http://jurist.org/paperchase/ JURIST's weblog of legal news and resources worth thinking about, by Professor Bernard Hibbitts and law students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. 2013-05-22T12:45:00-04:00 en-US http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/senate-judiciary-approves-immigration-bill.php [JURIST] The Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] on Tuesday approved S. 744 [text], an immigration reform bill. The bill, entitled the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, is intended to help create a 13-year path to citizenship for the approximately 11 million current undocumented immigrants, contingent upon strengthening security along the Mexican border. The bill also proposed an improved process for allowing high-skilled immigrants into the country's workforce. After a five-day deliberation, the bill passed by a vote... 2013-05-22T12:45:00-04:00 2013-05-22T12:45:00-04:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/zimbabwe-president-signs-constitution-into-law.php [JURIST] Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] on Wednesday signed the country's new constitution [text] into law, clearing the path to pivotal elections later this year. The new constitution limits future presidents to two five-year terms. The provision limiting presidential terms will not apply retroactively, so the 89-year-old Mugabe will be able to run in the next election [Reuters report] and potentially continue to serve as president for the next decade. Mugabe has been Zimbabwe's president since... 2013-05-22T11:09:00-04:00 2013-05-22T11:09:00-04:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/uk-house-of-commons-approves-same-sex-marriage-bill.php [JURIST] The House of Commons of the UK Parliament [official websites] voted 366-161 on Tuesday to approve the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill [HC Bill 3]. The legislation was introduced in January [JURIST report] and will effectively extend the application of the Marriage Act of 1949 [materials] to same-sex as well as opposite-sex couples. The bill allows for an exception for any religious institutions that do not wish to perform same-sex weddings. Same-sex couples in England and Wales have been... 2013-05-22T08:37:00-04:00 2013-05-22T08:37:00-04:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/bolivia-law-allows-president-to-run-for-third-term.php [JURIST] Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera signed into law Tuesday a constitutional amendment that will allow President Evo Morales [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] to run for a third term. The Bolivian Constitution [text, in Spanish] only allows a president to serve two terms. However, last month the Bolivian Constitutional Tribunal ruled [JURIST report] that the two consecutive term limit should not be applied retroactively, and because the country's constitution was amended [JURIST report] after Morales began his term,... 2013-05-21T16:08:00-04:00 2013-05-21T16:08:00-04:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/guatemala-court-voids-ex-dictator-rios-montts-genocide-conviction.php [JURIST] The Guatemala Constitutional Court [official website, in Spanish] on Tuesday overturned the genocide conviction of ex-dictator Efrain Rios Montt [JURIST news archive] and ordered the trial to resume from the point that it was stopped on April 19. Earlier this month Rios Montt was found guilty of the genocide, torture and rape of 1,771 indigenous Ixil Mayans during his 1982-83 rule. The ex-dictator was sentenced [JURIST report] by a three-judge panel headed by Judge Jasmine Barrios to 80 years... 2013-05-21T15:37:00-04:00 2013-05-21T15:37:00-04:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/un-urges-afghanistan-to-approve-womens-rights-legislation.php [JURIST] The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and UN Women [official websites] on Monday urged [press release] Afghanistan's government to fully respect and defend the fundamental rights of women and girls by ensuring the implementation of and respect for women's rights legislation. This call comes in response to the Afghanistan parliament, which blocked legislation [JURIST report] on Saturday that would have protected provisions of the 2009 Law on Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) [text, PDF] from being repealed... 2013-05-21T09:02:00-04:00 2013-05-21T09:02:00-04:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/abu-qatada-denied-bail-by-uk-tribunal.php [JURIST] A UK immigration tribunal denied bail for radical cleric Abu Qatada [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] Monday due to the high risk of escape. Qatada's lawyers insist that he should be able to spend time with his family before he leaves the UK for Jordan, where he will stand trial for terrorism. Qatada was convicted in absentia for organizing and encouraging terrorist attacks in Jordan in 1999 and 2000. Justice Stephen Irwin of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC)... 2013-05-20T11:56:00-04:00 2013-05-20T11:56:00-04:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/pakistan-court-grants-bail-for-former-military-ruler-remains-on-house-arrest.php [JURIST] Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] was granted bail Monday by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court (ATC), but he remains on house arrest over the murder of former prime ministerBenazir Bhutto [BBC obituary; JURIST news archive]. Judge Habibur Rehman ordered Musharraf to pay two bonds each worth one million rupees (approximately USD $10,163). Musharraf has been held at his Islamabad farmhouse since April 19. The ATC is a special court established in April for hearing a... 2013-05-20T11:34:00-04:00 2013-05-20T11:34:00-04:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/eu-concerned-over-russia-human-rights-record.php [JURIST] The EU expressed concern [press release, PDF] with Russia's human rights record Sunday, focusing on the country's recent adoption of restrictive legislation, the prosecution of political activists and efforts towards establishing an independent judiciary. At the human rights consultation in Brussels the EU confirmed its intention to continue to monitor the implications of Russia's recent "Foreign Agents" law and urged Russia to refrain from adopting legislation on "homosexual propaganda," which the EU believes could "increase discrimination and violence against... 2013-05-20T11:18:00-04:00 2013-05-20T11:18:00-04:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/hrw-no-progress-in-sri-lanka-since-civil-war-ended.php [JURIST] Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] said [press release] Monday that no progress has been made in Sri Lanka regarding respect for basic rights and liberties in the four years since the end of the country's brutal 26-year civil war [JURIST backgrounder]. According to HRW, the government of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa [official website] has failed to investigate and prosecute alleged war crimes, has cracked down on media and human rights activists, and has continued to abuse suspected... 2013-05-20T11:12:00-04:00 2013-05-20T11:12:00-04:00