[JURIST] The US House of Representatives [official website] voted Friday to provide shareholders with an advisory vote on executive compensation [HB 1257 summary], noting that in the last 15 years, compensation of Fortune 500 CEOs has moved from 140 times that of the average employee to over 500 times. The bill only had minimal Republican support, passing 269-134 [roll call] after the defeat of numerous Republican proposed amendments, including one that would have eliminated the advisory vote when an executive compensation package was within 10% of the average for comparable companies. The White House [official website] joined the majority of House Republicans in opposing the bill, saying that Congress should not "mandate the process by which executive compensation is approved" [policy statement, PDF].

President George W. Bush and other Republicans have agreed that executive compensation is excessive, but believe that it is not for government to regulate. In December the Securities and Exchange Commission [official website] amended disclosure rules to require public information on executive compensation [rule text, PDF; press release] for publicly traded companies. AP has more on the House vote, and on White House opposition.

[JURIST] Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] announced Friday that the Thai government [official website, in Thai] may grant amnesty to Islamic insurgents, but that it still supports Buddhists who have armed themselves for protection. Surayud, who replaced former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] after a bloodless coup last year, promised to end the violence in the southern region of the country. While amnesty was discussed when Thaksin was in power, his government rejected the proposal, and instead increased military power and restricted civil liberties [JURIST report] in the region.

Surayud's announcement comes on the heels of a Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] report that criticized the Thai government for using militias [report text] for security in the southern provinces. HRW said that the armed villager forces were misusing their weapons, using excessive force, and furthering violence. AP has more.

[JURIST] The government of Japan [JURIST archive] said Friday in two statements [1, 2 - text, in Japanese] that it accepted the 1948 rulings of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East [Wikipedia backgrounder] that found Japanese soldiers had coerced women into prostitution, possibly signalling a new course on the sensitive subject of "comfort women" [Amnesty backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. The government also said that it stood by Japan's unratified 1993 admission and apology [text, in English] for using women in occupied territories in Japanese army brothels. The statement came in response to an official inquiry [text, in Japanese] by opposition House of Representatives member Kiyomi Tsujimoto [Wikipedia profile], asking the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] to clarify its position on the subject.

Last month Abe denied allegations of forced sexual slavery [JURIST report] in Imperial Japanese Army [Wikipedia backgrounder] brothels, saying instead that the women were professional prostitutes paid for their services. A Japanese government probe also denied finding any evidence of forced prostitution [JURIST report]. After a large public backlash, Abe issued a guarded apology [JURIST report] to comfort women, but stopped short of explicitly acknowledging the role played by the military and the government in facilitating the practice. Xinhua has more. Kyodo has additional coverage.

[JURIST] The Office of the New York Attorney General [official website] Thursday sent notice [PDF text; press release] of its intent to sue Drexel University [official website] for accepting payments from student loan lender Education Finance Partners (EFP) [corporate website] based on the amount of money the private lender loaned to Drexel students. According to NY AG Andrew Cuomo, Drexel committed deceptive business practices for accepting $124,000 for funneling students to EFP. EFP owes an additional $126,000 to the university for deeming EFP its "sole preferred private loan provider." According to the notice:

The contracts and payments, which were not disclosed to students or their parents, created unlawful conflicts of interest on the part of Drexel and may have misled the student borrowers and their parents. To avoid such conflicts of interest, Drexel must terminate any revenue sharing arrangement with any lender. Drexel must require lenders to compete for the students' loans by offering the best loan products to students, not the best kickback to Drexel....

Drexel has also repeatedly and persistently engaged in misleading and deceptive business practices and false advertising by fostering the false impression to student borrowers and their parents that Drexel, which is in a position of trust with students and their parents, is a lender or lender partner on EFP's private education loans.

The timing and public release of the Attorney General's notice of intent to sue raises troubling questions as to his motivations and to his tactics. Indeed, his conduct violates fundamental principles of fair play to which Drexel and its students are entitled and therefore we will move forcefully to protect our position in this matter.

[JURIST] Four Bosnian Serbs who went on an "illegal military operation" during the Srebrenica massacre [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] in July 1995 went on trial Friday before the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina [official website; HRW backgrounder] in Sarajevo. The indictment alleges that the men, two of whom are former military policemen, helped confine two to three thousand unarmed Muslim civilians in a school after Serb forces overran Srebrenica, a UN "safe area," and participated in the abuse, beatings, and cruel treatment of their detainees. The charges against them include not preventing the massacre, failing to protect civilians during the tragedy, and executing five Muslims.

Approximately eight thousand Muslims from Srebrenica and surrounding villages were killed during the Srebrenica massacre. About half of the victims have been found in over 80 mass graves in the area. In February, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) recognized the mass killings in Srebrenica as an act of genocide [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The Romanian Constitutional Court [official website] Friday upheld the suspension of President Traian Basescu [official website; BBC profile] and designated Senate President Nicolae Vacaroiu [official website] as the country's interim leader. On Thursday, the Romanian Parliament voted 322-108 to suspend Basescu [JURIST report], alleging that he violated the constitution [text] by overriding the Cabinet and criticizing the judiciary. Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu [official website] has also accused Basescu of participating in suspicious mult-million dollar energy deals.

Parliament has 30 days to organize a referendum on whether to impeach the president. Given the popularity of Basescu, who was elected in December 2004 and has targeted corruption, the referendum is expected to fail. Observers say Basescu may announce his resignation Monday. RFE has more. BBC News has additional coverage.

[JURIST] Several Internet privacy groups filed a joint complaint [PDF text] with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) [official website] on Friday concerning the merger of search engine Google [corporate website] with advertising provider DoubleClick [corporate website]. The groups, including the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) and the US Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG) [advocacy websites], requested that the FTC block the proposed merger [agreement text; SEC press release] until the agency conducts an investigation. The groups allege the merger allows Google to match users' names and physical addresses with their IP addresses and Internet usage history and habits.

The complaint accuses Google of engaging in unfair trade practices:

Google’s collection of information about its users, through the retention of users’ search terms in connection with their IP address, is performed without the knowledge or consent of Google users. . . . As a result of Google’s failure to detail its data retention policies until four levels down within its website, its users are unaware that their activities are being monitored. Furthermore, Google does not provide any “opt-out” option to its users who do not want Google to store their search terms.
....
Google’s collection of information about its users without compliance with Fair Information Practices, such as the OECD Privacy Guidelines, is likely to cause 10 substantial injury to consumers, which is not reasonably avoidable by consumers and not outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or competition, and therefore is an unfair practice.

[JURIST] UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said Friday that the United Kingdom [JURIST news archive] does not need to hold a referendum to approve a new treaty to replace the failed European Constitution [text; JURIST news archive]. Earlier this week, Blair joined Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende [official website] in advocating amendments to current EU treaties rather than reviving the constitution [JURIST reports], as Germany and other EU states have vowed to do. According to Blair and Balkenende, the amendments would clarify the division of powers between the European Commission (EC) [official website] and member states and expand the role of national parliaments. Blair said such amendments, since they would not alters the basic relationship between Europe and the member states, would not require a referendum.

The fate of the constitution has been hotly debated since it was rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands [JURIST reports] in 2005. EU members are expected to discuss an outline of the type of treaty or amendments to govern the EU at a summit to be held in Brussels in June. Blair added that his views are shared by UK Chancellor Gordon Brown [official profile], who is seen as Blair's likely successor. Blair is expected to announce his resignation in May, and the June summit would be his last international negotiation as a head of state. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive [corporate website] reached a settlement on Thursday with anti-game activist lawyer Jack Thompson. Take-Two agreed to drop a contempt of court charge against Thompson stemming from a prior legal battle [GamePolitics.com report] over the video game Bully. Thompson had strong words for the judge following his unsuccessful attempt [JURIST report] last October to get the "Teen"-rated game blocked from stores in Florida under a state public nuisance law, giving rise to the contempt charge for which Thompson faced possible jail time.

Take-Two filed a federal suit [GamePolitics.com report] last month in Florida in response to Thompson's threats to take similar action against upcoming Take-Two games Manhunt 2 and the highly-anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV. Thompson filed a countersuit that initally made RICO allegations but was later revised [GamePolitics.com report] to simply ask the court to consider blocking the sale of the games.

Both suits will be dropped as part of the settlement [PDF text], and Thompson agreed not to sue or threaten to sue in connection with the games or to allege wrongdoing on the part of any party that sells the games. Thompson retains the right to criticize the content of the games. The settlement comes after a shareholder revolt in the company [Gamasutra report]. The October 2007 scheduled release of Grand Theft Auto IV is considered a key factor in helping turn things around [TheStreet.com report] for the financially-troubled publisher.

[JURIST] Two US lawmakers introduced legislation Thursday to prohibit the government from interfering with a woman's right to have an abortion following the Wednesday's US Supreme Court decision upholding a federal ban on "partial-birth" abortions [JURIST report]. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) [official websites] announced the reintroduction of the Freedom of Choice Act [PDF text], which would codify the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade [LII backgrounder; opinion]. The bill would prohibit government interference with a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy prior to viability or after viability when necessary to protect the woman's health. Originally introduced [press release] in 2004, the bill sat idle in the Judiciary Committee until the end of the 108th Congress. In a statement [press release] on Thursday, Nadler asserted, "We can no longer rely on the Supreme Court to protect a woman's constitutional right to choose."

On Wednesday, a 5-4 Supreme Court decision upheld the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 [PDF text] in Gonzales v. Carhart [Duke Law case backgrounder], concluding that the Act was not void for vagueness and did not impose an undue burden on a woman's right to abortion. The decision marks the first time the Court has upheld a complete ban on an abortion procedure. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Iraq's growing use of the death penalty [JURIST news archive] since its reinstatement in 2004 has given the country the fourth-highest execution rate in the world - surpassed only by China, Iran, and Pakistan - according to a report [text] released Friday by Amnesty International [advocacy website]. According to the report, more than 270 people have been sentenced to death in Iraq and more than 100 people have actually been executed since 2005. The report specifically criticized the trial and subsequent execution of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] and three of his co-defendants for its failure "to meet international fair trial standards," and condemned the reintroduction of the death penalty as a step backwards.

Iraqi government officials have dismissed similar criticism in the past, saying that the death penalty is a fundamental component of implementing Islamic law. Senior Iraqi judge Jafar al-Musawi criticized the report, telling BBC News that criminals in Iraq had more rights than in many western countries. Reuters has more. BBC News has additional coverage.

[JURIST] The Democratic National Committee (DNC) [party website] filed a federal lawsuit [complaint, PDF] against the US Department of Justice [official website] Thursday, seeking the disclosure and release of DOJ records in accordance with the DNC's March 19, 2007 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request [PDF text] involving the controversial firing of eight US attorneys [JURIST news archive]. The complaint alleges that the DOJ has failed to respond to the Freedom of Information Act [DOJ materials] request within the twenty working days, as required under the act, and has also failed to provide the DNC "any written notice of any extension of that time limit."

Last Tuesday, a White House spokesperson said that several emails that fall within the Senate Judiciary Committee's document requests appear to be lost [ABC report]. At least 21 White House staffers used email accounts provided by the Republican National Committee (RNC) [party website] to avoid liability under the Hatch Act [backgrounder], which prohibits the use of government resources for political purposes. Other laws, however, prohibit staffers from failing to preserve presidential records. The White House said Saturday that it would cooperate with the committee in choosing an independent consultant to recover lost administration emails [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Former Qwest Communications [corporate website] CEO Joseph Nacchio [JURIST news archive] was convicted Thursday by a federal jury on 19 of 42 counts of insider trading. Nacchio illegally sold 1.33 million shares valued at $52 million dollars in conjunction with the Denver-based telephone service provider's accounting scandal between April 26 and May 29, 2001. Nacchio faces a maximum sentence for each count of up to 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The federal jury acquitted Nacchio of 23 counts of insider trading originating before April 2001. Nacchio's sentencing is slated for July 27, and he is currently free on $2 million bail.

Nacchio and other former Qwest executives still face a class action lawsuit [JURIST report] and civil charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission [JURIST report]. Another former Qwest employee, ex-vice president Marc Weisberg, pleaded guilty to wire fraud [JURIST report] in December 2005 and helped prosecutors build their case against Nacchio. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US House of Representatives [official website] passed the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act (HR 1905) [bill summary] Thursday, which could increase official House membership for the first time since 1960. The bill, which passed 241-177 [roll call], would make the District of Columbia [official website] a congressional district with full voting rights in the House, and as a compromise with Republicans, add a temporary at-large seat for Utah. Utah came close but fell short of obtaining a new district [PDF backgrounder] after the 2000 census. The future of the bill in the less Democratically-dominated Senate is far from certain, however, and President George W. Bush has threatened a veto [JURIST report], calling the bill unconstitutional.

The District of Columbia currently has a delegate in the House, Eleanor Holmes Norton [official website], who is able to vote in committee and on some amendments, but is not allowed to vote on the final passage of a bill. A February report by the Congressional Research Service flagged the potential unconstitutionality [JURIST report] of any bill granting a House vote for the District, focusing on the language in Article I, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution that the House is to be comprised by the "people of the several States." AP has more.