[JURIST] UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions [official website] Philip Alston [NYU Law profile] Tuesday urged [press release] Guatemalan lawmakers not to override a presidential veto of a bill that would restore the country's death penalty in a way he said would be contrary to international human rights law. Alston said:

This law can only be intended as an end-run around the requirements of international human rights law. If the Congress is so keen to uphold the rule of law by reinstating the death penalty it should do so in accordance with the international rule of law and not ignore the rulings of both the UN Human Rights Committee and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights directed at Guatemala.

[JURIST] German prosecutors Tuesday charged [press release, in German] the chair of the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) [party website, in German] with libel and inciting racial hatred for comments he made about a German soccer player. Udo Voigt [party profile, in German] and two other party officials allegedly published a pamphlet and circulated online messages before the 2006 World Cup saying that soccer player Patrick Owomoyela [team profile] should not be on the German soccer team because he is black. The NPD has called the charges "absurd" [NPD press release, in German].

Voigt has been under scrutiny for racial remarks since August 2007, when he nominated a Nazi officer for the Nobel Peace Prize [Spiegel report]. In 2005, the president of Germany's Constitutional Court [official website] said that despite the failure of past government efforts, the NPD could still be banned under German law [JURIST report], renewing interest in outlawing the controversial group. To date the Federal Ministry of the Interior has banned [backgrounder] 24 right-wing extremist groups. Reuters has more. Spiegel Online has local coverage.

[JURIST] US President W. George Bush on Tuesday issued presidential pardons [DOJ materials] to 15 people convicted of crimes that ranged from drug offenses to wire fraud to violations of fish and wildlife regulations. He also commuted the sentence of a woman convicted of conspiracy to distribute crack-cocaine.

Bush has issued a total of 157 pardons in his seven years as president, among the fewest of any president [US DOJ clemency statistics] since World War II. Former Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Reagan issued 457, 77, and 406 respectively during their terms in office. Former President Truman granted the most pardons, at 2,031. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Bush administration has asked Congress to shield Libya [JURIST news archive] from a measure in the newly-passed National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 [HR 4986 materials; JURIST report] that would allow victims of state-sponsored terrorism to sue for that country's assets held in the US. The military spending law, signed by US President George W. Bush [Specter press release] in January with bipartisan support, contains a provision - Section 1083 - which allows private lawsuits against countries designated by the US as a state sponsor of terror. Bush rejected a previous version [press release] that made the provision applicable to Iraq, but ultimately signed the law after it was updated to allow a presidential waiver [WH memorandum] to exempt that country. A March 18 letter from top administration officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, to Congressional leaders seeks an additional waiver for Libya.

In 2004, Bush lifted decades-old sanctions [JURIST report] against Libya after it agreed to dismantle its weapons programs and to acknowledge its history of state-sanctioned terror, including an agreement to accept responsibility [US DOS press release] for the 1988 bombing of Pam Am flight 103 [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] and to compensate the victims' families. In January, a US federal court ruled that the Libyan government and six Libyan officials should pay more than $6 billion in damages [plaintiff press release; JURIST report] to families of seven Americans who died in the 1989 bombing of French passenger jet UTA Flight 772 [BBC backgrounder], having previously found that Libya was responsible for the bombing. Proponents of the National Defense Authorization Act provision argue that allowing seizure of Libyan assets in the US will permit just compensation to terror victims. AP has more

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Tuesday overturned [opinion, PDF] a New York law requiring airlines to provide passengers on seriously delayed flights with basic amenities, ventilation, and waste removal, holding that federal law preempts state airline regulation. Last August, New York became the first state to pass an Airline Passenger Bill of Rights [text; press release] prompted by delays at Kennedy International Airport that saw passengers held on board without food or water for up to 10 hours. The Air Transport Association of America (ATA) [trade website] challenged the law, arguing that "a patchwork of laws by states and localities would be impractical and harmful to consumer interests." The court ruled that the New York law is preempted by the federal Airline Deregulation Act [49 USC 41713(b)(1) text], which bars state regulation "related to a price, route, or service of an air carrier that may provide air transportation." The ATA praised the decision [press release] as a victory for airlines and passengers. AP has more.

In 2006, the European Court of Justice upheld an air passengers' rights law that requires airlines to pay compensation to passengers [JURIST reports] as well as provide food, lodging or a trip back to the point of departure in the event of long flight delays, overbooking and cancellation on flights to and from the European Union. The International Air Transport Association and the European Low Fares Airline Association [trade websites] had challenged the EU regulation, arguing the law was too costly to implement and some conditions were outside of the airlines' control. The court ruled [text] that the regulation did not violate the Montreal Convention [text] and did not violate the principle of proportionality.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] heard oral arguments [transcript, PDF] Tuesday in the consolidated cases of Munaf v. Geren and Geren v. Omar [LII case backgrounder; merit briefs], 06-1666, and 07-394, where the Court is considering whether federal courts have jurisdiction over habeas corpus petitions filed by American citizens detained by US military personnel operating under a multinational force. The cases also present the issue of whether a federal court would have jurisdiction over a habeas petition filed by an American citizen if a foreign court convicted the citizen of a crime, but the citizen is still in the physical custody of American authorities. Mohammad Munaf [JURIST news archive] was convicted and sentenced to death for the kidnapping of three Romanian journalists in Baghdad, and the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in April 2007 that it lacked authority to interfere [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] with the Iraqi court case. Two months earlier, however, the same court ruled that Shawqi Omar [JURIST news archive], arrested for allegedly harboring insurgents in Iraq, has a right to argue his case in US courts. The appeals court blocked Omar's transfer to Iraqi courts [opinion, PDF; JURIST report]. Earlier this month, Munaf's conviction was overturned [JURIST report] by an Iraqi appeals court. Lawyers for the detainees argued that because they are in US custody, they should have access to US courts, but several justices seemed to reject that argument, noting that could lead to any Multi-National Force-Iraq detainee challenging their arrest in US courts. AP has more.

The Court also heard oral arguments [transcript, PDF] in United States v. Ressam [Duke Law case backgrounder; merit briefs], 07-455, where "millennium bomber" Ahmed Ressam is challenging his conviction under 18 USC § 844(h)(2) [text], which authorizes a mandatory minimum ten year jail term for anyone carrying explosives while committing a felony. In Ressam's case, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed the count [PDF opinion] as the underlying felony - lying on customs papers - was not related to the explosives charge. Ressam has been sentenced to 22 years in prison [JURIST report] for plotting to blow up Los Angeles International Airport on New Year's Eve 1999. US Attorney General Michael Mukasey argued the case on behalf of the government. AP has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Op-ed: No Refuge from Habeas: Protecting US Citizens Held by US Forces | Comment: Oral arguments in Munaf and Omar

[JURIST] Lawyers for Guatemalan adoption agency Casa Quivira [agency website] have been charged with human trafficking [JURIST news archive] as a result of irregularities discovered in the agency's records, the defendants' lawyers said Monday. The investigation began in August, when government authorities raided the premises of Casa Quivira and removed 46 infants who were awaiting adoption by families in the United States. Prosecutors discovered that at least five of the children's mothers had provided false identities when offering their children for adoption, raising doubts as to whether the children may have been kidnapped. Reports by the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission [advocacy website] have said that child trafficking is on the rise [PDF text] in Guatemala and have urged the passage of laws regulating the adoption process.

The lawyers, whose trial officially began on Monday, claimed that they had no way of determining whether the identification provided by adoption mothers was authentic; they also accused prosecutors of improperly influencing the judge. Guatemala [JURIST news archive] is the second most popular destination after China for US families seeking to adopt children, and nearly 25,000 Guatemalan children have been sent to the United States since 1990. AP has more. Univision has additional coverage, in Spanish.

[JURIST] Nepalese police arrested at least 100 Tibetan monks, refugees, and other protesters near the Chinese Embassy [embassy website, in English] in Kathmandu Tuesday as demonstrations continued against China's recent crackdown against pro-Tibet protests [BBC backgrounder]. The new arrests follow the arrest of at least 400 protesters Monday and 50 more [JURIST reports] last week. Since demonstrations began earlier this month, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights [official website] has criticized Nepal [press release, PDF] for its actions against protesters and for restricting the right to peaceful assembly.

Rights groups have criticized China for ongoing human rights violations [HRW materials] targeted at Tibetans, and many call for the total independence [advocacy website] of the currently "semi-autonomous" region. The Dalai Lama, who accused China last week of committing "cultural genocide" [JURIST report] in Tibet, has encouraged the protests but said he will step down [AFP report] if the violence in the region worsens. AP has more.

[JURIST] Saudi Arabia should enact a written penal code to protect the rights of criminal suspects and minors, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] said Tuesday in two reports [press release] released after a year-long HRW investigation into the Saudi Arabian justice system uncovered numerous human rights violations. One report [text] documented widespread use of arbitrary arrests and vague charges for behavior which is often not designated as criminal. The other report [text] cited the routine arrests of children for actions such as running away from home or being alone with a member of the opposite sex. HRW called on Saudi Arabia [JURIST news archive] to enact widespread reforms to its criminal justice system, including providing protections for the exercise of freedom of expression and speech, ending the death penalty for offenders under the age of 18, and reinforcing the abolition of arbitrary arrests and due process violations.

Last month, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women [official website] called for Saudi Arabia to abolish laws that give men complete guardianship over women [JURIST report]. Under current Saudi law, women have few or no rights with respect to marriage, divorce, child custody, and property ownership. According to Saudi officials, the government is in the process of creating a written penal code. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Zimbabwe police arrested [MDC press release] a pilot and several members of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) [party website, in English] as they were arriving at Harare International Airport to deliver campaign materials, a MDC spokesman said Tuesday. The MDC has previously accused the government of using arbitrary arrests and "trumped up charges" to block it from participating in presidential elections scheduled for Saturday. Last Sunday, the MDC accused [JURIST report] Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] of plotting to commit election fraud by printing millions of surplus ballot papers in advance of Saturday's vote.

Mugabe, now 84 years old, has served as the head of government in Zimbabwe [JURIST news archive] since 1980, when the country attained independence from Britain. Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] raised doubts about the upcoming election in a report [text] last week, suggesting that it was likely to be "deeply flawed." Despite concerns about fairness, analysts project that the election poses the biggest threat to Mugabe's rule since he took office. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The South Korean National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) [official website, in English] said Tuesday that it will begin an official investigation of alleged human rights violations by North Korea, adding that it will begin the investigation by interviewing North Korean defectors in April. NHRCK spokesperson Lee Myung-jae said the organization has been annually collecting information from defectors from North Korea since 2004.

Earlier this month, the US State Department heavily criticized the rights record of North Korea [JURIST report], categorizing it as one of the world's top rights violators and accusing the North Korean regime of controlling almost all aspects of citizens' lives, denying freedom of speech, press assembly, and association, and restricting freedom of movement and workers' rights. In January, UN special rapporteur Vitit Muntarbhorn said that the North Korean regime has shown no improvement in its human rights record [JURIST report] and continues to systematically torture its citizens. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] handed down decisions in two cases Tuesday, including Medellin v. Texas [Duke Law case backgrounder; JURIST report], where the Court ruled that President Bush does not have the authority to direct a state court to comply with a ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Jose Ernesto Medellin [ASIL backgrounder], a Mexican national sentenced to death in Texas for raping and murdering two teenage girls, appealed a November 2006 ruling [text; JURIST report] from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals that President Bush "exceeded his constitutional authority" by ordering state court rehearings [JURIST report] for 51 Mexican nationals convicted in US courts. The president's February 2005 memorandum [text] instructed the Texas courts to follow a March 2004 ICJ decision [materials] that held that Medellin and the other Mexican nationals tried in US courts had been denied their Vienna Convention on Consular Relations [PDF text] right to contact the Mexican consulate for legal assistance and that the US was obligated to grant review and reconsideration of their convictions and sentences. The Supreme Court upheld the Texas court's decision in the case, holding that "neither [the ICJ decision] nor the President's Memorandum constitutes directly enforceable federal law that pre-empts state limitations on the filing of successive habeas petitions." Read the Court's opinion [text] per Chief Justice Roberts, along with a concurrence [text] from Justice Stevens and a dissent [text] from Justice Breyer. AP has more.

In Hall Street v. Mattel [Duke Law case backgrounder; JURIST report], the Court held that parties cannot contractually agree to supplement terms defining when a court can modify or vacate an arbitration award under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) [USC Title 9 text]. Hall Street Associates leased property to toy manufacturer Mattel and filed suit after Mattel failed to clean up contaminates from its on-site factory. The parties initially agreed to arbitrate the dispute, subject to judicial review of findings of fact and conclusions of law. Sections 10 and 11 of the FAA restricts judicial review of arbitration decisions for the purpose of vacating, modifying or correcting an award to limited instances, such as fraud, and the Court wrote that the statutory grounds found in those sections are exclusive:

The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA or Act), 9 U. S. C. §1 et seq., provides for expedited judicial review to confirm, vacate, or modify arbitration awards. §§9–11 (2000 ed. and Supp. V). The question here is whether statutory grounds for prompt vacatur and modification may be supplemented by contract. We hold that the statutory grounds are exclusive.

[JURIST] American Bar Association (ABA) [profession website] President William H. Neukom said in an op-ed [text] published on the ABA website Monday that American lawyers are "deeply troubled by six death penalty cases" being tried by the military commissions process at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]:

The defendants are charged with horrific crimes — assisting in the September 11 terror attacks. Those who are guilty must answer for the murder of thousands of Americans.

But it must also be clear, when the final gavel is struck, that their trials have been fair, impartial and just.

As a lawyer with 40 years' experience in criminal and civil cases, and as the head of a bar association that includes tens of thousands of prosecutors and defense lawyers, I have grave concerns about the process by which Guantanamo detainees will be tried.

Detainees cannot seek habeas corpus review — an 800-year-old process by which judges determine whether a defendant's imprisonment is appropriate. The Guantanamo defense office is understaffed, and restricted in its ability to meet confidentially with defendants.

Moreover, Pentagon and Justice Department officials have ruled that hearsay testimony and coerced confessions are admissible — even when obtained through techniques, such as "waterboarding," that are now illegal for military interrogators to apply.

No one questions the conscientious men and women who will try the Guantanamo detainees. But if basic due process is abridged this way, especially in death penalty cases, such trials are likely to leave a cloud of doubt and distrust, in the United States and abroad.

[JURIST] An city official with Farmers Branch, Texas [official website; JURIST news archive] said Monday that city officials have accidentally issued several city rental license applications designed to enforce an anti-immigration measure [Ordinance 2952, PDF], sending out the applications requiring landlords to verify the legal residency of prospective tenants. Opponents of the measure, who have obtained a temporary restraining order against its enforcement, are filing a contempt of court motion and plan to ask the federal court to sanction Farmers Branch.

The ordinance, passed [JURIST report] by the Dallas suburb's City Council in January, is being challenged for being passed in violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act [PDF text] because the City Council passed it quickly and secretly during a meeting to discuss legal challenges against a previous measure, Ordinance 2903 [DOC text]. The Dallas Morning News has local coverage.