Archive for November, 2007
November 21st, 2007 at 12:13pm
Extraordinary Chambers, Courts of Cambodia
The first courtroom hearing in the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), a joint United Nations/Cambodia tribunal for the prosecution of war crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge, concluded today. The defendant in these proceedings, Kaing Guek Eav, commonly known as Duch, headed the Tuol Sleng prison, where more than 14,000 perceived enemies of the regime were tortured and killed during the Khmer Rouge’s brief four-and-a-half year reign.
At the hearing, Duch appealed his detention, arguing that holding him in captivity without trial for a period of eight years had violated international and Cambodian law, as well as his human rights. The latter contention drew laughter from spectators. Arguing against the grant of bail, prosecutors claimed that Duch posed a flight risk, and that his release could engender public disorder. The Tribunal reserved judgment on the issue, stating that the ruling would be given at a later date.
The hearing began one day after the arrest of Khieu Samphan, former President of the Khmer Rouge. Samphan is the last of five defendants initially targeted by ECCC prosecutors.
The full story can be found here.
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November 18th, 2007 at 06:03pm
Earlier this year, the World Health Assembly (WHA) adopted a key resolution calling for a study on the patent issues related to influenza viruses, genes, and pandemic preparedness. Thus, at the request of the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has offered its expertise and technical input on patent issues relating to influenza viruses and their genes. WIPO’s contributions do not include specific recommendations, but offer a technical study on specific patent issues and comprehensive factual resources on IP matters as they relate to public health. This technical contribution is designed to support efforts of health policymakers as they set future directions for a global response that may help pre-empt and contain a potential public health crisis.
For the full brief, click
here.
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November 18th, 2007 at 11:44am
The Supreme Court of Canada finally decided the much anticipated Dell Computer Corp. v. Union des consommateurs case. Online retailer Dell attempted to object to a class action commenced in Québec by relying on a National Arbitration Forum arbitration clause, mentioned only in the terms and conditions of its website. Dell argued that the customer who had initiated the class action was bound by an enforceable arbitration agreement and that this clause allowed the customer only to bring an individual claim before an arbitral tribunal. The Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s decision by holding the arbitration clause enforceable, dismissed the class action and referred the consumer’s claim to arbitration.
For full story click here
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November 16th, 2007 at 01:12pm
The Human Rights Committee of the UN General Assembly passed 99-52 a resolution calling for an end to the death penalty. The resolution was sponsored by EU states and 60 other countries. It must still be submitted to the 192-member General Assembly next month. If approved, the resolution would be non-binding, but is intended to send a strong moral message.
Many opponents to the resolution, which include the United States, Syria, Barbados, and Iran, cited issues of national sovereignty in their objections.
Two proposed death penalty moratoriums have previously reached the floor of the General Assembly, in 1994 and 1999.
The full story is available here.
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November 15th, 2007 at 12:00pm
International Criminal Tribunal for the former-Yugoslavia
Serge Brammertz, a Belgian prosecutor and law professor, has been nominated by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to succeed Carla del Ponte as Prosecutor of the ICTY. Del Ponte has held the position since 1999. Brammertz has served as the Deputy-Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and in June 2006 was appointed by the Secretary-General to head the International Investigation Commission into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
The Tribunal’s press briefing can be found here.
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November 14th, 2007 at 07:38am
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
The Defence has now closed its case in the trial of Mr. Simon Bikindi, a famous Rwandan singer whose anti-Tutsi songs were used by the government-controlled Radio Station, Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines, during the 1994 conflict. Mr. Bikindi faces a range of charges relating to genocide, including conspiracy to commit genocide and direct and public incitement to commit genocide. He is also charged with murder and persecution as crimes against humanity. The trial took place over a period of sixty-one days, during which the trial Chamber heard from twenty Prosecution witnesses and thirty-seven Defence witnesses, including the Accused. Closing arguments from the Prosecution and Defence will be heard at a later date.
The Tribunal’s press release can be found here.
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November 14th, 2007 at 07:28am
Special Court for Sierra Leone Justice Jon Kamanda has been sworn in as Justice of the Appeals Chamber, replacing Geoffrey Robertson QC, who resigned in August. He was appointed by the Government of Sierra Leone, pursuant to the Statute of the Special Court, under which two of the five Appeals Chamber Judges are appointed by the Government. Until his appointment, Justice Kamanda was a Judge of the Appeals Court. He began his career in London, where he trained as a Barrister at the Inns of Court, and was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple. He worked as a State prosecutor and in private practice as a criminal lawyer before being elected to Parliament and serving as Minister of Health.
The Special Court’s press release can be found here.
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November 14th, 2007 at 07:27am
Ieng Sary, former Foreign Minister and Deputy-Prime Minister of the Khmer Rouge, and his wife, former Social Affairs Minister Ieng Thirith, were arrested Monday by Cambodian police on charges of crimes against humanity. Sary was also charged with war crimes.Sary is alleged to have promoted policies of forcible transfer, forced labor, and unlawful killings while a member of the Khmer Rouge’s ruling inner circle. Ieng Thirith, Pol Pot’s sister-in-law, is accused of planning, directing, coordinating, and ordering widespread purges and of unlawfully killing members of the ministry that she once ran.
An estimated 1.7 million people died as a result of the regime’s 1975-1978 reign.
The pair will be tried by a special war crimes tribunal convened by the Cambodian government and the United Nations. The panel will consists of five judges, two foreign and three Cambodian.
The Tribunal’s press release can be found here.
The full story can be found here
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November 13th, 2007 at 11:03pm
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced his plan to appoint Daniel Bellemare, former Canadian Deputy Attorney-General, as the next head of the independent commission tasked with investigating the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri. Mr. Ban sent a letter to the Security Council on November 13, detailing his intention to appoint Mr. Bellemare Commissioner of the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC).
The IIIC was set up in April 2005, after Mr. Hariri was assassinated in a massive car bombing in Beirut in Feburary of that year. The commision is also investigating at least 17 other cases in Lebanon.
Secretary-General Ban has moved to establish a special tribunal of an “international character” to try the suspected perpetrators of Mr. Hariri’s assassination and subsequent killings in Lebanon.
The full story is available here.
The October 2005 “Mehlis Report” concluded that members of the Syrian and Lebanese governments were involved in Hariri’s assassination. The December 2005 follow-up is available here.
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November 13th, 2007 at 08:20pm
The African Union continues to take cognizance of the “Arche de Zoe” affair two weeks after condemning it as unjustifiable, scandalous, and an abuse of humanitarian interference. The incident refers to a case in which sixteen Europeans (including nine French citizens) who claimed to be on a mission to save war orphans from Darfur could be facing stiff sentences and hard labor after attempting to airlift 103 children out of Chad. Members of the group, which is linked to a French charity called l’Arche de Zoé (Zoe’s Ark), are charged in Chad with extortion and child abduction. Amid evidence that the 103 children in question were not necessarily sick, orphaned, or even from Darfur, the failed mercy mission has grown into a diplomatic scandal that could jeopardize international plans to deploy peacekeepers in the borderlands of the troubled Sudanese region.
The full text of the press release is available here.
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