The investigation into the municipal bond investment market also led to a $160 million settlement [press release] with UBS AG in May and a similar settlement with Bank of America [corporate websites] last December. Last month, JPMorgan reached a $153.6 million settlement [JURIST report] for fraud charges brought by the SEC for allegedly misleading investors during the housing crisis. JPMorgan agreed to pay a $133 million fine, in addition to $20.6 million for fraudulent profits and interest. The settlement was one of the most significant lawsuits against Wall Street for its role in the mortgage crisis.

Last year, Congress approved a spending bill [JURIST report] that included a provision preventing detainees from being transferred to the US for trial, despite the Obama administration's goal of trying detainees in civilian courts and closing Guantanamo. Last month, the US Department of Defense (DOD) [official website] announced [press release] the appointment of Army Brig. General Mark Martins [official profile] as the new chief war crimes prosecutor at Guantanamo [JURIST report]. He will take charge of detainee prosecutions including the upcoming trial of self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. The case was transferred to military commission despite Obama's and Holder's plan to try 9/11 suspects in civilian courts.

Amnesties, of course, are something that come under the State Duma's powers, although ultimately, the decision to grant an amnesty is a reflection of the authorities' policy overall. We should look at which categories an amnesty would apply to. But there is absolutely no ignoring that our criminal law, after decades of inertia, is finally changing and advancing. My hope is simply that you will all do more to help me in this work, help me with your advice and the positions you take.

Medvedev has been trying to play the role of reformer to separate himself from Putin heading into the 2012 elections. A former lawyer, he has pushed for legal reform expressing the need for Russia to improve its legal system to make a better commitment to the rule of law. In December 2008, Medvedev's first year in office, he proposed Russian courts become more transparent [JURIST report] in order to restore faith in the justice system and prevent people from turning to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website]. Speaking at the seventh All-Russian Congress of Judges, Medvedev said that the ECHR cannot and should not replace Russian courts. Russia is the source of more applications to the ECHR than any other country. Medvedev proposed measures to improve the quality of judges and provide broader access to court documents. He encouraged the congress to discuss his concerns and make concrete proposals. In June 2008, Medvedev said he was committed to improving Russia's human rights record and enforcing the rule of law, reiterating pledges he made at his May inauguration [JURIST reports]. Medvedev has also promised top legal officials he would tackle corruption and intimidation in the Russian judicial system [JURIST report], calling for reforms to better train and support judges.

While the new rule varies limits depending on characteristics of markets—specifically, market size and the number of media voices—it was not clear from the FNPR which characteristics the Commission was considering or why. The phrase—"characteristics of markets" was too open-ended to allow for meaningful comment on the Commission's approach. In addition, many central elements of the rule are not based on "characteristics of markets" at all. For example, key aspects of the rule rely on: the amount of "local news" produced by an individual station involved in a potential merger and how that term is defined; the definition of "major media voices," including what counts as a major newspaper; how "market concentration" is measured; whether a station is "failing"; whether a station exercises "independent news judgment" and how that term is defined; and whether a case-by-case approach or a categorical approach to proposed mergers would better serve the public interest. The FNPR also did not solicit comment on the overall framework under consideration, how potential factors might operate together, or how the new approach might affect the FCC's other ownership rules. These were significant omissions.

In 2004, the Third Circuit overturned [opinion, PDF] a previous FCC effort to relax the media ownership rules. The appeals court found the commission did not sufficiently justify or use reasoned analysis to arrive at some of the proposed rule changes. The US Supreme Court let the decision stand without comment [JURIST report].

Impunity for past violations remains a major concern. In January of this year, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, reminded the Haitian authorities of their obligation to investigate the serious human rights violations that took place during the rule of Jean Claude Duvalier, and for which no statute of limitations exists under international law. Today, I reiterate the High Commissioner's offer of support and technical assistance to the authorities of Haiti and I hope to work with the new authorities in this regard. In addition to the judicial process, I fully support the initiative to establish a Truth Commission. I hope it will thoroughly examine this period of Haitian history as well as others, promote memory and reconciliation, and raise awareness of the need to protect and promote human rights, particularly among young persons.

Duvalier, also known as "Baby Doc," is the son of former Haitian leader Francois Duvalier, or "Papa Doc," whom he succeeded as leader [BBC report] in 1971. Following a tumultuous reign, which included accusations of thousands of murders by his regime [HRW report], Duvalier fled Haiti in 1986, and had since resided in France, until his return to Haiti in January. Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] announced [JURIST report] that Haitian authorities will investigate crimes committed against humanity [press release] allegedly committed under the rule of Duvalier during the 1970s and 80s. This came shortly after Duvalier was detained and charged [JURIST report] with corruption, embezzlement and a number of other crimes. Four people, including former UN spokesperson Michele Montas, filed criminal complaints [JURIST Report] as well. The four were allegedly imprisoned and subjected to torture [Le Nouvelliste report, in French] during Duvalier's presidency. Three of them were forced into exile. Duvalier's lawyers claimed their client is the target of government persecution.

The Dutch court decision comes weeks after the ICTR convicted [JURIST report] former Rwandan army chief Augustin Bizimungu and three others involved the Rwandan genocide. In December, the ICTR sentenced [JURIST report] former Rwandan Armed Forces lieutenant Ildephonse Hategekimana to life imprisonment after convicting him on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. The court found Hategekimana guilty of three counts of genocide stemming from his involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, specifically in the massacre of civilian Tutsis in the Rwandan town of Butare. Three months ago, the ICTR removed US lawyer and JURIST Forum [website] contributor Peter Erlinder [professional profile; JURIST news archive] from his position as an ICTR defense lawyer. The appeals chamber said the dismissal was due to Erlinder's failure to appear at a tribunal and cited Rule 46 of the ICTR Rules of Procedure and Evidence [text] which allows the court to impose sanctions for lawyer's misconduct. Erlinder argues [JURIST op-ed] the dismissal was part of a wider history of institutional bias that has helped the Rwandan government label him and other defense counsel "genocide deniers" subject to official threats of arrest and even death.

In May, the ICTY rejected [JURIST report] Seselj's attempt to have the charges against him dismissed, finding sufficient evidence for the trial to continue. He is charged with 14 counts of crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war. Seselj's war crimes trial, which began in 2006, resumed in early 2010, after being delayed [JURIST reports] for nearly a year over fears that witnesses were being intimidated. In February, Seselj went on trial [JURIST report] on charges that he released the names of 11 ICTY witnesses in violation of a confidentiality order. Last May, the ICTY appeals division upheld a 2009 contempt verdict [JURIST reports] against Seselj for revealing the identities of other witnesses that were supposed to remain confidential. Seselj is accused of establishing rogue paramilitary units affiliated with the SRS, which are believed to have massacred and otherwise persecuted Croats and other non-Serbs during the Balkan conflict.

In May, a military tribunal in Rome convicted three former German soldiers [JURIST report] of multiple murders committed during World War II. The three men were tried in absentia and sentenced to life imprisonment [UPI report] for their parts in the massacre of 184 civilians in the village of Padule di Fucecchio in Tuscany on August 23, 1944. A fourth defendant died during trial at the age of 100, a reminder that recent trials for Nazi atrocities will likely be some of the last. In May, Hungarian court began the trial [JURIST report] of accused Nazi Sandor Kepiro, who was named as the world's most wanted Nazi war crimes suspect by the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) [advocacy website], a Jewish human rights organization committed to finding and prosecuting Holocaust war criminals. Also in May, a German court convicted [JURIST report] Nazi guard John Demjanjuk [NNDB profile; JURIST news archive] for his role in murdering 28,000 at the Sobidor Death Camp. Demjanjuk, 91, was sentenced to five years in prison but released because of his advanced age and because appeals could take years.

Apple's complaint Tuesday is the latest installment in the ongoing conflict between the two companies.Two weeks ago, Apple filed suit [JURIST report] in the Seoul Central District Court against the "Galaxy" line. In April, Apple also filed a similar suit against Samsung [JURIST report] in the US. Samsung countered [JURIST report] by filing patent infringement suits against Apple in three different countries, alleging that Apple had infringed its technology related to energy consumption and preventing data transmission errors. Though competitors, Samsung and Apple rely on each in business. Apple is the largest buyer of computer and phone chips, while Samsung is the world's largest manufacturer of those chips. In fact, after Apple's initial lawsuit against Samsung, Apple indicated a willingness to continue working with Samsung [Bangkok Post report] as a partner.

The ECHR's ruling to apply UK jurisdiction to Iraq could have far reaching implications for European nations' human rights obligations during operations abroad. Last year, the UK Supreme Court [official website] ruled that the 1998 Human Rights Act, which incorporates the Convention into English law, does not apply to armed forces on foreign soil [JURIST report] and that a soldier's family does not have an automatic right to an investigation into cause of death in the battlefield. The case involved Private Jason Smith, who died of heat stroke in Iraq after making several complaints to his commanding officers. Smith's mother filed suit against the government, claiming that the UK owed her son a duty to respect his right to life, which was protected by Article 2 of the Convention, and that the government must launch an investigation into the alleged breach of that right. The UK Court of Appeal held that Smith had been protected by the Human Rights Act at all times and ordered a new investigation. The Supreme Court overruled the decision, holding that the act does not extend to troop operations abroad. The court held that, since Smith died outside of the UK's Iraqi army base, he was on foreign soil and was not protected by human rights. Justice Lord Alan Rodger noted that the lower court's ruling would require the government to protect soldiers from risks caused by conflict or face potentially costly lawsuits.

Furthermore, the targeted speech, concerning prostitution in the context of the international HIV/AIDS-prevention effort, is a subject of international debate. The right to communicate freely on such matters of public concern lies at the heart of the First Amendment. The Policy Requirement offends that principle, mandating that Plaintiffs affirmatively espouse the government's position on a contested public issue where the differences are both real and substantive. For example, the World Health Organization ("WHO") and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ("UNAIDS") have recognized advocating for the reduction of penalties for prostitution—to prevent such penalties from interfering with outreach efforts—as among the best practices for HIV/AIDS prevention. Plaintiffs claim that being forced to declare their opposition to prostitution "harms [their] credibility and integrity as NGOs, which generally avoid taking controversial policy positions likely to offend host nations [and] partner organizations," and risks "offending all of the groups whose approach to HIV/AIDS may differ from that of the government," not to mention some of the very people, prostitutes, "whose trust they must earn to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS."

Prostitution is controversial across the globe. Last month, a five-judge panel for the Ontario Court of Appeal [official website] extended a stay of a lower court decision [JURIST report] striking down laws banning prostitution-related activities, leaving the activities illegal pending ruling of the court. Although prostitution is legal in Canada, virtually all of the acts ancillary to exchanging sex for money are not. In September, the classified advertising website Craigslist [website] removed its "adult services" section [JURIST report] in the US, replacing it with a "censored" label after 18 state attorneys general criticized the section in a letter [text] sent last month. The letter, written by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal [official website] and joined by the attorneys general of 17 other states, called on Craigslist to remove the section due to alleged "rampant prostitution advertisements" and because it is supposedly used to facilitate human trafficking of women and children.

The delegation's investigation comes as many rights groups have criticized Yemen for its handling of pro-democracy protests that have persisted since February. Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] released a report [text; PDF] in April urging the international community to pressure Yemeni authorities to investigate protestor deaths. Just days earlier, the OHCHR urged the Yemeni government [JURIST report] to stop using force against peaceful protesters. The Yemeni Parliament enacted several emergency measures [JURIST report] in March at the request of President Ali Abdullah Saleh [official website, in Arabic] in an effort to end anti-government protests. Saleh, who agreed to step down in April [JURIST report], and his party, the General People's Congress (GPC), had caused mounting political tensions due to attempts to remove presidential term limits [JURIST report] and expand their political power. In December, the parliament stoked outrage among opposition parties and independents when it amended the constitution [AFP report] to eliminate provisions requiring that opposition parties be represented on the high election commission. The protests in Yemen have been analyzed in two recent JURIST op-eds: Constitutional Enforcement in Tunisia, Yemen, and Egypt by L. Ali Khan, Professor of Law at Washburn University, and The Middle East protest movements: each with a story, all with uncertainty by Dr. Jonathan Schanzer, Vice President of Research, Foundation for Defense of Democracies [advocacy website].