In Smith v. Bayer Corp. [oral arguments transcript, PDF; JURIST report], the court heard arguments on two issues. First, under the re-litigation exception of the Anti-Injunction Act [28 USC § 2283], whether a district court can prohibit parties from seeking class certification in state court after denying certification to a similar class, and when the parties and claims are not identical to those in the state court action. Second, whether the district court has personal jurisdiction over absent class members that would allow the court to prevent them from requesting class certification in state court. The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held [opinion, PDF] that the re-litigation exception permitted an injunction preventing parties denied class certification in district court from seeking class certification in state court. The court also held that the protections available to absent class members in the context of an adverse class certification ruling satisfy due process and are sufficient to bind them to the district court's decision. Counsel for the petitioners argued that his clients, individuals who were not named in the district court class action, should not be precluded by the district court's decision:

They never received notice of that prior proceeding; they never received an opportunity to appear and be heard; they never received an opportunity to opt out; and they never received an opportunity to appeal the decision denied by certification. No precedent of this Court would justify treating ... people as parties under preclusion principles under these circumstances.

In Stern v. Marshall [oral arguments transcript, PDF; JURIST report], the court heard arguments on whether a bankruptcy court has jurisdiction to adjudicate proof of claims. The case revisits the estate battle [JURIST report] of model Anna Nicole Smith (Vickie Lynn Marshall). The US Court of the Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held [opinion, PDF] that the bankruptcy court exceeded its jurisdiction in ruling on the case. The case had returned to the Ninth Circuit after the Supreme Court's 2006 ruling in Marshall v. Marshall [Duke Law backgrounder; JURIST report] that federal courts can in some cases decide disputes which involve state probate laws. Counsel for the petitioner argued that the bankruptcy court had jurisdiction to rule on the case under Article III [Cornell LII backgrounder] of the US Constitution. Counsel for the respondent argued that court precedent gave the bankruptcy court the proper jurisdiction.

In October, the Ecuadorian government announced it will revise a controversial austerity law following unrest [JURIST report] and a suspected coup attempt in September. Police officers fired tear gas at Correa, surrounded the hospital at which he was being treated and trapped him there for 12 hours while protesting the Public Service Law [text, PDF, in Spanish], which they feared would reduce their pay and benefits. In September 2008, Ecuadorian voters overwhelmingly approved a new constitution [JURIST report] that consolidated and significantly expanded the powers held by Correa, including the power to dissolve the legislature and pass laws by decree. The special assembly charged with rewriting the constitution provisionally approved [JURIST report] the document in July 2008. The success of Correa's referendum fulfilled his pledge to rewrite the country's constitution after his coalition's landslide victory [JURIST report] in October 2007. Critics characterized the 444-article constitution as giving the president too much control over the economy and the judiciary.

In addition to the PCP, rights groups and international organizations have also heavily criticized [JURIST report] al-Bashir and the Sudanese government. In September, the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] called for the arrest of al-Bashir [JURIST report] during his visit to Kenya. Al-Bashir faces seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity as well as three charges of genocide [JURIST reports]. Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan urged Kenya to reaffirm its cooperation with the ICC by arresting al-Bashir [JURIST report]. In July, an Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] report [JURIST report] claimed that the National Security Services in Sudan (NISS) were brutally suppressing internal dissent and targeting rights workers. Also in July, the ICC called for al-Bashir's arrest [JURIST report] during his visit to Chad, marking his first visit to an ICC member state since the warrants were issued.

In addition to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website; JURIST news archive] and trials before Rwandan courts, several European countries have utilized their legal systems [AFP report] to try suspects accused of crimes related to the Rwandan genocide. In June, a Finnish court convicted former Rwandan pastor [JURIST report] Francois Bazaramba on charges of genocide and murder and sentenced him to life in prison. Canadian prosecutors announced in November that a second suspect had been charged [JURIST report] under Canada's Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act [text, PDF]. The first man charged under the act was Desire Munyaneza. In October, he was sentenced to life imprisonment [JURIST report] for war crimes committed during the Rwandan genocide. Munyaneza was convicted [JURIST report] in May 2009 of seven counts of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes under the act.

The Tunisia Constitutional Council officially announced [JURIST report] last week that President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali [official website] had permanently left the office of the president. The council, the country's highest legal authority on constitutional issues, declared that the leader of the lower house of parliament, Foued Mebezza, will assume power [AFP report] until elections are held in two months. The council made its ruling at the request of Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi [Reuters profile] and based its ruling on article 57 of the constitution, declaring a "definitive" vacation of the presidency. Before flying out of Tunis to seek refuge in Saudi Arabia, Ben Ali signed a decree granting interim presidential powers to Ghannouchi, attempting to leave open the possibility of returning to office. Mebezza took the oath of office [Al Jazeera report] on Saturday and according to the council he should organize new presidential elections within 60 days.

The court also denied certiorari in al-Adahi v. Obama [docket], an appeal by a Yemeni detainee seeking reinstatement of a previous order that he be released from Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]. The US District Court for the District of Columbia had held that the US did not present sufficient evidence to justify further detention of the accused al-Qaeda supporter, but it was reversed [JURIST reports] by a unanimous panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The government has argued that Mohammed al-Adahi, detained since 2002, was a supporter or member of the Taliban and/or al-Qaeda, claiming that al-Adahi had acted as an instructor at al Qaeda camp al Farouq, had familial ties to both the Taliban and al Qaeda, and had been employed as a bodyguard for Osama bin-Laden, and that al-Adahi's story lacked credibility. Justice Elena Kagan did not take part in the decision to deny certiorari. It is unclear whether she will participate in any of the impending Guantanamo habeas cases.

The Court granted certiorari in a consolidated case over the issue of whether the Supremacy Clause preempts Medicaid recipients and providers from bringing a suit challenging a California state law that reduces reimbursement rates. The court consolidated three cases that raised the issue: Maxwell-Jolly v. Independent Living Center of Southern California [docket; cert. petition, PDF], Maxwell-Jolly v. Santa Rosa Mem. Hosp. [docket; cert. petition, PDF], and Maxwell-Jolly v. California Pharmacists Association [docket; cert. petition, PDF]. Medicaid providers—doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies—are angry over a series of cutbacks [LAT report] by the California Legislature reducing reimbursement payments in an attempt to handle the state's financial crisis. Lawyers for the state argue that the the providers have no right to challenge the reimbursement rates and that they do not have any right to a particular rate of reimbursement.

The military court summoned the men [All Africa report] in November to stand trial on the charges. The former officials published a paper [text] in August criticizing Kagame's government for corruption and human rights violations. In July, the South African foreign ministry blamed foreign agents [BBC report] for a shooting that left Nyamwasa injured. Rwanda's government claims Nyamwasa and Karegeya were behind a grenade attack [Monitor report] in Rwanda's capital city of Kigali last February. Nyamwasa is wanted in France and Spain [Business Day report] for his role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide [JURIST news archive].

This is an important moment for the People of Lebanon. It marks the launch of the judicial phase of the Tribunal's work. For the first time, a legal case has been launched by an international Tribunal against those responsible for a political assassination in Lebanon. This step has been taken at the request and on behalf of the People of Lebanon and in fulfillment of a mandate from the United Nations Security Council. This is also an important moment for the international community - and for those who believe in international justice.

In August, Hezbollah submitted evidence to the STL [JURIST report] linking Israel with the bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others. The STL asked for the evidence a week earlier after Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah [BBC profile] claimed to have proof that Israel was behind the bombing. Last February, the head of the STL reassured [JURIST report] the Lebanese public that the investigation is on track. When asked about the progress of the investigation into the death of Hariri, the head of the STL "underlined the fact that the Tribunal already has in place all the legal and administrative instruments necessary for its work, and is fully operational so that justice may be dispensed with complete independence and impartiality in accordance with the highest international standards." The STL was established in 2005 at the request of the Lebanese government to try those alleged to be connected to the bombing in which Hariri was killed by explosions detonated near his motorcade in Beirut.