Iran has been heavily criticized for its use of the death penalty. In June three UN Special Rapporteurs condemned [JURIST report] Iran for executing four members of the Ahwazi Arab minority without providing them fair trials. The three UN Special Rapporteurs further stated that there is no transparency to Iranian court proceedings and that the death penalty should be reserved for only the most serious of crimes. In November the UN Human Rights Committee [official website] expressed concern [JURIST report] about the protection of individuals' rights in Iran, including the frequency of the use of the death penalty. In January 2011, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran claimed that Iran is on an "execution binge" [JURIST report], killing one prisoner every eight hours. In January 2010 Amnesty International [advocacy website] condemned [JURIST report] Iran for executing 11 individuals on charges of mohareb, or being enemies of God, after appearing in televised show trials for their roles in post-election protests in 2009 .

Boko Haram, which means "Western education is a sin," has been fighting to overthrow the Nigerian government and create an Islamic state and has warned Christians in the mostly Muslim northern regions to leave the area. The group has publicly claimed responsibility for several attacks, including church bombings [AP report] on December 25 that killed approximately 40 people. In January UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] urged Nigerian leaders from all sectors of society to make a concerted effort to stop the sectarian violence [JURIST report]. Although Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan [BBC profile] quickly promised to bring the militants to justice, he has since declared a state of emergency [WP report] in several locations. The Christmas day bombings were internationally condemned, including being labeled as "senseless violence" by the White House [AP report] and "acts of "blind hatred" by the Vatican [AP report]. Additionally, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights [official website] has previously expressed concern [JURIST report] over acts of ethnic violence by Boko Haram. Specifically, the Office called the group's August bombing of a UN building in Nigeria [VO report] "cowardly." At least 18 people were killed in the attack.

Inequality in inheritance laws has become a global focus, particularly regarding inheritance issues surrounding same-sex marriage [JURIST backgrounder]. In August a Minnesota trial court ruled that the state's Defense of Marriage Act [text] does not prohibit partners in same-sex couples from inheriting each other's assets, holding that while the Defense of Marriage Act bars same-sex couples from marrying, it does not prevent same-sex couples from having the same inheritance rights [JURIST report] as heterosexual couples. One year earlier Chilean President Sebastian Pinera [official profile, in Spanish] proposed legislation that would legalize same-sex civil unions [JURIST news archive], extending inheritance and social welfare rights to same-sex couples [JURIST report] and unmarried heterosexual couples. In May 2011 the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil [official website, in Portugese] unanimously recognized legal rights for partners in same-sex civil unions [JURIST report], entitling gay couples in "stable relationships" to rights to community property, alimony, health insurance and tax benefits, adoption and inheritance rights. In August 2010 Germany's Federal Constitutional Court [official website, in German] ruled that a portion of the tax code requiring same-sex partners in a civil unions to pay a larger inheritance tax than partners in opposite-sex marriages [JURIST report] is unconstitutional.

The convictions in this case stem from indictments that were issued last year [JURIST report]. Kamara and Kanu had been convicted of war crimes by the SCSL in June 2007, and sentenced to at least 45 years in prison [JURIST reports]. With the recent conviction [JURIST report] of Charles Taylor, the SCSL has largely fulfilled its mission and will take steps to shut down. In November 2009, the SCSL handed over its detention facility [JURIST report] to the Sierra Leone Prison Service in a monumental step towards the court's resolution. The month before, eight men judged guilty of war crimes by the court were transferred [JURIST report] to Rwanda to serve out their terms. The SCSL was created in a joint endeavor by the government of Sierra Leone and the UN to provide a forum to try those responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law and Sierra Leonean law, committed in Sierra Leone.

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted [official website] is currently defending another Ohio voting requirement in federal court. He recently filed an emergency appeal [JURIST report] with the US Supreme Court seeking permission to close early voting three days prior to election day for everyone but overseas military personnel. Husted and Attorney General Mike DeWine [official website] filed the request seeking to stay an order by the Sixth Circuit which ruled that the early voting polls should remain open [opinion, PDF] for the three days leading up to election day. Voting rights [JURIST backgrounder] have become especially contentious in the run up to the November presidential election. A federal court on Wednesday upheld a South Carolina voter ID law, but ruled that the state could not enforce the law until 2013 [JURIST report] because of the short time left to implement it without discriminatory effects. A similar ruling was issued in Pennsylvania earlier this month. A judge for the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court issued a preliminary injunction preventing the state's voter identification law from taking effect [JURIST report] for the upcoming presidential election, but allowed it to be implemented in future elections. There are now 32 US states [NCSL backgrounder] that require voters to present some form of ID at the polls, but the issue remains controversial.

Calderon has long supported the passage of money laundering legislation, which has finally passed just a month or so before he will leave office. Other legislation considered recently was a Calderon-introduced labor bill [JURIST report] that provides for a broad range of reforms to Mexico's labor market, seeking to improve the transparency of Mexico's trade unions and make labor regulations more flexible. The bill was passed by the lower house [JURIST report] last month in a bipartisan effort between Calderon's outgoing National Action Party (PAN) and the more liberal Institutional Revolution Party (PRI) [party websites, in Spanish] of incoming president Enrique Pena Nieto [campaign website]. As his first legislation president-elect Nieto has announced a set of proposed constitutional reforms [JURIST report] aimed at increasing government transparency. In August Mexico's Electoral Tribunal [official website, in Spanish] upheld Nieto's victory [JURIST report] after second-place candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador [campaign website, in Spanish] of the left-wing Partido de la Revolucion Democratica (PRD) [party website, in Spanish] challenged the election results in court [JURIST report], claiming that Nieto's campaign had purchased votes.