The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on March 29 overturned a lower court's decision granting release to Yemeni Guantánamo Bay detainee Uthman Abdul Rahim Mohammed Uthman. Uthman's 2004 habeas corpus petition challenging his basis for detention was granted when the US District Court for the District of Columbia determined that the government had failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that Uthman had received and executed orders from al-Qaeda. The appeals court rejected this "command structure test" used by the lower court and struck down the ruling, blocking Uthman's release. The appeals court found that decisions made since Uthman's petition dictate that, regarding the detention authority granted by the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF)], determinations of whether individuals are al-Qaeda members must employ a functional approach on a case-by-case basis, rather than the formal approach used in Uthman's case.

US Representative Justin Amash (R-MI) on March 25 announced legislation requiring an immediate halt to military action in Libya until Congress authorizes its resumption. The Restoring Essential Constitutional Constraints for Libyan Action Involving the Military (RECLAIM) Act cites Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution while declaring that President Barack Obama must obtain authorization before any further military action is conducted. Amash explained the legislation:

Specialist Jeremy Morlock pleaded guilty March 23 to three counts of murder as part of a plot contrived with fellow soldiers to kill Afghan civilians. At the court-martial, held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., Morlock also pleaded guilty to one count each of assault, conspiracy, obstructing justice and illegal drug use in exchange for a maximum sentence of 24 years in prison. According to the plea-agreement, Morlock agreed to testify against his co-defendants. Four other soldiers in Morlock's unit, the 5th Stryker Brigade, are also charged with the deaths of the three Afghan men, which occurred in the Kandahar province in January, February and May of last year. Morlock told the military judge, Lt.-Col. Kwasi Hawks, that he and his fellow soldiers began plotting the murders of unarmed Afghans in 2009 and killed the three civilians knowing they were unarmed and posed no legitimate threat. Morlock testified that Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, who is also charged, took the lead in developing the plot. Gibbs maintains that the deaths were a result of combat. In January, the Washington Post first reported that Morlock accepted the plea agreement offered by US Army prosecutors. Morlock, charged in June, is the first of the five soldiers to be court-martialed.

A spokesperson for the UK's Metropolitan Police Service last week confirmed the arrest of a 46-year-old Peruvian national on suspicion of crimes against humanity and torture. He is suspected of involvement with the Shining Path, a Maoist guerilla organization, believed to be responsible for the deaths of thousands in two decades of conflict in Peru. The man, whose name has yet to be released, was arrested on March 15 and is being held while police conduct searches of several addresses in the area linked to him. The man is the first to be arrested under the Coroners and Justice Act of 2009, which allows UK courts to hear cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by nonresidents between 1991 and 2001.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), along with five co-sponsors, introduced legislation March 10 that would prohibit funding for civilian trials of Guantánamo Bay detainees and place restrictions on the transfer of detainees to foreign countries. The Military Detainee Procedures Improvement Act of 2011 would require "greater scrutiny on the security situation and ability of the host country to monitor a detainee" after transfer from Guantánamo. It also purports to "[r]eaffirm[] the President's authority to detain members of al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and affiliated terrorist groups based on the authority granted by Congress in the Authorization for Use of Military Force." The legislation would require members of terrorists groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Taliban to be held in military custody when captured, and require annual review of whether detainees can be released.

The UN appointed a team of special prosecutors March 9 to investigate claims that Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi has ordered forces to torture and abduct opponents. An investigation was also launched last week by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into possible crimes against humanity. The new probe by special rapporteur for torture Juan Mendez will focus on accusations that Qaddafi has ordered hospital patients' executions, fired on protesters and used other extreme tactics against opponents. Describing complaints as "well-documented," Mendez has requested information from Qaddafi and stated that a lack of response will be noted in monthly reports to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Alaska refused March 7 to order ExxonMobil to pay an additional $92 million in damages from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Under a 1991 settlement agreement, Exxon paid $900 million in civil damages. The US and Alaskan government sought in 2006 to reopen the settlement agreement, saying more money was needed to clean up the crude oil that was still tainting Prince William Sound. Environmental activist Rick Steiner had filed a motion seeking court intervention to bring the re-opener process to a close. Judge H. Russel Holland, who has presided over much of the litigation stemming from 1989 spill, found that the US and Alaskan governments appeared to be close to reaching an agreement with ExxonMobil, refusing to order the payment.

A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on March 7 issued a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of a recent Ecuadoran court judgment against US oil company Chevron. The injunction blocks plaintiffs from attempting to secure $8.6 billion in damages from the company, which were awarded last month by the Provincial Court of Sucumbios after finding that Texaco, which was acquired by Chevron in 2001, polluted large areas of Ecuador's rainforest.