST news archive] and Iraq’s two vice presidents, but Talabani is personally opposed to the death penalty [JURIST report]. While Talabani has given his signing authority to the Shiite vice-president, who would join with his Kurdish counterpart to make the warrant legally binding for all three, there is some question as to whether this is necessary or even sufficient in light of a provision of the IHT's governing statute [text] mandating the imposition of a death penalty order within 30 days of an appeal ruling. AP has more.

Meanwhile human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website], have spoken out once more against the death sentence, calling Hussein's trial deeply flawed [JURIST report]. In a statement [text] Tuesday, HRW repeated earlier claims that the Iraqi government interfered with judiciary independence [JURIST report] during the trial, and claimed that executing Hussein for Dujail while trials of him on other charges are ongoing or pending would deprive thousands of victims their day in court.

While Hussein's defense lawyers have called on the UN and other Arab governments to do anything in their power to halt the execution [AP report], Hussein himself has been defiant in the face of his latest legal setback, saying in a letter [excerpts] that he doesn't fear death, that it would be a sacrifice for Iraq, and would lead him down the road to martyrdom. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] In the latest corruption scandal involving Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian [official website, English version; BBC profile] and his family, a Taiwanese court on Wednesday sentenced Chen son-in-law Chao Chien-min to six years in prison for insider trading. Chao Chien-min, who is married to Chen's daughter, was convicted of using insider information to earn $922,000 by purchasing shares of the company Taiwan Development Corp. Chao's father, Chao Yu-chu, was also convicted of insider trading and embezzlement in connection with the case. AP has more. Taiwan News Online has additional coverage.

Chen's wife, Wu Shu-chen, was indicted last month [JURIST report] on charges of embezzlement and falsifying documents. State prosecutors say they have enough evidence to bring charges against Chen himself, claiming that he and his wife embezzled $450,000 from the state affairs budget between 2002 and 2006 by using receipts obtained by the first lady through personal acquaintances. Chen has denied embezzlement charges and has said he would resign [JURIST report] if his wife is convicted. The Taiwanese constitution grants him immunity from criminal prosecution except for acts of treason or rebellion while he holds office. In October, a second attempt at a referendum [JURIST report] to oust President Chen for corruption charges was defeated in the Taiwanese legislature. The series of corruption charges against the Presidential family has fueled ongoing protests [BBC report] in Taiwan involving tens of thousands of people calling for Chen's resignation.

[JURIST] French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy [official profile; BBC profile] has initiated a defamation lawsuit against a computer specialist believed to have included his name among a list of people falsely accused of accepting kickbacks to secret bank accounts from an arms deal. Sarkozy rival Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin [official website, in French; JURIST news archive] was questioned by judges [JURIST report] for more than 17 hours last week in connection with the his alleged role in the smear, a connection which Villepin vigorously denies..

Computer specialist Imad Lahoud [Wikipedia profile, in French] was charged with slander and doctoring lists of names that included prominent politicians earlier this year, though he is currently free on bail. The secret bank accounts he alluded to were seen as a continuing part of the Affaire Clearstream 2 [Wikipedia backgrounder, in French], named for the Luxembourg bank believed to have been involved. The fabricated lists asserted that Sarkozy and other officials laundered payments from a 1991 defense contract through Clearstream [corporate website]. Lahoud was a former scientific director for the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) [corporate website], also allegedly involved. From London, the Telegraph has more.

[JURIST] The director of China’s State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) [official website, Chinese; English] claimed Tuesday in an official report that corruption on the part of local government leaders has contributed to the rampant pollution [JURIST news archive] found in many of China’s cities. SEPA Director Zhou Shengxian [official backgrounder, in English] told the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress [official profile, English] that through threats of retaliatory measures against environmental officers, local leaders are able to avoid the enforcement of environmental laws [China Daily report].

After years of rapid economic growth, China’s heavily industrialized cities have become among the smoggiest in the world, while the government has reported that millions lack access to clean water, as all major rivers are heavily polluted. In the meantime the government has begun waging an aggressive campaign against corruption [JURIST news archive] on several different legal and political fronts. AP has more.

[JURIST] Former US President Gerald R. Ford [official profile; Ford Library timeline] died [official memorial website] Tuesday at the age of 93. A 1941 Yale Law School graduate who became GOP House Minority Leader during the presidency of Lyndon Johnson, he eventually became Vice-President and then the 38th president of the United States in 1974, taking over after predecessor Richard Nixon became the first president in US history to resign his office [JURIST This Day report] in the wake of the Watergate scandal. One of Ford's first and most controversial official acts was his pardon [JURIST This Day report; Proclamation 4311 text] of Nixon before any formal criminal charges had been filed, a move speculated to have cost Ford the 1976 presidential; election won by Jimmy Carter. Ford also authorized a conditional amnesty program [Executive Order 11803 text] for Vietnam War deserters and draft-evaders which waived any charges provided they agreed to work two years in public service. The Presidential Clemency Board created to administer the program disposed of 14,514 cases, though critics said the initiative did not go far enough, however, as only about 19 percent of eligible persons even applied.

In a statement late Tuesday, President Bush praised Ford, saying he "helped heal our land and restore public confidence in the Presidency." AP has more.