On March 2, the U.S. State Department reported that the United States has reached a tentative agreement with EU negotiators to liberalize the trans-Atlantic air transportation market. State Department press coverage is here.
In its Trade Policy Review for Australia, TPRB/279, issued March 5, the WTO Secretariat noted that unilateral trade liberalization and increased transparency in economic policymaking were critical factors in the average 3.2% annual rate of Australian GDP growth over the last five years. The Secretariat report added that further macroeconomic reforms, particularly in Australian infrastructure, were critical to sustaining solid economic growth. For the full reports of the Secretariat and the Australian government, see here: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp279_e.htm.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has re-iterated its position that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is not U.S. law. As such, a death row inmate may not challenge Texas’s clemency process on the basis that it violates the ICCPR. The decision notes that the First and the Sixth Circuits have reached similar conclusions.
The case is Roach v. Quarterman, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 4224.
From February 16th to the 20th, leading figures of government, business and civil society, from countries of all development levels, were brought together in Salzburg, Austria, in a retreat aimed at putting the Doha negotiations into a global perspective. The talks and presentations addressed the gains and costs of the negotiations, and the solutions available for solving current differences, which could bring the Doha round to its conclusion.
For further information, and access to the presentations, please click here.
In 2006, the Eastern District of Virginia dismissed a civil action that had been brought by Khaled El-Masri, a German citizen of Lebanese descent, against a group of defendants that included former CIA director George Tenet, as well as various corporate defendants. El-Masri contended that he had been detained and interrogated in violation of rights under the Constituion and international law. The district court found that the suit could not proceed, because it posed an unreasonable risk that privileged state secrets would be disclosed. On March 2, the Fourth Circuit affirmed that decision.
The case is El-Masri v. United States, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 4796.
In Heglas v. the Czech Republic, the ECtHR held on March 1st that the Czech Republic had violated the applicant’s right to respect for private life. The Czech authorities used evidence based on the applicant’s telephone calls; the Court established that this evidence had been obtained in a manner not compatible with the Czech legislation allowing telephone interceptions. Moreover, the Court did not approve the use of dictaphone recording because it was not based on “law†as defined by the ECtHR. For more information see here.
