June 28, 2010 · 14:21

Suo Moto Tango in Pakistan

While I was in Asia, one of my articles was posted on Tom Ginsburg’s Comparative Constitutions Blog. The article, “Suo Moto Tango,” discusses the Pakistani Supreme Court’s use of suo moto jurisdiction to remedy environmental problems. It is part of a somewhat longer article I am writing for a book on environmental law (hopefully due out this fall). Enjoy!

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Filed under environmental, Pakistan

June 25, 2010 · 11:25

Witness Protection Poorly Programmed

Last week, a key witness to the Maguindanao massacre, Suwaib Upham (a.k.a. “Jesse”) was shot. This is a very worrying development. Human Rights Watch has demanded the government take action to protect other witnesses. Unfortunately, this type of crime is not unique to the Maguindanao prosecution. When I was in the Philippines in 2008 with the Asia Foundation, I had heard horror stories about the sorry state of the Philippine witness protection program. One set of witnesses was essentially “stored” at an extra office in the National Bureau of Investigations (the Philippine FBI) headquarters building. One judge said he had to hire his own bodyguards because the government could (would?) not protect him from death threats. Unfortunately, witness protection programs tend to fall by the wayside in the rule of law programs of both national and international donor. If you’re interested in these issues, I’d recommend a relatively recent book Support for Victims of Crime in Asia as an overview of different country practices.

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June 24, 2010 · 19:36

Terror Trials to Top

The father-in-law of slain JI terrorist Noordin Top, Baharudin Latif alias Baridi, is going on trial soon for hiding his Noordin. This raises an interesting point. Indonesia has won plaudits for its handling of terrorism cases through police actions and relatively fair and competent trials in the judiciary. In fact, at a CSIS event yesterday, International Crisis Group Southeast Asia Director Jim Della-Giacoma said the judiciary operated better in these types of cases than it usually does and suggested it could be a model for further judicial reforms in the country. (This is the stark opposite from the U.S., where our terror trials have been roundly criticized). Can Indonesia and the rule of law programs there find a way to operationalize the lessons from the terror trials to reform the entire judiciary? Or are the problems simply too different?

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Filed under indonesia, terrorism

June 24, 2010 · 17:12

Improving relations between the Philippine Judiciary and Executive

According to a Filipino newspaper, the Aquino administration plans to convene the Judicial Executive Legislative Advisory and Coordination Council (Jelacc) fairly early in the new administration. This seems to be an attempt to resolve some of the conflict over Aquino’s criticism of the appointment of the new chief justice, Renato Corona. Then again, this might be difficult given that the Supreme Court is expected to hear a lawsuit against the Aquino family plantation, the Hacienda Lusita, fairly soon.

The news article also mentions a recent World Bank study on Philippine judicial reform. I couldn’t find that study, but I did find one produced by the Asian Development Bank (available here).

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Filed under Philippines, Supreme Court

June 23, 2010 · 15:27

Courts and the Cambodian Coup

Here’s an interesting use of American judicial authority: a U.S. court sentenced a Cambodian man to jail for life for plotting a coup against a dictator. Chhun Yasith, an accountant, founded the Cambodian Freedom Fighters, which attacked several Cambodian government buildings on November 24, 2000. Several people were killed and over 100 were jailed. According to his lawyer, Chhun saw Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen as an evil on par with Pol Pot.

I imagine Hun Sen is thankful to America judicial practices for sentencing this political opponent for him. But I also doubt that the experience will inspire Hun Sen to consider reforming Cambodia’s notorious judicial system. Just a few weeks ago, the Cambodian Supreme Court upheld another defamation suit against Mu Sochua, an opposition MP. According to BBC, her lawyer quit the case and joined Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party when Cambodia’s Bar Council accused him of malpractice. But that’s another story…

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