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Digest

Joseph Nzabirinda Guilty Plea

On December 14, 2006, Joseph Nzabirinda appeared before Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda and pleaded guilty to one count of murder as a crime against humanity. Nzabirinda was labeled an “approving spectator” by the Prosecution and is alleged to have participated in meetings during which planned executions of Tutsis were discussed. The plea was accepted and the Chamber set January 17, 2007 as the date for sentencing.  Further details are available here.

Digest

ICTY Imposes Life Sentence

On November 30, 2006, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia sentenced Stanislov Galić to life imprisonment, the first time that the maximum sentence had been rendered by the Tribunal. Galić, a former Bosnian Serb Army Commander, was found to have had the intent to spread terror among the civilian population of Sarajevo. For more information, see: http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2006/p1131e-summary.htm

Digest

ECtHR on Freedom of Expression

On December 13, the ECtHR began hearings on the admissibility and merits of the cases Lindon & Otchakovsky-Laurens v. France and July v. France. The defendants in the first case published a novel describing racist behavior committed by a French far right-wing party and of its leader. They were subsequently convicted of defamation in French courts. Mr. July, the publication director of a French newspaper, published an petition supporting Lindon and Otchakovksy-Laurens in which he reproduced passages of the novel; he, also,  was convicted of defamation. The three applicants claim that their freedom of expression under Article 10 was violated. For more information see here.

Digest

U.S. District Court Rules on Military Commissions Act

U.S. District Judge James Robertson has dismissed the petition of Salim Ahmed Hamdan for a writ of habeas corpus. Judge Robertson’s December 13 decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld found that the Military Commissions Act of 2006 had effectively stripped the court of jurisdiction over habeas petitions. The full decision is here.

Digest

D.C. Circuit Dismisses Challenge to NAFTA

On December 12, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit dismissed a constitutional challenge to the United States-Canada Free Trade Implementation Act of 1988 and the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act of 1993. The petitioners in Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports v. United States had argued that the agreements’ binational panel review provisions violated the Due Process Clause, the Appointments Clause, Article III, and other provisions of the U.S. Constitution. The D.C. Circuit found that it lacked jurisdiction over the claim. The full opinion is available here.

Digest

WTO Trade Policy Review Positive on Hong Kong

The WTO Hong Kong Trade Policy Review issued on December 13 found substantial improvement in  Hong Kong’s economic outlook, which it attributed largely to Hong Kong’s progress toward trade liberalization. The Review specifically noted the role of expanded IP protections, nascent comprehensive competition rules, and the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement with China in the region’s economic upturn, while also warning that a return to protectionist measures toward China could exacerbate the adverse effects of a possible rise in US interest rates. For the reports of both the WTO and the Hong Kong regional administration, see here: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp274_e.htm.

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