[JURIST] Czech lawmakers have agreed to amend the country's constitution [text] to allow parliamentary elections to take place in November, as the Constitutional Court [official website, in Czech] ruled [judgment, PDF, in Czech; press release, in Czech] Thursday that the scheduled October elections violate the constitution. Last week, the court delayed the elections [JURIST report], planned for October 9 and 10, after independent lawmaker Milos Melcak filed a complaint [text, PDF, in Czech] alleging that the scheduled elections violated his rights by not allowing him to serve his full parliamentary term. The court ruled Thursday that holding the elections in October would amount to a suspension of the constitution [Aktualne report]. Czech President Vaclav Klaus [official website, in Czech] sharply criticized [press release, in Czech] the court's decision, saying that it:

consciously and deliberately deepens the political crisis in our country.

If we want today and in the future to avoid similar situations, which threaten chaos and threaten the entire society, the moment is approaching when it will be necessary to adopt a new definition of the constitutional powers of the Constitutional Court.

[JURIST] Japan [JURIST news archive] continues to execute mentally ill prisoners [press release] despite a criminal code provision outlawing the practice, according to a report [text, PDF] released Thursday by Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website]. According to the report, while the exact number of prisoners with mental illnesses on death row is unknown, the Japanese government continuously executes prisoners with mental illnesses and leaves others on death row for years. The report also states that poor prison conditions and the many years spent on death row are contributing to prisoners developing mental illnesses while awaiting execution. AI Health Coordinator and lead author of the report James Welsh said:

To allow a prisoner to live for prolonged periods under the daily threat of imminent death is cruel, inhuman and degrading. Amnesty International's studies around the world have shown that those suffering mental health problems are at particular risk of ending up on death row.

Mental disorders can give rise to crimes, impair the ability of a defendant to participate in an effective legal defence, and are likely to play a significant role in the decision of prisoners to terminate appeals. In Japan, condemned inmates are also at risk of developing a serious mental illness while on death row.

[JURIST] Three Chinese Uighur Muslims held at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archives] since 2001 have agreed to be relocated to Palau [AP report], their lawyers told the Associated Press Wednesday. The detainees have been cleared for transfer since District Judge Ricardo Urbina ordered their release [JURIST report] from Guantanamo last October, but difficulties in finding an appropriate place to relocate them have impeded their release. The lawyer for two of the Uighurs, George Clarke, indicated that the three men may be relocated as early as October, but the spokesperson for Palau President Johnson Toribong, would not confirm [Times report] the impending transfer.

At the close of its 2008 session, the US Supreme Court still had not ruled on an appeal [JURIST report] by the Uighurs still in captivity to gain their release. The appeal followed a decision by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to stay the release [JURIST report] ordered by Urbina last October. Amid the legal wrangling over the Uighurs in the US, the Chinese government has repeatedly called for the detainees to be repatriated to China [JURIST report], a request the US has been reluctant to accommodate. Toribong offered to accept the Uighurs in June while four Uighurs were transferred to Bermuda [JURIST reports] that month. There are 13 Uighurs still at Guantanamo Bay.

[JURIST] The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] said Wednesday that he would begin investigating claims of war crimes by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) [official website] soldiers in Afghanistan. In a briefing, Luis Moreno-Ocampo [official profile] said that in addition to investigations of possible NATO crimes, the ICC would also begin looking into possible atrocities committed by the Taliban [BBC report]. Moreno-Ocampo also stated that the ICC would not get involved [Reuters report] unless the government of Afghanistan or the UN specifically request. Despite that condition, Moreno-Ocampo did suggest that the ICC would open four new investigations [AP report] in the next three years.

With the ICC beginning discussions of examining war crimes in Afghanistan, the possibility that US citizens would be subject to criminal sanctions by the ICC has become an issue. Any possible exposure of US soldiers to the ICC's jurisdiction, however, would depend on whether the US ratifies the Rome Statute [text], from which the ICC draws its authority. In mid-August, the Heritage Foundation urged the Obama administration not to re-sign the treaty [JURIST report]. Currently, the US is a signatory to the treaty, but has not ratified the document. As a result, the US is not bound to the agreement, a situation that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lamented [Reuters report] recently.

[JURIST] Two former Pennsylvania judges were indicted [press release] Wednesday by a federal grand jury on 48 counts in connection with alleged illegal actions to benefit private juvenile detention facilities. The charges against Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella, Jr. include racketeering, fraud, extortion, and money laundering for allegedly accepting at least $2,819,500 in illegal payments in return for making decisions in favor of the detention centers, including incarcerating youths to raise the occupancy of the facilities. In addition to criminal penalties, the prosecutor is requesting a forfeiture of the kickbacks that the former Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas [official website] judges allegedly received.

The issuing of the indictment follows the August withdrawal of the former judges' February guilty pleas [JURIST reports] on federal corruption charges [information, PDF] for honest services fraud and tax fraud. The judges withdrew their pleas after Judge Edwin Kosik rejected the initial plea agreement that the judges made, finding the 87-month prison sentences too lenient. Criminal law scholar David Harris [professional profile] criticized [JURIST op-ed] the plea agreement, saying that the sentence was not "nearly enough for the harm they did to the system of justice, to our collective belief in the rule of law, to these children, and to their families." In March, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided to overturn hundreds of juvenile convictions [JURIST report] and expunge records without hearing to rectify the judges' alleged actions. The Supreme Court's decision came at the recommendation of a Special Master [text, PDF] in response to a lawsuit brought by families of incarcerated youth.

[JURIST] Spanish National Court Judge Baltasar Garzon [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] testified Wednesday before the Criminal Law Chamber of the Spanish Supreme Court [official website] in response to accusations that he exceeded his authority when he launched an investigation into war crimes allegedly committed under Francisco Franco [BBC backgrounder] despite a 1977 amnesty law. Garzon abstained from responding to questions from the complainants and answered only those of the judge, the prosecutor, and his own lawyer. Garzon maintained that he acted within the bounds of the law and appropriately applied the law at all times. The complaint against Garzon was lodged by Manos Limpias, a far-right leaning advocacy organization, and the conservative group Liberty and Identity Association [advocacy websites, in Spanish]. The court announced in May that it would hear the challenge [JURIST report]. If the court decides to hold a trial, Garzon could be tried for the crime of knowingly issuing a resolution without the authority to do so and could face disbarment.

In September 2008, Garzon ordered an investigation [JURIST report] in response to a complaint lodged by the Organization for Restoring Historical Memory [advocacy website, in Spanish] that the Franco regime carried out systematic killings and enforced disappearances of opponents. In October, Garzon ordered the exhumation [JURIST report] of mass graves where victims of the Franco regime are thought to be buried. The National Court has jurisdiction over crimes against the government and high authorities of the state. Spanish prosecutors challenged [JURIST report] the probe and Garzon subsequently dropped [BBC report] the investigation in November upon concluding that the suspects could not be held legally responsible as 44 of them, including Franco, were already deceased. Also in October, the UN called on for Spain to abolish the 1977 amnesty law [press release]. The Spanish parliament passed legislation [JURIST report] in 2007 condemning the Franco government, acknowledging its victims, and setting aside money to compensate them.

[JURIST] The Uruguayan Senate [official website, in Spanish] voted 17-6 to approve [press release, in Spanish] a law legalizing adoption by same sex couples. The new law will permit adoptions by couples in both marriages and civil unions after four years of cohabitation. The bill includes other reforms to the Childhood and Adolescence Code [text, PDF, in Spanish], which governs adoptions, including giving the Children's and Adolescents' Institute of Uruguay (INAU) [official website, in Spanish] a more central role in the adoption process, shortening the adoption process, and removing the abandonment determination requirement in favor of an adoptability determination for a child to be eligible for adoption. The Senate initially voted to approve the bill in July, but changes made to the bill in the Uruguayan House of Representatives [official website, in Spanish], which approved [JURIST report] it last moth, necessitated a second vote. The bill continues to generate much controversy among conservative sectors like the Catholic Church, which have voiced strong opposition alleging concern for children's welfare. The bill must now be signed by President Tabare Vazquez [BBC profile], who has expressed support for the reforms.

The Uruguayan common-law relationship law [text, PDF, in Spanish] allows couples to apply to be legally recognized as a civil union after five years of living together regardless of the gender of the parties. It was enacted amid much controversy in December 2007 and went into effect in January 2008. In the US, adoption by same-sex couples continues to be a controversial issue. In November, a Florida court ruled [JURIST report] that a ban on adopting children for same-sex couples was unconstitutional, allowing a couple to adopt two children. The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit [official website] upheld [opinion, PDF] the same Florida statute in 2005 as being rationally related to protecting the interests of children, and the US Supreme Court declined to review [WP report] that decision. In November, Arkansas voters approved a ballot measure [JURIST reports] prohibiting gays, lesbians, and other unmarried cohabiting couples from becoming either foster or adoptive parents.