US Courts have also been forced to interpret medical marijuana statutes in recent years. In January 2010, the California Supreme Court [official website] overturned [JURIST report] a 2003 law limiting the amount of marijuana that may be possessed under the state's Medical Marijuana Program (MMP) [materials]. Earlier that month, New Jersey became the fourteenth US state [JURIST report] to legalize medical marijuana. In November, voters in Maine approved [JURIST report] an expansion of the state's existing medical marijuana laws, making Maine the fifth state to allow dispensaries, following California, Colorado, Rhode Island and New Mexico. California's Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled in 2008 that the MMP is not in conflict with the Supremacy Clause [JURIST report] and does not violate the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

The Spanish National Court announced in January that it is seeking the extradition of Demjanjuk [JURIST report] so he can stand trial on charges relating to his alleged involvement with the Flossenburg [HRP backgrounder] concentration camp where 60 Spanish citizens were killed during World War II. Demjanjuk's German trial, which began in November 2009, has been marked by extensive delay. In October 2009, Demjanjuk was found fit to stand trial [JURIST report] after the court rejected appeals relating to his health, although the court has limited hearings to no more than two 90-minute sessions per day. Demjanjuk fought a lengthy legal battle over his alleged involvement with Nazi death camps during World War II. He was deported to Germany in May 2009 after the US Supreme Court denied his stay of deportation [JURIST reports].

4/14/11 - The court has rejected the defense request to suspend trial proceedings.

The U.S. Submission does nothing to alter the conclusion that the criminal case against the so-called "Bush Six"; is properly before the Spanish court: it demonstrates that no competent jurisdiction is investigating or prosecuting the allegations in the complaint. The listed initiatives undertaken by the US government in various fora, while indicating some small measure of concern with the "mistreatment" or "abuse" of detainees and the legal advice provided in relation to the treatment of detainees, are ultimately unresponsive and inapplicable to the allegations raised in the complaint pending in Spain.

In February, the Spanish National Court agreed to continue investigating [JURIST report] allegations of a Moroccan man who claims that he was tortured while detained at Guantanamo Bay. Article 23.4 of the Ley Organica del Poder Judicial (LOPJ) [text, in Spanish] authorizes Spanish courts to hear certain types of international cases, but requires that the case have a "relevant connection" to Spain [Publico report, in Spanish], following a limitation placed on universal jurisdiction [JURIST report] in 2009. The court first opened the investigation in April 2009 [JURIST report], looking into torture allegations at Guantanamo Bay made by four former prisoners. The court based its decision on statements by the prisoners who claimed they were subject to various forms of physical and mental abuse during their imprisonment, as well as CIA interrogation memos [JURIST report] detailing a plan which allegedly authorized the systematic torture and mistreatment of persons who were deprived the basic rights of detainees. The alleged abuses violated the Geneva Conventions [ICRC materials], the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment [UN materials], and other international treaties, the court said.

Since the November elections state legislatures across the country have been implementing measures to restrict abortions. Last week the Alabama House of Representatives [official website] voted to approve a bill [JURIST report] that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of gestation, except in cases where the mother's life is at risk or she faces serious injury. The Ohio Senate [official website] approved a similar bill [JURIST report] that would limit the availability of abortions after 20 weeks. Last month, the Idaho legislature [official website] also gave final approval to a bill [JURIST report] that would prohibit most abortions after 20 weeks. Also in March, the Iowa House of Representatives [official website] approved a bill [JURIST report] that would prohibit doctors from performing any late-term abortions in the state. Bills proposing similar abortion restrictions were approved in the Missouri House of Representatives and the Oklahoma House of Representatives [JURIST reports] last month. Also last month, South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard [official website] signed into law [JURIST report] a bill requiring women to seek counseling at a pregnancy center and wait three days before obtaining an abortion.

Prior to November's judgment, Uruguay's Supreme Court had largely upheld the amnesty except in extreme circumstances, and in 2009 a popular vote failed to overturn the law [JURIST reports]. Many of the alleged kidnappings and deaths occurred in connection with Operation Condor [BBC backgrounder], a cooperative effort between the governments of Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil and Chile to eliminate left-wing political opponents. In June, ex-military officials in Argentina were put on trial [JURIST report] for the deaths of 65 activists in connection with Operation Condor. The Uruguayan government has also attempted to bring those responsible for the disappearance of leftist activist to justice. In 2006, eight former police and military officers were indicted by a Uruguayan court [JURIST report] on counts of kidnapping and conspiracy committed during the 1973-1985 dictatorship. The crimes were related to the 1976 disappearances of five members of an Uruguayan leftist group who fled to Argentina and were detained there by police, and who investigators suspect were victims of Operation Condor.

Read more about Uruguay's Reparations Law on JURIST's Dateline service.

A recent HRW report criticized the UN, the Human Rights Council and Ban for failing to adequately enforce human rights. The UN defended against these allegations [JURIST report] in January. The report specifically mentioned Ban's reluctance to put pressure on abusive governments, and substituting dialogue and cooperation for public pressure to promote human rights. HRW's report highlighted the UN's deference toward atrocities in Sri Lanka [JURIST report] as an example of the UN's human rights shortcomings. Sri Lanka faced numerous allegations of human rights violations originating from incidents that took place during the final months of its 30-year civil war. Last May, HRW announced it had acquired new evidence [JURIST report] supporting allegations of war crimes. Although Ban affirmed his commitment to set up a UN panel investigating the human rights violations in Sri Lanka, HRW was dissatisfied with the UN's response.