The same court has ruled several times on laws relating to the elections. In January, the court ruled [JURIST report] that a law allowing local and parliamentary elections to be held at the same time is unconstitutional. The law had been challenged of creating opportunities of fraud, cheating and confusion in the election process. In 2009, the high court declared [press release, PDF; in Romanian] incumbent president Basescu winner of the country's disputed presidential election [JURIST report]. He had been reinstated in 2007 after the high court certified results of a referendum in which 74 percent of voters rejected [JURIST reports] Basescu's impeachment.

Presiding judge of the Cook County Chancery Division, Moshe Jacobius, agreed [JURIST report] last month to combine the two lawsuits that claim the state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. Illinois was the seventh US jurisdiction to legalize same-sex civil unions, but it has not joined the nine jurisdictions that have legalized same-sex marriage. In February, three Illinois legislatures introduced [AP report] the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act [HB 5170 materials], which would have provided same-sex marriage rights for same-sex couples, but it has not been approved. In March, Maryland legalized same-sex marriage, joining Washington, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire and the District of Columbia [JURIST reports]. On the other hand, North Carolina voters approved [JURIST report] a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in May. In February, the Wyoming Senate approveda bill that would deny recognition of same-sex marriages and civil unions [JURIST report] performed in other jurisdictions. New Jersey is still struggling to pass the same-sex marriage bill because Governor Chris Christie conditionally vetoed the bill [JURIST report] and called for a voter referendum to decide the issue, rather than the state legislature.

The investigation into the antitrust allegations lasted for eight years. In 2008, the Commission carried out an unannounced inspection [JURIST report] at the Munich office of Intel as part of an investigation into the company's possible anticompetitive practices. Intel was accused [JURIST report] of having violated the European antitrust laws by abusing its dominant position in the x86 architecture processor market to exclude AMD from the market. Similar proceedings were initiated and completed [JURIST report] in two years by the Korean Fair Trade Commission [official website, in Korean] that investigated into allegations that the company was forcing consumers to buy its products over those made by AMD.

The right to life is the most fundamental of all human rights. It lies at the heart of international human rights law. The taking of life is too absolute, too irreversible, for one human being to inflict it on another, even when backed by legal process. Where the death penalty persists, conditions for those awaiting execution are often horrifying, leading to aggravated suffering.

Capital punishment has remained a controversial issue around the world. In June Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] urged the Sudanese government to reform its discriminatory laws and abolish both the death penalty and all corporal punishment after a young Sudanese woman was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery. Intisar Sharif Abdallah, who is believed to be under the age of 18, was sentenced in April under article 146 of Sudan's Criminal Act of 1991. In April Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy [official website] signed a bill to repeal the death penalty [JURIST report], making it the seventeenth US state to do so. New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and Illinois [JURIST reports] have all recently eliminated the death penalty, while 33 states retain its use. In 2010 Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] released [JURIST report] a report [text, PDF] revealing that the number of countries using the death penalty dropped in 2009, but more than 700 people were executed in 18 countries, with the most executions carried out in Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the US.

For the first time, Member States are gathering at the United Nations to negotiate a treaty regulating the international conventional arms trade. It is important. It is impressive. And it is long overdue. We have made some progress on weapons of mass destruction issues over the years. But the international community has not kept pace on conventional arms. Yes, nuclear issues always capture headlines. But conventional arms are killing people everyday without much attention. ... Poorly regulated international arms transfers are fuelling civil conflicts, destabilizing regions, and empowering terrorists and criminal networks. ... In the last decade, nearly 800 humanitarian workers were killed in armed attacks. An agreed set of standards for arms exports, along with strict national legislation, can help begin to change all of that.

International arms distribution continues to trouble governments and rights groups. In June Amnesty International called for an end to the supply of arms [JURIST report] to groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after a report highlighted the flaws in Congolese security, which AI says leads to the availability and misuse of weapons and ammunition. In April Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] was sentenced in a US court to 25 years imprisonment [JURIST report]. Bout was convicted in November [JURIST report] on four counts of conspiracy for his proposed sale of anti-aircraft missiles to drug enforcement informants posing as potential buyers for a designated foreign terrorist organization.

In early June the judges from the ICTY went on a five-day visit [JURIST report] to locations relevant to the indictment of Karadzic. They visited Srebrenica and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and its surrounding areas. This visit came just months after the ICTY sentenced [JURIST report] former president of the municipality of Sokolac, BiH, Milan Tupajic to two months in prison for refusing to testify against Karadzic. In February former Commander of the Bosnian Serb Army Ratko Mladic [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] accused [JURIST report] the ICTY of being biased. In January the ICTY accepted a plea deal [JURIST report], in the trial of the former case manager for Bosnian war criminal Milan Lukic, convicting her of five counts of contempt for procuring false witness statements. In December the ICTY convicted [JURIST report] former Yugoslav intelligence officer Dragomir Pecanac of contempt for failing to testify before the tribunal.

The government raids did not just target two media outlets but were part of a broader effort to intimidate and harass all critical journalists. Sri Lanka's poor reputation on free speech will only sink lower unless these assaults on the media stop immediately. ... Instead of "shooting the messenger" by harassing the websites that are critical of government policies, the government should focus on addressing the problems raised. The government only seems interested in preventing these issues from being exposed or discussed.

Protection of free expression remains a key concern for international human rights advocates. Two reports were presented in June to the UN Human Rights Council urging greater protection for the right to life of journalists [JURIST report] and media freedom. In February, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released its annual Attacks on the Press report [JURIST report], expressing concern about increased censorship of journalists worldwide in 2011. The CPJ criticized the growing trend of government censorship, especially Internet censorship. Last May, journalism rights group Reporters without Borders (RSF) released [JURIST report] its annual list of predators of press freedom, which included the heads of state of several countries in the Middle East and North Africa. In April 2011, the US Department of State (DOS) released its 2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, listing many of the same offenders of free press as the RSF report.

Press freedom has been one of Afghanistan's most important success stories since 2001. The Afghan government should be acting to solidify media gains, not seeking to placate forces hostile to free expression. Journalists are the canary in the coal mine in Afghanistan. Afghan journalists have bravely held the government accountable in key areas such as corruption and human rights. President Karzai should openly oppose any legislation that curbs media freedom.

HRW has criticized the government's human rights record in the past. In March the rights group called on the Afghan government to release women and girls imprisoned [JURIST report] for "moral crimes," many of which involve flight from unlawful forced marriage or domestic violence and "zina," which is sex outside of marriage due to rape or forced prostitution. In December HRW said that the Afghan government had failed to ensure and protect human rights [JURIST report] since the Taliban government ended ten years ago. The report alleged that in the last 10 years, the Afghanistan justice system had "remain[ed] weak" and that human rights abuses were rampant in the alternative traditional justice system, where civilians are often forced to resolve disputes in Taliban courts. In July 2010 the advocacy group criticized Karzai's integration and reconciliation efforts [JURIST report] to end the conflict with the Taliban and other insurgent groups, claiming that women's rights were bypassed in order to reach an expedient solution. Among HRW's criticisms was the president's decision to sign the Shia Personal Status Law [JURIST report], which legalized rape within marriage, and his pardon of two convicted rapists.

The ongoing prosecution of Tymoshenko has been highly controversial. In June a Ukrainian appeals court delayed her appeal hearing despite her announcement [JURIST reports] that she will cease all appeals in national courts. A day earlier, Tymoshenko was ordered [JURIST report] to be seen by a court-appointed doctor after she failed to appear at her tax evasion trial. The EU has consistently condemned [JURIST report] the former prime minister's conviction as politically-motivated, and has indicated that the prosecution could harm Ukraine's bid for EU accession. In August 2011, the Kiev Appeals Court refused an appeal of her detention for contempt charges for a lack of legal grounds to contest the arrest [JURIST reports]. In June 2011 Tymoshenko filed a complaint [JURIST report] with the ECHR alleging various violations of the European Convention of Human Rights and arguing that her charges were politically engineered by rival Viktor Yanukovych. Yanukovych narrowly defeated Tymoshenko in the presidential election in March 2010, but Tymoshenko has claimed that widespread voter fraud contributed to the outcome.

Bahrain has been criticized by international authorities and rights groups for abuse of prisoners and protesters by police. In April Human Rights Watch reported that Bahrain's police officers regularly abuse minor detainees [JURIST report] before transporting them to police stations. Other rights groups have made similar allegations concerning police brutality in Bahrain. Earlier in April Amnesty International issued its own report [JURIST report] alleging human rights violations continue in Bahrain despite reforms. Also in April four independent UN human rights experts called for the immediate release of Bahraini human rights defender [JURIST report] Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, who is serving a life sentence for terrorism-related charges after being tried before the Bahrain military National Safety Court in June 2011. Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders Margaret Sekaggya expressed concern that Al-Khawaja's trial and sentence are linked to his legitimate work to promote human rights. Last year a Bahrain court sentenced four protesters to death [JURIST report] for their roles in the killing of two police officers committed during mass anti-government protests. Three others were sentenced to life in prison.

To them I want to say: You are an inspiration to me and to millions of people around the world. I am proud to join in this great human rights cause. However hard and however long it may take, I know that justice will prevail and that all people can enjoy the rights and dignity they deserve.

Sexual orientation and LGBT rights are contentious issues in societies worldwide. In June, Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] urged [JURIST report] the Bulgarian Justice Minister Diana Kovacheva to denounce calls to violence by anti-gay groups in anticipation of a LGBT pride parade in Sofia, Bulgaria. During the same month, Ugandan Minister of State for Ethics and Integrity Simon Lokodo said [JURIST report] that the government was not discriminating based on sexual orientation. The statement came days after the government had announced [JURIST report] that it would ban at least 38 non-governmental organizations that are accused of recruiting children to homosexuality. Earlier that month, a prominent Russian gay rights activist filed a complaint [JURIST report] with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) challenging a St. Petersburg city ordinance that prohibits the spreading "homosexual propaganda" to minors. The ECHR ruled that a Moldova law banning gay groups from protesting in front of the country's parliament violated citizens' rights [JURIST report] to peacefully assemble and to be free from discrimination. Last month, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) released a report [JURIST report] concluding that in the US, incidents of hate-based murders against LGBT individuals increased in 2011.

The Firearm Owners' Privacy Act, however, simply does not interfere with the right to keep and bear arms. The State's arguments rest on a legislative illusion. The Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms refers to the right to "retain," "to have in custody," "to hold," and "to carry" weapons, including firearms. The law at issue here does not affect nor interfere with a patient's right to continue to own, possess, or use firearms. Protecting the right to keep and bear arms is irrelevant to this law; therefore, I do not find that it is a legitimate or compelling interest for it.

Cooke had issued a preliminary injunction [JURIST report] in the case in September, reasoning the same way as she did on Friday. She found that the act in no way affects the primary constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Gun control laws have been much debated in the past. In July 2010, the Chicago City Council [official website] unanimously approved a new gun control law that bans gun shops in the city and prohibits gun owners from stepping outside their homes, including porches and garages, with a handgun. Shortly thereafter, a group of Chicago citizens, supported by both the National Rifle Association and the National Association of Firearm Retailers [advocacy websites], filed suit against the city [JURIST report] claiming the new ordinance infringes on their constitutional rights. In June 2010, the US Supreme Court ruled in McDonald v. Chicago [opinion; JURIST report] that the Second Amendment applies to states and municipalities as well as the federal government, thereby overturning Chicago's ban on handguns and raising considerable uncertainty about what amount of regulations of firearms was permissible. Two years earlier, the Supreme Court ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] that the Second Amendment protects the right to possess a handgun for the purpose of self-defense, overturning the District of Columbia's restrictive firearms law.

Government involvement in religious activity is a contentious issue in the US. The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled [JURIST report] in May that a lawsuit opposing a Ten Commandments monument displayed on property owned by the City of Fargo, North Dakota, may move forward. In January the US Supreme Court declined to review [JURIST report] a case concerning whether a county board of commissioners in North Carolina violated the Establishment Clause by opening its public meetings with prayers. The court's denial of certiorari in the case preserved a ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit holding that that the board of commissioners violated the Establishment Clause by effectively using a public forum to endorse Christianity [JURIST report]. Earlier that month a federal judge ordered Florida's Dixie County Courthouse to remove the Ten Commandments monument [JURIST report] displayed on the front steps of the courthouse, concluding that the monument's religious message would be interpreted to be espoused by the government.

Since this report was concluded in April 2012, Amnesty International has received further allegations of human rights violations by law enforcement officials. These human rights violations are not just "isolated incidents" and should not continue to be treated as such, but should be rather seen as a pattern of abuses. Amnesty International considers that it is high time for the Greek authorities to acknowledge the extent of violations by their law enforcement officials and take measures to address the systemic problems which contribute to such abuses. Until these problems are tackled—and they include protracted criminal investigations and trials, disciplinary inquiries and criminal investigations which are lacking in independence and thoroughness, and the lack of a truly effective and independent police complaints mechanism—impunity will continue to prevail and the vicious circle of such abuses will not be broken.

Police abuse is a subject of international concern. Last month, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] against the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD) alleging that they violated the rights of protesters. The lawsuit came a week after the ACLU released a report alleging widespread abuses [JURIST report] by the PRPD. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported [JURIST report] in May that China's chengguan, a para-police organization charged with enforcing non-criminal administrative regulations, is abusing its power. In April HRW alleged that Bahrain's police officers regularly abuse minor detainees [JURIST report] before transporting them to police stations. Last October the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan reported that prisoners in some Afghan-run detention facilities had been beaten and tortured [JURIST report]. In June 2011 HRW reported that Iraqi police forces had been beating and illegally detaining protesters [JURIST report].

Authorities have been tracking down members and supporters of the al Qaeda and other terrorists groups. In June a New York native and terrorism suspect pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to charges that he provided the al Qaeda with money and computer assistance. In February Egyptian authorities reportedly arrested [JURIST report] a former al Qaeda military commander at an airport in Cairo. Saif al-Adel [Telegraph profile] was detained upon his arrival after noticing that his name appeared on the passenger list on a flight from Pakistan. During the same month, a judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Kentucky [official website] allowed [JURIST report] certain secret evidence to be used against a suspect who was charged with attempting to provide material support to terrorists and terrorist organizations and conspiracy to transfer weapons to terrorist organizations, specifically al Qaeda.

The individuals who carried out or ordered crimes against humanity bear individual criminal responsibility under international law, as do those in a position of command whose subordinates committed crimes that they were aware of or should have been aware of and failed to prevent or punish. This command responsibility would apply not only to the officials overseeing detention facilities, but also to the heads of intelligence agencies, members of government, and the head of state, President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria has been plagued with violence over the past year and a half, and human rights groups have blamed both the government and anti-government groups for the resulting deaths. On Saturday, the UN-backed Action Group on Syria generated an agreement [JURIST report] designed to aid Syria in ending the violence. Last week, a UN commission said [JURIST report] Syrian forces "may have been responsible" for the killing of more than 100 civilians in Al-Houla last month. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, however, said earlier this month that the government had nothing to do with it [JURIST report] and that "not even monsters" would carry out those attacks. In April, the UN Security Council approved a resolution [JURIST report] to send 300 unarmed soldiers and other humanitarian aid to supervise the implementation of a peace plan. This came after HRW released a report [JURIST report] stating that Syrian security forces had killed more than 100 civilians and opposition fighters in recent attacks. In March, HRW also reported on and linked to videos of Syrian forces rounding up civilians [JURIST report], including women and children, and forcing them to walk in front of soldiers and tanks during troop movements and attacks so that opposition fighters would not shoot at them.

Securing equality for women is a pressing global concern affecting both women and all members of a community. In June, Egypt elected a second panel [JURIST report] to draft its new constitution. Unlike the first panel, the newly elected 100-member panel represents all Egyptian groups, but still faced criticism for under-representing women, intellectuals and Christians. In May, Moldova was urged to adopt comprehensive anti-discrimination laws [JURIST report] to ensure the equal treatment of men and women. The UN working group on discrimination against women in law and in practice pointed out the inefficiency of allowing practices that subject women to discrimination and that special measures should be taken to overcome the under-representation of women in decision-making positions at all levels.

This past Saturday, the UN-backed Action Group on Syria generated an agreement [JURIST report] designed to aid Syria in ending the violence with a plan [text, PDF] that outlines six steps the international community must take, in addition with steps Syria must take, for a successful transition. Last week, a UN commission said [JURIST report] both sides were responsible for the resulting deaths, but al-Assad denied [JURIST report] that the government was responsible. In April, the UN Security Council approved a resolution [JURIST report] to send 300 unarmed soldiers and other humanitarian aid to supervise the implementation of a peace plan. In March, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] reported on and linked to videos of Syrian forces rounding up civilians [JURIST report], including women and children, and forcing them to walk in front of soldiers and tanks during troop movements and attacks so that opposition fighters would not shoot at them.