[JURIST] Both houses of the UK parliament should approve any UK government proposal to opt-in or opt-out of certain policy provisions of the EU reform treaty [JURIST news archive], formally known as the Treaty of Lisbon [official website; PDF text], the UK House of Lords Constitution Committee [official website] concluded Friday in a 124-page report [PDF text] on the implications of the treaty for the largely-unwritten UK constitution. The committee found that the treaty would not affect UK sovereignty, but said it was important for parliament to have the ultimate say on whether the UK should adopt optional provisions in areas such as security and justice. The committee's recommendation comes one week before debate on the European Union (Amendment) Bill [PDF text; materials], which would incorporate the Treaty of Lisbon into UK law. The Guardian has more.

Earlier this month, the UK House of Commons passed [JURIST report] the bill 346-206. The version passed did not mandate parliamentary approval of opt-in and opt-out provisions. The Commons previously rejected holding a national referendum [JURIST report] on treaty ratification, though supporters of that proposal are still hoping that the House of Lords will back a popular vote on the treaty, rather than allowing parliamentary ratification. The treaty must be ratified by all 27 EU member states before it can take effect, though each country may choose the method of ratification. Six countries have ratified the reform treaty; so far, Ireland is the only EU member state that has chosen to hold a referendum on the issue.

[JURIST] A criminal network may have been responsible for the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [JURIST news archive], the UN International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) [authorizing resolution; UN materials] said Friday. In a press briefing [recorded audio] on its latest report [PDF text], the IIIC said that this network continued to operate after the assassination and may be involved with other attacks in Lebanon.

Hariri was killed in February 2005 by a car bomb in Beirut which killed 22 others. The IIIC was formed [JURIST report] in 2005 after the UN found that Lebanon's earlier investigations were not carried out to acceptable standards. It also found that Syrian influence was responsible for creating the political tension that preceded the assassination. The UN is currently is the process of establishing a tribunal [JURIST report; UN materials] to try those suspected in the murder. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon [official website] Friday condemned a film made by far-right Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders [personal website, in Dutch] that criticizes the Koran, calling it "offensively anti-Islamic." In a statement [text], Ban said:

I condemn, in the strongest terms, the airing of Geert Wilders' offensively anti-Islamic film. There is no justification for hate speech or incitement to violence. The right of free expression is not at stake here. I acknowledge the efforts of the Government of the Netherlands to stop the broadcast of this film, and appeal for calm to those understandably offended by it. Freedom must always be accompanied by social responsibility.

The United Nations is the centre of the world's efforts to advance mutual respect, understanding and dialogue. We must also recognize that the real fault line is not between Muslim and Western societies, as some would have us believe, but between small minorities of extremists on different sides with a vested interest in stirring hostility and conflict.

[JURIST] Puerto Rican Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila [official website, in Spanish] pleaded not guilty Friday to 19 counts [indictment, PDF; JURIST report] of conspiracy, false statements, wire fraud, federal program fraud and tax crimes related to campaign financing, and other crimes. The charges stem from alleged violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act [text] during Vila's 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 campaigns to become Puerto Rico's Resident Commissioner in the US House of Representatives and his 2004 gubernatorial campaign. If convicted on all counts, Vila faces up to twenty years in prison. He has denied any misconduct and accused US authorities of launching a politically motivated attack against him.

Vila is a member of the Popular Democratic Party [party website, in Spanish], which does not support full US statehood for the Commonwealth. He narrowly defeated former governor and pro-statehood candidate Pedro Rossello [campaign website, in Spanish] in a disputed gubernatorial election [JURIST report] in 2004. AP has more.

[JURIST] US military prosecutors Friday dropped all charges against a US Marine charged in connection with the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha [USMC timeline; JURIST news archive] in November 2005. Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum [defense profile] had been charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment, and aggravated assault, but a US Marine Corps statement [press release] said the charges were dropped "in order to continue to pursue the truth seeking process into the Haditha incident."

Eight Marines were initially charged in connection to the Haditha incident, though charges [text] have since been dropped against four others. The court-martial of Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich [defense website], leader of the squad implicated in the killings, was postponed [JURIST report] earlier this month from an original March 3 start date. Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani [JURIST news archive] faces court-martial on April 28 for dereliction of duty and violation of a lawful order based on the allegations that he failed to properly investigate the shootings, while 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson [defense website] faces court martial in May on charges [JURIST report] that he made false official statements and obstructed justice in connection to the killings at Haditha. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Over 100 protesters rallied near a United Nations facility in Kathmandu on Friday, demonstrating against China's recent crackdown on pro-Tibet protests [BBC backgrounder]. Nepalese police arrested around 60 protesters, while about 20 others, reportedly Tibetan high school students, scaled the walls of the compound and peacefully demonstrated inside. Police asked for the group inside the compound to be handed over, but UN officials refused. Those arrests followed the arrest of at least 400 protesters Monday and 50 more [JURIST reports] last week near the UN headquarters in Kathmandu. AP has more. The New York Times has additional coverage.

In a related development, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal [official website] released a report [PDF text; press release, PDF] on Friday summarizing human rights concerns arising from protests in the Terai region of Nepal last month by ethnic Madhesis who accuse the Nepalese government of treating them as second-class citizens. The report accused Nepalese police of sometimes using excessive force to quell protests, saying:

...the policing of the protests raised serious human rights concerns, particularly relating to the use of force by police, including lethal force. The enforcement of the bandh affected the freedom of movement of the population, but OHCHR was also concerned at allegations of police actions that violated individuals' rights to freedom of assembly and movement.

[JURIST] Chad's Higher Judicial Council on Friday recommended that Chadian President Idriss Deby [official website, in French; BBC profile] pardon six French aid workers convicted in Chad in December of attempting to kidnap [JURIST reports] 103 African children. Deby said earlier this month that he may pardon the aid workers within weeks [JURIST report], but that he was waiting for an official request from France. Reuters has more.

The aid workers, affiliated with charity Zoe's Ark [advocacy website, in French], said they were attempting to airlift orphaned children from the war-torn Sudanese region of Darfur [JURIST news archives], but investigations revealed that most of the children were not Sudanese or orphans. In January, another aid worker was charged in French court [JURIST report] with conspiring to allow illegal residents into the country in connection with the foiled airlift.

[JURIST] Five former US secretaries of state Thursday called for the closure of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] at a conference [UGA press release] held at the University of Georgia School of Law to discuss foreign policy issues. Colin Powell, Madeline Albright, Henry Kissinger, Warren Christopher, and James Baker III [official profiles] also agreed that the next president "should be open to taking diplomatic steps with both allies and unfriendly countries in order to further the nation's standing in the world and ease global issues in which the US is deeply involved." AP has more.

Others have also called for the closure of the Guantanamo detention center [JURIST news archive]. The leaders of 34 international bar associations and law societies last month sent a letter [PDF text] to US President George W. Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, urging the "immediate closure" of the facility [JURIST report]. Last October, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism Martin Scheinin called on the US to quickly prosecute or release terror suspects [JURIST report] detained at Guantanamo Bay so that the US can close the detention center. Bush himself said in August 2007 that he wants to shut down [JURIST report] the detention facility, but indicated that other countries have shown reluctance to accept detainees.

[JURIST] The Constitutional Court of Uganda [official website] ruled Thursday that bail is not a constitutional right, but also found that holding a person in police custody for more than 48 hours without charge is a violation of human rights. The finding overturns sections of several Ugandan laws, including the Trial and Indictment Act, the Uganda People's Defence Forces Act, the Police Act, and the Magistrates Courts Act relating to detention without charge and the constitutional right to a speedy trial. The Foundation for Human Rights Initiative [advocacy website], who brought the lawsuit last year, had argued that bail is a human right.

Bail became a major issue last year in Uganda after the arrest of opposition leader Kizza Besigye [BBC profile] and associates. Ugandan security officials rearrested six defendants who had previously been granted bail following charges that they were members of the People's Redemption Army and had aided Besigye. The arrests sparked protests and a strike [JURIST report] of the Ugandan High Court following a siege at the high court. Besigye's trial resumed [JURIST report] last June after a year-long delay due to the voluntary resignation of two high court judges. From Uganda, the Monitor has more.

[JURIST] Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri [official website] signed an executive order [PDF text; press release] Thursday that will require state agencies and companies to verify the legal status of their employees when they do business with the state, and will allow state police, prison and parole officials more flexibility in finding and deporting illegal immigrants. During a news conference, Carcieri argued that the executive order is "about making sure that those who come here can realize their goals of economic security and a better quality of life." He also criticized the federal government's efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform [JURIST news archive], saying that it has not done enough to combat illegal immigration.

Under the executive order, the state Department of Administration will use E-Verify [DHS backgrounder], a federal program, to electronically verify that all government employees are legal residents, and will also require all companies doing business with the state government to use E-Verify to check on their employees. The executive order gives state agencies the authority to notify citizens when their identity has been improperly used to obtain state benefits. AP has more. The Providence Journal has local coverage.

[JURIST] Kurt Westergaard, one of the Danish cartoonists who drew the caricatures [Le Monde slideshow; JURIST news archive] of the Prophet Muhammad that sparked worldwide protests in 2005, plans to sue the author of an anti-Islam film for copyright infringement, Westergaard said Friday. Far-right Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders [personal website, in Dutch] reproduced Westergaard's cartoon in a controversial anti-Islam film titled "Fitna." The film has not yet found a television network to air the video due to high security costs, but Wilders released the video via his website late Thursday evening. It has since been suspended by network administrators following complaints. On Thursday, a lawyer lodged a police complaint against Wilders' film, arguing that it violates the law by linking the Muslim population in the Netherlands to the increasing violence in the country. Australia's ABC News has more. The Dutch News has additional coverage.

Last week, a district court in the Netherlands agreed to hear a lawsuit [JURIST report] filed by the Dutch Islamic Federation seeking to ban the release of Wilders' film because it criticizes the Quran. Dutch officials fear that the film could lead to protests similar to those that took place after the publication of the cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. The cartoons sparked renewed protests [JURIST report] last month when the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Poste [media website] reprinted them after Danish police arrested three people [JURIST report] suspected in a plot to murder Westergaard.