[JURIST] Republicans introduced the Secure Borders FIRST (For Integrity, Reform, Safety and anti-Terrorism) Act [press release] to the US House of Representatives Tuesday as a challenge to the White House-sponsored immigration proposal. The bill declares English the nation's official language, requires background checks on all workers, bars all current illegal immigrants from gaining legal status, and calls for an additional 18,000 border patrolmen to be in place by 2008. The proposal also includes a seven-page rebuke of President Bush's approach to immigration reform.

The bill's authors, Reps. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Peter King (R-NY) [official websites], created the bill as a direct response to the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 [S 1348 summary; JURIST report] currently on hold in the US Senate. The Los Angeles Times has more.

[JURIST] The US Department of Defense [official website] announced Tuesday that six detainees have been transferred [press release] from the military prison at Guantanamo Bay and into the custody of other home countries. Two of the transfers were to Tunisia and the four other detainees were transferred to Yemen. The detainees became eligible for transfer from the US military prison after completing a series of reviews. Eighty other current Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainees have completed the same review and are eligible for transfer or release in the future.

In March, the DOD cleared 55 Guantanamo detainees [JURIST report] for transfer to other prisons. Two more were transferred [JURIST report], one to Morocco and one to Afghanistan, in April. In May, Yemen agreed to receive most of the Yemeni detainees [JURIST report] held at Guantanamo. Earlier this month, the DOD transferred [JURIST report] Abdullahi Sudi Arale, a suspected East Africa al Qaeda courier captured in Somalia, to Guantanamo Bay. Since 2002, approximately 405 detainees have been transferred out of Guantanamo and approximately 375 remain.

[JURIST] The Somalia transitional government [official website] offered amnesty Tuesday to the former Islamic extremist group that controlled the capital of Mogadishu [JURIST report] last year. The declaration was announced hours after an assassination attempt [Reuters report] against presidential spokesman Hussein Mohamed Mahamud "Hubsired." The government announced that the move was intended to foster a sense of good will before its scheduled July 15 reconciliation talks with the Islamic Courts Party [BBC profile]. It has not yet been announced how many prisoners will be pardoned.

In January, the transitional government began imposing martial law [JURIST report] over areas under the government's control, two weeks after martial law was approved by parliament [JURIST report]. Somalia has suffered through an internal civil war and several failed peace talks since the collapse of civilian government in 1991. Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Ghedi [BBC profile] has survived three assassination attempts in recent months. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Kuwait [official backgrounder] Tuesday affirmed death sentences [JURIST report] for two of six Islamist militants convicted in 2005 for their involvement in a clash with police that left several people dead, but commuted the other four to life in prison. The men, members of an al Qaeda linked group called the Peninsula Lions [Wikipedia backgrounder], were convicted on a number of charges, including belonging to an extremist group and attempting to kill members of Kuwait's security forces and its allies. The four men whose sentences were commuted Tuesday had lost on their first appeal last year.

The men were among a group of 37 who were tried for their involvement with the Peninsula Lions. Of those, seven were acquitted, while the remainder received a range of prison sentences. Kuwait, a strong US ally, has cracked down on dissidents who oppose US military presence in the country. Thousands of US troops are currently stationed in Kuwait. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The UK justice minister told the House of Lords [official website] Tuesday that he has given authority to prison governors to "release on licence for offenders who are coming to the end of their sentence" [statement text] as a way to relieve overcrowding of prisons [BBC backgrounder; Guardian Q&A] across England and Wales. Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Lord Falconer of Thoroton [official profile] said that only prisoners who had been sentenced to terms of four years or less would be eligible for release, and even then, only up to 18 days early. Prisoners convicted of serious crimes, such as violent or sexual offenses, would be excluded. He added that 1500 new prison places would be made available starting in 2008, and construction would begin immediately to create the first 500.

Last year British Home Secretary John Reid [official profile] outlined steps to combat the problem of overcrowded prisons [JURIST report], but prison populations have continued to rise since that time. The BBC reports that jails are so crowded some prisoners are being housed in cells located in police stations and courts. Some conservatives opposed Falconer's plan, citing public safety and saying that the proper solution was to build more prisons. The UK Prison Governors Association had recommended that convicts be released a week early to relieve stress on the prison system. The measure will go into effect June 29. BBC has more.

[JURIST] UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Leandro Despouy [official website] Tuesday urged Iraq to stop carrying out death sentences [press release], saying that the use of capital punishment despite threats of violence against the judiciary and the continued lack of independent tribunals and adequate defense counsel violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [texts]. Despouy specifically urged the Iraqi government to not execute Mahmoud Sa'eed, the confessed co-conspirator in the August 2003 Canal Hotel bombing [Wikipedia backgrounder] that killed 22 people, saying that Sa'eed's conviction was illegal given the continued lack of due process.

In April, Amnesty International reported that more than 270 people have been sentenced to death [JURIST report] in Iraq since 2005, and more than 100 have actually been executed. The report [text] found that Iraq's execution rate ranked as the world's forth highest since the reinstatement of the death penalty [JURIST news archive]. Iraqi officials have consistently dismissed criticisms of the country's use of capital punishment, saying that the death penalty is a fundamental component of implementing Islamic law. The UN News Service has more.

[JURIST] A Republican-sponsored amendment to a North Carolina bill [HB 818 materials] aimed at allowing capital punishment [JURIST news archive] to resume in the state failed Monday when state House Democrats struck down language that would have forbidden the North Carolina Medical Board (NCMB) [official website] from disciplining a doctor for participating in an execution [NCMB position statement]. The amendment, proposed by Republican House Minority Leader Paul Stam [official website], was killed without any debate on the subject. Democratic House Speaker Joe Hackney [official website] said that it would make more sense to wait until the court reaches a decision on a pending case [JURIST report] regarding lethal injection and the roles of physicians in capital punishment before passing any new legislation.

Early this year, the NCMB changed its policy on capital punishment saying that "physician participation... is a departure from the ethics of the medical profession," threatening to revoke doctors' licenses if they assisted in the procedure. As North Carolina law requires the presence of licensed physicians, this halted capital punishment in the state [JURIST report]. A previous attempt [JURIST report] in February to shield doctors from the state medical board stalled in committee [SB 114 bill materials]. The Charlotte Observer has more.

[JURIST] Thai police Tuesday charged former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] with concealing assets and illegally holding stock in publicly listed companies, as interim Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont [official profile; BBC profile] repeated his previous guarantee for Thaksin's personal safety [JURIST report]. Department of Special Investigations (DSI) Director General Sunai Manomaiudom ordered Thaksin to return to Thailand to face charges and said that the government had strong evidence that Thaksin and his wife, Pojaman Shinawatra, secretly held stock in the SC Assets Corp PCL [Wright Investors profile], a Shinawatra family-owned real estate development company. Thai law prohibits cabinet ministers from holding stock in publicly traded companies and requires them to disclose their assets. The DSI will issue an arrest warrant for Thaksin and Potjaman if they do not voluntarily return to face charges before June 29. If convicted, Thaksin and Potjaman will face no more than five years in prison and could face a maximum fine of $112 million, double the value of the alleged hidden stock holdings.

Last Tuesday, Chulanont invited Thaksin to return to Thailand to challenge allegations made against him and the recent seizure of $1.5 billion in assets [JURIST reports] amassed from the sale of the telecommunication company Thaksin founded in the 1980s. Thaksin, who has been in exile since a September 2006 military coup [JURIST report], had previously been warned to stay out of Thailand until a December general election. AP has more. Xinhua has additional coverage.

[JURIST] Members of the UN Human Rights Council (UNCHR) [official website; JURIST news archive] on Monday reached an agreement [press release] on final rules governing the body, agreeing to a final text that requires proposed resolutions condemning human rights violators to have the support of at least 15 members before they can be submitted to the 47-member body for a simple majority vote. The agreement, pushed by UNHRC chair Luis Alfonso de Alba [JURIST report], will also establish a system of periodic reviews for all UN member states, a move intended to dispel criticism that the UNHRC is biased. The proposal will also maintain the current system of annual report on specific areas such as Haiti, Somalia, Congo, Sudan, Myanmar, North Korea, and the Palestinian territories, while dropping investigations on the status of human rights in Cuba and Belarus.

The resolution proposal requirement is a compromise between China, which had sought a two-thirds majority threshold, and the European Union [JURIST news archives], which wished to maintain simple majority voting. De Alba also said that a "Code of Conduct" for investigators will be adopted, despite criticism from human rights groups who say that the code would infringe upon the independence of the investigators. The UN Human Rights Council was established to replace the UN Human Rights Commission, which was often criticized for allowing states with poor human rights records to become members. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled [PDF text] unanimously Monday that the warrantless search of e-mails stored on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) violates the Fourth Amendment [text], finding that e-mail users correctly maintain a reasonable expectation of privacy and rejecting the government's contention that an ISP's right to screen e-mails for spam and inappropriate content diminished that expectation. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Center for Democracy and Technology [advocacy websites] filed an amici curiae brief [PDF text] in the lawsuit [case materials], arguing that privacy expectations in e-mail communications are analogous to the expectations of privacy that accompany conventional postal mail or telephone communications by e-mail, and urging the court to extend privacy expectation rulings from conventional modes of communication.

The ruling, which upheld a district court injunction [PDF text] barring the federal government from warrantlessly searching any personal e-mail accounts maintained by ISPs, is the first in the federal court system. Federal prosecutors may appeal to have the case heard en banc or before the Supreme Court. AP has more.

[JURIST] Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer [BBC profile] vetoed a bill Monday that sought to hold a national referendum on whether the president should be elected by popular vote, on the grounds that it conflicted with the Turkish constitution [text]. The proposed national referendum, approved in parliament and supported [JURIST report] by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan [BBC program] and Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) [party website, in Turkish; Wikipedia backgrounder], was to be held the same day as parliamentary elections on July 22. The secularist opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) [party website, in Turkish] has requested that the Constitutional Court of Turkey [official website, in Turkish] overturn a constitutional amendment [JURIST report] adopted by parliament in May that will allow Turks to vote for their president directly. The high court is expected to rule on the challenge Tuesday.

In May, Sezer vetoed [JURIST report] the amendment, but the parliament overrode his veto by passing the amendment for a second time [JURIST report]. The AKP began its push for direct presidential elections [JURIST report] after Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul [official website] dropped out of the presidential race. Opposition lawmakers had refused to participate in a scheduled parliamentary vote, and in April the Constitutional Court annulled [JURIST report] the first round of the presidential balloting [JURIST report] because a two-thirds quorum of legislators did not participate in the vote as required by the constitution. AP has more.

[JURIST] Lawyers representing approximately three million Vietnamese plaintiffs appealed the dismissal [PDF text; JURIST report] of their civil lawsuit to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit [official website] Monday. The plaintiffs argued that more than 30 American chemical companies should be held liable for billions of dollars in compensatory damages and environmental cleanup costs for producing and supplying defoliants like Agent Orange [VA backgrounder], which were sprayed in Vietnam during the war to destroy forest cover and render crops unusable. The plaintiffs argued that the companies were aware that defoliants, which often contained dioxin [NIH backgrounder; WHO backgrounder] - a known teratogen and suspected carcinogen, was harmful but continued to supply the approximately 18 million gallons used by the US military in Vietnam. The chemical companies argued that the defoliants were not intended to injure people and therefore not subject to prohibitions against the use of poisons in international rules of war. The defendants also said that a favorable ruling for the plaintiffs could hinder the United States' ability to wage war, citing the current use of depleted uranium [IAEA backgrounder] used by the US military in munitions and armor plating.

The 2005 district court ruling dismissed the plaintiff's lawsuit on the grounds that dioxin could not be considered a banned poison under the international rules of war and that the plaintiffs failed to proved Agent Orange caused their injuries. In 1984, chemical manufacturers reached a private settlement with over 10,000 US war veterans. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The UK government is planning to proceed with proposals [consultation paper, PDF] designed to increase rape convictions despite objections [JURIST report] from the Council of Circuit Judges (COCJ) [official website], the Guardian reported Monday. Solicitor General Mike O'Brien [official profile] said that the reforms, including a proposal to allow expert testimony to dispel rape myths and the automatic introduction of videotaped interviews with rape victims when they first go to authorities, must proceed because of record low [BBC report] rape convictions in the UK.

The government is likely to drop a proposal to legally define the point at which an individual becomes too intoxicated to consent, which the COCJ criticized as being too complicated to apply. The COJC said it would prefer to leave the issue to be decided on a case-by-case basis by juries. Rape convictions in the UK declined from 33 percent of reported rapes in 1977 to 5.7 percent in 2006. The Guardian has more.

[JURIST] UN Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Larry Johnson called for greater acceptance of the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism [PDF text] Monday, noting an "urgent need to enhance international cooperation" to both prevent terrorism and punish terrorists. Johnson was moderating a panel discussion between experts on the topic of nuclear terrorism [press release, PDF] at the time. The panel noted that a few weeks ago Bangladesh became the 22nd country to ratify or accede to the treaty, meeting the minimum number of signatories to become international law. It will come into force on July 7.

In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin [official profile] signed a bill officially ratifying the treaty [JURIST report]. Russia proposed the treaty and became its first signatory in 2005 [JURIST report], after several years of negotiations between nuclear and non-nuclear nations. The UN News Service has more.

[JURIST] The US House of Representatives Oversight Committee [official website] said Monday that e-mail records for 51 of 88 White House officials being investigated [interim report, PDF] for potential Presidential Records Act (PRA) violations were missing [press release], finding that there have been "extensive destruction" of e-mail records of officials who used accounts issued by the Republican National Committee (RNC). The Oversight Committee found that the White House heavily relied upon RNC e-mail accounts to circumvent the PRA, which requires the preservation of presidential records on all "activities, deliberations, decisions, and policies that reflect the performance of his constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties."

The committee also found that more than 88 White House officials were issued RNC e-mails, contradicting claims by the White House in March that only a "handful of officials" used RNC e-mail accounts, though White House spokesperson Dana Perino subsequently said that as many as 50 officials used the accounts. The committee said that it will seek to recover the lost records from federal agencies that were often the recipients of the e-mails, and will seek to expand the investigation into whether former White House Counsel and current Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [JURIST news archive] was aware of the use of RNC e-mail accounts by White House officials and if Gonzales took steps to preserve the RNC e-mail records pursuant to the PRA. In April, US Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) [official website] blasted the White House [JURIST report] for failing to turn over all documents, including "lost" e-mails, requested by the Judiciary Committee in its investigation into the controversial firings of at least eight US Attorneys [JURIST news archive]. The White House has said that the RNC e-mail accounts were used to avoid violating the Hatch Act [backgrounder], which prohibits the use of government resources for political purposes. AP has more.

[JURIST] President Bush's use of bill signing statements [1993 DOJ backgrounder; JURIST news archive] has led to several instances where provisions of laws have been ignored in favor of the Bush administration's interpretation, according to a report [PDF text] released Monday by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) [official website]. At the request of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) [official websites], the GAO looked at fiscal year 2006 appropriations acts. Signing statements were attached to 11 of 12 such acts, singling out 160 separate provisions that Bush objected to or said raised constitutional concerns. The GAO reviewed a sample of 19 of those provisions and found that federal agencies did not execute six provisions as directed by Congress, executed 10 provisions as directed, while the remaining 3 were not "triggered." In one specific instance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency [official website] refused to submit to Congress a proposal and expenditure plan because the White House interpreted it as a violation of the "bicamerialism and presentment clauses of the US Constitution" as interpreted by the Supreme Court in INS v. Chadha [opinion text].

The GAO also reviewed whether presidential signing statements were used by federal courts in their interpretation of legislation, and found that the courts rarely cited signing statements, saying that the "most common use of signing statements was to supplement legislative history such as committee reports." Conyers said [press release] that the signing statements are an example of "the Administration thumbing its nose at the law," while Byrd said that "The White House cannot pick and choose which laws it follows and which it ignores. When a president signs a bill into law, the president signs the entire bill." In April, a Congressional Research Service report found that Bush has used signing statements 149 times during his administration, 85 percent of which raised some objection to a legislation. Bush's predecessors, such as Presidents Ronald Reagan and President Bill Clinton, raised objections in 26 percent and 27 percent of their signing statements.

Critics of the procedure, including Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and ranking Republican Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) [official websites] have said that Bush's signing statements impermissibly intrude [statement] upon Congress's power to write and enact laws under Article I of the Constitution [text], which vests "[a]ll legislative powers herein granted" in Congress. In July 2006, the American Bar Association [official website] criticized the practice [JURIST report] as undermining congressional authority. The US Department of Justice, however, has said that Bush's frequent use of signing statements is not abnormal [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] UK Prime Minister Tony Blair [official profile] said Monday that there were four elements he would not accept in any EU treaty. In remarks [transcript] made to the House of Commons Liaison Committee [official website], Blair acknowledged that it was an important that the EU "work more effectively" as an organization, but said that it doesn't need a real or de facto constitutional treaty [JURIST news archive]. Blair said:

Europe needs to work more effectively. What it does not need is a Constitutional Treaty or a treaty with the characteristics of a constitution, to put it in the words that the Dutch have used. In my view, we should be very clear about this - and it gives me an opportunity today to make this absolutely clear - here and also to our European colleagues. First, we will not accept a treaty that allows the Charter of Fundamental Rights to change UK law in any way. Secondly, we will not agree to something which displaces the role of British foreign policy and our foreign minister. Thirdly, we will not agree to give up our ability to control our common law and judicial and police system. Fourthly, we will not agree to anything that moves to Qualified Majority Voting, something that can have a big say in our own tax and benefit system, we must have the right in those circumstances to determine it by unanimity. Now, those are four major changes, obviously, in what was agreed before, and that is the position we will set out and if people want an agreement, I am afraid we are going to have to agree on that.