[JURIST] Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf [official profile] traded barbs and accusations with opponents over the weekend after 39 people were killed [JURIST report] Saturday in Karachi in clashes sparked by the arrival of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry [official profile; JURIST news archive], who had traveled there to address a meeting of lawyers supporting him in his fight against his March 9 suspension. The deaths were widely attributed to fighting between pro-government and anti-government factions in the city. Speaking to a government rally Saturday evening in Islamabad, Musharraf said the fighting stemmed from the politicization of a legal issue and called upon the country's lawyers to stop violent protests by letting the courts decide matters:

The lawyers should not give the matter a political twist. Stop this protest and reject those who are politicising the issue...My heart bled at the site of happenings in Karachi; it was horrible to see the sufferings of the people; this is no way of seeking freedom for the judiciary... Stop politicising and let the judiciary do justice.

[JURIST] Moscow City Court has rejected a bid by a surviving member of the Russian Romanov imperial dynasty to declare Tsar Nicholas II [Wikipedia profile] exonerated of the Soviet-era criminal charge against him and declare his 1918 murder at the hands of revolutionary Bolsheviks a political killing. A lower court had ruled similarly, and the Moscow City Court Friday supported its decision to remand the case to the Russian Prosecutor General's office, which has said it has insufficient evidence to proceed. The court also said any exoneration should be made in the course of criminal, not civil proceedings.

Grand Duchess Maria Romanov [Wikipedia profile], currently living in Spain, brought the case on behalf of her branch of the family. Nicholas II, the Tsarina Alexandra, their five children and several household servants were executed without trial [eyewitness account] near Yekaterinburg in 1918. Nicholas' remains were reburied with honors at St. Petersburg in 1998. Reuters has more. RIA Novosti has local coverage.

[JURIST] A spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai [official website] said Saturday that Karzai would await a Supreme Court [Wikipedia backgrounder] ruling on the legality of parliament dismissing government ministers before relieving Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta [official profile] after Spanta lost a no-confidence vote. A previous effort to oust Spanta on Thursday failed by a narrow margin, but parliament did vote that day to remove Repatriation and Refugee Minister Mohammad Akbar Akbar. Karzai, who accepted Akbar's dismissal, has asked the high court to decide whether parliament can force out a minister on a matter not directly related to his portfolio.

Both ministers came under fire for not doing more to oppose the expulsion of thousands of Afghan refugees from neighboring Iran [RFE/RL reports]. The refugees are now living in an Afghan border province but have no shelter. Some 2 million Afghan refugees remain in Iran. AP has more.

[JURIST] Voters in Farmers Branch, Texas [official website] approved a city ordinance [DOC text] Saturday which requires apartment renters to show proof of US residency and penalizes landlords who rent to illegal immigrants [JURIST news archive]. Landlords who do not comply with the law will face fines up to $500. The ordinance does not require minors and tenants who are 62 years of age and older to prove their immigration status, and allows lease renewals if the renters are currently tenants, the head of household or spouse is in the US legally, and the family includes only the spouse, their minor children or parents.

The ordinance was backed by 68 percent of voters and is a revision of an earlier ordinance set to take effect in January [JURIST reports]. The first ordinance was blocked when a judge issued a temporary restraining order after the Dallas suburb was sued [JURIST reports] by civil rights organizations, property owners and residents. The revised ordinance is set to take effect May 22, but opponents have promised to challenge the law in court. AP has more.

[JURIST] Over 250,000 people gathered in Rome Saturday to protest a bill [JURIST report] currently before parliament which would give legal status to unmarried heterosexual and same-sex couples [JURIST news archive]. The bill was approved by Italy's cabinet in February, but has been harshly criticized by the Italian justice minister and the top Italian bishop [JURIST reports]. The proposal would give unmarried couples combined medical insurance, the right to visit their partner in prisons or hospitals, inheritance rights, and decision-making authority should one partner become sick. Couples would have to live together for nine years before they would be entitled to property rights, but if the legislation is passed, couples would be able to take advantage of the other legal protections immediately.

The Vatican has said that giving unmarried couples rights would threaten traditional families [JURIST report]. Saturday's Family Day [advocacy website, in Italian] rally, not organized by the Vatican, drew tens of thousands of families. Organizers said over 1.5 million people participated, but an early police estimate was lower at about 250,000. Supporters of the proposed legislation held a counter-demonstration, which was attended by some 10,000 people. A similar rally in support of the bill [JURIST report] was held in March. AP has more.

[JURIST] Outgoing UK Home Secretary John Reid [press release] told a meeting of ministers from major EU states Saturday that European human rights laws needed to be "modernized" to provide better protection from new terrorism threats. Addressing a conference of EU home affairs and interior ministers in Venice, Reid said more attention had to be paid to the fundamental right of security on which he said all other rights were based, and that politicians who adhered to existing rights laws "to the letter" were not protecting their citizens:

We need to work to modernise the law - still protecting human rights and still providing equity and justice - but reflecting the reality of the conflicts and struggles we now face. We need leadership to do this. It can't be left solely to the lawyers. Politicians must expose these issues and set a lead, so that we can protect the rights of all our citizens, including all those threatened by terrorism.

[JURIST] German Chancellor Angel Merkel [official website] Saturday urged European Union [official website] members to work together to advance a European constitution [JURIST news archive], largely stalled since referendum setbacks in France and the Netherlands in 2005. Merkel, whose country currently holds the EU presidency [German presidency website], was speaking at a mini-summit with key European leaders held in Portugal in the lead-up to a major EU leaders meeting scheduled for June 21-22. Germany has made revival of the constitution a key part of its presidency program, but its six month tenure expires at the end of June. Leaders from Portugal and Slovenia, scheduled to follow Germany in the EU presidency, attended the informal meeting along with European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso. Incoming French president Nicolas Sarkozy has called for a simplified, shortened treaty instead of the longer more comprehensive agreement originally foreseen; outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed support for such a "mini-treaty" after meeting with Sarkozy Friday. AFP has more.

In March, European Union leaders gathered in Berlin marked the 50th anniversary [official website] of the foundational Treaty of Rome by signing a declaration aimed at revitalizing efforts to pass a European constitution. The non-binding Berlin Declaration [PDF] said the 27 leaders of the EU are "united in [their] aim of placing the European Union on a renewed common basis before the European Parliament elections in 2009." While addressing challenges facing Europe such as terrorism and global warming, the document did not use the word "constitution" [JURIST report] at the request of several nations which favor a more limited accord.