EULEX has been investigating war crimes [JURIST report] since December 2008. In May 2010, EU police arrested a former member of the KLA for suspected war crimes violations [JURIST report]. A case came to trial [JURIST report] in March 2009, resulting in a guilty verdict against a Kosovo Albanian for charges of murder, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm. The trial of two Serbian defendants was derailed [JURIST report] that month by hundreds of Serbian protesters and postponed indefinitely. Earlier this year, the Council of Europe and the UN Security Council [JURIST reports] considered allegations of organ trafficking by the KLA during the war. Kosovo controversially seceded from Serbia [JURIST report] in February 2008 and its new constitution went into effect [JURIST report] later that year.

The fundamental principle of the freedom of navigation on the high seas is subject to only certain limited exceptions under international law. Israel faces a real threat to its security from militant groups in Gaza. The naval blockade was imposed as a legitimate security measure in order to prevent weapons from entering Gaza by sea and its implementation complied with the requirements of international law... Non-violent options should have been used in the first instance. In particular, clear prior warning that the vessels were to be boarded and a demonstration of dissuading force should have been given to avoid the type of confrontation that occurred. The operation should have reassessed its options when the resistance to the initial boarding attempt became apparent.

Numerous investigations into the flotilla raid have been conducted since the incident took place. The Turkish Foreign Ministry [official website] announced [JURIST report] in August 2010 that it would conduct an investigation [press release, in Turkish] into the raid. Two months earlier, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] announced the composition [JURIST report] of the international panel of inquiry. The Israeli government has established two internal commissions to investigate its response to the flotilla, one military and one civilian [JURIST reports]. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu [official website; BBC profile] testified before the civilian commission in August 2010 that Israel did not violate international law [JURIST report]. During his testimony, Netanyahu expressed confidence that the commission would find Israeli actions to be in compliance with international law and explained the Israeli response to the flotilla in the context of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas [CFR backgrounder]. Netanyahu continued to accuse Hamas of "at least four war crimes: inciting to genocide; systematically and intentionally firing on civilians; using civilians as human shields; and preventing visits by the Red Cross to kidnapped IDF soldier, Gilad Shalit." In July 2010, an Israeli military probe found insufficient intelligence and planning [JURIST report] in the raid in a report, but also concluded that no punishments were necessary. Israeli forces raided six ships attempting to deliver more than 10,000 tons of aid to Gaza in May 2010. The raid left numerous wounded and resulted in the deaths of nine pro-Palestine activists—eight Turks and one American.

The informed consent law was originally passed [JURIST report] in 2005 but has faced years of court challenges and appeals. South Dakota passed another controversial abortion law [JURIST report] in March which requires women to seek counseling at a pregnancy center and wait three days before obtaining an abortion. In July the Planned Parenthood Federation of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota and the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota [advocacy website] succeeded in obtaining a preliminary injunction against the law [JURIST report].

Over the last two and half years, my administration, under the leadership of EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, has taken some of the strongest actions since the enactment of the Clean Air Act four decades ago to protect our environment and the health of our families from air pollution. From reducing mercury and other toxic air pollution from outdated power plants to doubling the fuel efficiency of our cars and trucks, the historic steps we've taken will save tens of thousands of lives each year, remove over a billion tons of pollution from our air, and produce hundreds of billions of dollars in benefits for the American people. At the same time, I have continued to underscore the importance of reducing regulatory burdens and regulatory uncertainty, particularly as our economy continues to recover.

The EPA announced in September 2009 that it would reconsider [JURIST report] national smog standards to ensure accuracy and public health. The decision to review the smog standards came in response to a legal challenge [JURIST report] filed by Earthjustice [advocacy website] on behalf of several environmental organizations. The suit alleged that the EPA ignored the input of top scientists before issuing its smog regulations [JURIST report] in March 2008. The EPA has the power to monitor ozone levels under the Clean Air Act [text, PDF]. Ground-level ozone, referred to as smog, has been linked to respiratory health issues and adverse effects on the environment.

Earlier this week, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) [advocacy website] reported that Libyan troops used children as human shields to deter attacks [JURIST report] by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) [official website]. A team of PHR investigators conducted several weeks of interviews in Libya, shortly after Gaddafi and his loyalists were expelled from Misrata. Also this month, representatives from the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] were reportedly meeting [JURIST report] with Libyan rebels to discuss turning over the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, to the court for prosecution, but it was later revealed that he had not been captured.

In August, the Sri Lankan government announced it would lift the emergency laws [JURIST report] that have been in place for 30 years, though Parliament would renew [text] some provisions temporarily. Most clauses of the Public Security Ordinance, which permits suspects to be detained indefinitely and without charge, have already been abolished. Sri Lankan Prime Minister DM Jayaratne [official website] told Parliament that some clauses would remain necessary, even though the civil war ended in 2009. The Sri Lankan emergency laws have been in a state of flux in recent years. Sri Lankan lawmakers voted last year to extend the state of emergency [JURIST report] but reduced some of the toughest provisions.

Similar cases challenging the constitutionality of PPACA are being heard in federal courts across the nation. Last month, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit [official website] struck down the individual mandate [JURIST report] as unconstitutional. Earlier in August, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit [official website] dismissed a lawsuit [JURIST report] brought by a physician organization for lack of standing. The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit [official website] upheld the law in June, and the ruling was appealed [JURIST reports] by the Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) [advocacy website] to the US Supreme Court [official website]. Also in June, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit [official website] decided it could rule on two challenges to PPACA after the court requested briefs [JURIST report] from all parties on whether the Anti-Injunction Act (AIA) [text], which prevents injunctions against taxes before the tax is imposed, would bar review of PPACA until it is implemented. The Fourth Circuit already heard arguments [JURIST report] in May to resolve a split decision between the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruling against the individual mandate and the Western District of Virginia dismissing a challenge [JURIST reports] of the law.

In this case, there can be no question that Diop's detention for nearly three years without further inquiry into whether it was necessary to ensure his appearance at the removal proceedings or to prevent a risk of danger to the community, was unreasonable and, therefore, a violation of the Due Process Clause.

The US government has faced criticism over the immigrant detention system. In March, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACH) [official website] released a report detailing investigations into immigrant detention centers [JURIST report]. The report expressed concern over increased use of detention by the US government, citing a doubling in detention of non-citizens by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) [official website]. It criticized the US government for viewing detention as a necessity and not as an exception in its enforcement. IACH also found the average 30 day detentions troubling, arguing that it is likely to increase as backlogs of immigration cases increase. The number of immigration cases pending is expected to rise in light of the numerous state laws that have been enacted to address the issue of immigration. Absent comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level, several states including Arizona, Georgia, Alabama, Indiana and Utah [JURIST reports] have passed legislation aimed at addressing the issue of illegal immigration [JURIST news archive].

In May, a panel in the ECCC denied a motion for pretrial release [JURIST report] by former Khmer Rouge official Ieng Sary [ECCC backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. Ieng, 85, served as deputy foreign minister under the Khmer Rouge regime during its reign in Cambodia from 1975-1979. Ieng's co-defendants in ECCC Case 2 [materials], Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan [ECCC backgrounder] and Ieng Thirith have all challenged pretrial custody unsuccessfully. In March, Kaing Guek Eav [ECCC backgrounder; JURIST news archive], a former prison chief at the notorious Toul Sleng prison under the Khmer Rouge, better known as "Duch," appealed a 35-year sentence for war crimes [JURIST reports] and crimes against humanity handed down by the ECCC last July. The conviction was the court's first since its founding in 2006.

In July, the Ninth Circuit ruled that DADT would remain partially in effect [JURIST report] during the 60 days prior to its newly-scheduled repeal. The court effectively reiterated its order issued [JURIST report] the previous week, in which it reinstated DADT but explicitly ordered the military to refrain from investigating, penalizing or discharging any of its members as originally provided for under the policy. Hours earlier, President Barack Obama [official website], Defense Secretary Leon Panetta [official profile] and the Joint Chiefs of Staff certified [JURIST report] DADT's repeal, scheduling the policy to end September 20. Obama signed the bill to repeal DADT [JURIST report] in December. The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 [HR 2965 materials] 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.