[JURIST] Delegates from 68 countries wrapped up a three-day meeting [HRW press release] in Lima, Peru Friday intended as a follow-up to the February Oslo Conference on Cluster Munitions [conference materials; JURIST report], where participants signed a declaration to ban cluster bombs [FAS backgrounder; JURIST news archive] by 2008. Organizers said the Lima meeting was a success, attracting 28 new countries which did not attend the Oslo meeting. Steve Goose, director of the Arms Division at Human Rights Watch, predicted that a treaty banning the weapons could be drafted and signed within a year. The world's leading producers of cluster bombs - the United States, Russia and China - did not attend the Oslo or Lima conferences. Israel, which was criticized for using cluster munitions in Lebanon [JURIST report] during the most recent Middle East conflict, also did not attend. Another meeting is scheduled for Vienna in December.

Cluster munitions have been used by at least 23 countries; at least 34 nations have produced more than 200 different types of cluster munitions. Cluster munitions are considered by many to be inaccurate weapons designed to spread damage indiscriminately and could therefore be considered illegal [CMC backgrounder] under multiple provisions of Protocol I [text] of the Geneva Conventions (1977). Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Canada [official website] unanimously ruled [judgment] Friday that there exists no constitutional right to access legal services in Canada. The holding overturned two lower court decisions that had declared British Columbia's seven percent tax on legal fees unconstitutional because it made hiring a lawyer prohibitively expensive for low-income people. The case was originally brought against the BC provincial government by Dugald Christie [personal blog], a British Columbia lawyer and founder of the Western Canada Society to Access Justice [advocacy website]. Christie was hit by a car and killed last year while on a cross-Canada bicycling trip to draw attention to his cause.

British Columbia [government website] is the only Canadian province to tax legal fees. The tax was established in 1993 for the purpose of funding a program that provides legal services to low income people for no cost. The tax money is considered part of general revenue, however, and the high court said it was hard to tell how much of the money actually went to that purpose. Bloomberg has more.

[JURIST] A federal prosecutor said Friday that former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby should receive 2 1/2 to 3 years in prison for blocking the investigation into the Valerie Plame CIA leak case [JURIST news archives]. In papers filed with the US District Court for the District of Columbia Friday, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald [official website] wrote:

Particularly in a case such as this, where Mr. Libby was a high-ranking government official whose falsehoods were central to issues in a significant criminal investigation, it is important that this court impose a sentence that accurately reflects the value the judicial system places on truth-telling in criminal investigations.

[JURIST] Toronto Mayor David Miller [official website] Friday condemned a Wednesday shooting at a Toronto Ontario high school that left a 15-year-old student dead and called for a complete ban on handguns to prevent similar incidents in the future. Despite an increased police presence in the city to combat gang activity, Miller admitted the Canadian metropolis has so far been unsuccessful in eliminating gun violence. He insisted the problem requires federal action to close legal loopholes that allow target shooters and gun collectors to own firearms. Miller said most of the illegal handguns confiscated in Toronto are either stolen from collectors or illegally imported from the US. Miller's call was echoed by Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, who said in an open letter to federal leaders that "Handguns are designed for one purpose only -- to shoot people -- and should have no place in Ontario or anywhere in Canada." CTV News has more. Canadian Press has additional coverage.

In 2005, Miller blamed weak US gun laws for a surge of gun violence [JURIST report] in Toronto after a fifteen year-old girl was killed and six bystanders were injured in a random shooting spree on a busy downtown shopping street. Former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin proposed a nationwide handgun ban [JURIST report] in 2005 during his losing national re-election campaign. In 2006, the Ontario Attorney General asked the Canadian federal government for the power to ban handguns [JURIST report]. Current laws make handgun ownership illegal, except for collectors.

[JURIST] Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer [official profile] Friday vetoed a constitutional amendment that would have changed the country's election procedures to allow the president to be elected by direct vote rather than selected by parliamentarians. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) [party website, in Turkish; Wikipedia backgrounder] pushed through the amendment after opposition lawmakers, fearing that sole presidential candidate Abdullah Gul [official website] would try to implement more Islamic laws in Turkey's secularist state structure, refused to participate in the parliamentary vote. The amendment would have shortened the presidential term from seven to five years, allowed presidents to serve multiple terms, and mandated that general elections be held every four years, instead of every five years as currently stipulated.

Gul ended his parliamentary candidacy when opposition lawmakers refused to participate in a second parliamentary vote [JURIST report]. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan [Wikipedia profile] has said his government will push the amendment through parliament again. By Turkish law, the president cannot veto the same legislation twice; he must either approve it or call a referendum. The Guardian has more.

[JURIST] UK Attorney General Lord Goldsmith [official profile] Friday rejected a Russian offer to try the suspected murderer of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko [BBC profile; BBC timeline; JURIST news archive] in its own courts, calling for Andrei Lugovoy's extradition to the United Kingdom. The Russian government has refused to turn Lugovoy over to the UK, saying that the Russian constitution forbids it, but Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika said he will try Lugovoy in Russian courts if presented with ample evidence of guilt. Goldsmith said that the murder of a UK citizen on UK soil should be tried where the evidence is.

Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CRS) [official website] found sufficient evidence to charge [press release; JURIST report] Lugovoy with murder on Tuesday. Litvinenko and Lugovoy, both former employees of the Russian state security agency, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) [official website, in Russian], met on November 1, 2006, hours before Litvinenko fell ill of radioactive poisoning from polonium-210 [CDC backgrounder]. Litvinenko died on November 26. Reuters has more. AP has additional coverage.

[JURIST] The military government of Myanmar [JURIST news archive] Friday extended the house arrest of pro-democracy advocate and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi [advocacy website; BBC profile] for another year, rejecting calls for her release by both national and international human rights activists. The move, which forces Suu Kyi to remain in her home for a fifth straight year, was widely criticized. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that he "regrets" Myanmar's decision [statement] and is determined to continue working to restore democracy in the country. US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said the decision was inexcusable [statement], and called for the international community to put additional pressure on the Myanmar government.

Before Friday's decision, calls for Suu Kyi's release came from the US State Department [statement], UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour [statement; JURIST report], 59 former heads of state [press release], and others. The extension was widely expected, as activists in Myanmar calling for Suu Kyi's release were briefly arrested [JURIST report] last week by the military government. Suu Kyi has spent 11 of the past 17 years in prison or under house arrest for alleged violations of an anti-subversion law [text]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The European Commission [official website] said Friday that an independent advisory panel will investigate [press briefing] Internet search engine giant Google [corporate website] to determine whether it complies with EU privacy rules [EU Data Protection website]. The Article 29 Data Protection Working Party [official website], which advises the commission on data protection and privacy, drafted a letter to Google questioning the company's policy of retaining user information for up to two years. The letter was shown to Commission Vice President Franco Frattini [official website], who found the questions "appropriate and legitimate." The Working Party expects answers by early June, and next meets at the end of that month.

Last month numerous Internet privacy groups in the United States filed a Federal Trade Commission complaint [PDF text; JURIST report] against Google, following reports that the company was planning to buy Internet advertising company DoubleClick [corporate website]. The groups requested that the FTC block the proposed merger [agreement text; SEC press release] until the agency conducts an investigation, claiming that the merger would allow Google to match users' personal information with their Internet usage history and habits. AP has more.

[JURIST] Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko [official website; JURIST news archive] ordered Ukraine's interior ministry troops to come under his command [press release] Friday as a new crisis over Yushchenko's Thursday dismissal [JURIST report] of the country's top prosecutor escalated, but Prime Minister Victor Yanukovych and Interior Minister Vasyl Tsushko [appointment announcement] defied the move, calling it unconstitutional. Yushchenko said the decree was necessary "given yesterday's events in the Prosecutor General's Office." After Yushchenko fired Prosecutor General Svyatoslav Piskun, Tsushko dispatched police to form a protective chain around the office to prevent Piskun's removal. Yushchenko has characterized Tsushko's actions as criminal [press release] and called for an investigation.

In a televised address [transcript, in Ukrainian] Thursday, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych denounced the attempt by Yushchenko to replace Piskun [ITAR-TASS report] as illegal. Ukraine has been mired in a broad constitutional crisis since Yushchenko issued a decree dissolving parliament [JURIST report] on April 2. After Yanukovych and parliament filed a legal challenge before the Constitutional Court of Ukraine [official website; JURIST news archive], Yushchenko dismissed three Constitutional Court judges for alleged oath and ethnics violations [JURIST report] and appointed replacement judges [JURIST report] without consulting either Yanukovych or the Justice Ministry. The International Herald Tribune has more.

[JURIST] The US Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility [official website] has expanded its investigation [JURIST report] into whether department aides illegally made hiring decisions based on consideration of applicants' political beliefs, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. The move follows Wednesday's testimony [JURIST report] to the House Judiciary Committee by former DOJ aide Monica Goodling [JURIST news archive], where she admitted making hiring decisions based on political party affiliation. The DOJ also said that it found no evidence to support Goodling's claim that the practice was approved by officials in the department.

Goodling was testifying about her role in the firings of eight US Attorneys [JURIST news archive]. She disputed testimony by resigning Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, and claimed that at least one US Attorney was fired to open a spot for a protege of Karl Rove. The Los Angeles Times has more.

[JURIST] Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison [official profile] filed a lawsuit [press release] Thursday to test the constitutionality of a new Kansas law restricting protests at military funerals [JURIST report]. The law, signed by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius last month, will not take effect until it is upheld as constitutional by the Kansas Supreme Court or a federal court. Morrison's lawsuit, filed in consultation with the Kansas legislature, is necessary because the Kansas Supreme Court does not issue advisory opinions. Morrison also requested an expedited hearing, hoping to obtain a court ruling by July 1.

The law was passed in response to picketing at military funerals by members of the Westboro Baptist Church [WARNING: readers may find material at this church website offensive; Wikipedia backgrounder], who claim that US soldiers have been killed because America tolerates homosexuals. The law will "prohibit persons from engaging in picketing or a directed protest within 150 yards of any entrance" where a funeral is held or "conducted within one hour prior to, during the funeral, or within two hours following the funereal." The law will also allow defamation lawsuits "by the estate on behalf of the person or any living relative of the deceased person" against protesters. More than 30 states have passed similar laws in response to the group, and a federal law [JURIST report] restricting protests at Arlington National Cemetery and other federal cemeteries has also been passed. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld [opinion, PDF] the fraud convictions of Adelphia Communications [corporate website] founder John J. Rigas and son Timothy J. Rigas on all but one count Thursday, reversing and acquitting the defendants on one lesser count of bank fraud. The defendants argued that the fraud convictions should be reversed because the jury was not presented with expert testimony concerning accounting regulations, but the appeals court rejected the argument, saying that the government does not need to present such expert testimony because the jury "could have reasonably found that the defendants committed fraud" and "intentionally mislead investors" without being made aware of specific accounting regulations.

The defendants were convicted in 2004 of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to make and cause to be made false statements in filings with the SEC, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, fifteen counts of securities fraud and two counts of bank fraud. In 2005, John Rigas was sentenced [JURIST report] to 15 years in prison, while Timothy Rigas was sentenced to 20 years in prison. In November 2005, another son, Michael Rigas, pleaded guilty to falsifying a financial record [JURIST report] and was sentenced to ten months in prison under a plea agreement. AP has more.

[JURIST] Mexico's National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) [official website], an independent government council tasked with investigating alleged abuses of human rights in Mexico, issued a report Thursday criticizing the Mexican federal government's response to a May 2006 teachers' strike that escalated into an uprising in the Mexican state of Oaxaca [BBC backgrounder], saying that the federal government's intervention was "unjustifiably delayed for more than a month and half." The CNDH said that delay allowed protesters to occupy the state capital for five months after state authorities were overwhelmed. In the absence of government order, Mexican paramilitary groups and protesters clashed, resulting in the death of at least 12 people, including Bradley Roland Will, a journalist-activist from New York whose death led then-Mexican President Vicente Fox [official profile] to dispatch federal troops to restore order. The report also criticized Oaxaca prosecutors for failing to investigate the facts behind Will's death, or indict suspects for his killing. The report did not attribute sole responsibility to the Mexican government, also faulting the protesters for "[committing] excesses" like mistreating locals of Oaxaca.

The CNDH received 1,352 separate human rights complaints and found hundreds to be credible, including complaints that police officers tortured at least 13 protesters while they were being transported to detention facilities. Last October, a UN human rights expert expressed concerns over rights violations in Oaxaca [JURIST report] such as "killing and wounding by gunfire of innocent victims, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, illegal searches, and breaches of due process" by Mexican police and paramilitaries. In December 2006, Mexican police arrested the Oaxaca uprising leader [JURIST report] on five charges, including kidnapping and robbery. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Senate has scheduled debate and a vote on a resolution expressing the Senate's lack of confidence [JURIST report] in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [JURIST news archive] for mid-June. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) [official website] said Thursday that 26 Democratic senators join him in co-sponsoring the no-confidence resolution. A decision whether to recruit Republican co-sponsors will be made next week. Debate on the no-confidence resolution is expected to proceed after the Senate completes work on comprehensive immigration reform.

On Wednesday, former US Department of Justice (DOJ) aide Monica Goodling [JURIST news archive] testified before the House Judiciary Committee about the controversial firings of US attorneys [JURIST news archive], contradicting claims by Gonzales in March that he "was not involved in any discussions" about the firings. Documents disclosed in March also contradict Gonzales' claims of limited involvement [JURIST report]. Last Sunday, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) [official profile], the top Republican member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that he believed a "sizable number" of Republican members of Congress would join Democrats [JURIST report] in a vote of no-confidence. Specter also said he had a "sense" that Gonzales may step down before the vote. Bloomberg has more. AP has additional coverage.

[JURIST] The US Congress passed the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 Thursday, raising the federal minimum wage for the first time in almost a decade. The provision was introduced as an amendment to the Iraq War Supplemental Budget [HR 2006 summary], and will raise the current minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $5.85 an hour within 60 days of enactment and to $7.25 an hour within two years of enactment. The provision, and the Iraq war spending bill, passed the Senate 80-14 and the House 280-142. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) [official website] called the raise "long overdue" and criticized Republicans for preventing previous minimum wage bills from passing earlier this year by joining measures that would give tax breaks to businesses. The White House voiced support for the increase, but spokesperson Tony Fratto said that we would "very much prefer that it be paired with appropriate offsets for small businesses who would be disproportionately impacted by the minimum-wage increase." A $4.9 billion tax package also passed along with the minimum wage bill.

The National Restaurant Association (NRA) [official website], which represents an industry that employs approximately 12.8 million workers in 935,000 locations, issued a statement [text] Thursday criticizing the minimum wage increase, saying that it "will cost our industry jobs... [and] that the current $4.9 billion tax package" would not provide sufficient relief for employers most impacted. The NRA claims that the industry "lost more than 146,000 jobs" and delayed the employment of 106,000 new employees as a result of the 40-cent minimum wage increase in 1997. AP has more.