Publication of the financial disclosure forms of some 28,000 Executive Branch employees will cause them an immediate and irretrievable loss of their most private and confidential financial information. Details of their financial affairs, and the financial affairs of their spouses and dependent children, will be available to anyone in the world (literally) who has access to the Internet. No record will be made of who views or downloads the information. No restrictions will be placed on how the information will be used or distributed. Simply because they are senior civil servants or military officers, those Executive Branch Employees who file Form 278s will suffer the permanent loss of their confidential financial information.

US President Barack Obama [official website] signed the STOCK Act into law in April [JURIST report]. The president highlighted the importance of the law [press release] saying that the law ensures that the powerful are playing by the same rules as everyone else. The president further applauded the act as an essential step in subduing the power of money in politics. Trades by members of Congress may be investigated by the OCE,. The STOCK Act was first introduced by Congresswoman Louise Slaughter [official website] in 2006.

Enkhbayar lost the presidential election [JURIST report] in 2009 when Mongolia Democratic Party [party website, in Mongolian] candidate Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj [Taipei Times profile] defeated him in the country's general election. Educated in the US, Elbegborj ran on a platform of fighting corruption and redistributing profits from the country's mining operations to Mongolian residents. Enkhbayar's Communist Party had originally refuted claims that Elbegdorj had won the election but later accepted the results [BBC report]. In 2008, Enkhbayar declared a state of emergency [JURIST report] following protests against the results of parliamentary elections in the country. At least five people were killed and more than 700 people were detained as a result of the protests. The Democratic Party had called for new elections [Reuters report] because of alleged fraud, but Enkhbayar has said that both parties have agreed to address the riots under established law [Xinhua report].

It is not the first time the confirmation of charges hearing was postponed. In mid-June the ICC had announced [JURIST report] that it would postpone the date of the hearing after his defense team requested more time [JURIST report]. They argued that if the hearing in their client's case took place as planned, Gbagbo would not receive a fair trial because of his limited financial resources compared to the resources of the prosecution. Gbagbo's hearing date was set [JURIST report] in December during his pre-trial hearing [ICC press release] in the Pre-Trial Chamber III of the ICC. During the hearing the court verified Gbagbo's identity and ensured that he was informed of the four charges against him, including murder, persecution, inhumane acts, and rape and other forms of sexual violence allegedly committed during last year's post-election violence [JURIST news archive] in the Ivory Coast. A month earlier, he was taken into custody [JURIST report] by the ICC after national authorities of the Ivory Coast surrendered him to the international court.

The discrimination [JURIST comment] faced by Roma in European countries is not a recent development. In May the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) implored the government of Moldova [official website] to adopt a comprehensive anti-discrimination law [JURIST report] in development since 2008, which would be seen as a large step forward for the Roma population and other minorities in the nation. A month earlier Human Rights Watch [advocacy website; press release] reported that Roma, Jews and Ukrainians in Bosnia and Herzegovina face exclusion from politics and public institutions [JURIST report], identifying the 1995 Bosnian Constitution as the root of the discrimination against minority groups like the Roma. In October the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) [official website] called on authorities [JURIST report] to end the hate speech and discrimination [press release] against the Roma migrants in Bulgaria. Last April Amnesty International [advocacy website] urged Serbian authorities to halt the forced evictions [JURIST report] of Roma in Belgrade and provide them with adequate housing and compensation. In March 2011 AI released a report documenting discrimination and human rights violations against Roma migrants [JURIST report] in Slovenia and urging the Slovenian government to protect Roma communities. The report revealed that Roma communities are being denied access to housing, water and sanitation. Much of the Roma population is living in overcrowded shacks without access to adequate health care services, schools, shops and employment.

Homosexuality and same-sex marriage [JURIST backgrounder] are controversial issues in many African countries and around the world. In June Uganda [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] announced [JURIST report] that it will ban at least 38 non-governmental organizations that are accused of promoting gay rights and recruiting children to homosexuality. In February Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] had condemned [JURIST report] the shut down of an LGBT workshop by advocacy group Freedom and Roam, declaring it illegal and trying to arrest the leader. That same month Uganda had reintroduced [JURIST report] legislation that would make certain homosexual activities punishable by death. In contrast Malawi [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] President Joyce Banda in May announced a proposal [JURIST report] to decriminalize homosexual acts. In January UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon [official profile] said [JURIST report] in a statement to the African Union Summit that Africa must honor the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [text] by ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The international community has strongly criticized the Syrian government during its prolonged and violent conflict with opposition forces. On Wednesday, Amnesty International [advocacy website] published a report holding Syria responsible for crimes against humanity [JURIST report]. Last week UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] insisted that the Syrian government take steps to protect civilians [JURIST report] during armed conflicts, noting that recent violence in the country has often led to the death of civilians who were not notified that the conflict was approaching their area. Also last week AI accused government forces and rebels in Syria of summarily capturing and killing [JURIST report] opposition forces in violation of international humanitarian law. Syria has recently been facing international criticism for human rights violations. Ban recently expressed his concern that Syria could potentially use chemical weapons [JURIST report] in its ongoing conflict, even though the Syrian government has stated it would not use such weapons against its own citizens. Last Friday the UN Security Council extended the UN monitoring mission in Syria [JURIST report] for an additional 30 days. The mandate for the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) [official website], deployed as part of the peace plan of UN Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan, received a unanimous vote for a 30-day extension in the Security Council.

Last week a Sudanese court charged [JURIST report] two men, including one US resident, with terrorism in connection with anti-government protests in June. In early July Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch [advocacy websites] jointly urged [JURIST report] the Sudanese government to cease its practice of arbitrarily arresting, detaining and abusing protesters in the country. The rights groups estimated that the country detained more than 2,000 protesters in June alone. In June the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos [official profile] expressed concern [JURIST report] about deteriorating conditions in Sudan due to continued violent conflict resulting in an increase of Sudanese refugees fleeing into neighboring countries. During the same month, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] urged Sudanese authorities [JURIST report] to take measures to prevent violence against protesters in upcoming demonstrations. AI urged Sudanese authorities to cease violence against protesters and journalists [JURIST report] following reports that the country's police in Khartoum used tear gas and batons against civilians who protested over austerity cuts.

[T]he only question before the Court is whether Mr. Garcia meets the criteria for admission to the bar under state and federal law. Because he is not an eligible alien under 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1621, and thus does not satisfy a condition set out in federal law, the bar application should be denied.

Immigration [JURIST backgrounder] continues to be a contentious issue in the US. Last week, JURIST guest columnist Geoffrey Hoffman declared [JURIST op-ed] that the US Supreme Court's decision in Arizona v. United States [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] serves as a strong reminder of the executive branch's power to create and enforce a coherent, and ideally compassionate, immigration policy. Two weeks ago, a coalition of civil rights groups asked a federal judge [JURIST report] to block a portion of Arizona's controversial immigration law [SB 1070, PDF; JURIST news archive] that requires police to check the immigration status of people they stop. Earlier in July, JURIST guest columnist Chris Schlag opined [JURIST op-ed] that the Obama administration's policy of "deferred action" toward young undocumented immigrants is a step in the right direction, but that more comprehensive legislation such as the DREAM Act is needed to ensure that the immigration system is fair and legally accountable.

Ratko Mladic's trial has been making slow progress after being postponed numerous times. Last month the ICTY postponed [JURIST report] the trial due to health problems. The trial came to an abrupt end when the former commander complained that he did not feel well. The prosecutors and victims have expressed concern that Ratko Mladic could die before facing a sentence, much like former Yugoslavian president Slobodan Milosevic [ICTY backgrounder; PDF] who died [JURIST report] in 2006 before the ICTY could issue a sentence against him. The ICTY resumed [JURIST report] the trial only three days earlier with the testimony of witness Elvedin Pasic, who was a juvenile at the time of the Bosnian civil war in the 1990s. In June the ICTY postponed the trial after suspending proceedings [JURIST reports] due to an error in disclosing documents to the defense lawyers. The trial had been already postponed indefinitely [JURIST report] in May due to allegations of prosecutorial misconduct related to evidence disclosure. Ratko Mladic's first appearance [JURIST report] before the ICTY was in June of last year when he contested charges against him while simultaneously asking for more time to review them. A day after, during his second appearance [JURIST report], he refused to enter a plea without lawyers of his choice representing him and he was removed from the court for disrupting the proceedings.

Prison overcrowding is a common problem across the globe. In June UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kyung-wha Kang [official profile] urged [JURIST report] the government of Malawi to address the problem of prison overcrowding and improve the human rights condition in the country. That month Burundi announced that it would also release prisoners to solve overcrowding problems [JURIST report]. In April South Africa announced [JURIST report] that it will issue pardons to 35,000 offenders in order to ease prison overcrowding. In February Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] called for the reduction of overcrowding [press release] to improve poor prison conditions in Latin America following a prison fire in Honduras, which killed more than 300 inmates and injured dozens more. In August, Venezuela announced [JURIST report] its plan to reduce its prison population by 40 percent. The prisons in the US are facing the same problem. In May 2011 the US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [JURIST report in Brown v. Plata [Cornell LII backgrounder; JURIST report] to uphold an order requiring California to release up to 46,000 prisoners to address the problem of prison overcrowding.

Chevron continues to face legal battles associated with the oil spill last November. In April, a Brazilian prosecutor filed an $11 billion lawsuit against Chevron [JURIST report] after the company reported a new leak [press release] in the Frade oil field. hevron is also currently appealing an $18 billion fine [JURIST report] for pollution in the Amazon jungle. The judgment against Chevron was upheld in January by a three-judge panel of the Provincial Court of Justice of Sucumbios in Lago Agrio, Ecuador. The $18 billion fine, one of the largest in the history of environmental contamination suits, was originally set at $8.6 billion [JURIST report] but was more than doubled for Chevron's refusal to pay "moral reparations" to the Ecuadorian government, as required by the original ruling. The Amazon Defense Coalition [advocacy website], plaintiffs in the suit, have responded that the first judgment was a reaffirmation of how Chevron's greed and criminal misconduct in dumping billions of gallons of toxic waste into the river has led to death and disease. Damages were initially awarded in February by the Provincial Court of Justice of Sucumbios which found that Texaco, which was acquired by Chevron in 2001, polluted large areas of the country's rain forest.

The US was reluctant to turn over Daqduq to Iraqi authorities. In December, a group of US politicians wrote a letter opposing the transfer of Daqduq into Iraqi custody [JURIST report] due to security concerns. In September, anonymous officials reported that the Obama administration was considering trying Daqduq in a military commission. The administration was reportedly considering this move because they believed that the best place to try Daqduq was at a US military base. Daqduq was captured in Iraq in 2007.

Earlier this month Hungarian prosecutors charged Csatary [JURIST report] with the "unlawful torture of human beings," a war crime that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Csatary is at the top of the SWC's list of most wanted Nazi war criminals [BBC backgrounder], and the SWC had already called on the Hungarian government to prosecute the Nazi war criminal [JURIST report] when the center issued its annual report in April. Nazi prosecution continues regardless of the ages of the criminals. In January the Ingolstadt Prosecutor's Office [official website, in German] filed a motion [JURIST report] to jail Klaas Faber, a Dutch native who fled to Germany after being convicted in the Netherlands in 1947 of Nazi war crimes. Germany reopened investigations into former Nazi death camp guards in October, which stemmed from the conviction of John Demjanjuk [JURIST reports], a former guard at a camp in Poland who was deported to Germany to stand trial for his alleged Nazi crimes. Last September alleged Nazi Sandor Kepiro died while he awaited an appeal [JURIST report] on his acquittal on war crimes charges.

The country's judiciary has been in conflict with the executive branch since political leaders have rejected the court's order to investigate into the president's alleged corruption. The court had granted [JURIST report] an additional two weeks for Ashraf to comply with its order last week. The court had ordered [JURIST report] the new prime minister in late June to investigate the corruption allegations against the president. Ashraf, like his predecessor, has argued that the president is immune from prosecution under the country's constitution. The court in response claimed that no one is above the law and thus, the investigation against the president should proceed. During the same month, a Pakistani court ordered [JURIST report] the arrest of Makhdoom Shahabuddin [BBC profile], a former health minister from Punjab Province and the nominee for the country's then-vacant prime minister position for allegations that he was involved in irregularities in the amount of the controlled drug Ephedrine circulating within the country during his tenure as health minister. The arrest order was issued the same day the president nominated Shahabuddin to fill the position of former prime minister Gilani.

Same-sex marriage [JURIST backgrounder] has been a contentious issue in Minnesota recently. In July, proponents of a Minnesota ballot initiative [text] to ban same-sex marriage under the state constitution petitioned the state Supreme Court [JURIST report] to change the title of the ballot initiative from back to its original title "Limiting the Status of Marriage to Opposite Sex Couples" back to its original title "Recognition of Marriage Solely Between One Man and One Woman." Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie changed the title in June. In January, a Minnesota appeals court ordered a trial court to review a lawsuit [JURIST report] challenging the state's ban on same-sex marriage. The appeals court remanded the case because the trial court had not adequately addressed plaintiffs' equal protection rights under the constitution. The ballot initiative would add the ban to the constitution.

Last month Morsi ordered the release of 572 individuals in Egypt [JURIST report] who had been convicted by the military. Morsi, Egypt's first elected civilian president, had formed a committee to review all the cases of prisoners who had been sentenced by military courts since the beginning of the revolution that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak [Al Jazeera profile; JURIST news archive] last year. Earlier that month Morsi appointing a fact-finding committee to investigate the deaths of protesters [JURIST report] in last year's demonstrations that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak [Al Jazeera profile; JURIST news archive]. A few days after he was sworn in, Morsi issued a decree [JURIST reports] calling the dissolved Egyptian parliament back into session, despite a previous ruling by the country's Supreme Constitutional Court [official website] dissolving it due to its finding that one-third of its members were elected illegally [JURIST report]. The court suspended Morsi's decree two days later, after which Morsi vowed that he would respect the ruling [JURIST reports].

The latest arrest and short-term detention of Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia continues the Cuban authorities' cat-and-mouse game with political dissidents and human rights activists. This practice—used as a form of harassment and intimidation to repress legitimate, peaceful activism and freedom of expression—must come to a halt.

Cuba has had a history of suppressing political dissent [HRW backgrounder] through criminal prosecutions. In July, AI and the US government criticized Cuba [JURIST report] for arresting more than 40 activists who attended the funeral of prominent dissident Oswaldo Jose Paya Sardinas [personal website, in Spanish]. In December the government announced [JURIST report] that it would grant amnesty to and release 2,900 prisoners, including political prisoners. The announcement came in the wake of a scheduled visit by Pope Benedict XVI. Human rights activists have criticized the proposed amnesty because it was merely a protection of the country's image rather than a step towards a real reform. Alan Gross, a US contractor, who was sentenced [JURIST report] to 15 years in prison for attempting to undermine the communist government of Cuba, was not given amnesty.

This is the latest effort to pass gun control legislation in Illinois. In June, a judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois [official website] struck down [JURIST report] a portion of a Chicago ordinance that prevented firearm purchase by individuals who have "been convicted by a court in any jurisdiction of ... unlawful use of a weapon that is a firearm." In April, the Illinois Supreme Court [official website] ruled that a challenge to a Cook County assault weapon ban could continue [JURIST report].

The renewed condemnation comes two months after the report was leaked in June following an initial call for a halt in the violence [JURIST reports]. Suspected leaders of the group who have been indicted by the International Criminal Court [official website] (ICC) include Bosco Ntaganda [case materials], Sultani Makenga, Baudouin Ngaruye, Innocent Zimurinda and Innocent Kaina. Last month former ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo sought the immediate arrest of Ntaganda along with Sylvestre Mudacumura [ICC fact sheet, PDF], a foreign militia leader in the DRC. In April, Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] called [JURIST report] on DRC President Joseph Kabila to immediately arrest Ntaganda and deliver him to the ICC.