The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law [JURIST report] by President Barack Obama in July and created the new regulatory council to monitor financial institutions in order to prevent companies from becoming "too big to fail." In addition to creating the FSOC, this legislation also gives the Federal Reserve [official website] new oversight over the largest financial institutions, creates a bureau of consumer protection, introduces multitudes of new regulations on derivatives and other financial instruments and limits the amount of capital banks can invest in hedge funds. In June 2009, the administration proposed a broad series of regulatory reforms [press release; JURIST report] aimed at restoring confidence in the US financial system in the wake of economic crisis [JURIST news archive].

Halliburton and other companies involved in the oil are also being sued [JURIST report] in Montgomery, Alabama by Alabama Attorney General Troy King [official profile]. In August, BP and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] announced the completion of negotiations over the implementation of a $20 billion fund [JURIST reports] to aid victims of the oil spill. Numerous lawsuits are pending against BP in connection with the spill. In July, a class-action lawsuit [complaint, PDF; JURIST report] was filed against the company in a Louisiana state court alleging that its negligent actions led to the spill and that BP was further negligent in its oversight of the cleanup effort, resulting in volunteers falling ill due to inadequate protective equipment. In June, two lawsuits were filed against BP [JURIST report] alleging violations of the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) [18 USC § 1961 et seq.] statute. The lawsuits allege that BP purposefully defrauded the American public in order to increase company profits. Also in June, Attorney General Eric Holder [official website] announced that the DOJ is reviewing whether any civil or criminal laws were violated [JURIST report] by BP resulting in the oil spill. Holder cited several statutes being examined by government lawyers, including the Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 [materials].

The actions of NATO-led forces in Afghanistan have been questioned previously. In December, Afghan president Hamid Karzai [official website; JURIST news archive] appointed a delegation [JURIST report] to investigate ten civilian deaths thought to have occurred during a raid by international forces, possibly including NATO personnel, in Kunar province. The Afghan parliament demanded in May that restrictions be placed [JURIST report] on foreign-led airstrikes following an attack that resulted in the death of 140 civilians.

In August, the Turkish Foreign Ministry [official website] announced that it will conduct an investigation [JURIST report] into the May incident. The announcement came days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu [official website; BBC profile] testified before a civilian commission that Israel did not violate international law [JURIST report]. A senior Israeli official announced in July that his government would not cooperate [JURIST report] with an investigation into the incident conducted by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website], but will comply with a separate UN investigation created under the authority of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon [official website]. Earlier in July, an Israeli military probe found that the raid lacked sufficient intelligence and planning [JURIST report], but also concluded that no punishments were necessary. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) [official website] in June called for an end [JURIST report] to the blockade, labeling it a violation of international humanitarian law.