[JURIST] Mexico City [official website, in Spanish] legislators Tuesday passed a bill 46-19 that would legalize abortion within the city. The bill, proposed [JURIST report] by the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) [official website, in Spanish], will require city hospitals to provide the procedure in the first trimester, although abortions after 12 weeks would still be illegal. Girls under 18 would have to get their parents' consent. The bill now goes to the city's mayor, Marcelo Ebrard [Wikipedia profile], who is expected to sign it. Abortion opponents will probably appeal the law to the Supreme Court.

Abortion is generally illegal throughout the heavily Roman Catholic country, with exceptions only for cases of rape. Mexico City previously loosened the country's restriction to allow abortions when the health of the mother was in danger. Conservatives in the country, including Mexican President Felipe Calderon [official website] and his National Action Party (PAN) [official website] are strongly opposed to any change of abortion law, and have vowed to appeal the law to the Supreme Court. Supporters of the bill say that the current laws endanger poor women who, unlike wealthier Mexicans, cannot afford to travel to the United States for the surgery and so must resort to unsafe back-alley abortions. Last year Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] conducted an extensive study of abortion availability for rape victims in Mexico [study text; press release], finding that those seeking legal abortions often are intimidated with insults and threats of legal retaliation by both prosecutors and health workers. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Appeals Court for the Federal Circuit [official website] ruled Tuesday that Internet phone company Vonage [corporate website] can subscribe new customers while it appeals a lower court finding that it infringed three patents held by Verizon Communications, Inc. [corporate website]. In the wake of the finding, US District Judge Claude M. Hilton issued an order prohibiting Vonage from subscribing new customers. Vonage will also continue paying a 5.5 percent royalty rate on all future sales to an escrow account while the appeal is pending. The appeals court scheduled oral arguments for June 25.

Verizon filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Vonage in June, accusing it of violating seven Verizon patents. On March 8, a federal jury returned a verdict finding that Vonage had violated [Verizon press release; Vonage press release] three voice-over-Internet Protocol [FCC backgrounder] patents held by Verizon, awarding Verizon $58 million dollars in compensation plus future royalties amounting to 5.5 percent of Vonage's revenues if Vonage continues to use the patented technology. Hilton, saying he did not wish to irreparably harm Vonage's business, issued the partial injunction as a less severe punishment than one he initially proposed, which would would have disrupted phone service for Vonage's 2.2 million existing customers. Vonage lawyers argued in response that the ruling would "slowly strangle" Vonage because it would be unable to compensate for customers that routinely switch services in the highly competitive industry. Vonage lawyers projected that the phone service would lose approximately 650,000 subscribers over the course of next year. Earlier this month, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an emergency stay [JURIST report] of the injunction.
CNET has more.

[JURIST] US military authorities Tuesday formally referred to a military commission charges [charge sheet] of murder, supporting terrorism, conspiracy and spying in "violation of the law of war" against Omar Khadr [Trial Watch profile; JURIST news archive], a Canadian detainee held at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] since 2002. Khadr, the son of alleged al Qaeda financier Ahmad Khadr, allegedly threw a grenade that killed one US soldier and wounded another while fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan. He faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and will be arraigned within 30 days, according to a military statement [DOD press release].

Last month, Khadr told his mother in a rare phone call to his family in Canada that he planned to boycott his trial [JURIST report]. Khadr was only 15 years old when he allegedly trained with and fought alongside al Queda fighters in Afghanistan. In 2004, Khadr was also accused [2004 charge sheet, PDF; JURIST report] of planting mines to blow up US convoys. His charges were initially renewed [JURIST report] by military prosecutors in February under the new Military Commissions Act [PDF, text] but were only sent on after approval by the Office of Military Commissions' Convening Authority. In March, the US Supreme Court rejected his request [JURIST report] to expedite his challenge to the Act. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] Tuesday heard oral arguments [transcript, PDF] in Permanent Mission of India v. New York [LII case backgrounder; merit briefs], a case in which the justices will determine whether US courts can hear claims against foreign governments regarding unpaid property taxes for diplomatic residences. The city of New York brought the claim against India and Mongolia in 2003, and both the district court and the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit [official website] ruled that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act [LII text] provides an exception allowing US courts to hear the action. The city relies on a 1958 New York tax law which subjects all diplomatic property apart from the mission and principal residence of an ambassador to property taxes. India and Mongolia, which house their diplomats in the same high-rise buildings in which their missions are located, owe $16.4 million and $2.1 million respectively in tax liens, according to the city.

Lawyers for the two countries argued that because diplomats are always on call, the same reasons that justify immunity for diplomatic missions apply to diplomatic residences. Additionally, attorneys for the countries and the US Department of State maintained that if the court permits suits against foreign sovereigns for unpaid taxes in US courts, US diplomatic residences around the world will be subject to similar suits. The city relies on a 1985 ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that Libya was not immune from a similar claim. AP has more.

The court also heard two other oral arguments Tuesday. In Beck v. Pace International Union [transcript, PDF; merit briefs], the Court must decide whether a pension plan sponsor’s decision to terminate a plan by purchasing an annuity is subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act [text]. In Dayton v. Hanson [transcript, PDF; merit briefs], the Court must decide whether a senator's decison to fire a staff member whose duties primarily involved legislation was an official act protected by the Speech or Debate Clause of the constitution.

[JURIST] A Syrian court Tuesday sentenced human rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni [Human Rights First backgrounder] to five years in prison and imposed a $2,000-equivalent fine for spreading false information harmful to the state. Al-Bunni has been detained since he and several other activists were arrested last year [JURIST report] following their signature of the Beirut-Damascus Declaration [text]. The declaration calls for normalization of relations between Syria and Lebanon [JURIST news archive], a properly demarcated border, the release of political prisoners and the exchanging of ambassadors. Khalil Maatouk, al-Bunni's lawyer, announced plans to appeal the decision.

Both Maatouk and Amnesty International [advocacy website] describe the ruling as an attempt to intimidate Syrian society [statement] and quell dissent. According to Amnesty, al-Bunni's arrest and charges stem from his legitimate work to further human rights. AP has more.

[JURIST] A Chinese court has found Yahoo China [corporate website] liable for copyright infringement by linking to websites that illegally offered free downloads of copyrighted music, Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday. Yahoo China was ordered to pay a fine of 200,000 yuan and to remove the links. Although most of the music was hosted on third-party websites, Beijing's No. 2 Intermediate Court ruled that the search engine was still partly responsible for the copyright violations since it enabled websurfers to find the illegal music. In January, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) [trade website], a trade organization that fights against music piracy, filed suit against Yahoo China on behalf of recording companies, including Warner Music Group [corporate website], for alleged copyright infringement involving over 200 unlicensed songs. Yahoo China said it would file an appeal. Reuters has more.

In 2005, the US Trade Representative office placed China on a "priority watch list" [JURIST report] due to what the US considered rampant copyright infringement in the country. This month, the United States is filed a case against China [JURIST report] at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for lax enforcement of copyright violations and trademarks.

[JURIST] The North Dakota Legislative Assembly [official website] passed a bill [PDF text] Monday prohibiting abortion [JURIST news archive] in the state if the US Supreme Court [official website] ever declares that such a move would be constitutional. The measure, which Governor John Hoeven [official website] is expected to sign, passed the state House 68-24 and the Senate 29-16. In the event that the US Supreme Court overturns the 1973 Roe v. Wade [LII backgrounder; opinion] decision, the bill would subject anyone performing an abortion to a prison sentence of up to 5 years, a $5,000 fine, or possibly both. An exception would be made in cases of rape, incest, or where the life of the mother was in danger.

North Dakota has become the second state to pass this type of abortion law; Mississippi approved a similar measure [FMF report] last month. Senate Majority Leader Bob Stenehjem [official website] denied that the North Dakota bill was influenced by last week's Supreme Court decision upholding a federal 'partial birth' abortion ban [JURIST report]. The Bismarck Tribune has more.

[JURIST] Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson [official profile] expressed hope Monday that the April 16 shootings [Wikipedia backgrounder] at Virginia Tech [university website] that left 33 people - including the gunman - dead in the largest shooting rampage in US history would prompt the United States to take action in support of an international arms trade treaty [advocacy website]. In December the US was the only country to vote against a non-binding UN General Assembly resolution [vote and explanations; draft text] urging the UN Secretary General to solicit the views of member states on a treaty "establishing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms." Twenty-four other countries abstained and 153 countries voted in favor.

Robinson said at a UN press conference [recorded video] in New York Monday marking a Global Day of Action for the Arms Trade Treaty [advocacy website] that 1000 people are killed around the world every day by unregulated small arms, and that "maybe the sense of personal loss for the 32 lives, and what we know about them" could help bring that fact home to people in the United States as a "a tragic reminder that armed violence is a problem in so many parts of the world." AP has more.

[JURIST] An Argentine judge ruled Monday that former Argentine President Reynaldo Bignone [Wikipedia profile] should stand trial for the kidnapping of children of dissidents killed during Argentina's 1976-83 "Dirty War" [GlobalSecurity backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. The children were allegedly given new identities after their kidnappings. Bignone also faces trial [JURIST report] on separate charges connected to the illegal arrest, torture and killing of dissidents at secret detention centers in Buenos Aires.

Bignone was the last of Argentina's 1976-83 military dictators before democracy was re-established in 1983. Nearly 13,000 people are officially reported as missing during the military crackdown, although human rights groups say the toll is closer to 30,000 victims. Argentine authorities arrested [JURIST report] Bignone, 78, in March pursuant to a statute that allows detention of suspects over the age of 70. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Lord Woolf [Wikipedia profile], former Lord Chief Justice of English and Wales, told BBC Radio in an interview [recorded audio] broadcast Tuesday that shifting the traditional position of Lord Chancellor [BBC backgrounder] into a new Ministry of Justice split off from the current Home Office [official website] represented a major constitutional change that should be undertaken only after serious study, and not rushed through. A Labour government plan [Home Office press release] developed [JURIST report] earlier this year and announced [BBC report] in late March by British Prime Minister Tony Blair calls for the new Ministry - a successor body to the current Department of Constitutional Affairs and the National Offender Management Service [official websites] - to be responsible for the judiciary and for prisons, probation and the prevention of criminal recidivism, but Woolf warned that the responsibilities of the Lord Chancellor in the expanded Ministry might water down his traditionally close relationship with judges. The jurisdiction of a reduced Home Office would be largely confined to terrorism, security and immigration. The changes are due for implementation in early May.

Woolf told the BBC:

There has been no debate. Parliament has not considered this, but it is going to apparently happen on May 9. I really think with our constitutional arrangements, we should be more careful about how these matters are dealt with.

We have no written constitution which is entrenched and our constitution works through checks and balances and it is very important that if we are starting to alter the framework of checks and balances, that the matter is looked at carefully.

I am not saying that it can't be made to work satisfactorily. What I am saying is that we should work it out beforehand and not wait until we have created the change and then somehow or other try to scramble to get it into place.

This is a very big change for our constitution and I say this for no reason other than that I am concerned for our well-being as a nation.

[JURIST] Some 3000 Pakistani lawyers and anti-government activists demonstrated outside the Supreme Court building in Islamabad Tuesday as suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry [official website; JURIST news archive] arrived for his sixth hearing before Pakistan's Supreme Judicial Council [governing constitutional provisions] on alleged judicial misconduct. Chaudhry was technically made "non-functional" [JURIST report] by a March 9 order of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. No specifics were provided at the time of his suspension but documents subsequently disclosed [JURIST report] suggest he was officially removed on suspicion of misusing his influence to get his son jobs and promotions. Lawyers and opposition leaders critical of the move say, however, that the suspension was an assault on the independence of the country's judiciary and an indirect bid by Musharraf to continue his eight-year rule in an election year. The protesters Tuesday called for Musharraf to resign and burned a photograph of the Army leader, who seized power from a civilian government in a 1999 military coup.

Chaudhry has denied any wrongdoing and has called for the hearings on his case to be made public [JURIST report]. Many lawyers across Pakistan have boycotted the courts [JURIST report] in protest over Chaudhry's suspension and a number of senior judges have already resigned [JURIST report] over the controversy. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Ecuador's Constitutional Tribunal [official website, in Spanish] Monday reinstated some 50 members of the country's Congress dismissed [JURIST report] last month by order of Ecuador's electoral tribunal [official website, in Spanish] after they were found to have illegally interfered with a referendum pushed by President Rafael Correa [official website, in Spanish; BBC profile] on whether to draft a new constitution [text, in Spanish]. The referendum held April 15 resulted in a massive vote of support [JURIST reports] for the convening of a constitutional assembly to rewrite the national charter. Correa denounced the court ruling Monday, called it "illegal" and "shameless". Ecuador's Congress is currently dominated by pro-Correa lawmakers and the reinstatement of the ousted representatives threatens to rekindle the political tug of war between the presidency and the legislature [JURIST news archive] over the reform process and the domination of the legislature and judiciary by traditional power elites.

In the wake of the ruling, Ecuadorean riot police surrounded Congress Tuesday to maintain order in the event of possible violence. The dismissed legislators fought with police [JURIST report] when they initially attempted to retake their seats after the original electoral tribunal decision; this time, however, one of the lawmakers told Reuters, "We should be let back into Congress, but we fear for our safety. We will analyze the position of the president and the election court before making any decision." Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The three-drug "cocktail" used to execute death row inmates by lethal injection [JURIST news archive] can fail, causing inmates to suffer a painful death, according to a study [text] published Monday by PLoS Medicine [journal website]. The study's authors said in a summary of their work:

We were able to analyze only a limited number of executions. However, our findings suggest that current lethal injection protocols may not reliably effect death through the mechanisms intended, indicating a failure of design and implementation. If thiopental and potassium chloride fail to cause anesthesia and cardiac arrest, potentially aware inmates could die through pancuronium-induced asphyxiation. Thus the conventional view of lethal injection leading to an invariably peaceful and painless death is questionable.

The authors conclude that even if lethal injection is administered without technical error, those executed may experience suffocation, and therefore that "the conventional view of lethal injection as an invariably peaceful and painless death is questionable." The Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. The results of this paper suggest that current protocols used for lethal injection in the US probably violate this amendment.

[JURIST] An Indonesian court Tuesday acquitted American Richard Ness [defense website], the regional chief executive of Denver-based Newmont Mining Corporation [corporate website; JURIST news archive], and Newmont's local subsidiary of criminal pollution charges [JURIST report]. Ness and Newmont were accused of dumping arsenic and mercury into the waters of Indonesia's Buyat Bay. Prosecutors had requested a three-year prison term [JURIST report] for Ness and $110,000 fine against Newmont. According to Newmont's press release [PDF text] "the court held that Buyat Bay is not polluted. It further found, as PTNMR contended, that the company was in compliance with all regulations and permits during its eight years of operations from 1996 to 2004."

Newmont settled a civil suit [JURIST report] brought by the Indonesian government last year. Bloomberg has more.

[JURIST] The US Securities and Exchange Commission has settled accounting fraud charges [press release] against HealthSouth [corporate website] founder and former CEO Richard Scrushy [defense website; JURIST news archive] under an agreement announced Monday "that permanently bars Scrushy from serving as an officer or director of a public company, permanently enjoins Scrushy from committing future violations of the antifraud and other provisions of the federal securities laws, and requires Scrushy to pay $81 million in disgorgement and civil penalties." According to the SEC's press release:

The Commission's complaint in this action charges Scrushy with directing a $2.6 billion financial fraud at the HealthSouth Corporation during the years 1996 through 2002....

The Complaint alleges that, at Scrushy's direction, HealthSouth's overstated its revenue by more than $2.6 billion from the second quarter of 1996 through the third quarter of 2002. This overstatement led directly to quarterly and annual overstatements of net income and retained earnings. The Commission's complaint charges that, by the end of 2002, HealthSouth was claiming to have over $1.5 billion in accumulated retained earnings, when in fact the Company had operated at a significant loss over its entire corporate history. The HealthSouth fraud resulted in one of the largest accounting restatements in American corporate history.