It has been established ... that the main reason for the ban imposed on the events organised by the applicant was the authorities' disapproval of demonstrations which they considered to promote homosexuality. In particular, the Court cannot disregard the strong personal opinions publicly expressed by the mayor of Moscow and the undeniable link between these statements and the ban. In the light of these findings the Court also considers it established that the applicant suffered discrimination on the grounds of his sexual orientation and that of other participants in the proposed events. It further considers that the Government did not provide any justification showing that the impugned distinction was compatible with the standards of the Convention.

The status of gay rights in Russia has been a contentious issue in the past, particularly in Moscow. In 2007, a Moscow district court upheld a ban on gay pride parades [JURIST report] under both Russian law and the European Convention of Human Rights. Following the ruling, several gay rights activists were arrested [JURIST report] in 2008 during a Moscow Pride event held in the city. Additionally, gay rights demonstrators, including European lawmakers, were arrested [JURIST report] in 2007 while protesting Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov's rejection of gay rights parade request.

Last week, attorneys general from all 50 states and the District of Columbia announced [joint statement, PDF] that they have formed a bipartisan group [JURIST report] called the Mortgage Foreclosure Multistate Group (MFMG), which will investigate allegations of procedural defects committed by mortgage loan companies during foreclosure processes. The MFMG explained that its investigation will focus on "robo-signing," a process by which individuals signed affidavits and other foreclosure documents without having personal knowledge of the facts and without confirming the accuracy of supporting documentation. The group asserted that such practices "constitute a deceptive act and/or an unfair practice." The MFMG will also look into allegations that affidavits were signed without a notary public being present, which is violative of state law. Investigations have already been underway in some states, and employees of several large lending companies have admitted in depositions that they failed to read documents prior to signing them [AP report]. Bank of America [corporate website] has placed a moratorium on foreclosure sales [statement] until the company has a chance to assess the accuracy of past foreclosure decisions and documentation. Wells Fargo [corporate website] announced [statement] last week that it would not place a moratorium on sales, stating that they frequently conduct reviews of their foreclosure practices and their affidavits have been accurate.

The timeliness of the court's decision will influence Suu Kyi's ability to run for office in the November elections. Under Myanmar's current election laws [JURIST report] a provision prohibiting political prisoners from seeking public office will prevent Suu Kyi from participating in the elections if she remains under house arrest. In May, Suu Kyi filed suit [JURIST report] with the country's high court in order to annul this portion of the controversial law. The suit also seeks to stop the dissolution of her opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) [party website] and requests the establishment of a parliament of lawmakers who won in the 1990 elections. The arrest of Suu Kyi, a democracy advocate and Nobel Laureate, has proven controversial and has been highly criticized [JURIST report] by the international community. She has spent 14 of the past 20 years in prison or under house arrest for alleged violations of an anti-subversion law [text, PDF].

The men surrendered [JURIST report] to the ICC in June, nearly a year after summonses for Banda and Jerbo [texts, PDF] were issued under seal by Pre-Trial Chamber I, which included charges of murder, intentionally attacking a peacekeeping mission and "pillaging." ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo [official website] praised the voluntary appearance [press release] of the men and indicated that their surrender meant that the ICC would have the chance to prosecute all suspects found in connection with the Haskanita attack. A third rebel leader, Bahar Idriss Abu Garda, was charged by the ICC earlier this year [case materials] in connection with the attack, but the charges were dropped [JURIST report] due to lack of evidence.

Numerous lawsuits are pending against BP in connection with the Deepwater Horizon spill. In August, Alabama Attorney General Troy King [official website] filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] against BP for damages to the state's coast and economy, claiming that the oil giant has failed in its efforts to accept responsibility for the oil 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, US 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 Trial Chamber originally found that Rukundo, while serving as a military chaplain and captain in the Rwandan Armed Forces, used his position as a priest to influence troops to abduct and kill Tutsi refugees who were hiding in the Saint Leon Seminary during the 1994 Rwandan genocide [HRW Backgrounder]. Kalimanzira's trial began in May 2008 after he surrendered to authorities and pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] in November 2005. The ICTR continues it work to prosecute those most responsible for the Rwandan genocide, in which nearly 800,000 people, primarily Tutsis, were killed. Representatives from the ICTR and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) appeared before the UN General Assembly (UNGA) earlier this month to request additional financial resources and institutional support [JURIST report].

Judiciaries in all democratic setups are vulnerable to the power of legislatures to create, alter or impair judicial structures including the mode of appointing, removing and remunerating the Judges. In our country...this power is tampered with constitutional guarantees that restrict legislative control over the judiciary. The Parliament was conscious of this scheme, because...it did not amend any other provision on which is built the edifice of judicial independence or the provisions relating to the functions of judiciary. Only the appointment process has been changed and the avowed objective seems to be to strike a balance between judicial independence and democratic accountability/parliamentary oversight.

The Pakistani legal system, and specifically the judiciary, has seen a significant amount of controversy in the recent past. Earlier this month, a dispute among the judiciary worsened [JURIST report] as more than 1,300 civil judges resigned in protest over the treatment of judges by lawyers and to express solidarity with Lahore District and Sessions Judge Zawar A Sheikh. Controversy has also existed between the judicial and the executive branches. In February, the Lahore High Court Chief Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif's appointment to the Supreme Court was deferred [JURIST report] because President Asif Ali Zardari [official website] had not consulted Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry over the appointment as required by Article 177 of the Pakistani Constitution [text]. Tensions between the judicial and executive branches were also evident in January when the court released a detailed judgment in the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) [text] case, striking down an ordinance granting immunity to Zardari and 8,000 other government officials from charges of corruption, embezzlement, money laundering, murder and terrorism between January 1986 and October 1999. A special 17-member panel of the court rendered the original unanimous decision [JURIST report] in December, paving the way for corruption charges to be brought against Zardari.

Since the enactment of DADT in 1993, approximately 13,000 servicemen and women have been discharged from the armed forces as a result of the policy. Last month, a California district court ruled [JURIST report] that DADT was unconstitutional. Following the decision, the Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] asked the court [JURIST report] to not enforce the decision, arguing that the ruling was overbroad and that the military should be permitted time to implement a non-judicial solution to the issue. Also last month, a federal judge for the US District for the Western District of Washington [official website] ordered [JURIST report] that a US Air Force officer be reinstated after being previous discharged under DADT. Also in September, the Senate [official website] rejected a cloture motion [JURIST report] on a defense appropriations bill that would have repealed the policy. In May, the House of Representatives and the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) [official websites] voted to repeal the policy after President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates agreed to a compromise [JURIST reports] that would prevent the repeal from taking effect until the completion of a review to determine what effects the repeal would have on military effectiveness, soldier retention and family readiness.

Today's settlement can never undo wrongs that Native Americans may have experienced in past decades, but combined with the actions we at USDA are taking to address such wrongs, the settlement will provide some measure of relief to those alleging discrimination. The Obama Administration is committed to closing the chapter on an unfortunate civil rights history at USDA and working to ensure our customers and employees are treated justly and equally.

This latest settlement comes two months after the US Senate [official website] failed to authorize a $4.6 billion settlement [JURIST report] between the US government and several hundred thousand minority farmers for alleged discrimination. The agreement would have settled discrimination claims filed by African American farmers who missed the filing deadline in a 1999 class action lawsuit, Pigford v. Glickman [BFAA backgrounder]. Last month, the founder and president of the National Black Farmers Association (NBFA) [advocacy website] called on the US Senate to fund the settlement [JURIST report]. The USDA and DOJ in February announced the $1.25 billion settlement [JURIST report] for African American farmers arising from the Pigford case, in which they claimed the USDA practiced racial discrimination in its loan programs.

Following the disputed 2009 presidential election [JURIST news archive], the ECC invalidated results from 210 polling stations [JURIST report]. The ECC found clear and convincing evidence of fraud and also ordered the IEC to invalidate a percentage of votes from both candidates. In April, Karzai blamed foreign officials for the extensive irregularities [JURIST report] that occurred during the presidential election. Though admitting that fraud was widespread, Karzai accused UN and EU representatives of attempting to influence vote counts. In November 2009, Karzai was declared the winner of the election [JURIST report] after challenger Abdullah Abdullah [BBC profile] withdrew from the runoff election due to his belief that a free and fair vote was impossible.