Lebanese officials, including the ministers of Interior and Labor, have pronounced their intentions to improve the treatment of migrant domestic workers, but only slight reforms have been achieved. In 2009, a modest initiative created a compulsory standard employment contract for domestic workers and their employers. In 2008, HRW reported that migrant and domestic workers still face abusive and exploitative treatment [JURIST report] throughout Asia and the Middle East. The rights group observed that workers in many nations throughout the region lacked access to judicial systems, and often lacked appropriate redress even when granted access. Earlier that year, HRW urged Saudi Arabia [JURIST report] to institute new legal protections for the country's estimated 1.5 million domestic workers.

the defendants, and others known and unknown, unlawfully and knowingly, did combine, confederate and agree together and with each other to provide "material support or resources," ... to a foreign terrorist organization, to wit, al Qaeda, which has been designated by the United States Secretary of State as a foreign terrorist organization.

In June, the US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] 6-3 in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project [Cornell LII backgrounder] that the federal law criminalizing providing material support for groups designated as terrorist organizations is constitutional. El-Hanafi and Hasanoff were originally charged [JURIST report] in April with one count of providing material support to terrorism.

Germany agreed to take the inmates after negotiations with the Obama administration, which had originally asked Germany to take up to 10 detainees [JURIST report] from the facility. De Maiziere emphasized in July that Germany had informed the US it would not consider any further requests [DW report] to accept detainees. In 2006, Germany also accepted a former detainee who had legal residency in the country [JURIST report]. The number of detainees at Guantanamo has been significantly reduced as the administration continues to transfer detainees to a growing list of countries including Italy, Maldives, Georgia, Albania, Latvia, Switzerland, Slovakia, Somaliland, Palau, Belgium, Afghanistan and Bermuda [JURIST reports]. There are currently 174 detainees remaining at the facility.

One statute utilized by the government in the original convictions of the executives was the "honest service" doctrine [18 USC § 1346 text], which was recently limited in scope by the Supreme Court. In June, the court ruled [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] in Skilling v. United States [Cornell LII backgrounder; JURIST report] that the doctrine is not unconstitutionally vague under a limited construction. In its ruling, the court limited the honest services doctrine to the protection of intangible rights of honest service deprived through bribery and kickbacks. As a result of the ruling, the court vacated the conviction of former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling [JURIST news archive] under the statute because his misconduct did not fall under either category. The court also vacated the conviction of Canadian media mogul Conrad Black [JURIST news archive] and former Alaskan congressmen Bruce Weyhrauch who were also convicted under the doctrine.

In April, the ECCC dismissed appeals [JURIST report] by Ieng Thirith, Ieng Sary and Khieu Samp to block the extension of their provisional detention. The ECCC found in each case that "there is sufficient additional evidence in the case file to demonstrate that the case has progressed expeditiously" and that further detention while the investigation continues is reasonable given the "gravity and nature of the crimes" charged. The ECCC handed down its first conviction [JURIST report] of a former Khmer Rouge official in July. Kaing Guek Eav [case materials; JURIST news archive], also known as "Duch," was found guilty of crimes against humanity and of violating the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Last month, lawyers for Duch filed a notice of an appeal [JURIST report] of his conviction. Earlier in the month, the prosecution filed their own notice of an appeal [JURIST report] seeking to increase Kaing's term of imprisonment. The prosecution identified three grounds for appeal, including a discernible error in the exercise of sentencing discretion, an error of law regarding cumulative convictions and an error of law regarding enslavement.

An in-house lawyer, despite his enrollment with a Bar or Law Society and the professional ethical obligations to which he is, as a result, subject, does not enjoy the same degree of independence from his employer as a lawyer working in an external law firm does in relation to his client. Consequently, an in-house lawyer is less able to deal effectively with any conflicts between his professional obligations and the aims of his client.

The ECJ was established to ensure that EU legislation is applied consistently across all member states. However, many of the member states have struggled to enforce ECJ rulings, which could lead to future problems if member states continue to allow in-house counsel to enjoy privilege in national competition matters. Last month, the German Federal Constitutional Court [official website, in German] ruled [JURIST report] that German courts must follow precedent established by the ECJ unless it is clearly a violation of the court's power. The court noted that minor violations of the ECJ's authority would not be enough to disqualify a ruling and that a ruling can be disregarded only if European institutions clearly violate the authority granted to them at the expense of the authority of the member states. Earlier in August, the UK High Court suspended the enforcement [JURIST report] of an airline regulation requiring airlines to compensate passengers for flights that are delayed for more than three hours, until the ECJ releases a new ruling on the issue. The ECJ issued its original ruling [JURIST report] on the matter in November, but UK airlines indicated that they believe the ECJ's 2009 ruling was incorrect [trade group report, PDF] and that they would not compensate passengers for delayed flights.

By engaging in the alleged conduct, Mohammad Younis unwittingly funded a terror plot that, if successful, would have caused mass casualties in New York City. These charges remind us how international terrorists use the cover of informal money transfer systems to avoid detection and to inflict catastrophic harm.

Last week, Pakistani police announced the arrest of three men [JURIST report] suspected of helping Shahzad plan and fund his failed endeavor. Officials said that the young Pakistani citizens, Shahid Hussain, Shoaib Mughal and Humba Akhtar, who were arrested following a long-running investigation, confessed their involvement to police and are being charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism. The men reportedly provided Shahzad with more than USD $13,000 and arranged for him to meet and train with Hakimullah Mehsud [NYT profile], the head of TTP. The suspects are reputed to have close ties to Mehsud. Shahzad pleaded guilty [JURIST report] in June to 10 counts of terrorism and weapons charges relating to his role in the attempted Times Square car bombing. He indicated that his actions reflected an act of war and that the attempted attacks would continue until US forces leave Iraq and Afghanistan.

As long as the state officials responsible for human rights violations know that their status means they almost certainly will never have to account for their acts, every Senegalese citizen or individual on Senegalese territory or within Senegalese jurisdiction risks being subjected to acts of torture and other human rights violations that will put their life at risk. Similarly, as long as the wall of impunity is not broken down, the victims of violations and their families cannot hope to obtain justice and reparations. Ensuring justice represents not only the condition sine qua non of full and complete physical and psychological rehabilitation of victims and their families, but also constitutes one of the foundations of the rule of law.

In 2009, the African Court on Human and People's Rights (AfCHPR) [official website] found that it lacked jurisdiction [JURIST report] to hear a case against Senegal on whether charges against Habre should be dropped. Habre has been accused of involvement in the murder or torture of more than 40,000 political opponents during his rule from 1982 to 1990. He later fled to Senegal after being removed from power in 1990. Belgium has sought to try him under the principle of universal jurisdiction, but Senegal has long refused extradition. Earlier that year, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) [official website] denied [JURIST report] Belgium's request to compel Habre's extradition. Belgium had accused Senegal of violating international law, including Article 7 of the Convention Against Torture, by not trying Habre in Senegal, where he has lived under house arrest since 1990. The ICJ found that assurances made by Senegal that Habre would remain in custody until trial were sufficient and that "the risk of irreparable prejudice to the rights claimed by Belgium is not apparent."

The convictions come the month before the October 10 parliamentary elections. They will be the first since a new constitution took effect in July after being approved by voters [JURIST reports] in a nationwide referendum. In June, the interim government under Otunbayeva announced the constitutional referendum would occur despite the ethnic violence [JURIST report] in Osh. The constitution was originally approved by the interim government [JURIST report] in May. The June rioting in Osh followed violent protests in the capital city of Bishkek in April that resulted in former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev being removed from office [JURIST report].