Pakistani Government Reinstates Chief Justice Chaudhry

The Pakistani government announced early Monday morning amidst protests that it will reinstate former chief justice of the Supreme Court Iftikhar Chaudhry and a group of other deposed judges.  The government also announced that it will lift an emergency ban on all public gatherings and release all political and legal activists arrested in the last week. Chaudhry, who was awarded the Harvard Law School Medal of Freedom in November 2008, was fired in 2007 by former Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf.
 
President Asif Ali Zardari, a U.S. ally and widow of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, had resisted reinstating Chaudhry. This move will be seen by many as a reflection of the president’s weakening position and a victory for Pakistan’s legal community, which had been working for the judge’s reinstatement for 2 years. The escalation of the recent protests had put extra pressure on Zardari and are due in part to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Zardari’s major political rival, who joined the lawyers’ cause last month.  The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad called the decision a “substantial step towards national reconciliation.“
 
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Clinton Warns North Korea to Continue Nuclear Talks

During her tour in Asia, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke out about North Korea’s recent threats against South Korea. She urged North Korea to continue nuclear talks and to refrain “from any and all provocative actions that could harm the six party talks and aggravate tensions in the region.”

Some analysts believe that North Korea’s recent actions are an attempt to capture the attention of the new Obama administration and to improve its future bargaining position. However, Clinton warned that, “North Korea is not going to get a different relationship with the United States while insulting and refusing dialogue with the Republic of Korea.”  She also stated that the most pressing issue right now is to secure an end to North Korea’s nuclear program. Clinton stressed that if Pyongyang were to end its program, the U.S. is ready to offer diplomatic relations, aid, and a peace treaty.

In contrast, during a local press conference, Clinton praised South Korea, declaring that the country’s “achievement of democracy and prosperity stands in stark contrast to the tyranny and poverty across the border to the North.” She also commended South Korea for its calm restraint in light of the current situation.

In addition, Clinton announced her choice of Stephen Bosworth, a former U.S. ambassador, as her new special envoy for nuclear talks with North Korea.

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First Trial of Khmer Rouge Leader Begins

The first trial of a Khmer Rouge leader commenced on Tuesday. Kaing Guek Eav, 66, known as Duch, was a commandant of Security Prison 21, where he was allegedly involved in sending 14,000 Cambodians to their death. Duch is charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes and faces Cambodia’s maximum of life imprisonment. The case, the first of what human rights activists hope will be at least three trials, will be decided by a UN-backed hybrid tribunal consisting of both Cambodian and foreign judges and prosecutors. Meanwhile, four additional Khmer Rouge leaders await their trial, which will likely not proceed until next year.

Human rights activists have expressed concern that the Cambodian government has mixed interests and wants to shield the former Khmer Rouge leaders in its own ranks.  The Khmer Rouge, regime, led by Pol Pot, lasted from 1975 to 1979 and is believed to be responsible for the deaths of 1.7 million people.

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Scholar Argues For Tougher Reponse to Piracy

In the wake of steadily increasing aggression on the part of pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden, law enforcement mechanisms for preventing piracy are falling short. Eugene Kontorovich, a scholar of international law at Northwestern Law School claims that new tools are needed to combat piracy in the waterways off Somalia that carry about one-third of the world’s seaborne trade.

The international community has recently tried to fill this security deficit. A new U.N. Security Council resolution, strongly backed by the United States, authorizes military attacks on suspected pirates in the area in and around the Aden Gulf.  The authorization includes attacks on land bases, even when those bases are in Somali territory.  Additionally, the U.K. and Kenya have agreed that the British Royal Navy will submit all pirates it captures during operations around Somalia to trial in domestic courts in Mombasa.

Kontorovich claims that these measures are responses to a larger inability of international criminal law to address the problem of piracy.  As international law favors trials over direct engagement, Kontorovich argues that the international community will, and should, turn away from judicial remedies to control piracy.  He believes that granting pirates the full spectrum of rights due criminal defendants unfairly ties the hands of the world community.  Yet, he also argues that the credibility of international criminal law is at stake. Kontrovich believes that that if international criminal law fails to effectively combat piracy, it will not bode well for its ability to prevent or punish graver war crimes.

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UN to Investigate Bhutto Killing

Following an official visit to Pakistan on Wednesday, February 4, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for the creation of a special commission to investigate the killing of Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan. Ban made the decision after what a UN spokesperson described as “extensive consultation” with Pakistani and UN Security Council representatives.

Prior to her death on December 27, 2007, Bhutto was the head of the political opposition to then-President Pervez Musharraf. She died at a political rally as a result of a bomb blast. Bhutto had previously announced that Musharraf would be responsible for any harm that came to her and during her campaign she sent Musharraf a letter alleging that Pakistani government officials were plotting to kill her.  Musharraf and his party lost the February 2008 elections in a landslide and Bhutto’s aide, Yousaf Raza Gilani, became the new prime minister. In August, Musharaf resigned his post of President, ceding power to Asif Ali Zardi, Bhutto’s widower.

The Pakistani government and CIA officials have stated that Baitulah Mehsud, the leader of Panistan’s Talban, was responsible for Bhutto’s death. Nevertheless, a December Gallup Poll showed that nearly fifty percent of Pakistanis believe that Musharraf had a role in Bhutto’s assassination. A UN spokesperson confirmed that Ban had sent a letter to the UN Security Council with his plans for the three-member investigation commission.

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WTO Panel Rules on Challenges to Chinese Copyright Law

In a January 26th Panel Report, a WTO Panel has concluded that certain aspects of Chinese Copyright Law and Customs Measures were inconsistent with Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights  (TRIPS) Agreement.  Specifically, the Panel found that Article 4 of Chinese Copyright Law, which prevented the works of foreign authors whose publication and distribution has not been authorized by Chinese Authorities from enjoying the same rights as Chinese authors, was inconsistent with WTO regulations  It also found that the Chinese Customs Measure provision allowing infringing goods to be released into the channels of commerce in some circmstances was inconsistent with Chinas obligations under Article 59.  Lastly, the Panel ruled in favor of China on the charge that the criminal procedures and penalties for violation of Copyright and other Intellectual Property Laws were inconsistent with China’s obligations under the TRIPS Agreement.

The Panel recommended that China bring the provisions of Copyright Law and Customs Measures that were inconsistent with the TRIPS Agreement in compliance with its international obligations.  In response to the ruling, China expressed regret over the ruling and promised to “to promote international exchanges and co-operation on IPR and promote the healthy development of global trade relations.”

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Secretary of State Presses for Cooperation in Mumbai Attack Investigations

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice visited India and Pakistan last week in the wake of the November 26 terrorist attacks on Mumbai in which gunmen killed more than 170 people. Rice pledged U.S. support to India’s investigation of the attacks and emphasized the importance of cooperation in international counterterrorism efforts between India, the U.S., and Pakistan.

“I know that this is a very difficult time for the people of India, for the people of Mumbai, but I hope that it is a time also when you can feel the sense of solidarity and support that is there in the international community from your friends,” Rice said during a joint press conference with Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Kumar Mukherjee.

Rice declined to respond to accusations that the gunmen were linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Kashmir-based group on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations, stating she would not, “jump to any conclusions about who is responsible.” However, Rice said that the U.S. expects “all responsible nations to participate and cooperate in bringing these perpetrators to justice,” noting that “Pakistan has a special responsibility to do so.”

Rice also met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other top officials. Meanwhile, Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and his security advisers in order to help coordinate security efforts and defuse regional tensions. U.S. security experts, including FBI forensics investigators, have been deployed to the region to support the investigation.

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Controversy on the Seas

The INS Tabar, an Indian warship, encountered three pirate vessels approximately 320 miles south-west of the Omani coast in the Gulf of Aden late Tuesday.  When the pirates fired upon the Tabar, it retaliated, sinking the “mother ship” and forcing the would-be hijackers to abandon one of their two speedboats. The second speedboat escaped and there is no casualty count at this time.

At least 92 ships have been attacked in and around the Gulf of Aden so far in 2008, more than triple the number in 2007, according to the International Maritime Bureau. At least 14 of those ships are still in the control of hijackers. This includes a Ukrainian freighter loaded with tanks, artillery and other weaponry and a Saudi supertanker with two million barrels of oil valued at approximately $100 million. The pirates responsible for these attacks are mostly based in Somalia and the UN estimates between $25 to $30 million has been paid in ransom to them this year.

International anti-piracy patrols have been deployed in the area since August and international shipping organizations hope the Indian Navy’s actions set an example for addressing the hijackers. Meanwhile, the cost of increased piracy is expected to spread to consumers as shipping companies face higher insurance bills.

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ASEAN Law Ministers Gather in Brunei

Ministers of Law from the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met in Brunei in late October for their seventh ASEAN Law Ministerial Meeting (ALAWMM).  Topics of discussion centered around the legal implications of the November 2007 adoption of the organization’s first legally binding charter, including cooperation in criminal adjudication, extradition, counter-terrorism, and trade law.  According to the group, the introduction of a formal charter creating a rules-based intergovernmental organization will necessitate a greater role for ALAWMM within ASEAN as legal cooperation between member states becomes more important.  The body of law ministers had last met in 2005 and will hold its next meeting in Cambodia in 2011.

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ASEAN and Chinese Province Affirm Cooperation Agreement

On Nov. 6, 2008, the ASEAN Secretariat and the Hubei Province of the People’s Republic of China signed a Minutes of Meeting on Strengthening of Trade and Economic Cooperation. The Minutes of Meeting affirmed the two parties’ commitment to implement the Memorandum on Cooperation, which was signed by the Secretary-General of ASEAN and the Governor of Hubei earlier this year. Under this memorandum, both parties will promote trade and economic cooperation, and the parties will explore the possibility of holding an ASEAN-Hubei Forum on Trade and Economic Cooperation in Wuhan City. Hubei was the first Chinese province to sign a Memorandum on Cooperation with the ASEAN Secretariat, with the objective of strengthening ASEAN-China relations.

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