Under the new constitution, Mohammed, who previously enjoyed almost absolute power, remains head of the army, but a variety of his other political powers are now held by the prime minister and parliament. In addition to curbing the king's powers, the revision also guarantees more rights for women and makes Berber, an indigenous language, official. Mohammed announced the changes [JURIST report] last month, which many viewed as an attempt to put an end to the "Arab Spring" street protests that had been becoming more prevalent throughout the region. Prior to the king's announcement, in April, thousands of protesters engaged in peaceful demonstrations [JURIST report], vocalizing their demands for greater reform to the constitution as well as an end to corruption within the country. Similar protests have occurred recently throughout the Middle East and North Africa [BBC backgrounder], and have resulted in the resignations of Tunisian president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak [JURIST reports]. Protests were also widespread in Libya [JURIST backgrounder], where leader Muammar Gaddafi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] and his inner circle have been accused of perpetrating violence against protesters [JURIST report].

It is important that rapid and concrete progress is made by Senegal to prosecute or extradite Habre to a country willing to conduct a fair trial. This has been High Commissioner's position all along. It is also the position of the African Union, as well of much of the rest of the international community; It is a violation of international law to shelter a person who has committed torture or other crimes against humanity, without prosecuting or extraditing him.

Senegal suspended plans to extradite late Sunday [AFP report] just hours before Habre was set to board a plane. The decision came after Pillay issued a plea [JURIST report] not to return Habre to Chad, which has already sentenced him to death in absentia. Senegal had announced Friday it was deporting Habre to Chad [JURIST report] to face charges. However, Pillay warned [press release] that Habre would not receive a fair trial and that extradition may violate international law. Habre has been accused of involvement in the murder or torture of more than 40,000 political opponents during his rule from 1982 to 1990. He later fled to Senegal after being removed from power in 1990.

Participation in military operations in Libya has been the focal point of contentious debate in the US. The US House of Representatives [official website] in two votes in June sent contradictory messages [JURIST report] over authorization of US military operations in Libya, voting down 123-295 [roll call vote] a resolution [HJ RES 68] that would have authorized further operations in Libya, and later voting down 180-238 [roll call vote] a measure [HR 2278] that would have defunded the operations, save for rescue and intelligence efforts to assist NATO. Obama disagrees with certain members of Congress regarding his legal authority to continue military operations in Libya. Obama's position is that he is not in violation [JURIST report] of the War Powers Resolution. His office maintains that US activities in Libya do not amount to "hostilities" because the US is only playing a supporting role in the NATO-led mission pursuant to and limited by the UN Security Council Resolution authorizing military action in Libya to protect civilians. But earlier in June, it was reported that Obama came to this conclusion overriding the legal interpretations [JURIST report] of the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel [official websites]. Last month, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) [official website] had threatened to defund the mission after sending Obama a letter earlier in the month warning him that he was within five days of violating the War Powers Act. Also last month, Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Walter Jones (R-NC) [official websites] filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] seeking to enjoin further action in Libya. Obama's report endorsed a pending resolution [bill materials] that would provide some congressional support for continued efforts in Libya, though not approval of declaring war. The report also detailed that the US has spent USD $716 million and will spend $1.1 billion by the end of September.

For more, see JURIST's Feature on the Libya Conflict.

The men were charged just days after the court ordered Mubarak moved to a hospital to recover from an unspecified ailment, causing a delay in questioning [JURIST report] regarding his alleged roles in protester deaths and embezzlement of government money. A week earlier, the chief prosecutor summoned [Al Jazeera report] Mubarak for questioning, along with his two sons, Gamal and Alaa. Egyptian authorities continued to question Mubarak's sons [AFP report] after Mubarak was taken to the hospital. In a televised statement, Mubarak denied corruption charges [BBC report], asserted his right to defend his reputation and expressed his willingness to cooperate [Al Arabiya report] with investigations, denying that he owns property abroad or holds foreign bank accounts.

Apple's claim comes days after it filed a complaint against Samsung [JURIST report] in an effort to bar importation of Samsung's smartphones and tablets. Apple claimed Samsung's "Galaxy" line copies its iPhone and iPad technology. That complaint came just a week after Samsung filed a similar complaint [JURIST report] seeking to prevent Apple from importing iPads and iPhones. Samsung claimed that Apple violated five patents also related to smartphones and tablets. In addition, Samsung filed a patent infringement suit [Bloomberg report] against Apple in the High Court in London two weeks ago.

Piracy remains an issue of international concern, as few countries have been willing to prosecute suspected pirates. The Netherlands is one of the few countries that has attempted to try suspected pirates. Last year, a Netherlands court in Rotterdam sentenced five convicted Somali pirates [JURIST report] to five years in prison for hijacking a cargo ship registered in the Netherlands Antilles. The five men were arrested in 2009 during an attempt to forcibly board a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden after a Danish navy frigate sunk their boat. The five men had pleaded not guilty [JURIST report], saying they were fishermen who were seeking help after an equipment malfunction. They also challenged the court's jurisdiction and claimed that the severe poverty in Somalia had driven them to piracy. In rejecting these claims, the court emphasized the growing threat of piracy to international shipping that convicted pirates must face strict consequences. The few countries that have attempted to prosecute them include the US, Germany, Seychelles, Mauritius, Yemen, Somalia and Spain [JURIST reports].

The chemical castration process consists of a series of chemical injections that hinder the effects of the male hormone testosterone. In an earlier version of the bill, punishment for sexual crimes committed against children would range from 20 years to life imprisonment [Library of Congress report]. A person would be eligible for parole and conditional early release only upon his voluntary request for and agreement to undergo medical castration. Several countries including Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Denmark, Israel, Norway, Sweden, Poland and some US states use the chemical castration process. In his annual address to Parliament [transcript text] last November, Medvedev emphasized the need for measures that protect children, including harsher penalties for those who commit sexual crimes against children.

The appeals court ruling in April overturned a prior decision [JURIST report] in February by a panel of three judges from the Fifth Circuit ordering that the revised birth certificate be issued. Lambda Legal, which represents the parents, successfully argued a similar case [JURIST report] in 2007, when the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit struck down an amendment [press release] to the Oklahoma Constitution that would have prevented the state from recognizing adoptions by gay parents that were finalized in other US or foreign jurisdictions. Same-sex adoptive parents have recently been involved in numerous legal battles [JURIST news archive]. In April, the Arkansas Supreme Court struck down a ban on adoptions [JURIST report] by same-sex couples, finding the ban to be a violation of the state constitution. Last year, a Florida appellate court struck down a similar law [JURIST report], finding that it failed rational basis review and violated the state constitution's equal protection clause.

I am assured by the US Government that Mr. Manning's prison regime and confinement is markedly better than it was when he was in Quantico. However, in addition to obtaining first hand information on my own about his new conditions of confinement, I need to ascertain whether the conditions he was subjected to for several months in Quantico amounted to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. For that, it is imperative that I talk to Mr. Manning under conditions where I can be assured that he is being absolutely candid.

A US Army [official website] panel of experts declared Manning competent to stand trial [JURIST report] in April. Manning faces two charges [charge sheet, PDF; JURIST report] under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) [text] for the transfer of classified information and exceeding his authorized computer access. His prosecution has sparked heated debate between defenders and critics. Those who support Manning's actions refer to him as courageous for acting as a whistleblower [advocacy petition] against government crime and corruption. He has been compared to famous US whistleblowers such as Frank Serpico and Daniel Ellsberg [personal websites], who leaked information regarding corruption in the New York Police Department and the Pentagon, respectively. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates [official profile] has criticized the video [WSJ report], claiming it provides the public a view of warfare "as seen through a soda straw." He noted that public attention was not drawn to what was discovered by US ground forces following the helicopter gunfire, including AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. He also defended the reality of fighting terrorist organizations, which is made up of combatants who do not wear enemy uniforms.

The anti-boycott law was passed despite controversy over the legality of further settlement into the West Bank, home to many Palestinians. Last year, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official profile] called Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank "illegal" [JURIST report]. The statement came two weeks after Israel announced the construction of 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem [GlobalSecurity backgrounder], where Palestinians hope to establish the capital of their future state. Ban said, "the world has condemned Israel's settlement expansion plans in East Jerusalem. Let us be clear, all settlement activities [are] illegal anywhere in Occupied Territory... I urge all parties to respect sensitives and promote calm. We can and must find a way for Jerusalem to emerge from negotiations as the capital of two states with arrangements for holy sites acceptable to all." Also last year, Israel began rerouting a segment of its West Bank security barrier [official website; JURIST news archive] shifting the controversial barrier's path several hundred yards west [JURIST report] of its current location to return more than 800,000 square yards of land to Palestinian farmers. The move comes more than two years after the Israeli Supreme Court ruled [JURIST report] that the government must change the route because it excessively encroached on Palestinian territory and infringed on residents' rights to access fields and orchards blocked by the barrier.

The L'Oreal case is not the first infringement claim against eBay. Last year, the Paris Court of Appeals upheld [JURIST report] a 2008 judgment against eBay for its role in the sale of counterfeit goods but significantly reduced the amount of damages eBay had to pay. The appeals court cut the damages [AP report] to be paid to French luxury goods giant LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) [corporate website] from 38 million euros (USD $49 million) to 5.7 million euros (USD $7.3 million). The original judgment against eBay [JURIST report] found that the website failed to prevent the sale of counterfeit luxury goods that infringed on registered designs. It established [press release] that in France, eBay was liable for the sale of counterfeit goods or goods that were selected for special distribution. The court dismissed eBay's claim that it was just a mere host for selling services. Both sides claimed the appeals court ruling a victory. LVMH was pleased that the judgment was not overturned, while eBay claimed it as a win for the company and French consumers since the damages were so drastically reduced.

President Obama has treated torture as an unfortunate policy choice rather than a crime. His decision to end abusive interrogation practices will remain easily reversible unless the legal prohibition against torture is clearly reestablished. The US has a legal obligation to investigate these crimes. If the US doesn't act on them, other countries should.

Several human rights groups have urged investigations into alleged detainee abuses authorized by the Bush administration. In February, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the European Center for Human Rights (ECCHR) [advocacy websites] urged [JURIST report] the signatory states of the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT) [text] to pursue criminal charges [press release] against Bush. Other calls to investigate the criminal culpability of Bush and officials in his administration have been rejected consistently by US officials [JURIST report]. In November, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] urged US Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate Bush for violation of the federal statute prohibiting torture [18 USC § 2340A]. The ACLU argued that the use of waterboarding has historically been prosecuted as a crime in the US. Failure to investigate Bush would harm the US's ability to advocate for human rights in other countries, the ACLU said. Rumsfeld has also faced possible criminal charges in Europe, when, in 2007, a war crimes complaint was filed against him [JURIST report] in Germany for his involvement in detainee treatment. The case was later dismissed [JURIST report]. In June 2010, the ACLU called [press release] on the Obama administration to stop shielding Bush administration officials [JURIST report] from civil suit and criminal prosecution in relation to the treatment of detainees in US custody.

In November, the government requested and received the stay [text, PDF; JURIST report] that suspended enforcement of the injunction. The government had requested that the appeal be placed on hold in light of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act, arguing that moving forward with the appeal would interfere with the repeal schedule that the Act sets in place. After hearing seven months of arguments and briefs, the Ninth Circuit rejected that appeal and lifted the stay. That decision came after the Ninth Circuit's denial [JURIST report] of a motion [text, PDF] by the US government that the court suspend the government's appeal of an injunction [JURIST report] issued by the US District Court of the Central District of California [official website] requiring the US military to end enforcement of DADT. Congress recently tried to delay the repeal of DADT when it passed the $690 billion National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 [HR 1540 materials], which contains a provision [Sec. 533] requiring the chiefs of the branches of the military to submit written certification that DADT's repeal will not be harmful. The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act was approved in the Senate in December after being passed [JURIST reports] by the House of Representatives the week before. 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.