The compensation fund meeting followed an announcement from Obama on Tuesday outlining the government's latest plan of action [JURIST report], which included the escrow fund, a long-term restoration plan and prevention of future disasters through stronger regulation. Obama has appointed Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus [official website] to develop a long-term Gulf Coast Restoration Plan, which will be designed by states, local communities, tribes, fishermen, businesses, conservationists and other Gulf residents. BP will also be responsible for funding the restoration projects. Obama reiterated the prevention goals of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling established last month [JURIST report]. The bipartisan commission members, which were announced on Monday [press release], are charged with identifying the causes of the BP oil spill and developing options to mitigate future occurrences through laws, regulations and agency reform. Obama also announced the appointment of Micheal Bromwich [press release], a former federal prosecutor and Inspector General for the Justice Department, as head of the Minerals Management Service, which has been plagued with corruption and notorious for its cozy relationship with oil companies. The president stated that "[Bromwich's] charge over the next few months is to build an organization that acts as the oil industry's watchdog - not its partner."

There is nothing in the Secretary of State's argument. ... In short, the judge must disregard not "the particular difficulties of the subject's family in visiting him" but rather any lack of contact resulting from the family's unreasonable failure to overcome these difficulties in order to visit him. It is not suggested here that the family behaved unreasonably in failing to overcome more effectively the practical difficulties they faced in visiting AP on a more regular basis, only that their particular difficulties should have been ignored. That submission cannot be accepted.

The appellant is an Ethiopian immigrant to the UK who was suspected of terrorist ties and not allowed to reenter the country after traveling to Somalia and Ethiopia in 2006. AP was later allowed out of detention subject to a control order issued under the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 2005 (PTA) [text], which allows the British government to conduct surveillance and impose house arrest on suspects where there does not exist enough evidence to prosecute. The orders can also be used to forbid the use of mobile phones and the Internet. The system set up under PTA has been criticized by Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] for what the human rights organization describes as criminal sanction without trial [press release] that is not compatible with human rights. AI has called for the repeal of the PTA and the abandonment of control orders, which it described as "fundamentally flawed." In September, then-Home Secretary Alan Johnson [BBC profile] said that the government would undertake a review [JURIST report] of the system. Johnson issued a ministerial statement [text] saying that his "current assessment is ... that the control order regime remains viable," but that he would "be keeping this assessment under review." In October 2007, the UK Law Lords ruled in a series of decisions that the government can continue to impose control orders [JURIST report] on terror suspects in lieu of detention, but said that some elements of the orders violate human rights.

The ICTR continues its work to prosecute those most responsible for the Rwandan genocide, in which nearly 800,000 people, primarily Tutsis, were killed. On Tuesday, the ICTR Appeals Chamber heard arguments [JURIST report] on behalf of Emmanuel Rukundo, a priest convicted of genocide and other charges last year. In March, the ICTR Appeals Chamber affirmed [JURIST report] the genocide conviction of popular Rwandan singer-songwriter Simon Bikindi. Also in March, the Appeals Chamber reversed several convictions against Rwandan district attorney Simeon Nchamihigo including murder and extermination as crimes against humanity and three counts of genocide. Both Bikindi and Nchamihigo are being held in the UN Detention Facility in Arusha, Tanzania, pending their transfer to the countries where they will serve their sentences.

The federal government continues to investigate possible cases of fraud that may have played a role in the recent financial crisis [JURIST news archive]. In April, the DOJ announced a criminal investigation [JURIST report] of Goldman, Sachs & Co. [corporate website] for possible securities fraud in mortgage trading. Also in April, the SEC filed a civil suit [JURIST report] against Goldman alleging securities fraud. Last year, two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers were acquitted [JURIST report] of securities-related charges. The June 2008 SEC complaint [text, PDF] alleged that the managers had taken leveraged positions in financial derivatives based on subprime mortgage-based assets and then taken steps to conceal ensuing losses from investors.

Last week, Ocampo called on the UN Security Council [official website] to support the arrest [statement, PDF; JURIST report] of two other Sudanese men who have been indicted for war crimes in Sudan. Ocampo urged the Security Council to secure the execution of the outstanding arrest warrants for Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb [Trial Watch profiles; case materials] in light of the fact that the Sudanese government, which bears the primary responsibility to do so, has not. The ICC issued arrest warrants [JURIST report] for Harun and Kushayb in 2007 on 51 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes. Kushayb was apprehended and held pending trial, but he appealed [JURIST reports] and was released by the Sudanese government later that year when the government announced that the ICC did not have jurisdiction over Sudanese citizens. Last month, Ocampo referred Sudan to the Security Council [JURIST report] for lack of cooperation in the pursuit of Harun and Kushayb. Sudan, which is not a permanent member of the ICC under the Rome Statute [text], refuses to recognize the court's jurisdiction, stating that "the International Criminal Court has no place in this crisis at all."

The Bloody Sunday inquiry was launched in 1998 by former prime minister Tony Blair [Guardian backgrounder] in response to pressure from the victims' families. The final report concluded [JURIST report] that British soldiers fired upon unarmed civilians without warning during an illegal civil rights march in Londonderry. The inquiry also found that the soldiers continued to shoot the civilians as they were fleeing the gunfire. The military unit originally held that they were aiming at armed individuals who were allegedly IRA militants, but the investigation concluded that no soldiers suffered injuries from returned fire. The onslaught killed 13 civilians and wounded 15. UK Prime Minister David Cameron [official website] apologized [transcript] for the soldiers' malfeasance stating that although the atrocity happened almost 40 years ago, the victims and their families still deserved an apology from the current government for the mistakes of those in the past. The victims' families requested the investigation in order for their loved ones to be exonerated from being labeled IRA bombers and gunmen and to hold the British contingent responsible for the unjustified killings. The Bloody Sunday inquiry is the longest and most expensive public investigation [JURIST report] in British legal history.

The ICTR notes that the Prosecution appearing before the High Court made specific references to words Professor Erlinder spoke and statements he made in his case before the ICTR. ... Although no formal copy of the charges brought against Professor Erlinder has been received yet, the ICTR takes the view that the decision of the High Court constitutes a sufficient basis to identify a link between the nature of the accusations against Professor Erlinder and his mandate with the Tribunal.

Last week, US Representatives Betty McCollum (D-MN) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) [official websites] introduced a resolution [JURIST report] calling on the Rwandan government to release Erlinder in order to "prevent ... an impasse in relations" between the US and Rwanda. The resolution emphasizes the amount of aid that has been given to the Rwandan government by the US, which is to be increased by 43 percent in the 2011 budget [materials] and has amounted to over a billion dollars since 2000. The resolution has been referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives [official websites] for consideration. The resolution came a day after a joint statement [JURIST report] calling for Erlinder's release was issued by more than 30 defense lawyers from the ICTR. The statement described the arrest as indicating a growing threat to the country's legal system. The defense lawyers contend that Erlinder's arrest and subsequent denial of bail "seriously compromised" the ICTR's mission by undermining the independence of lawyers and preventing them from performing their duties without fear of suffering reprisals. Rwandan police arrested Erlinder [JURIST report] last month on charges that he denied the 1994 Rwandan genocide [HRW backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. Erlinder was in Rwanda to prepare his defense of opposition presidential candidate Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza [campaign website], who was arrested in April [JURIST report] on similar charges. Erlinder has pleaded not guilty [JURIST report].

US Attorney General Eric Holder [official website] and the DOJ have been heavily criticized by Republicans for the decision to try certain terror suspects in federal court and because of two-high profile terror cases where the suspects were given their Miranda warnings [JURIST report]. Last month, lawmakers introduced a bill [JURIST report] that, if passed, would strip US citizenship rights from those suspected of engaging in terrorism in order to prevent the warnings from being given in the future. In February, Holder defended his decision [JURIST report] to try the so-called "Christmas Day Bomber", Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], in federal court. A week later, Holder indicated that he would be open to a more "flexible" approach [JURIST report] when considering whether to try terrorism suspects in civilian or military courts.

The federal government continues examining its options for dealing with the oil spill and future drilling regulations. Last week, Obama called for new oil pollution laws [statement; JURIST report], emphasizing the need to need to update the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 [materials], a piece of legislation that was passed in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill [backgrounder]. Obama also called on Congress to pass energy reform legislation, several versions of which have been introduced [JURIST report] in recent months. Earlier this month, US Attorney General Eric Holder [official website] announced that the Department of Justice [official website] would be reviewing whether any criminal or civil laws were violated by BP [JURIST report]. Holder cited several statutes being examined by government lawyers including the Clean Water Act [materials] and the Oil Pollution Act. Obama held a press conference in May to announce new regulations to mitigate future oil spills [JURIST report] and the current plan of action for resolving the crisis created by the ongoing spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The government suspended several offshore drilling activities including exploration of platform locations in Alaska, pending lease sales in the Gulf and Virginia, and the drilling of 33 deepwater exploratory wells in the Gulf. The government also suspended the issuance of new permits to drill deepwater wells for six months. The White House is keeping a daily chronology of events [text].

FGM poses a difficult challenge for the government and people of Iraqi Kurdistan. It is a complex issue to address, its eradication requiring strong leadership from the authorities and partnerships across the political spectrum and with religious leaders, nongovernmental organizations, and communities to bring about social change. First and foremost, it requires Iraqi Kurds in positions of leadership and influence to recognize and accept that FGM is a problem, one that can be addressed through concerted action that will reinforce Iraqi Kurdistan's reputation as a society committed to the protection of the rights of women and children, and a society in which Muslims practice their faith without FGM, as is the case with the majority of Muslims across the world.

As many as 140 million women and girls worldwide have undergone some form of FGM, which is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) [official website] as "all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or injury to the female genital organs for nonmedical reasons." The KRG has taken steps in the past to reduce FGM. In 2008, a majority of the members of the Kurdistan Parliament supported the introduction of legislation banning the practice, although the legislation was not pursued. In 2007, the KRG Justice Ministry [official website] issued a decree ordering police to charge those found practicing FGM, but this was never enforced. Iraqi Kurdistan is one of the few regions in the Middle East where FGM is practiced, along with some communities in Yemen. The practice of FGM is most common on the African continent, where a 2005 UNICEF report [text, PDF] found near universal prevalence in countries such as Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and Mali, and lower rates in surrounding nations. In December, Uganda's parliament voted to outlaw the practice [JURIST report].

Elena Kagan has, over the course of her career, consistently exhibited patience, a willingness to listen, and an ability to lead, alongside enormous intelligence. The same qualities that enabled her to unify what some described as a fractious campus will serve the nation, and the Constitution, well ... She will inspire those around her to pursue law and justice in a way that makes us proud.

Kagan's nomination has not been without controversy. Last week, the Clinton Presidential Library released more than 40,000 pages of memos [AP report] written by Kagan during her time as legal counsel to the Clinton administration and as a law clerk to Justice Thurgood Marshall. The memos fueled conservatives' fears that Kagan may be too liberal [AP report]. Some of the memos outlined policy arguments regarding issues such as abortion, assisted suicide and religious freedom. The Senate Judiciary Committee is concerned that more pertinent documents will not be released in time for Kagan's hearings, which are scheduled to begin on June 28 [JURIST report]. Critics also worry that having another graduate from an Ivy League law school on the bench will foster elitism [JURIST op-ed]. President Barack Obama nominated Kagan [JURIST report] in May to replace Justice John Paul Stevens [official profile; JURIST news archive], who announced his retirement [JURIST report] in April. Kagan became the first woman confirmed as Solicitor General [JURIST report] in 2009.

The ICTR continues it work to prosecute those most responsible for the Rwandan genocide, in which nearly 800,000 people, primarily Tutsis, were killed. In March, the ICTR Appeals Chamber affirmed [JURIST report] the genocide conviction of popular Rwandan singer-songwriter Simon Bikindi. Also in March, the Appeals Chamber reversed several convictions against Rwandan district attorney Simeon Nchamihigo including murder and extermination as crimes against humanity and three counts of genocide. Both Bikindi and Nchamihigo are being held in the UN Detention Facility in Arusha, Tanzania, pending their transfer to the countries where they will serve their sentences.