A panel commissioned by the Israeli government recommended July 9 that the state "legalize"* dozens of unsanctioned West Bank settlements. The government has not yet endorsed the recommendations, which include facilitating settlement construction by annulling orders of the Supreme Court of Israel and other legal rulings. The Palestinians, 2.5 million of whom live in the West Bank, claim the West Bank for a future state and have refused to continue peace negotiations with Israel until settlement construction is frozen. A 2004 World Court ruling held all Israeli West Bank settlements "illegal." There are currently over 200 settlements and outposts in the West Bank, home to more than 500,000 Israeli settlers. Last week the Israeli Supreme Court postponed the demolition of "illegal" West Bank settlements at Ulpana, with 30 apartments having had been scheduled for demolition on July 1.

A lawyer for the International Criminal Court (ICC) who was recently released from detention in Libya stated July 6 that she did not believe Libya could hold a fair trial for Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, the son of former Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi. Melinda Taylor was detained by Libyan authorities for nearly four weeks for allegedly passing illicit information to Saif al-Islam in a Libyan prison. She maintains that her detention in the country was unjustified. Taylor and three other ICC staff members were detained by Libyan authorities while on an official mission to meet with Saif al-Islam and assist with his legal defense. The ICC has expressed concern about Libya's ability to give Saif al-Islam a fair trial since he was captured by Libyan rebel forces in November. Taylor said the actions of Libyan authorities have demonstrated that they are incapable of holding a fair and impartial trial.

A Japanese expert panel on July 5 issued a report claiming that the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster was preventable. In the 641-page document the panel claims that the accident was not caused solely by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, but the inability of the government, regulators and the Fukushima Daiichi plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), to act quickly enough to prevent the disaster. Among the criticized was also the then-Prime Minster Naoto Kan who resigned last year after a widespread criticism of his handling of the natural disaster and Fukushima nuclear crisis. The experts claimed that regulators have failed to adopt global safety standards that could have prevented the crisis.

The Libyan government on July 2 released four International Criminal Court (ICC) staff members who had been detained for nearly four weeks. The release was announced while the ICC's president, Sang-Hyun Song, was visiting the country. The prosecution's office confirmed the release and noted that a hearing in their cases is expected on July 23. It added that the four staff members are expected at the hearing, but, even if that is not the case, a verdict will be issued in absentia. The release announcement came two weeks after the Libyan government started its investigation of ICC staff members. They had been accused of spying and attempting to smuggle documents to the imprisoned son of Moammar Qaddafi, Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, from his former aide.

Army Col. Denise Lind on June 25 ordered the prosecution in the case against Pfc. Bradley Manning to submit to her a number of files that were allegedly withheld from the defense during discovery. Manning is accused of transferring more than 700,000 confidential documents and video clips to WikiLeaks, the largest intelligence leak is US history. Manning's defense has argued the leaks did not hurt US national security, but the US Army has responded that Manning's actions indirectly aided al-Qaeda. Manning's lawyers now allege that the prosecution has withheld damage assessment reports that may affect the outcome of his case. Lind ordered the prosecution to turn over the reports as well as a "due diligence statement" accounting for their failure to reveal the documents earlier. The prosecution has maintained that their actions were justified and that it is time-consuming to obtain the documents in question.

An Omani court on June 25 began a hearing against protesters who have been accused of defamation and illegal assembly. The Omani authorities have arrested more than 30 individuals who had been protesting against the government to demand political reform, promote human rights and call for the release of detained human rights defenders. The court proceedings opened with hearing the case against 15 protesters, four of whom have been charged with defamation and incitement to protests and strikes in an oil facility, and the remainder of whom have been charged with illegal assembly.

The US Supreme Court on June 25 ruled 5-3 that three provisions of Arizona's controversial immigration law, SB 1070, are preempted by federal law but upheld the most controversial provision. In Arizona v. United States, four specific provisions of the law were at issue: Section 2(B), which requires police officers to check the immigration status of anyone whom they arrest and allows police to stop and arrest anyone whom they believe to be an illegal immigrant; Section 3, which makes it a crime for someone even to be in the state without valid immigration papers; Section 5(C), which makes it a crime to apply for or hold a job in Arizona without proper papers; and Section 6, which gives a police officer the power to arrest an individual, without a warrant, whom the officer believes has committed a crime that could cause him or her to be deported, no matter where the crime may have occurred. In his opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy found that sections 3, 5(C) and 6 intruded in areas reserved for the federal government:

The American Civil Liberties Union on June 19 released a report alleging widespread abuses by the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD). The report documents numerous instances excessive force, sometimes deadly, to suppress speech, subdue protesters, and target ethnic and racial minorities. It also alleges a culture of impunity among the police and a failure to police crimes of abuse and sexual assault: