Same-sex marriage recognition has been a contentious issue both internationally as well as within the US. Thus far in 2012 France, Germany and Scotland [JURIST reports] have all seen new efforts to get same-sex marriages recognized. Earlier this month the US Department of Justice asked the US Supreme Court to consider two more challenges [JURIST report] to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) [text], which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriages. In July a lesbian couple filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Central District of California [official website] in a DOMA challenge that seeks to achieve for gay and lesbian couples the same federal immigration rights afforded to heterosexual couples [JURIST report].

Enforced disappearances remain prevalent despite the UN's 1992 Declaration. In August Amnesty International (AI) urged authorities in the former Yugoslavia to investigate [JURIST report] the enforced disappearances of 14,000 people who are still unaccounted for since the civil war of the 1990s. Also that month the Working Group urged Chile to uphold justice [JURIST report] and ensure that those who have been convicted of enforced disappearances in the country serve their sentences. In July AI declared that Malian soldiers loyal to the country's coup leader, Captain Amadou Sanogo, had been committing human rights violations [JURIST report], including torture, extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances. In March UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] cited enforced disappearances [JURIST report] as one of the most heinous crimes during her opening statement to the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, particularly noting the crime's effects on women and children. Also in March, the Working Group expressed concern in Mexico [JURIST report] after finding a "chronic pattern of impunity demonstrated by the absence of effective investigations in cases of enforced disappearances" within the country.

On Wednesday UN Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai [official website] condemned the recent violence [JURIST report] that erupted after the film's release. Kiai stated that protests and rallies must be peaceful to be protected by international human rights law and urged the Middle East states to prosecute those responsible for the violence. Last week, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] urged religious and political leaders [JURIST report] to encourage an end to the violence that followed the release of the film. While Pillay said she "fully understand[s] why people wish to protest strongly against" the film, she "utterly condemn[s]" the violence that has resulted from the protests. Also last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton [official website] declared that the US had nothing to do with the anti-Muslim film [Reuters report] despite its apparent production in America, in turn labeling it disgusting and reprehensible.

Last month the Ukrainian Supreme Court [official website, in Ukrainian] upheld Tymoshenko's abuse of office conviction [JURIST report], reasoning that there would be no basis to rule in favor of the former prime minister and that the prison sentence is appropriate considering the charges against her. During the appeal the government denied allegations that the criminal proceedings against Tymoshenko were a measure initiated by Yanukovych to prevent her from participating in the October elections. The decision came only a day after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] held a hearing [JURIST report] on Tymoshenko's appeal. Last month, Ukrainian prosecutors urged the Supreme Court not to hear her appeal [JURIST report]. Prosecutors told the court that Tymoshenko's trial had already established her guilt in the case, and asked the judges maintain her seven-year sentence [JURIST report] in the case. Tymoshenko was not present at the hearing due to health concerns. The hearing has been delayed [JURIST report] in the past due to Tymoshenko's absence. Yanukovych was narrowly elected [JURIST report] over Tymoshenko in 2010.

Microsoft and Motorola have been engaged in patent disputes other around the globe. A German court in July granted an injunction against [JURIST report] Motorola in a patent infringement case. Earlier that month both companies filed [JURIST report] a joint motion in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington [official website] asking the court to suspend three patent cases between the parties until a trial is held on a licensing disagreement. Microsoft had alleged that Motorola failed to license Google [corporate website], which owns the company since 2010, certain video and Wi-Fi technology on reasonable and non-discriminatory (RAND) terms. In May the US International Trade Commission (ITC) [official website] concluded [JURIST report] its investigation into a complaint that a number of Motorola mobile phones infringed on several Microsoft patents.

The Supreme Court's ruling on the constitutionality of the PPACA was highly anticipated by both politicians and the general public, and reactions to the ruling have been mixed [JURIST report]. In July Nebraska and six other states announced that they will continue to pursue lawsuits [JURIST report] challenging the act's mandate that employer-provided health insurance plans include coverage for contraception. US President Barack Obama held a press conference [video; transcript text] following the decision praising the court for its ruling. A week before the ruling was announced, a group of news organizations asked the Supreme Court to allow audio and video recording of the announcement of the decision [JURIST report] because of the high amount of public interest in the ruling. The lawsuit challenging the legislation [JURIST report] that was heard before the Supreme Court was brought by 26 states and additional organizations challenging both the individual mandate to purchase health insurance and Medicaid expansion included in the law.

The US and international community have recently made efforts to focus on issues surrounding the rights of indigenous populations. The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples James Anaya called on US officials [JURIST report] in August to consult with Native Americans in North Dakota about the scheduled sale of land in the Black Hills area of the state that is considered to be sacred. In April Anaya announced that he would visit the US to launch the UN's first ever investigation into the rights situation of Native Americans [JURIST report]. Anaya's goal was to look into the rights of Native Americans, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians, and determine how the US's endorsement of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [text, PDF] has affected the rights of these groups of people. The US endorsed [JURIST report] the Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2010, after being one of four member states originally opposed to the treaty when it was adopted by the UN [JURIST report] in 2007. The other countries opposed to it, Canada, New Zealand and Australia [JURIST reports], have all also changed their views and have since endorsed the treaty. This non-binding treaty outlines the human rights issues faced by the more than 370 million indigenous people throughout the world and encourages nations not to discriminate against them. The declaration was debated for more than two decades before it was passed.

Collection of DNA from arrestees is controversial throughout the US, and courts have been split on the issue. In July US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts [official profile] renewed his temporary stay [JURIST report] on a Maryland Court of Appeals [official website] ruling that police could not collect DNA from individuals arrested for violent crimes and burglaries. The appeals court struck down [JURIST report] the DNA collection law in April, finding a violation of the arrestee's right to privacy. In January the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld a state statute requiring people convicted of crimes to submit a DNA sample, ruling that such a mandate does not violate the Fourth Amendment [JURIST report]. US Attorney General Eric Holder instructed federal prosecutors in November 2010 to use DNA evidence as much as possible [JURIST report] reversing the previous policy of the Bush administration. In May 2009 a federal court in California upheld the constitutionality of mandatory DNA collection [JURIST report] for all persons arrested or detained under federal authority. That same year a South Carolina law was upheld that requires convicted first degree sex offenders to submit to a DNA test [JURIST report] prior to their release.

Apple and Samsung have been embroiled in continuous patent litigation in courts around the world. Earlier this week a judge for the US International Trade Commission (ITC) [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that Apple products do not infringe on Samsung's patents. In August Apple won a $1.05 billion judgment [JURIST report] against Samsung in a separate case [case materials] in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The suit covered everything from the shape and design of the competing companies' tablets and smartphones to the technology employed in the devices' software interface. Following the jury award Apple moved to block [JURIST report] eight Samsung products from being produced and sold in the US. Last month a South Korean court found that Apple and Samsung had violated each others' patents [JURIST report] and banned the sales of some of the companies' products in the country. In July a UK court ruled [JURIST report] that Samsung tablets do not infringe on Apple's design.

Numerous countries have implemented controversial media laws recently. In July HRW expressed concern [JURIST report] about a proposed media law in Afghanistan that would increase government authority to regulate the press. Kosovo's parliament approved a penal code [JURIST report] in June with new laws that require journalists to reveal their sources and make defamation a crime. In December Algerian lawmakers approved a controversial new media law [JURIST report] that restricts journalists from undermining Algeria's sovereignty, national identity, economy and security, providing for fines up to USD $3,900 and jail time. That same month Hungary's Constitutional Court struck down certain provisions of the country's recently passed media law as an unconstitutional restraint on press freedom [JURIST report].

Courts have been working to investigate and convict those responsible for war crimes during the 1998-99 war between Kosovo and Serbia. In May a Kosovo politician was acquitted [JURIST report] of war crime charges that included ordering torture and killing of Serbian detainees. Last year nine former members of the KLA were arrested [JURIST report] for allegedly committing war crimes during the conflict. A Serbian court convicted [JURIST report] nine other ethnic Albanians of war crimes months before that and sentenced them to up to 15 years. In 2009 a court under the European Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo [official website] issued its first guilty verdict [JURIST report] for war crimes committed during the conflict.

The new interim maps were drawn in place of redistricting maps that were rejected [JURIST reports] by the Supreme Court in January. This ruling came after an emergency appeal [JURIST report] in December challenging a map drawn by the US District Court for the Western District of Texas [official website]. The 2010 census reported that Texas's population grew by 4.3 million people, giving it four new seats in the US House of Representatives [official website]. The Republican-run legislature then drew the new maps that gave rise to this current litigation. In December, the Obama administration urged [JURIST report] the Supreme Court to reject the redistricting maps because they were not precleared pursuant to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act [Cornell LII backgrounder]. Last month

Campaign finance laws have been a contentious issue recently. In June the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit [official website] ruled that a district court erred in holding that corporations can contribute directly to political campaigns, and the US Supreme Court struck down [JURIST report] a Montana campaign finance law that restricted the amount of money corporations can spend on campaigns, holding that Citizens United invalidated the Montana law. That decision, American Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Bullock [SCOTUSblog backgrounder] reversed a decision by the Montana Supreme Court upholding the law [JURIST report]. In February the Supreme Court blocked enforcement [JURIST report] of the Montana Supreme Court ruling.