By Nicole Hunt

European leaders gather in Brussels on Monday for an informal meeting of the European Council, during which discussions are set to focus on jobs and the new fiscal stabilisation treaty agreed at their controversial meeting last month. Leaders are planning to iron out the details of the treaty at the meeting, in hopes that it’ll be ready to sign by the time they meet again on 1 March.

While all eyes are on Brussels, two big trials are before the courts in South Africa. In Ventersdorp, Chris Mahlangu and an unnamed teenager are back on trial for the April 2010 murder of Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) leader Eugene Terre’Blanche, postponed from October to allow more time for hearings.

Meanwhile, Henry Okah, former Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) leader, goes on trial in Johannesburg on terrorism charges in connection with the October 2010 Independence Day bombings in Abuja, Nigeria, which killed 12 people.

Monday is also the 40th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

Spanish Magistrate Baltasar Garzon’s abuse of power trial resumes on Tuesday, with the judge himself expected to begin testifying if some preliminary matters are cleared up earlier in the day. There is speculation that the verdict for Garzon’s illegal wiretapping case – which was head on 17 January – could be delivered before Tuesday’s hearing.

The annual Herzliya policy conference kicks off in Jerusalem. Speakers throughout the three-day conference include Israeli President Shimon Peres, World Bank President Robert Zoellick, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak, former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.

Wednesday is all about Supreme Courts. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange begins a two-day hearing at the UK Supreme Court in London, appealing a 24 February, 2010 decision to extradite him to Sweden to face questioning on charges of sexual assault. The court is expected to reserve judgement after the hearing wraps up on Thursday, meaning the legal saga won’t quite be over yet.

In Islamabad, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is back before the Supreme Court, which is looking into his government’s decision not to investigate corruption among politicians after passing a controversial amnesty law in 2007 known as the National Reconciliation Ordinance. Gilani appeared before the court briefly on 19 January.

A North Korean prisoner amnesty begins on Wednesday, as part of celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the birth of recently-deceased Kim Jong-Il in February and the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-Sung in April.

NATO Defence Ministers begin a two-day meeting in Brussels on Thursday. Discussions are expected to focus on Afghanistan and security transition following the 20 January attack on French troops by an Afghan soldier, which killed four.

Kuwaitis go to the polls to elect 50 members to Parliament. Emir Sheikh Sabah al Ahmad al Sabah dissolved Parliament by decree on 6 December, 2011 citing ‘deteriorating conditions in the country’. 50 members are elected for four-year terms. Four women were elected for the first time in the country’s last elections, which took place in 2009.

On Friday, The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia hears the appeal for Khmer Rouge Special Branch Chief Kaing Guek Eav, aka Duch, who was convicted of crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions in July 2010. Duch, who was head of the infamous Tuol Sleng prison camp, was sentenced to 35 years in prison over the deaths of up to two million people during the 1975-79 Khmer Rouge regime.

The three-day Munich Security Conference begins Friday; though there’s no word yet on this year’s attendees, the guest list always features the great and good of international politics and defence (or at least the important). The MSC is often the site of important policy announcements, so is well worth looking out for.

Anti-Kremlin groups are scheduled to hold their latest protest in Moscow on Saturday, this one timed to coincide with the two-month anniversary of disputed parliamentary elections on 4 December, and with one month to go until presidential elections on 4 March almost certainly see Vladimir Putin return to the helm.

The month and a half long Rugby 6 Nations tournament begins, with France, Engand, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy hoping to end up in the 17 March final. England won the tournament in 2011.

The week closes with the runoff for the Finnish presidential race, following a first round vote on 22 January. Former Finance Minister Sauli Niinisto, who won 37 per cent of the first vote, faces off against Green party candidate Pekka Haavisto, who won 19 per cent of the vote.

The week starts off with two high-profile court hearings on Monday. Former Egyptian Interior Minister Habib al Adly is scheduled to go on trial in Cairo on charges of ordering the deaths of protesters, but the hearing has been twice postponed so far, sparking angry demonstrations.

In Perugia, the long awaited report on a review of DNA evidence in Amanda Knox’s murder appeal is presented to the court.

Contentious land issues are the theme of the day on Tuesday, as new Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar arrives in New Delhi for two days of highly anticipated meetings with her Indian counterpart SM Krishna.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council in New York holds an open debate on the Middle East, the bulk of which is expected to focus on Palestinian plans to seek UN recognition in September.

UN business continues in the same vein on Wednesday, with the Panel of Inquiry into the 31 May, 2010 Gaza flotilla due to publish its report. Turkey’s representative to the Panel, Ozdem Sanberk, said it’s the ‘last chance’ to re-establish good political relations between Israel and Turkey.

On Thursday, new Peruvian President Ollanta Humala takes office following his 5 June defeat of Keiko Fujimori, daughter of imprisoned former President Alberto Fujimori.

In the Syrian town of Al Bukamal, a 10-day deadline issued by the Armed Forces expires. Residents have been told to hand over weapons and submit to Government control by today or face a full military assault.

Two small developments in the phone hacking scandal are set for Friday, with Jonathan May-Bowles (aka Jonnie Marbles) scheduled to appear in a London court to face charges related to him throwing a shaving foam pie at Rupert Murdoch during the 19 July culture, media and sport committee hearing. BSkyB’s preliminary results are also released.

In Nigeria, the High Court is expected to deliver its verdict in the case of four men charged over last October’s independence day bombings in Abuja, which killed 12 people. One of the defendants is Charles Okah, brother of alleged leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) Henry, who is facing trial in South Africa for masterminding the bombing.

Friday also marks the one year anniversary of the beginning of the Pakistan floods, which went on to cover over a fifth of the country, killing nearly 2,000 people.

The Lebanese government has until Saturday to arrest persons named in the indictment issued by the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon on 30 June, or to inform the Tribunal of the measures taken to attempt arrest. If arrests are not made, the STL may order a public advertisement calling on the accused to surrender, which would mark the first time Rafik al Hariri’s alleged assassins have been publicly named.

On Sunday, US hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer are expected to go on trial in Tehran on charges of spying for the US. Sarah Shourd, who was arrested alongside them, was released in September 2010. You can watch the Frontline Club event last year looking at Iran’s record on detainment , which was attended by Bauer’s mother, Cindy Hickey here