[JURIST] US President Barack Obama [official profile] on Tuesday announced plans [press release] for national fuel efficiency requirements. The policy is aimed at increasing fuel economy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions and is projected to conserve 1.8 billion barrels of oil and reduce emissions by an approximate 900 million metric tons. The estimated effect of the emissions reduction [press release] is equivalent to taking 177 million cars off the road or shutting down 194 coal plants. The standards cover model years from 2012 to 2016 and, by 2016, will require an average 35.5 miles per gallon (mpg), surpassing Congress's previous goal of reaching 35 mpg by 2020. Obama addressed consumer fears [press release] of higher automobile costs by stating that, over the life of a vehicle, an average driver would save about $2,800 in fuel costs. Automakers have backed [AP report] Obama's plan since they would not have to face multiple emission requirements in the future and would have more certainty in developing new vehicles. CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers [trade website] Dave McCurdy applauded the president [press release] for bringing automotive manufacturers and environmental groups together and stressed the importance of a national policy in avoiding conflicting standards from different regulatory agencies. Obama addressed the importance of the policy, stating that it:

represents not only a change in policy in Washington, but the harbinger of a change in the way business is done in Washington. As a result of this agreement, we will save 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of the vehicles sold in the next five years. And at a time of historic crisis in our auto industry, this rule provides the clear certainty that will allow these companies to plan for a future in which they are building the cars of the 21st century.

[JURIST] The Bolivian Supreme Court of Justice [official website, in Spanish] on Monday opened the trial of former president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada [TrialWatch profile] in connection with the deaths of 63 anti-government protesters [AI backgrounder] in October 2003. Sanchez de Lozada and 17 other former government officials face genocide charges related to incident, for which he faces 30 years in prison if convicted. Nine of the defendants were tried in absentia, including Sanchez de Lozada, who fled to the US after resigning from office in 2003. The Court issued arrest warrants [Latin American Herald Tribune report] for the missing defendants after declaring them to be in contempt of court. In November, Bolivian officials requested extradition [JURIST report] of Sanchez de Lozada and two other defendants from the US to face trial under a 1995 extradition treaty [text, PDF].

The 2003 riots [BBC report] occurred when military forces clashed with predominantly indigenous farmers, coca growers, students, and unionists who protested Sanchez de Lozada's attempts to open up the country to free trade with the US and to export gas and other natural resources. The protests were led by his former political rival and current Bolivian President Evo Morales [official profile; JURIST news archive].

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Tuesday that the White House Office of Administration (OA) is not required to release Bush administration e-mails under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) [text]. A three-judge panel found that since OA is not an "agency" within the meaning of FOIA, it is not obligated to respond to FOIA requests, including those filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and the National Security Archives (NSA) [advocacy websites] seeking information regarding missing Bush administration emails. Relying on judicial interpretations of the 1974 amendments to FOIA, the court concluded that OA, "provided to the President only operational and administrative support. Where that is the purpose and function of the unit, it lacks the substantial independent authority we have required to find an agency covered by FOIA." Pointing to OA's long history of responding to FOIA requests, CREW's chief counsel Anne Weismann urged [press release] the Obama administration to grant access to OA as a matter of policy.

The controversy over lost emails began in 2002 [NSA chronology], when the White House dismantled its automated e-mail archiving system, and arose throughout the Bush administration, first during the CIA leak investigation and again during the US Attorney firing scandal [JURIST news archives]. In February 2008, CREW urged then-US Attorney General Michael Mukasey to appoint a special counsel [JURIST report] to investigate whether the White House had violated the Federal Records Act and the Presidential Records Act [texts] in failing to preserve White House e-mails. CREW and NSA originally brought their suits in May 2007 and November 2007 [complaints, PDF], respectively. CREW has publicly alleged that White House officials may have deliberately lost or tampered with e-mail records to hide illegal conduct.

[JURIST] A Turkish court ruled on Monday that President Abdullah Gul [BBC profile] should face trial for corruption allegations stemming from a previous misappropriation of treasury funds. The Sincan High Criminal Court in Ankara held [Hurriyet report] that Gul should face trial despite his immunity as president and the previous dismissal of proceedings by the Ankara Public Prosecutor's Office. Former justice minister Hikmet Sami Turk has said that, while Gul can not currently face judgment due to presidential immunity, he will be able to be tried after his term ends. Gul's present immunity is unclear although some legal scholars argue that presidential immunity should not apply for personal acts that are not related to presidential duties. The alleged acts of fraud stem from accusations against the Welfare Party regarding misappropriation of treasury funds after the party was banned in 1997. Other members of the party were later convicted of fraud. Former prime minister Necmettin Erbakan, the founder of the party, was found guilty but was pardoned last year by Gul. Monday's ruling is still subject to appellate review [BBC report].

The court's decision may be an example of the existing tension between pro-secularists and the ruling Islamic Justice and Development Party (AKP) [official website, in Turkish], of which Gul was a cofounder. Earlier this month, secular Turkish judges warned [JURIST report] that amendments to the Turkish Constitution [text] proposed by the AKP that would result in the restructuring of the Constitutional Court [official website, in Turkish] were going too far in promoting an Islamic agenda. In July, the Constitutional Court narrowly rejected a bid to ban the AKP [JURIST report] for ignoring the secular principles of the Turkish constitution. The court did not dissolve the party but ordered that the state treasury reduce the party's funding by half.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website, JURIST news archive] on Monday granted certiorari in Black v. United States [docket], appealing the fraud conviction of Canadian-born former media mogul Conrad Black [CBC profile; JURIST news archive]. The Court will determine whether the "honest services" clause of 18 USC § 1346 [text] applies in cases where there is no finding that the defendant or defendants "reasonably contemplated identifiable economic harm" in cases of mail and wire fraud under § 1341 [text]. In 2007, Black was convicted of mail fraud and obstruction of justice and sentenced [JURIST reports] to 78 months in prison. The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit [official website] initially rejected Black's appeal, holding that § 1346 may be applied in a private setting [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] regardless of whether the defendant's conduct risked any foreseeable economic harm to the victim. Black's lawyers argued [cert. petition, PDF] that:

the government could not remotely meet its burden of proving harmlessness beyond a reasonable doubt given the virtual certainty that the jury relied on a seriously flawed instruction that would have been instructional error in at least five other circuits.

Consistent with the language of the information and the case law in several circuits, petitioners sought an instruction that would have precluded the jury from convicting of "honest services" fraud unless it found that the alleged scheme contemplated gain to petitioners at the expense of the purported victim.

[JURIST] The Council of the European Union [official website] on Monday called for an independent inquiry [conclusions, PDF] into possible war crimes committed during the Sri Lanka [JURIST news archive] civil war. Meeting in Brussels, the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) [official profile] said that it was "appalled by the loss of innocent lives as a result of the conflict and by the high numbers of casualties, including children" and urged both the Sri Lankan Government [official website] and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) [JURIST news archive] to "fully respect their obligations under international ... law." Describing the LTTE as a "terrorist organisation," the Council called on them to lay down their arms and renounce violence "once and for all," while cautioning the Government "that fighting terrorism must be done in full respect for the rule of law and Human Rights." Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa [personal website] declared victory [BBC report] in the country's 26-year civil war which has resulted in over 70,000 deaths after LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran [BBC obituary] was found dead on Monday.

In March, the Sri Lankan Government denied allegations [JURIST report] by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile; JURIST news archive] that 2,800 civilian deaths caused by recent military action against the LTTE may constitute war crimes. In February, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] released a report [text, PDF; JURIST report] alleging that both the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE are guilty of human rights violations. Earlier this year, Pillay condemned [press release; JURIST report] the deteriorating conditions of those trapped in the Vanni region, and called for investigations and prosecutions for the killings and other human rights abuses. HRW has repeatedly accused both sides of violations, and since 2007 has also criticized the government's de facto internment centers and its role in the increase in unlawful killings and other human rights violations [JURIST reports].

[JURIST] Sudanese rebel leader Bahr Idriss Abu Garda [case materials] appeared before the International Criminal Court [official website] on Monday to deny his responsibility for war crimes committed in Darfur [JURIST news archive]. Abu Garda is accused [press release] of orchestrating a September 2007 attack [BBC report] on peacekeepers from the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) [official website] at Haskanita. The ICC alleges that the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) [official website], under Abu Garda's command, killed 12 and wounded eight AMIS soldiers. Abu Garda, the first suspect to appear before the ICC in regards to the Darfur investigation, voluntarily surrendered [JURIST report] to the court on Sunday, and called on [AP report] Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] to do the same.

In March, the ICC issued at an arrest warrant for al-Bashir, which he derided [JURIST reports] as a Western attempt to re-establish colonial power in the country. The controversial arrest warrant [JURIST news archive] had been sought by ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo [official profile], who in July filed preliminary charges [text, PDF; JURIST report] against Bashir alleging genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed in the Darfur region in violation of Articles 6, 7, and 8 of the Rome Statute [text]. In May 2007, the ICC issued arrest warrants [JURIST report] for former Sudanese Minister of the Interior Ahmed Muhammad Harun and former militia leader Ali Kushayb [TrialWatch profiles].

[JURIST] The US House of Representatives [official website] on Monday approved the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act [S 386 materials], which creates a commission to investigate the cause of recent economic turmoil [JURIST news archive] and allocates more resources for federal prosecutors to pursue financial fraud cases. The measure, already approved by the Senate, was passed in the House by a vote of 338-52 [roll call vote] and now needs the approval of President Barack Obama [official profile] to become law. The bill seeks to improve the enforcement of fraud resulting from mortgages, securities and commodities, financial institutions, and federal assistance and relief programs and to recover funds lost to such fraudulent activities. The bill establishes a "financial crisis inquiry commission," made up of 10 people with subpoena power appointed by both the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and House. The commission will examine "the causes of the current financial and economic crisis in the United States," as well as "the causes of the collapse of each major financial institution that failed." The bill appropriates $165,000,000 for investigation, prosecution and civil and administrative proceedings for each of the next two fiscal years, dividing the allotment between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Attorneys office and the Department of Justice [official websites]. The bill appropriates additional funds to other governmental agencies for purposes related to fraud investigations and proceedings. The legislation also amends the False Claims Act [31 USC § 3729 text] to "reflect the original intent of the law" through the clarification of stipulations and definitions set out in the original Act.

In April, the House approved a bill [HR 1664 materials, JURIST report] which allows the Treasury Department to ban certain types of compensation at companies which receive federal bailout money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). In March, the House passed a bill [HR 1586 materials, JURIST report] that would tax bonuses given to employees of companies that received money from government stimulus programs at 90 percent. The bill was drafted and voted on in reaction to large bonus payments made to employees of American International Group [corporate website]. Attempts to gain control over the roiling credit markets and possible widespread bank insolvencies have included the passage in September of a $700 billion financial rescue bill [JURIST report], creating the TARP, which provided economic assistance to at-risk financial institutions.

[JURIST] The new Bangladesh government [official website; JURIST news archive] should investigate torture, illegal detentions, and extrajudicial killings allegedly conducted by the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) [official website] and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) [official website], according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] report [text, PDF] released Monday. The report alleges that these Bangladesh intelligence and military agencies have tortured and executed persons held in custody. A vivid eyewitness account, among other case studies, describes the methods of torture employed. HRW criticized the government for condoning thousands of extrajudicial killings since 1971 as well as providing for constitutional immunizations [Bangladesh Constitution text] from holding government officials accountable. According to the report, illegal torture methods and lack of accountability are tantamount to grave human rights violations contrary to the UN Convention Against Torture [text] and to international legal standards. HRW recommends that the DGIF and the RAB be disbanded and that the country's legal provisions protecting government officials from prosecution be amended.

In April, the Bangladesh government announced [JURIST report] that it is working with the UN to organize war crimes [JURIST news archive] prosecutions for alleged violations stemming from the country's 1971 War of Independence [GlobalSecurity backgrounder] against Pakistan [JURIST news archive] and that is considering trial in the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website; JURIST news archive]. Bangladesh encountered a difficult political transition with the election of its new Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina [official profile] in 2008, ending two years of military rule. After the election, Bangladeshi Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shafique Ahmed [official website] declared [JURIST report] his government's desire to restore Bangladesh's 1972 constitution [text, PDF].